Post by Papa C. on Mar 1, 2006 15:01:11 GMT
This was posted on irbb by one of the protestors. It's a good read. Make up your own mind.
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Yeah .....
.....back a little over an hour from the Dublin counter-protest : and the way we are looking at it is that the loyalists and their pro-Brit buddies in LH succeeded in getting a violent reaction from some of those present for the counter-demo . I was with a group of six men (two of the sons and three of me mates) - we got to the Parnell Monument at just after ten AM : there was about twenty uniformed FS cops [all carrying batons up their sleeve , as we were to learn later!] and at least four SB filth , all keeping an eye on the three (yeah - 3!) RSF protestors that were there then , at that time !
Within half-an-hour , there was about 50 people (RSF members/supporters or just individuals protesting against the loyalist presence/ members of other political organisations) in the traffic-isle around the Parnell Monument - some had Tri-Colours , others had banners and placards etc . The atmosphere was friendly , not threatening - no sign of aggro : it was cold but dry , traffic driving by as usual , some of which flashed their lights/sounded their horns in support - number of uniformed cops now about fifty , with six on horseback - we spotted at least 12 SB filth , some of whom were trying to mingle with us . The cops had , by now , placed 4-foot high metal crowd-control barricades around us . At this time all was quite - a crowd of supporters had gathered to our left (outside the Ambassador building) and to our right (on the far side of the road , outside the internet cafe and down from that cafe , about 100 yards , another crowd of supporters had gathered outside Fraisers Pub ) - between us all , we numbered at least one thousand strong ! And , even though we were in four separate groups (all within about a one-hundred yards radius)
we all of us were kept behind those crowd-control barricades .
And then ..... a 'sing-song' started ! Very threatening , wha' ... ! The Irish National Anthem was sung , some then started singing the Fields of Athenry , whilst others were singing 'We Shall Overcome' - and , with a group that size , in the four different locations that we were in ,
the songs over-lapped , as ya would expect ! But THAT was the atmosphere at that time - about 12.20PM - good natured , but determined to show the loyalists , who were due in ten minutes (12.30PM) that not everyone welcomed them under their new flag of convenience .
Thats when things got nasty - the riot control cops (think mini-SAS wannabe's!) , about thirty of them at that point , dressed in black , carrying batons with helmets and perspex shields , moved in to remove the crowd of us at the Parnell Monument who , by this time , numbered
about 200 strong and had taken-up positions , with their placards and banners etc , across the by-now closed-off [by the cops] road junction - O 'Connell Street itself was not being blocked by us - we were just lined-up along that one side of it , but the riot squad wanted us gone from
there - we said no ! They lifted their shields chin-high , formed a straight line about three feet in front of us , drew their batons - and briskly waded into us , batons flying . And THAT , folks , despite what the media are now saying - was the spark that started the whole thing off .
A young-fella , standing about three feet to my right , went down on the ground , having got batoned on the head - before the riot control cop that hit him could withdraw his arm , it was grabbed and he got a fierce punch in the face by one of that fella's mates - the same was happening all along that line of 'us and them' . They waded in and , sometimes before they could land a baton on anyones face , they themselves got hit . With that , the uniformed cops , also with batons drawn , came behind their dressed-in-black mates to have a go at us - that's when the other three groups of anti-loyalist protestors broke through the ranks of uniformed
cops that were , up till then , managing to hold them back from where we were . There was , literally , hand-to-hand street fighting between we anti-loyalists and those two groups of FS cops - they managing to push us back a few yards , they we would get the upper hand and gain
ground , to try and get those bastards out of our faces . It was such a scene , for a good few minutes , that the cops on horse-back could'nt do anything to help their mates , because we were all inter-twined with one another , rolling around the ground - with us trying to defend ourselves from the cops , who lost all plot and just , for then , wanted 'revenge' on us for having the nerve to resist them - but they certainly did'nt get it all their own way . It continued like this for about half the length of O' Connell Street : from the Parnell Monument to the GPO . The cops got worried when they seen dozens of people running-up to the battle-scene from the O' Connell Bridge direction , all wanting to help us . That battle , and that is what it was , lasted for about 30 minutes , then the cops took up positions on the street and stopped coming at us .
A different crowd had , by this stage , gone running all the way down O'Connell Street on a looting and burning spree - but those that did that were not RSF members or supporters : they were the type that ya get everywhere at things like that - troublemakers , using the
opportunity to their own advantage . Anyway - at the GPO : the cops were in disarray , and they had stopped trying to attack us so , obviously , we had stopped defending ourselves against them , and we made our way back up to the Parnell Monument , just in case the loyalists might be on their way down . A crowd of about one-hundred of us stood at the corner of O' Connell Street and Parnell Square (with the Ambassador to our left) , nursing our wounds , ringing buddies , sitting having a smoke and a yap - but still willing to stand our ground and
let the loyalists know that they were not welcome to parade in a sectarian march in our city .
At around two o clock we got the word from some of our lads that the loyalists had been put back into their buses and had been driven , by a different route , to the LH/Molesworth Street Offices of the FS Administration - they had been advised to cancel their sectarian march !
It was over - for now , anyway !
We are all gonna hear (or are already hearing) a lot of half-truths/mis-truths and outright lies and FS propaganda over this event : as I type , Republicans are being given the full blame for it , as expected . But ask yerself this - how many marches/commemorations/demonstrations
have Irish Republicans held through Dublin (and other cities) - but nothing like this happened ?
How many Republican protests like that have resulted in riots on the streets ?
What was the extra 'ingredient' today that led to it turning into a street-battle ?
The answer is heavy-handed riot-control cops being deployed BEFORE there was a riot , and the presence , in the city , of loyalist thugs .
Bertie and his shower of lackeys now know that they cannot force us to accept loyalist bowsies on our streets . North or South .
Slan Anois !
Ireland .
