Last week’s killing of Yves Sakila in Dublin City Centre was shocking in its unrestrained force and violence. At this point nobody knows the full facts, beyond that Yves had died and that he was clearly subjected to unreasonable deadly restraint by what appeared to be private security personnel acting in defence and protection of capitalist property. Footage of Yve’s killing mirrors the murder of George Floyd by police in the US in 2020. An event that sparked the Black Lives Matter uprising.
Yves Sakila’s death comes in the wake of racist comments by former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern, and by Dublin Central by-election candidate Gerry Hutch. Racism is rising among some sectors of society. Social media is fueling much of this. The far right are seeking to exploit yesterday’s horrific event to further their agenda of hate and division.
Militant Left condemns this killing and sends our solidarity to Yves’ family, friends and wider community. A conscious anti-racist struggle must continue to be built. The trade union movement must be at the centre of this. Far right forces have nothing to offer the working class. In fact, they are important collaborators with the capitalist establishment to support the status quo of the neverending housing crisis, savage and worsening inequality, imperialist war and climate crisis. They must be smashed.
Socialist have no faith in any Garda or Fiosrú inquiry. There needs to be a genuinely independent workers’ and community led inquiry to establish the full facts and seek accountability. This killing marks a grim milestone in Irish society – we urgently need to mobilise to stop the rising tide of racism and hate to stop any more.