Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to give just a brief address
to introduce our group and to summarize the current political landscape in
Ireland. My name is Gene Douglas and I represent the LaRouche Irish
Brigade. We chose this title because we thought that these
three words LaRouche/Irish/Brigade may generate some anxiety in
certain circles of the British establishment! It is unfortunate that
Ireland had not developed such a group long ago so that it may have been firmly
established and more able to face the present challenges. And, personally
speaking, I wish I had discovered the LaRouche Movement 30 years ago because I
would certainly have joined up then. However, our new group is growing
quickly and we will endeavor to make an impact in the critical period ahead.
I would like to begin, if I may, by sending our best regards to
our republican friends in Sinn Fein. Gerry Adams, the Sinn Fein
president, was an invited speaker to this conference, however, due to work
commitments in the Dail (Irish Parliament) he has been unable to attend.
For that he sends his sincere apologies and also his best wishes for the event.
Sinn Fein and we, the LaRouche Irish Brigade, represent an
unbroken, centuries long tradition of republicanism in Ireland. The essence,
the bedrock of our nation is republicanism, and the various manifestations of
British Liberalism that have afflicted us in recent years are, you could say,
merely a film of detritus which will be soon washed away as our republican
principles come to the fore once again.
In fact, now, as we rediscover and begin to disseminate the
ideas of physical economy presented by Arthur Griffith in 1905, at the nation's
inception, and later by Michael Collins, we trust that we can play a
significant role in the final defeat of the British Empire. Wouldn't that
be a just cause for celebration after 800 years of occupation?
The most immediate battle ahead for us is to force the Irish
Government to live up to its moral and constitutional obligations and hold a
referendum on the euro zone fiscal compact. Then, we must ensure that
this "austerity pact" is firmly rejected by the Irish people. I
believe that outcome is already practically guaranteed, given the austerity and
misery imposed on the people by the Troika.
This is a particularly important issue for all of Europe given
the confirmation by German Minister for European Affairs, Michael Link, in
Dublin recently, that EU negotiators sought to design their policy in such a
way as to avoid a referendum in Ireland. So, they are using Ireland as a
kind of test case for their policies.
We are fortunate to have a patriotic, republican minded and wise
president in Michael D Higgins, and we are confident that he will defend the
Irish Constitution robustly in the face of this assault upon it.
President Higgins has earned our admiration, in recent years in particular, as
he has been the only president in Europe, as far as I'm aware, to have spoken
out in support of the Glass Steagall principle. He has also highlighted
the folly of Austrian School economics, at every opportunity, and his most
recent engagement on both these issues, at the London School of Economics, was
both timely and courageous.
The Irish Brigade has become more emboldened over the past year
as we follow LaRouche's lead and look towards the Arctic and the potential of
new alliances based on the principles of physical economic development and
cooperation. In this respect, we were greatly heartened by the visit to
Ireland last week of Chinese Vice President, Xi. The significance of this
visit should not be overlooked or trivialized, as those who think in monetarist
terms may tend to do. It is much more than simply an opportunity to
increase trade. As the only European country on the Chinese delegation's
itinerary, I hope and trust that the visit signals the beginning of precisely
the kind of alliance that is so critically necessary at the present time, as we
referred to in our recent brief paper - "Ireland - An Economic
Revival."
We look forward to long term cooperation with our Chinese
friends and others, who are committed to physical economic development, in the
decades ahead.
To finish, let me give you a nice example of how the LaRouche
message is spreading and becoming increasingly recognized worldwide. The
LaRouche Political Action Committee (LPAC) have created a new Twitter channel
and had noticed recently a surge in activity on it. Upon
investigation it turned out to be taxi drivers, not from Italy, but from all
over Ireland, who were tuning in. This was a completely new development
and a tribute to the impact of Claudio Giudici, not only in Italy but far
beyond.
Thank you.
