Peace Activists arrested at Shannon Airport this morning

by Ray Wed Sep 04, 2002 10:15

Good luck to both of them, that's a pretty impressive action.

by Andrew Wed Sep 04, 2002 10:34

Well done to Eoin,

imagine the international impact of 1000 protesters on the runway dismantling the plane could have. With most countries near Iraq unwilling to provide bases for the air attacks the US military needs the European bases more then ever. Let's move from passive opposition to the war and token marches to denying them these bases through mass direct action!

There are some photos and details of the number of military planes using Shannon at http://struggle.ws/wsm/news/2002/shannonAUG.html
(BTW Eoin is the guy in the oragne T-Shirt with his back to the camera talking to the top cop on this page).

There was a USAF Hercules on the ground that day as well that fled as the protests started. Last year another demo which happened at the same time as hundreds of US marines and Donald Rumsfield were in the airport forced him to cancel a press conference there (see http://struggle.ws/wsm/news/2001/shannonDEC.html for report and http://uk.indymedia.org/front.php3?article_id=18661&group=webcast for some pics of the marines ).

by John Jefferies Wed Sep 04, 2002 10:42

Brilliant work. We need more of this....

by Happy Head Wed Sep 04, 2002 10:44

This is one of the most clever actions I have seen in a while. Well done to the guys involved.

by Andrew - The Struggle site Wed Sep 04, 2002 10:47

Hi folks,

RTE Online is reporting it as follows, note the amusing cop spin that has them being 'discovered painting slogans' rather then ringing the cops and them arresting the 30 mins later!

---

Two men held over US airplane protest at Shannon
September 4, 2002
http://www.rte.ie/news/2002/0904/Shannon.html

(10:23) Two men are in custody at Shannon Garda Station after anti-war graffiti signs were found on a US military plane parked at Shannon Airport.

The two men, a 22-year-old from Wexford and a 27-year-old from Limerick city, were arrested by airport police at around 5am today.

They had been discovered painting slogans on a US Hercules military aircraft which had been parked at the airport since yesterday.

Gardaí are still trying to establish how the men managed to gain access to the airport. It is believed they may have scaled the perimeter fence.

They have been detained under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act and are being questioned about criminal damage to the aircraft.

Gardaí are seeking the advice from the DPP to see if they will be brought before a special court later today.

by Cork SWP Wed Sep 04, 2002 11:00

Down in Cork on Red FM this morning, the report of the defacing made no mention of what plane it was, no USAF etc.

by Joe Sheehan Wed Sep 04, 2002 11:37

I just phoned the Shannon Garda Station to see how the lads are, they are still being held without charge.
The Garda on the desk refused to give me any more information

by REX Wed Sep 04, 2002 11:53

IT WOULD BE NICE TO BRING A CAN OPENER NEXT TIME PALPIN HAMMER ANYTHING TO KEEP THEM FROM DOING THERE NASTY WORK AND LET THEM KNOW THEIR NOT WELCOME!! OR TO KEEP THEM FROM GETTING THE FEUL THERE HERE FOR WIRE CUTTERS TO THE CONTROL WIRES .........GET RIGHTB TO THE POINT SLEDGE HAMMER TO THE FRONT GLASS!!! AT LEAST SOMETHING WAS DONE.....

by Super Electric Wed Sep 04, 2002 12:08

Maybe if the two lads had worn turbans when they were painting and decorating down in Shannon some of the big wigs in Leinster House might cop on and take notice.

by Rex Wed Sep 04, 2002 12:08

Rex, good idea as such brave, public and accountable acts serve to embarress and get massive points across. However - why don't you do it yourself? There ain't no leaders, heroes or experts - like they say themselves - 'JUST DO IT!'

by Clare - Gluaiseacht Wed Sep 04, 2002 12:27 clare at compsoc dot nuigalway dot ie

Class action lads. It should start us all thinking...anyway just to let ye know that you have support from everywhere on this!

