Galway People Confront City Council

galway | miscellaneous | feature

Tuesday September 09, 2003 15:53

by Vinnie

A large crowd gathered outside City Hall in Galway on Monday the 8th , on what may be the last chance to do so legally if the city's reactionary and draconian council get their way. People and groups from all walks of Galway life were there, buskers, skateboarders, kite flyers, shopkeepers, sports enthuasiasts, unions, voluntary and political groups. All were united in protest and condemnation at the introduction of the borderline facist byelaws, which are set to strangle through over-regulation nearly all public activity of almost any sort, and destroy the vibe and spirit that Galway is famous for.

Recent Articles About The Byelaws:
Galway To Crack Down On Civil Rights | Protest Galway Corporations Draconian Bye-Laws | Litter And Parks Bye-Laws A Shocking Attack On Civil Liberties

Results of the council's decision at their meeting are not yet known but the people of Galway have made their voices heard and the predominantly right wing councillors will hopefully bear this in mind when they cast their votes, or they will do so at their own electoral peril.

If not, the people of Galway will most likely go out and break these laws anyway, until they are proved untenable, unlawful and undemocratic.

It is worth pointing out that these laws did not just come from the wind, and contrary to the council's deceptive spin have very little to do with litter prevention. If the council was really concerned about litter, they would actually install a decent number of litter bins in the city centre for example.

No, it is the opinion of many, and myself included, that these laws are part of a government initiated plan to react against the rise of real grassroots politics and activism among people, which so scared them last year with the whole Shannon/war debacle. In light of this, they want to prepare for the next year's EU presidency, of which one of the first summits is to be held in Galway. They are trying to do this by passing byelaws through the backdoor of councils around the country rather than engaging in the national debate that would ensue if they tried it at a national level.

While they may well realize that these laws are untenable, they will inevitably use them as another stick in their armoury to harass activists and organisers and frighten the new and inexperienced protestors off the streets with threats of arrest.

We cannot and will not let them win!