Thousands of anti-austerity campaigners will gather outside Irish national broadcaster RTE’s headquarters on Saturday to protest against what they say is biased reporting that represents the interests of a marginal elite.
Protesters will assemble at 1pm at the Sacred Heart Church in Donnybrook, south Dublin, before making their way to the national broadcaster’s studios nearby.
The demonstration has been organized by a diverse collective of anti-austerity and political campaign groups, coming from far-flung regions all over Ireland.
Among these, are anti-water charges campaign groups that have protested regularly in recent months against the Irish government’s water taxation policy.
The Irish government’s proposed water tax forms part of its long-term plan to repay billions of socialized bank debt, stemming from a banking crisis that brought Ireland’s economy to its knees.
Following an IMF/EU bailout in 2010 that resulted in years of harsh austerity measures, Ireland’s economy is yet to fully recover.
Campaigners say that RTE’s representation is failing the wider Irish populace, and has concealed some of the darkest manifestations of austerity which have befallen the Irish populace since 2008.
They accuse the station of portraying Ireland as a nation in recovery when in reality unemployment remains stubbornly high, suicide rates are soaring, and families who have bailed out corrupt bankers are being evicted from their homes and forced onto the street.
They also warn of political policing in Ireland, whereby anti-austerity activists are being arrested for exercising their democratic right to protest.
Paul Cheevers, a leading organizer of Saturday’s protest, said the Irish people refuse to continue “to be fooled” by RTE’s representation.
The father-of-two called upon the broadcaster to question establishment sources, and refrain from peddling inaccuracies.
Cheevers, who has been active in Ireland’s anti-water charges movement, accused RTE of focusing its lens on the interests of a government that has “lost touch with the electorate.”
In recent months, the personal trainer and father of two has actively resisted the installation of water meters in Rialto, Dublin, along with other local activists.
The Irish government will use the meters to facilitate the charging of Irish citizens for water usage. Opposition MPs and campaigners say the imposition of these water charges has already spawned the largest social movement Ireland has seen in decades.
Campaigners central to this movement have been misrepresented by RTE, with peaceful protesters being portrayed as “malicious and dangerous,” Cheevers says.
At the same time, the grueling impact of austerity on the ground in Ireland is underreported, he warns.
“Suicide is in overdrive yet the media don’t mention why this is happening, our hospitals are lacking beds, people have been stripped of their medication and the government message is: You look after yourself,” he said.
“I don’t see recovery, no one I know is experiencing recovery. The media will tell you we are in a recovery. It’s not true,” he added.
