Connolly Youth Movement Statement on Water Demonstration

The show of power by broad sections of society at last Wednesday's Right2Water demonstration, with a huge amount of young people, especially young women getting involved, is a clear indication that people were not fooled by the governments concessions on water charges.

It is quite clear this whole movement is politicising our youth and now is the time for those young people to join organisations like the Connolly Youth Movement, to deepen their political understanding and to become active in a vibrant youth movement.

The Right2Water campaign has once again demonstrated the power and strength in the unity of the trade unions, community and political organisations. The campaign and all those involved should be commended for all the hard and tireless work that was put in to make Wednesday 10th of December a day of peaceful protest on UN Human Rights day.

As much of a success that the demonstration was, it is quite clear that the government will not be backing down anytime soon. The trade unions, community and political groups that have taken up the mantle for the defence of communities against water charges have a real and unique opportunity to deepen the political and class consciousness of those engaged in this struggle.

Our youth really have to ask themselves, if this government was to collapse in the morning, and another take its place, without a fundamental and mass opposition to the EU and the euro, and the US as the main political entities of Capitalism there would be no change. Nothing drastic would change because the state, and its class of industrialists, financiers, oligarchs, monarchs, land owners and all their collaborators would still be organised in the old way.

Ireland's industries, agriculture and services would still be in the service of the EU, British and US Imperialist regimes. The multi-national corporations and various legal treaties would still bind us to international monopoly capitalism and its unending war on workers. We would still be bound to pay back an unjust and odious debt. The Troika would still oversee our national budgets and the ECB would still gear the euro to suit mainly Germany's needs to the detriment of the Irish economy.

All this means is that our democracy, sovereignty and independence would still be the hollowed out shells that they are. The struggle being waged now, is not a new one and it wont end with a victory over the water charges because we would still lack a mass opposition to Capitalism and Imperialism.

However, we have to work and deal with immediate aims and struggles to not only engage in a real struggle for people to be able to access water, without any discrimination, but also to deepen peoples political and class consciousness.

The most important thing right now is to have a nation united against the water charges and from there, there is huge potential to build a movement of organised, militant and class conscious citizens. The R2W as an independent umbrella campaign should continue to step up and be the unifying force in defeating this governments attempt to commodify and privatise the most basic and important source of life and the CYM will continue to support the campaign.

From there we can move on to the source of the water charges – the unjust, odious private bank debt heaped on our nation, and paid for by the impoverishment of our people and the deporting of a generation of youth.