Mayday protests will not be cancelled - organisers

MAYDAY PROTESTS WILL NOT BE CANCELLED - ORGANISERS

Mayday protests events in Dublin will go ahead, organisers insisted today (Thursday). They were responding to a garda decision to ban protests on the weekend when Ireland hosts the EU summit.

The Dublin Grassroots Network, which is organising protest events around the summit, has scotched rumours that the protests might be cancelled, following the refusal of the gardai to grant permission to the Another Europe Is Possible group for their planned carnival.

Laurence Cox of Dublin Grassroots Network said: "The attempt to ban this carnival, like the militarisation of policing the Mayday weekend, highlights the fundamentally undemocratic nature of EU processes.

"The freedom of speech and assembly, which includes the right to demonstrate, are fundamental to the democratic process.

"Neither Dublin Grassroots Network nor Another Europe Is Possible have called off their events. We stand by our right to express our opinion."

The Gardai have indicated in recent weeks that they intend to prevent large groups of protestors from gathering, to deploy armed gardai on Dublin streets from next Monday, to erect temporary detention centres and to use the army against protestors.

Recently the freedom of other EU citizens to travel to the Mayday events has been called into question, most notably by Dublin's Lord Mayor Royston Brady. This week, numerous activists have complained of Garda harassment while distributing leaflets.

The Dublin Grassroots Network is organising a weekend of events around the May Day summit, to highlight public opposition to "Fortress Europe", privatisation, EU militarisation and social injustice. The highlight of the weekend will be a "noisy protest" leaving Parkgate Street at 6 pm on Saturday, using pots, pans, bells and whistles to make the protest heard by the heads of state meeting in Farmleigh.

For more info, including Mayday event plans, see: www.struggle.ws/eufortress

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