On Saturday, February 18th, there will be a big anti-racist demonstration in Dublin, supported by prominent Irish artists such as Christy Moore. It will start at 1.30 pm from Parnell Square.
It has been called against efforts to associate asylum seekers with rape and sexual assaults. This talk, drawn from the language of US white supremacists, has led to attacks on people of colour, including staff at the Mater hospital in Dublin. At one protest in Finglas, a speaker demanded to ‘burn them out’.
People Before Profit is working hard to garner support for the demonstration. We are laying the blame for what is happening at the doors of the government.
Their policies have led to a major housing crisis. They will not use public land for social and affordable housing. They do nothing to stop vulture funds and property speculators buying up land banks.
These policies result from the same neoliberal mindset that does not provide proper accommodation for asylum seekers. Instead of building emergency accommodation, they see them as another opportunity for profit by putting them up in hotels.
The tiny far-right parties want to use the housing crisis to try to build a political base. But they have no solutions. They too are opposed to rent controls or to punitive taxes on vacant property,. They are against price controls and opposed to a state construction company embarking on a major housing programme.
Their aim is to align with the conventional right in order to shift Irish politics even further to the right. This is why their main targets are Sinn Féin and People Before Profit.
People Before Profit branches have pushed for counter-protests against racist mobilisations. We have worked with others to build broad ‘for all’ groups. Our social media has attacked the myths and lies of the far right.
That is why we are urging you to join the People Before Profit contingent on the February 18th mobilisation.
