Scuffles and arrests mar Blair protest

Scuffles between Gardai and protestors broke out today at a rally against Tony Blair in Dublin (see video below). Four men were arrested and later charged with public order offences at to Store Street Garda station. By Sean Carroll. Additional reporting by Malachy Browne

The protest took place this morning outside of Easons bookshop on O'Connell Street where Mr. Blair was promoting his recently published memoir. Gardai closed off the street and erected steel barriers around the shop. Abbey street was also closed; those hoping to have their book signed lined the street.

The Irish Anti-War Movement organised the protest to condemn the former British prime minister's decision to invade Iraq and Afghanistan, and his perceived pro-Israeli bias as a UN peace envoy to the Middle East.

The Irish Anti-War Movement was joined in the protest by members of The Socialist Workers Party, the Irish Palestinian Solidarity Campaign, Eirígí and Sinn Fein. The crowd chanted slogans such as "Blair, Blair, Bush's man, blood, blood on your hands" and held placards condemning the former UK Labour party leader as a war criminal.

Tony Blair gave his first interview since the publication of his memoirs to Ryan Tubridy on the Late Late Show last night, when he defended the decision to invade Iraq with the US in 2003 (see video below). Mr Blair also said he believed military action against Iran may be taken if Iran attempts to develop a nuclear weapon.

Scuffles

As Mr. Blair's convoy arrived at  the front entrance to Easons, the crowd surged forward, throwing missiles including shoes, eggs and coffee cups. A number of steel barriers were knocked down. Gardai formed a human barrier in response, pushing protestors backward.

Gardai also formed a barrier to the rear of the protestors, focusing on areas where Republican protestors stood. Gardai pushed protestors away from the barriers, with at least one protester saying he was struck by a baton.

Some protestors began kicking down steel barriers, prompting Gardai to pull offenders through the barrier and arrest them.

Garda vans soon arrived on the scene to take those arrested away. Protestors sat in front of the vehicles to prevent their exit. Gardai forcibly removed those sitting, while the crowd chanted "shame" and "Garda brutality!"

James O'Brien of the Socialist Workers Party said he was punched a number of times by Gardai and claims that Gardai were provoking the crowd.

"I was sitting down in front of a Garda van while a young man was being arrested," he said. "The Garda started dragging me up and two of them were punching me in the face at the same time, punching me in the eye, punching me in the back of the head."

"[The protest] has been overtaken by the Garda's sheer ferocity in dealing with the crowd. They've totally antagonised the crowd, starting with having their batons out while people are just standing there."

"They're trying to strike fear into the crowd but it won't work," he added.

'A waste of public resources'

Head of the Irish Anti-War Movement, Richard Boyd Barrett, condemned the large Garda presence. He said: "It's shameful that the Irish government is pouring huge Garda resources and money into facilitating Blair's visit, giving him a platform to justify his crimes and to make money out of the brutal and bloody record that he has."

"The security operation is completely over the top and a waste of public resources. Mr. Blair should be standing trial for war crimes. It's amazing that the Irish political establishment has chosen to put public resources into giving Mr. Blair a platform."

Freda Hughes of the Irish Palestinian Solidarity Campaigncriticised Tony Blair's role as a UN peace enovy: "we're here to protest the presence of this war criminal, not only because he has waged wars in Iraq and Afghanistan based on lies, and not only because he is now pushing for war with Iran, but also because he is the nominal head of the Middle East Quartet [a UN group aimed with promoting peace]."

"This is a group that is supposedly impartial and aims to achieve peace between Israel and Palestine, however we've heard Tony Blair make strong statements publically that contradict this. Only last month he said that what Israel has achieved for the last 60 years is remarkable and an example to us all and when it comes to security he is one hundred percent behind Israel. Tony Blair cannot be an honest broker for peace in this situation, when he has come out so clearly and so vocally on one side."

At 12.45pm Mr. Blair left Easons and the streets were reopened to traffic.

The four arrested men have been released from Garda custody to appear in court on 30 September. They were charged under the Public Order Act.

The protests attracted considerable interest on social media outlet Twitter where 'Blair' became a trending topic today.

Blair Video

Al Jazeera: Angry crowds meet Blair at book signing

Associated Press: Scuffles at Blair book signing

ITN News: Shoes and eggs thrown at Tony Blair

ITN News - Blair defends actions on Afghanistan and Iraq; says military action may be required against Iran.

Sky News: Tony Blair meets his egg throwing fanclub