Clare

by chris ok Wed Sep 04, 2002 12:30 chrisocaoimh at eircom dot net

Tim rang me at 4:46am to inform me that they were finished and that they were about to ring the police.

by dj salinger Wed Sep 04, 2002 13:04

Fair play to MR.Dubsky. this is the man who wanted to do his summer, college work placement setting up plaoughshares in Ireland. they said no. looks like his done it anyway.
hip hip.

by Joe Sheehan Wed Sep 04, 2002 13:31

The lads have been talking to a solicitor and it is expected that they will be released in a matter of a few hours

by mr jinks Wed Sep 04, 2002 14:22

such support for an act of crass vandalism. no wonder to the state of modern society. one wonders if any of yere children did someting like that in a local park would the reaction be the same. one fears for the future with so many mindless idiots out there who have no clue as to what is happening, but are willing to happily believe any old clap trap as the truth.

by Robert Fahy Wed Sep 04, 2002 14:51

I think you lot should be ashamed at the act of pure vandalism that was carried out last night. You really have shown your true colours, that you show pride in committing crimes. I would like to see how impressed you would be if you had one of your Volkswagen vans defaced.
I notice that Eoin's Refueling Peace website is hosted on a UCD web server and will do all I can to have it removed, as I am sure they do not want to be associated with criminals.
Also, I have been in contact with Aer Rianta and am pushing for them to bar your two heroes from Aer Rianta property, which will prevent them from attending any upcoming protests or on taking any holidays abroad by plane in the coming years.
I can asure you that what happenned last night will be a very big regret for Refueling Peace, as very few people will be willing to entertain you in the future, since you are now just criminals.

Robert.

by Blisset Wed Sep 04, 2002 15:04

1. They turned themselves in - not the way criminals operate
2. Military use of shannon violates the constitution -
3. Others will take their place and if UCD is foolish enough to try to remove the website it will end up publicised and mirrored around the world

by Joe Sheehan Wed Sep 04, 2002 15:04 jsheehan at subdimension dot com

Rabert, if my VW was actively involved in bombing innocent Afghan civilians or setting up to bomb Iraqi civilians then I would paint it myself.
I for one will welcome both Tim and Eoin to my home on their release and I am sure I am not alone and there are many ISP who will feel the same.

by Ray Wed Sep 04, 2002 15:05

Whatever else you may call it, the action this morning clearly wasn't 'mindless vandalism'. It was a demonstration of how easy it is to get to planes on the runway in Shannon - which makes it a bad place to park a warplane - and of opposition to the use of a neutral country to wage war.

Anyway, its good to see that awareness of indymedia is spreading beyond the lefty/activist community.

by Bakky Wed Sep 04, 2002 15:17

Thank you Eoin and Tim for doing what many people would like to do but don't have the balls (ie fear of a criminal record for guarding the peace from the 'guardians of the peace').

May this action inspire many more like it.

Mr. Jinks, I fear you are trolling but just in case you're serious,

1. Is petty ('crass') vandalism more or less serious than murder?
2. Can you tell the difference between a military killing machine and a kids playground?
3. One should indeed fear for the future with so many mindless idiots - the ones who order the killing games and the ones who have no clue as to what is happening but are willing to happily believe any old clap trap from the US security services (and happily regurgitated as fact by most of the western world's press) as fact.

I wonder how many wars there would be if those who give the orders to start them had to lead the charge. I take it you haven't seen active service Mr. Jinks (or any other smart-ass who thinks blowing up some Afghani's or Iraqi's is going to help us in any way)? Imagine your daughter getting ripped apart by thousands of shards of metal from a 'stray' bomb. That's war.

Get real. Yankee killing machines out of Ireland.

by MG Wed Sep 04, 2002 15:26

...you are a sheep!

Does the death of at least 5,000 Afghan civilians or the imminent death of an estimated 10,000 Iraqi civilians not count as a crime.

Eoin and Tim could have smashed up the electrics in those planes (judging by the amount of time it took the coppers to arrest them), but they didn't.

They painted them with slogans showing the opposition of a large group of Irish people to the use of Shannon as a military airport.

By allowing this usage, the Irish Government (and by extension the Irish people) are complicit in the deaths of Afghan civilians. Remember the wedding party? It was bombed from the sky by USAF planes, the same ones that are using Shannon and turning the airport into a legitimate military target.

If the Government had done its job and listened to the Irish people this woundn't have happened. Direct action is the only course in a country where the people are ignored by their politicians.

by ;-) Wed Sep 04, 2002 15:26

- GREAT STUFF - MORE ACTION NEEDED - RESPECT -
With the impending War on Iraq and the lickley use of IRELAND as a war base for the US we need to organise and support actions like this one

by Robert Wed Sep 04, 2002 15:35

Ray,

If you even bothered to look at the Refueling Peace website (which you probably have never done, you would know that the refueling in Shannon is perfectly within the constitution...

http://redbrick.dcu.ie/~slack/rp/yesminister.html

Robert.

by Joe Sheehan Wed Sep 04, 2002 15:50 jsheehan at subdimension dot com

Tim has been released from custody but Eoin is to go to court later today in Gort.

