Ireland: Commemorations of the Easter Uprising and protests on the eve of the visit of Joe Biden

In Ireland, different anti-imperialist activities have been developed during Easter. On Easter Monday 1916 Irish republicans declared the establishment of an Irish Republic and started an armed uprising against British imperialism. Even though the uprising only lasted for a week and was repressed bloodily by the British, it was followed by years of armed struggle which eventually led to the establishent of the current Republic of Ireland – with Northern Ireland remaining under British occupation. On the 10th of April it also became 25 years of the Good Friday Agreement, which marked the Republic of Ireland dropping its territorial claims to the occupied area and British imperialism consolidating its occupation on paper, and was hailed by the imperialists as ”the end” of the armed struggle that had been waged in Northern Ireland for 30 years. To mark the anniversary, the US president Joe Biden arrived for a visit on Tuesday in the occupied Northern Ireland with the British prime minister Rishi Sunak.

(Source @AIAIreland on Twitter)

In Derry, a crowd threw petrol bombs on police vehicles which were deployed to harass a parade commemorating the Easter Uprising on Monday. For decades, Derry has been a hot spot of the armed struggle against the occupation. Also in the past, police forces have gathered to repress parades on Easter and it has come to violent clashes on multiple occasions. This year the police was especially prepared to secure the visit of the head of Yankee imperialism. The intelligence service of UK had declared it considered the terror threat ”severe” and that it is prepared for ”high likelyhood of a terrorist attack”. Dozens of police and armoured vehicles were deployed on the streets of Belfast.

(Source: The Guardian)

In Dublin, anti-imperialist activists paintbombed the British Embassy to protest the Good Friday Agreement.

In Dublin, a parade commemorating the martyrs of the Easter Uprising and others who have given their life for the national liberation of Ireland was organized on Sunday. The march ended at the plot of the Irish Citizen Army in Glasnevin Cemetery. The activists report on Twitter that despite heavy police presence and harassment, the march went on uninterrupted.

In many places activists also visited the graves and memorials of martyrs.

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