A socialist group from Belfast has decided to join Counterfire. They recently issued a letter outlining their activities and explaining their decision.

We are a group of activists based in Belfast who are from the International Socialist tradition.

Over the last 5 years we have been at the forefront of a number of campaigns: in support of the occupation at Visteon; against racist attacks on migrants, protesting the BNP appearing on the BBC, and recently protesting against Vodafone and other tax avoiders.

We have also been active in many other campaigns including preventing the implementation of Water Charges in Northern Ireland, opposing the Israeli onslaught on Palestine and campaigning for the extension of the 1967 Abortion Act to Northern Ireland through the Alliance for Choice.

Last year our group established the “No to Public Assemblies Bill” campaign which significantly defeated the Northern Irish Assembly’s attempt to curtail the right to protest.

A number of our members are active in their Trades Unions. They also sit and are influential on the local Trades Council.
Our members are key activists in the Anti Racism Network which has organised protests against anti Muslim and anti Roma racism. Through our associations with Love Music Hate Racism NI we have celebrated the new diversity of Northern Ireland and raised awareness of both racism and sectarianism, which divides and weakens the working class here.

Through Love Music Hate Racism NI we have drawn in many of Northern Ireland’s most popular bands and DJ’s, while Di-Verse (Poets against Racism), organises an International event, “Celebrate Diversity, through poetry, music and the spoken word” which is held in over 60 cities around the world in April each year.

We have been looking at making links with other organisations internationally and have been impressed with the Counterfire group, particularly the major political initiatives such as the setting up of the Coalition of Resistance and the serious intervention in the student protests and occupations in London.

We have also been impressed with both the general and the theoretical material available on the Counterfire website.

We wish to join Counterfire to be part of the international campaign to fight austerity and, in the process, further the Marxist tradition and the struggle for Socialism.