Galway Advertiser 1989/1989_12_21/1989_11_23/GA_23111989_E1_006.pdf 

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L E T T E R B O X

STILLING T O B E WATERS R ULD
The meeting addressed on Monday night by the Minister F o r Labour Mr. Bertie Ahern T . D . failed to resolve the serious divi Galway sions and simmering discontent within the Galway Branch of the Anniversaries Fianna Fail party. It is clear that many "grass-roots" members A Bullet in Dallas are very unhappy with the "coalition" arrangements that have Today's date must given us our present Government. The publication this week of ring many bells in the what has already proved to be a contentious and controversial memories of people of book on the present state of the party by long-time member Galway and, indeed, Rosaleen Bohan-Long is bound to aid fuel to the fire now raging of Ireland. The events Dear Editor, of twenty-isx years I enjoyed Jeff O'Conin the Galway cumanns. Discontent in the county has, of course, ago are very much on what is been fueled by the appointment of former Fianna Fail T . D . and alive to those who are nell's pieceGermany, hap and old enough to have pening in you publish Minister, Bobby Moiloy, and the consequent blocking of the two heard and taken in the the Comment Fianna Fail T . D . ' s , Frank Fahey and Maura Geoghegan-Quinn. news that evening. A ed on the same. I would like to add my own views T h e decision to involve two of the Progressive Democrats in bullet in Dallas had on the current situation if quenched the life of you would allow me space. this Government was clearly a decision forced on Mr. Haughey. John Fitzgerald Ken Few Germans of Those who regard Fianna Fail as the natural party of Govern nedy, the thirty-fifth generation - 30-40 yearsmy old ment in this country have, understandably, been outraged. But President of the - would wish to see a united United States of Germany. There are some Mr. Haughey is, and always has been, a pragmatist. And America. good reasons for this. pragmatism, whether we like it or not, is what politics is all Kennedy was a man Firstly, the historical cir about. T h e inclusion of Mr. Moiloy and Mr. O'Malley in senior of charisma. His career cumstances of the last 45 positions has elevated to power two extremely competent politi had been spectacular. years have created two cians. Instead of continuing efforts to undermine the present A decoration for separate states, with cultural after a separate Government, dissidents within Fianna Fail should t r y to gallantry destroyer developments. There is no Japanese recognise this fact. sank the torpedo boat necessity for a united Ger many. What is of much he commanded They should also recognise that the people of this country are World War II seemedin greater significance is the in looking for stable government, not another election. And certain many ways to have proper reformation of the ly not another leader. Instead of bickering among themselves, given him an aura of East German State, with the backing and participa and those who have the best interests of this country at heart should daringyouth,of chivalry. tion of the citizens of that His as the State. In the second place, content themselves with the realisation that we have the prospect youngest ever Presi still makes of a very effective and competent government facing us over the dent of America, made West Germanyportions of a claim to next few years. There is important work to be done. Both Mr. him appear as a symbol Poland that belonged to new age, O'Malley and Mr. Moiloy have already shown themselves to be of hope, of a of young Germany before the war. to millions good "team players". Politics often makes for strange people around the So far Chancellor Kohl has refused to comment on bedfellows. T h e P . D . members of this Government are not work world. He encouraged whether this claim would ing to undermine it, but to help restore Ireland's economic posi this image with his be dropped. Until he does, book. Profiles in an instability tion, both nationally and internationally. A contentious and Courage, but he willelementinofthe "new" exist ultimately futile internecine feud will benefit no one. Bury the scarcely needed to do If a united Germany so for he had thedoes become a real issue, hatchet and get on with the real business of the day! charm, the personality then it might be worth and the appearance to looking again at the illappear almost as a fated proposal made by Knight of a chivalrous age in a period seeking the Soviet Union after the new frontiers and new horizons. It was a heady time. For the Irish e v e r y w h e r e Yesterday, for the first time in its long and colourful history, Kennedy had made a Dear Sir, television cameras were allowed inside the House of Commons. breakthrough. He was In to Anyone watching the spectacle realise within a short time that the first Catholic the week'sresponse to last article "Germany become President it made for compulsive viewing, to actually see Mrs. Thatcher first descendant of Irish - What's The Future?", point her imperious finger at Neil Kinnock was quite an ex famine emigrants to please allow me the follow the White ing comments: returned perience. And to witness the impressively be-wigged Speaker, occupy No Irishman I have just House. seated in all of splendour, warn the assembled M.P.'s against had ever held such from a business trip to could bribery in elections was quite terrifying. One of the curious facts power in the world and Germany where I of the he was proud of his witness the openingborder immediately evidnet to viewers was that the Conservatives ac German-German at Hof/Bavaria, and I was tually sit on the left of the chamber, while the heirs of a diluted Irishness. paper Marx occupy the right! But, as we said, it was an engrossing There were wonder delighted that your in the took such interest show, made all the more enjoyable by the dry wit of the some ful memories of him in events happening in Ger Dublin, in Wexford and many at this moment. of those who spoke. of course in Galway, all Though I have liv We in this' country are facing the imminent prospect of wat of which he had visited ing in Ireland for beenpast the ching our T . D . ' s contort themselves in front of the wide-angle just five months before 16 years, I do not dare to day. He had lens. What have we to look forward to? Well, for one thing, it's that fatal Ireland from claim that I am "...as Irish come to the Irish themselves...". bound to be a lot more enteitaining than the slightly dull antics the Berlin Wall. It was a asOn the subject itself I homecoming - a retreat would like to take issue (so far, at least) of our cousins across the pond. T h e only danger is that our T.D.'s might get all respectable and drop the delicious from confrontation to with Eva Bourke's hopes celebration. It was a would not like to humour shown, for example, by one T . D . - we forget his name joyous occasion when "...I move away fromsee the a - who, some years ago remarked of one T . D . who was jumping the Mayor, Patrick planned economy to a free Ryan, and Corporation economy." up and down to interrupt or make some arcane point, that he presented him with the marketand wishes are Her hopes her reminded him of nothing so much as a whore's knickers - non Freedom of Galway, privilage but reality is dif when he spoke from ferent. It has been said sooner was he up than he was down again! 3 the DDR economy is Eyre On a more serious note, however, the televising of Dail pro the top ofkissedSquare, that of the most advanced when he Mrs.de one ceedings could prove to be a v e r y valuable exercise in Valera goodbye. He in the whole COMECONBlock, which could be democracy. Reports of Dail debates, no matter how good they promised to return to compared to nearly any see Shannon's face "third-world country". are, are a pale shadow of the cut and thrust that characterises once more but a rifle in DDR planned real political debate. When the cameras finally penetrate the in Dallas killed not only The economy and her ner sanctum we are undoubtedly in for some exciting television Kennedy but a dream. socialism has failed utter - educational and entertaining at the same time. Stay tuned! Thomas P. O Neillly, not just recently but

