Protest is Planned
A protest is planned to mark Joe Biden’s visit to Ireland, with one TD branding the US President a ‘warmonger.’
Deputy Paul Murphy was speaking ahead of President Biden’s arrival here.
He will land in Belfast on Tuesday night, before coming to Dublin and Louth to start a three-day visit.
People Before Profit is to hold a protest at 5pm on Wednesday at the GPO in Dublin.
The party is also holding a series of public meetings in Cork, Dublin and Galway.
Deputy Murphy told Newstalk Political Correspondent Seán Defoe why they are against his visit.
“We think that Joe Biden is a warmonger, that’s the truth of it,” he said.
“If you look at his actions globally, you look at the military support from the US to Israel for example, we know that at least 90 Palestinians have been killed this year.
“You look at the ongoing support for Saudi Arabia, who are responsible for the deaths of tens of thousands of civilians in Yemen.
“Biden is the latest representative of US imperialism, and they’re willing to kill people around the world in the pursuit of their own interests.
“We’re opposed to that; and we think actually the majority of people in Ireland – who came out on the streets to oppose the invasion of Iraq, invasion of Afghanistan – we think the majority of those people are against those sort of policies too”.
Biden ‘plays the Irish card’
Deputy Murphy said President Biden’s Irish heritage plays well for him in the US.
“Clearly the whole Irish-American thing is a card that is played in American politics for particular reasons,” he said.
“I presume that the timing of Biden’s visit now [for] the anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement, but it’s also looking forward to the next presidential elections.
“Biden plays the card that he is Irish – that works well for him in America and it also attempts to win some public support [from] people here”.
‘Different tone than Trump’
Deputy Murphy said President Biden is simply continuing existing US policies.
“What I would say to people is Biden in no way represents the interests of ordinary people in Ireland or around the world in terms of the policies that he’s pursuing,” he said.
“Yes, he is a slightly different tone than the likes of Donald Trump, but fundamentally on the global stage it’s a continuation of the policies of US imperialism”.
Mr Murphy also criticised a “complete disregard” by the US towards climate change.
“They’re not doing anywhere near what’s necessary in terms of avoiding catastrophic climate change, and they’re the number one emitter per capita by a long, long shot in the world,” he added.
Credit to : Newstalk