Sir, – We at the Irish Anti-War Movement share Fintan O'Toole's outrage at the horrors being inflicted on the Syrian people and on Aleppo in particular ("Why the silence? What's outrageous in Gaza is no less so in Aleppo", Opinion & Analysis, October 5th).
We are calling a protest rally on this issue for Wednesday October 19th at 5.30pm at the Dáil.
At this rally we will call on the Government to make a public statement opposing all bombing of the Syrian people (from whatever quarter) and all foreign military intervention in the country (whether by Russia or the US or Turkey). We will also demand that the EU welcomes refugees fleeing the war instead of repelling them and that the Government takes its fair share and urgently speeds up the process of actually admitting them.
Fintan O’Toole also notes the small size of recent protests about Syria (including one I attended in O’Connell Street in Dublin last Saturday) compared to the demonstration at the Dundalk v Maccabi Tel Aviv match in Tallaght, which was called by the Irish Palestine Solidarity Campaign and supported by the IAWM. He asks, “Why the selective outrage?”
We at the IAWM are far more horrified and outraged by what is happening in Syria than by a football match but, unfortunately, calling and achieving a mass protest is not simply a matter of how outraged you are. It also requires a significant proportion of the population to feel they have a clear grasp of the issue, to know where they stand on it and to believe that protesting may actually make a difference. These conditions were met in spades by the question of the invasion of Iraq in 2003, and to a very considerable extent by the Palestine issue, and by water charges in 2014 and the repeal the Eighth Amendment movement now. Hence very large demonstrations. Tragically they are not met by the situation in Syria, which many feel is very confused and confusing. Even the Syrian community in Ireland is divided on the matter.
To say this is to be realistic but not simply to accept the situation.
This is why we have called the rally for October 19th. – Yours, etc,
JOHN MOLYNEUX,
Secretary,
Irish Anti-War Movement,
Dublin 12.