Socialist Republicans Slam IPSC for Loyalist Appeasement
Socialist republicans have slammed Lurgan IPSC for distancing a Palestine solidarity march from political republicanism following Loyalist threats.
Socialist republicans have slammed Lurgan IPSC for distancing a Palestine solidarity march from political republicanism following Loyalist threats.
In a statement on social media, Anti-Imperialist Action Ireland (AIA) accused the Lurgan branch of the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign (IPSC) of “blatant political cowardice” after it said that next month’s march for Gaza “has not, is not and never will be a republican march”.
The march from Lurgan to Newry had been met with plans for a counter-protest by residents of Scarva, a loyalist stronghold along the route, as well as a “sponsored walk” by the Markethill Volunteers Flute Band.
In response, Lurgan IPSC said that the genocide in Gaza “is not a divisive green and orange issue – it is a matter which should concern us all”.
“There is a shared human responsibility to speak out against the killing of civilians, the destruction of hospitals and essential infrastructure, the obstruction of humanitarian aid, the taking of hostages and the erosion of basic human dignity”.
“As such, The Great March for Gaza & International Justice 2026 is a march for peace with people attending from all creeds, colours and religions. It has not, is not and never will be a republican march.”
In their statement yesterday, AIA slammed the statement as “loyalist appeasement”: “Instead of standing firmly with the Palestinian resistance and opposing intimidation, elements within the IPSC appear more concerned with sanitising their politics to appease reactionary loyalism, liberal opinion and the British state itself.”
It continued: “Irish republicans have for decades been at the forefront of Irish-Palestinian Solidarity efforts because we recognise the shared reality of occupation, partition, political imprisonment, militarised policing and settler colonialism faced by both our peoples.”
“We have always understood fully that Ireland and Palestine are connected through our common anti-colonial and national liberation struggles.”
“Irish republicans will not cower before loyalist intimidation, nor will we dilute our anti-colonial politics to make them more acceptable to establishment opinion or the allies of Zionism. Solidarity with Palestine must remain principled, unapologetic and rooted in resistance to occupation and settler colonialism everywhere it exists, whether that is here in Ireland or in Palestine.”
