Roisin McDermott of Women's Aid said women who apply for barring orders against violent partners have to wait up to two months, during which time they may be living in a refuge and have difficulty working. A woman could go on benefit, but there would be no guarantee that she would get her job back. "Economic dependence and nowhere to go" are the reasons many battered women don't leave, she said.* Source: The irish Times, March 8, 1997
Solidarity with Roisin McAliskey the unsatisfied social democratic workers.
The Socialist Peoples Party has certainly been able to capture unsatisfied leftist votes in the past. What makes things less sure this time is that not only is the SF supported more by white collar and professional workers than the semi-skilled, but many leading figures in the SiD rebellion against social liberalism come from the Stalinist tradition. The organisational strength of this current is very weak, and it is unable to attract much support among newly-radicalising sectors. But in some trade unions, it has a certain influence.
One thing which is clear, is that there is no clear dividing line between reformist and revolutionary currents. The new disposition of forces is more likely to divide the existing organisations than oppose them on a clear left-right continuum.
This situation creates a possibility for the Red Green Alliance, which brings together most former and present members of the Communist Party, the Left Socialists and Trotskyists. With its parliamentary and movement presence, the Red Green Alliance can — at least partly - constitute a new
Following successful protests across the world on March 8, International Women's Day British authorities have been forced to concede that Roisin McAliskey will be able to keep her baby with her when it is born in a few weeks.
McAliskey has been imprisoned since November 1996 for supposed involvement with the IRA bombing of the Osnabruck bombing in Germany. Her solicitor Gareth Pierce told a packed London meeting organised by Fuascailt (the Irish republican prisoner support group) that "if she were charged here tomorrow there would be no requirement to prepare to defend the case; there isn't a case" Pierce also explained that she had never seen a prisoner treated so badly - some feat given Pierce's involvement with other Irish prisoners who have been abominably treated such as the Birmingham Six and Guildford Four.
McAliskey is the only Category A prisoner to have ever given birth in prison and the civil liberties implications of her treatment is beginning to raise objections from many who have taken little interest in Irish politics.
In London 300 mainly women protesters gathered outside Holloway prison to show solidarity. Hundreds of bunches of flowers were delivered from supporters across the world but only a token number were allowed into the prison. Roisin asked that the rest go to Women's Aid centres - the primary area of her own political activity.
The picket produced one of the most lively and committed International Women's Day mobilisations in London for some years. Other actions took place in Germany, Ireland, Norway Australia and the USA. *
Terry Conway April 1997 #287