Again I say respect to both for taking what is hopefully the first step in stopping the use of Irish Airports as US Airbases

by Ray Wed Sep 04, 2002 15:51

1) I didn't mention the constitution
2) The letter you link to says,
"In giving permission for US military aircraft to overfly or land in Ireland the Government is acting under the Air Navigation (Foreign Military Aircraft) Order, 1952, which allows the Minister for Foreign Affairs, exceptionally, to grant permission to foreign military aircraft to overfly or land in the State. Confirmation is required that the aircraft in question are unarmed, carry no arms, ammunition or explosives and that the flights in question do not form part of military exercises or operations. "

and later

"In the case of the offer of assistance made to the US after September 11, the normal conditions were waived in respect of aircraft operating in pursuit of the implementation of the Security Council Resolution 1368. "

The 1952 act allows the Minister to grant permission to military aircraft to overfly or land in the state, under certain specific conditions. It does not allow the Minister to waive those conditions.

by vert-et-noir Wed Sep 04, 2002 15:55

Most of those who wore swastikas during the war, or who aquiesed to those wearing them and survived made the claim that they were opposed to Nazism but did not have the courage of their convictions.

Robert, you are very welcome to go to Shannon and patrol it to ensure that it is secure whilst being used by American warplanes, but since our masters allow it to become a military airport without providing military security it may be that the Americans will send in the marines to secure it for future use and you'd probably end up as "collateral damage" for your efforts.

On the point of dead Afghans, no-one knows how many died at the hands of the American financed Taliban or their predecessors supported by other imperial powers.

by Robert Wed Sep 04, 2002 16:04

I think what happenned last night has done a lot to prevent future protests, as you have clearly demonstrated that you are nothing more than criminals. I think the police will have a lot more power to prevent any of you entering the perimiter of Shannon Airport next time.

Robert.

by MG Wed Sep 04, 2002 16:13

I don't remember saying I supported the Taliban. In fact, if you did a little bit of research, you'd see that the US supported the Taliban until 1998 and a US oil firm actually held talks with the Mullahs in Texas not long before September 11th.

I oppose all imperialist wars, which is exactly what the Americans are doing in Afghanistan and planning to do in Iraq. There is no justification whatsoever for the deaths of innocent civilians, particularly when they are nowhere near any military installations.

by Joe Sheehan Wed Sep 04, 2002 16:15

Robert this is only the start, you may not agree with what happened but you can not say that you agree that the plans of George Bush Junior are going to help peace in the world. HE is THE biggest threat to world peace at the moment

by Robert Wed Sep 04, 2002 16:17

McFly, MG McFly, is anyone home...

Maybe the reason you do not want the US to topple Saddam Hussein is because you hippies are rather fond of mushrooms, and would love nothing more than to see nice big clouds in the shape of mushrooms a few years down the line.

Rob.

by With Us Wed Sep 04, 2002 16:41

There is no point in responding to Robert. He keeps changing his arguments so is obviously in the employment of the state to stir shit. Proof: he mentioned hippies and mushrooms. If anyone knows the two brave souls who stood up for what they believed in last night they would know that long hair and mushrooms are quite far from their minds.

by == Wed Sep 04, 2002 16:42

...that while I disagree with military planes landing here to be refuelled, as I believe it's essentially undemocratic as most of the population would disagree with it.

I've yet to read anything detailing -why- exactly US involvement in Afghanistan is a bad thing.

I'm not talking about their motivation (which is dubious to say the least), or whether or not civilians were killed in the process.

But rather whether the citizens of Afghanistan consider themselves in a better state now than they were under Taliban rule?

From what I have heard and seen: they do.

And, yes, you can cry "propaganda" all you like. But unless you can provide information to the contrary, I'm unlikely to be swayed.

by kahootz Wed Sep 04, 2002 16:51

"UN Resolution 1368, which is binding on all
members of the United Nations, calls on all states
to work together urgently to bring to justice the
perpetrators, organisers and sponsors of the terrorist attacks of 11 September and stresses that those responsible for aiding, supporting and harbouring the perpetrators, organisers and sponsors of those acts will be held accountable."

