Please sign this statement by emailing teneleventen@gmail.com [Read more...]
Sign this statement to stand with the Millbank protesters against victimisation!
November 11, 2010 By 43 Comments
50,000 students and workers march against fees and cuts
November 10, 2010 By 10 Comments
The press is reporting that 50,000 people marched in London today (Wednesday 10 November); anyone who was on the demonstration will tell you that this is a plausible figure. [Read more...]
Press release from Dublin: a statement regarding events at the Dept. of Finance
November 4, 2010 By 4 Comments
Left-wing student groups in Ireland issued a press statement yesterday which we republish here for the information of students in Britain.
Students from Free Education for Everyone (NUI Maynooth, NUI Galway) and the Students in Solidarity Network (University College Dublin, Trinity College Dublin) issued a call for a clearly visible left-wing presence on today’s [now yesterday's - Ed] demonstration against the re-introduction of third level fees, in the form of a registration fee increase or otherwise. This call was answered by student activists from a range of political organisations, including the Socialist Workers Party, Socialist Party, Workers Solidarity Movement, éirigí, the 32 CSM and others. For the most part however, the call was answered by independent students.
Up to 1,000 students joined our breakaway at Kildare Street, staging a short sit down protest outside the home of the corrupt and unaccountable political establishment of this state. Recognising the futility of marching from A to B and listening to the same speeches from aspiring politicians, many of these students joined us in marching to the Department of Finance where a sit in demonstration was held. It is the Department of Finance which is attacking ordinary working people with such vigour in recent times, and this occupation was symbolic of the anger of students and the Irish public.
We are not the “anti- social, hooligan element of the student movement,” rather today we showed that we are perfectly in touch with the anger felt by the student body. The sight of thousands of students outside, cheering on the direct action showed the positive effect such direct action can have on the Irish student movement. Such actions, we believe, are a necessary step forward. This government wish to attack education, public services and working people and this must be resisted.
There was no act of violence carried out by those protesting at the Department, and any violence outside was instigated by the inept response of the Gardai. Students sitting on the road in protest were baton charged repeatedly by Gardaí, with many suffering injuries. One female student was knocked unconscious during the assault on the crowd, and other students clearly displayed head injuries. “The Gardaí rushed the crowd on numerous occasions, including spectators on the street. The crowd, which at this point had swelled up to 2,000 students with many from the main demonstration joining us, vented their anger at the response of the Gardaí who had begun encircling them” said Lorcan Myles, a Free Education for Everyone activist who witnessed the events. We make no apologies for the direct action taken.
Ultimately, events like today’s will happen in a society where people are under constant attack from the political establishment. The arrests and attacks carried out on students today will not deter the movement.
ENDS.
Free Education for Everyone and The Students In Solidarity Network are independent student grassroots campaigns active in numerous Irish third level institutions. Previous protests have included resisting the appointment of Bertie Ahern T.D by NUI Maynooth as an Honorary Professor, opposing numerous TD’s visits to various campuses including Belfield and NUI Galway and building broad student support for a left wing and grassroots student movement.
MASS PROTEST: 40,000 Irish students march in Dublin
November 3, 2010 By 6 Comments
Forty thousand students have taken the streets of Dublin, fighting the government over fees and cuts.
Protesters occupied the Department of Finance, whilst the frightened Irish state brought in armoured cars, mounted police and riot cops, savagely attacking the protesters. They are reported to have beaten one student unconscious.
The government, which has successively bailed-out Ireland’s failing banks has launched a war against the welfare state to fund the “rescue” package.
They are enlarging class sizes in primary and secondary schools, slashing the higher education budget, and raising tuition fees from €1,500 to €3,000.
University College Dublin student, Darren Cogavin, told the National Campaign Against Fees and Cuts: “our education is being savagely cut back, but university management keep awarding themselves unauthorised bonuses – that’s how bad the situation is. The recession hit Ireland particularly hard, we can’t afford the current fees – let alone the ones that they are proposing. This is a fight for free education.”
It doesn’t need to be said that in a small country like Ireland, a mobilisation on this scale has the power to ignite a great struggle to overthrow the government.
