{UAH} Martin MacGuinness: Irish Socialist

Death has occurred of Mr Martin McGuinness early morning today, 21 March 2017. This is a very sad day for Socialists worldwide. McGuinness was one of the most outstanding socialists of the 20th the Century and his contribution to the cause of Irish nationalism and to world peace is immense and almost immeasurable.

MacGuinness devoted his ENTIRE LIFE to the cause of Irish nationalism. Born in the bogside town of Derry, he witnessed first hand the barbarity of British occupation of his homeland. McGuinness did not accept the colonial partition of Ireland and the discriminatory mistreatment and exploitation of Ireland's Catholic population. He was one of the first young Irish nationalists to embrace the armed struggle as the only means of uniting Ireland and liberating the working classes of the nation, both Catholic and Anglican. Through grit and determination, McGuinness proved himself to be an outstanding military and political strategist, rising up the ranks to become the overall Chief of Staff of the Irish Republic Army (IRA). In this, he became the youngest leader of an insurgent army in the entire western world. McGuinness led from the front and fought numerous pitched battles against the British occupation forces, eventually forcing the British government to the Peace Table.

Martin McGuinness was very instrumental in the peace  negotiations and eventual signing of the Good Friday Agreement, which brought the civil war to an end, loosened the clutches of British colonial oppression, and and granted limited self rule to the catholic population. MacGuinness's role in the Peace process was immense- he and he alone could bring the IRA to the Peace Table, a task he achieved with characteristic sincerity, bluntless and honesty.

Martin McGuinees had the charisma and charm few often associate with insurgent leaders. He had tremendous warmth and ability to read into people's minds, to understand them almost as intensely as he understood himself; people often said he could move a mountain with his charm and power of persuasion.

But the one most important gift McGuinness had was one of HUMILITY. He remained simple, gracious, polite,  non-pretentious, kind and caring, a completely different person from what he was sometimes represented in the right wing and conservative press who preferred demonise him, calling him derogoratory names such as "terrorist", a terminology he dismissed with characteristic contempt.

Martin Macguiness lived as a revolutionary socialist, and died as a  revolutionary socialist. He was never corrupted by the trappings of power, whether as a leader of an armed movement or as a statesman. Not even one one single whiff of scandal would you hear about this man  who held tremendous power,  both military and economic, even when he became the deputy Leader in the Northern Ireland power sharing government. 

Martin McGuinness was both hated and loved because of the sectarian trajectory that Northern Ireland politics took, but nearly everyone RESPECTED this small ginger haired Irishman. Everybody respected him, friend and foe. Despite his limited education, he was erudite and knowlegdeable about world politics. In 2001, I had an opportunity to meet him in Belfast at a conference organised by   the Commonwealth Lawyers's Association, of which I was the Executive Secretary, and when I  introduced myself, I was astonished that he knew what was happening in Uganda, about the genocide that the NRA was inflicting on the people of northern Uganda, he even knew some of the catholic priests and nuns working in Gulu,  and he asked me to send condolences to the affected families.

One of Martin McGuinness's his last acts in power shortly before he resigned on grounds of ill health, was to bring down the power sharing government because of the corruption allegations against the the Prime Minister with whom he shared power.

Martin McGuinness is a role model for socialists all over of the world. I salute him for his contribution to the liberation of mankind. His memory will live forever.

LONG LIVE MARTIN McGUINNESS.

Bobby

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