DM CAY E ORC R LS O UE N * D OC I RE V
Dear Sir, Your letter writer in last week's issue declared herself very pleased with the developments in Eastern Europe and wishes that the same would happen in this coun try. She writes of how her daughter is a "prsioner" trapped in a broken mar riage situation because of the lack of divorce here, and which she blames on the unelected rulers (meaning the Catholic Church) of the this country. Might I remind her, whoever she is, that unlike East Germany or Poland and all other Soviet satellites of that region, we have free elections and referenda here and we elected to reject by a huge majority divorce as a solu tion to marital breakdown in this society. To attack the Church in the way the writer does, and this has been done also by well known politicians, writers and lobbyists, just because they didn't get the result they wanted shows a blatant contempt for democracy. Your writer should know well that the new freedoms sweeping through Eastern Europe have nothing at all to do with pernicious secularhumanism being agitated for here by a small in tellectual clique aided and abetted by most of the media in this country. They are in fact a com plete rejection of materialims and godlessness which the peo ple have been enslaved under for forty years. Put simply, the people of these countries want God back in their society. Yours, B. Murphy. Athenry.

GERMANY'S FUTURE
Europe. Thirdly, although many critics are rejoicing over the "Death of Socialism", such pronouncments may be a bit premature. There is con siderable evidence to sug gest that many in the Eastern bloc countries are anxious for a genuine, socialism, not the repressive and, in fact, anti-socialist states that have characterised the post-war period. Soviet Communism is, rightly described as an aggressive ideology. But this does not apply to socialism itself, which is based on prin ciples of economic equity and social pluralism. If the achievements of Mr. Gor bachev are to mean anything in the long run, then the West is going to have to re-think it's own aggressive posture vis-a vis socialism. The scaling down of the arms race and the increased global awareness of common threats to us all on this planet offers a wonderful opportunity for c o operation between dif ferent ideologies. There is nothing "sacred" or "in evitable" about capitalism. Yours, Dieter Housemann, Kilcarragh, Co. Clare.

UNDER THE PUBLIC EYE

THE DDR FAILED
over the years. It is in teresting to note that even Egon Krenz tries to get away from this "planned economy". Dr. Jenny Farrell's point that many more peo ple demonstrate for change in the DDR than people who left in despair is a valid point and very true. However, the fact that some 200,000 DDR citizens have left over a short period speaks for itself. Those 200,000 do not believe that Egon Krenz and the DDR will ever change. When in Rudolphstein near Hof/Bavaria last Fri day week (10.11.89) I counted some 200 cars and some 60 motorbikes within 2 hours. Most people I talk ed to were very sceptical about the promised reforms. All of the visitors and emigrants told me that they took the first op portunity to cross the border because they did not know whether it would be open tomorrow... Yours sincerely, Philipp Hergett. Carraroe Industrial Estate, Carraroe, Co. Galway.

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