The National Campaign Against Fees and Cuts express our full support and solidarity to the Irish students.
Let’s spread the struggle and make the NUS march 10 November in London a protest of similar scale and militancy.
France – an inspiration for tomorrow
October 19, 2010 By 8 Comments
Thought we could all do with a bit of uplifting inspiration for tomorrow’s
Spending Review: Student Feeder March to Downing St
Come along! We will be meeting at ULU at 4pm (see here)
Allons-y – qu’on est français!
French workers and students fight back!
October 15, 2010 By 1 Comment
We have been sent the following motion, on the wave of strikes currently gripping France, by trade union supporters of the NCAFC. [Read more...]
European Education Congress Report
June 8, 2010 By Leave a Comment
As many of the 150 participants have expressed, the European Education Congress (EEC), which took place in Bochum, Germany between the 25th and 30th of last month, was certainly a little box of surprises.
Despite its rather “corporate image” and international outreach (alongside EU citizens, the congress counted with workshops hosted by students and professors from Indonesia, Nepal, Turkey and Canada), the event held at the Ruhr University Bochum had little of decision making and a lot of academic debate and socializing.
Somewhat dominated by the idea of self organization, alternative deconstruction of ruling systems and general anarchist philosophy, the congress has sprouted mixed feelings amongst several of the attendees.
Mo Schmidt, from the International Students Movement, seemed to be rather disappointed with how the EEC failed to grasp the opportunity that the varied scope of nationalities and struggles offered, to build a coherent, stronger international education movement.
Agreeably, it seemed sometimes that some of the participants were more concerned with having a good time and enjoying the lovely vegan food (provided by the local Food Not Bombs group), rather than developing a structure that would last beyond the congress per se.
However, there were some incredibly promising outcomes.
A cyber platform is being developed for communication and networking of student and education movements on an international basis (a bit of an “Educations Activists Facebook”).
A booklet with a brief look over many of the education systems (and their fracas) has been put together and is available for download.
The group and individual network between participants was worked incredibly well and it can only be assumed that many of the links created can develop into productive coordination (even if mostly on a binary relationship level, as the case of the Bulgarian and Croatian activists).
Something also has to be said about the workshops, which were on their great majority rich in debate and development of ideas. It is safe to say that without these premises any type of international movement won’t succeed, as understanding and a certain level of consensus has to be reached amongst activists prior to any activity. The seminars of Greek professor and political activist Yannis Missirlis and infamously dismissed, former senior professor at University of Ottawa, Denis Rancourt were incredible jewels amongst many workshops and offered the unique opportunity to many of the attendees to engage with these academics.
With the Global Wave of Action for Education in October and yet another meeting in Barcelona by the beginning of the next academic term in September, the struggle still has a long way to go… but it might be getting there.
Israeli raid on Gaza flotilla and NCAFC National Meeting
June 2, 2010 By 2 Comments
It has come to the attention of NCAFC that, following the recent attack by Israel on an aid flotilla bound for Gaza, a demonstration is planned on Saturday 5 June at 1.30pm in front of Downing Street– when NCAFC was due to have its national meeting. Given that campaign members from across the UK have already booked transportation, we have made the decision to go ahead with our national meeting as planned, but we stand in solidarity with those attending the protest.
Additionally, the NCAFC has prepared a statement about the attack:
The National Campaign Against Fees and Cuts condemns Israel’s recent attack on the flotilla boats taking crucial aid to the Gaza strip. We condemn Israel’s three-year blockade of Gaza and their military assaults on the Palestinian people.
During the 2009 attacks on Gaza, students in Britain launched a wave of occupations to show their solidarity with the Palestinian people, the first occupations in many years. Many of the students who took part in the occupations and mass demonstrations have remained active in the fight
against fees and cuts today.
We also offer our support and solidarity to the many students involved in the aid flotilla that have been attacked, and in particular send our solidarity to the SOAS students currently detained in Israel.
Our internationalism means that the National Campaign Against Fees and Cuts stands in solidarity with the students and workers living under oppression in the occupied territories and with movements within Israel resisting the aggressive imperialist policies of the Israeli state.. Their struggle is our struggle.