Brian Cowen 17 April said that “Landing and refuelling facilities continue to be provided for US military aircraft pursuant to the Government’s decision to offer such facilities in accordance with our obligations under UN Security Council Resolution 1368 of 12 September 2001.

Under the Air Navigation (Foreign Military
Aircraft) Order, 1952, foreign military aircraft
require the permission of the Minister for Foreign
Affairs to overfly or land in the State. Permission for overflights and landings is given on condition that the aircraft in question are unarmed, carry no ammunition, do not engage in intelligence gathering and are not involved in military exercises.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Can we really believe that the Shannon flights are not contravening this, especially considering the military build up for an attack on Iraq? Are these flights being inspected?

BOTTOM LINE: *****our Government is acting unconstitutionally, a dangerous precedent****

Bunreacht na hEireann/ Constitution of Ireland

28.3.1 War shall not be declared and the State Shall not participate in any war save with the assent of Dail Eireann

28.4.1 The government shall be responsible to Dail Eireann

29.3 1. Ireland accepts the generally recognised principles of international law as its rule of conduct in its relations with other states.

by Phuq Hedd Wed Sep 04, 2002 16:57

This was a courageous and useful thing to do. Tim, Eoin and others have spent a huge amount of time documenting the use of Shannon as a source of physical support for the USAF and protesting in the usual manner.

These protests and data has made many aware of the duplicity and cowardice of the the political bosses who flout the ideal of neutrality in allowing our country to play host to the US war-machine.

Tim and Eoin's direct action has two direct effects: it keeps attention firmly focussed on the fact that there are military aircraft using our country as a cheap little refuelling base in possible contravention of our constitution and it also shows that security at Shannon is laughable.

Security in Ireland will continue to be laughable as long as we are not a heavily militarised country. We are not equipped to take part in the US military adventure: let's hope we stay that way and that we don't end up as a fortified base for the US to launch assaults on the rest of the world.

Having watched the malign inaction of the government on this issue there is no way that anyone will believe the government when they assure us that Ireland will not become more militarised if the Nice Treaty is ratified.

Again, well done Tim and Eoin!

by Bakky Wed Sep 04, 2002 17:07

Mr Jinks:
'yankee killing machines out of ireland.'
just the stupid comments expected from you and your kind.entering into a debate / argument / political historical lesson with ye is pointless really because no matter what any one says ye still believe what ye want.

Bakky:
Yes, perhaps that comment was not necessarily helpful, I should have written 'American killing machines out of Ireland'. As for the rest, you have not attempted to enter a debate because you have not answered the 3 points I made. I will repeat them here to assist you:

1. Is petty ('crass') vandalism more or less serious than murder?
2. Can you tell the difference between a military killing machine and a kids playground?
3. One should indeed fear for the future with so many mindless idiots - the ones who order the killing games and the ones who have no clue as to what is happening but are willing to happily believe any old clap trap from the US security services (and happily regurgitated as fact by most of the western world's press) as fact.

I wonder how many wars there would be if those who give the orders to start them had to lead the charge. I take it you haven't seen active service Mr. Jinks (or any other smart-ass who thinks blowing up some Afghani's or Iraqi's is going to help us in any way)? Imagine your daughter getting ripped apart by thousands of shards of metal from a 'stray' bomb. That's war.

Now, Mr. Jinks, why don't you respond to the questions / points and tell us why you think a war with Iraq would help us or anyone else, in the knowledge that the ex-weapons inspector, Scott Ritter (an American Republican Bush supporter) has rubbished any claims that there is any weapons of mass destruction capability in Iraq? Or how murdering Afghan civilians will help preserve peace anywhere?

by Des Wed Sep 04, 2002 17:43

The action by Tim and Eoin was a principled protest against the use of Shannon Airport in breach of the constitution. It most definitely was not “vandalism”, they have highlighted the fact that our “government” is putting the lives of passengers and workers at risk by the assistance they are providing to the “war against terror”, this “assistance” indicates what a sick joke the so called declaration on neutrality really is. This assistance is a subject that our “free media” seems rather disinterested in covering.

