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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>Of course the term “ republican “ has a total different meaning in Europe –<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>Encouraging report from Dermot. Trots plus dissident republicans could form a potent force.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>Tim<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>On Wed, Apr 22, 2015 at 7:12 AM, Dermot Connolly <a href="mailto:connollyd3@gmail.com" target="_blank"><span style='color:blue'>connollyd3@gmail.com</span></a> [socialistdiscussion] <<a href="mailto:socialistdiscussion@yahoogroups.com" target="_blank"><span style='color:blue'>socialistdiscussion@yahoogroups.com</span></a>> wrote:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>Hi all, Joan is fine and delighted with high level of media coverage and messages of support on social media.Over 30,000 hits on her facebook page. The 'other' Joan Collins, the one with the OBE, has put out a statement on tweeter denying she was arrested in Dublin!<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>So as to what happened yesterday. Protests against the installation of water meters have been taking place in working class areas since last autumn. In Dublin Sth Central, Joan's constituency, not a single meter has been installed in the working class areas due to these protests. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>These protests have been peaceful but effective, with residents standing in the area where the contractors wish to work. The local |Gardai or Guards(police) had a policy of not intervering as long as the protests were peaceful.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>Yesterday morning local residents rang our office to say two people had been arrested and the Guards were being very aggresive.Joan And Pat Dunne, local UL cllr, went down immediately to the protest. There they found a new Sargeant, an Inspector from a differant area and guards from 4 different stations.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>People complained that one protester had been punched, another pepper sprayed, and guards were using armlock and pressure point techniques on protesters.Joan and Pat were arrested for refusing to follow a garda order to move.Thirteen others were also arrested. They were released without charge after an hour or so.and returned to the protest. No meters were installed.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>Over the last 6 months the state and the government have been faced with the biggest mass movement in over 30 years.They have been forced into significant retreats in order to try and diffuse the movement. Along with concessions, there has been a campaign to claim the movement is controlled on the one hand by dissident republicans and on the other by 'trots'. There is also a policy of trying to crimonalise protesters. All of this is aimed at either buying off or scaring off what the state/government believes is a softer element. It thas not worked.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>The R2W campaign (Right to Water) is holding a major event in Dublin on Mayday. R2W is made up of 5 trade unions, including Unite, the small left parties and left independants, Sinn Fein and well over 100 local campaign groups. The mayday rally will be attended by reps from Syriza and Podemos and will be followed by a policy conferance in June. This is part of a campaign to build a 'Platform of renewal' as a broad based anti austerity political movement. These are very significant developments.I hope to get time to write in more detail on these issues but things keep happening!<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div></body></html>