I would never want our country to be complicit in the deaths of thousands of Afghan civilians. The people who carried out the Sept. 11 atrocity were at one time allies of the U.S. and were financed by the CIA. Of course, at that time, they were pointing the guns in the right direction. When one thinks of the other Sept. 11 (1973) when thousands of Chileans were murdered in a CIA sponsored coup, the carnage in countries such as El Salvador and Guatemala, it is clear that Washington does not have the moral authority to lecture anyone.

by diarmo Wed Sep 04, 2002 19:10 info at instantkarma dot org

right on guys!
that put a great big smile on my face!
yeeeeehaw!

by irishman Thu Sep 05, 2002 00:37

Long Live Shannon
long live the USA!!

Yee two Muppets are Trouble makers who should be locked up !!!!!!!!

by PAINTER LOVER Thu Sep 05, 2002 13:01

Impressive action well done!! Great advertising for the anti war movement!!
More action needed the paint is a great idea maybe next would be bigger coverage with catapults loaded with LARGE paint balls of red paint. How bout CATAPULTING LARGE PAINT BALLS on the U.S. and Israeli embassies with LARGE paint balls !!!! SO THE PAINT SHOWS UP ON TV COVERAGE VERY CLEARLY ....CONGRADULATIONS FOR A JOB WELL DONE!!

by mr jinks Thu Sep 05, 2002 13:36

to bakky. all crimes are are non-sensical and shouldnt happen but when you put such a black and white slant on it in that way then yes, petty stupid de-facing of property is more serious then murder. and im sure most people would agree.(although judging by some of the sh*t written here i take that back!!) and the difference between playgrounds and killing machines is qute clear bakky thank you very much but i was only using that as an example(basically because you would associate children in the play area's and quite obvioulsy childish and immature immbiciles were involved in the vandalism)
another very laughable thing was to see the words honourable/ brave / couragous in relation to the incident in question. Couragous is a brave and heroic person,and to use it in the same sentance as those 2 morons who ran onto a taxiway to spray paint on an aeroplane is any thing but.ye all make valid points in certain statements but ultimatly are let down by your boorish and yobbish attiude which makes ye revel in disrupting an international airport (albeit an annoyance in so far that a few more police were on duty, akin to swatting away an annoying fly!!)basically a rent a mob in which a few crustys were rounded up to do nothing.. sure, it is better then living in their tree's and gives them a chance to stretech their legs. its not as if they have any jobs to actually go to/
And you ask me if i have seen any live action. Fortunalty no i havent. But bakky have you and more importantly, were YOU at these protestsa and the like or are you one of thoses who like to see it all happen and just put your comments in like a name less face less snivelling coward.

by Anarkitty Thu Sep 05, 2002 14:28

First of all, big up to Tim and Eoin - well done lads. Secondly, I suggest that no one waste any further time replying to Robert or Mr. Jinks as they are obviously attempting to draw our focus away from this fabulous victory. And it is indeed a victory - there has already been extensive media coverage of the action and it has drawn attention to the military use of Shannon. We have every reason to celebrate. So, never mind the ignorant ones, this is a triumph for peace lovers everywhere! whoop whoop!

by Shelta Thu Sep 05, 2002 16:00

Clearly none of you anti-imperialists would use a computer made by an American company. Please inform us how you are able to communicate. Why not smash all American-made computers in Ireland as a form of anti-imperialist protest? Are not these also products of the American capitalist system? Which the U.S. aircraft at Shannon protect. Lets have some consistency. Otherwise these protests at Shannon are pure posturing and adventurism.

by Bakky Thu Sep 05, 2002 16:49

It does not follow that we have to smash everything American because we disprove of what the American military is doing around the world any more than we have to smash the state of Iraq to pieces because they have a nasty man as a ruler.
Capitalism is not limited to America, therefore we would have to smash pretty much everything made for profit by your logic. This is not a very practical way of going about things.
Compare it to the results of Nazi experiments during the Third Reich. These results were obtained under conditions of torture and testing to the death ie irradiating various parts of the body at all different strengths of radiation to see when things would start to go wrong and to see when the body would give up. We're talking about human guinea pigs. Should the allies, when they came accross these results after the war have destroyed them immediately? There is a strong case to say they should have but how would that help the people who were killed? The results of some of those horrendous experiments to my knowledge have benefited many people since then. Unfortunately some of these experiments were used by some country to further their biological and chemical warfare weapons programs. This is not respectful of those who were killed.
Thus we can seek to change the future without having to destroy all that we have, which we would have to do following your logic.

by jackie Sun Sep 08, 2002 05:24

First off, my salutations to Eoin and Tim for a very brave and well carried out act of civil disobedience. As an american citizen, I was surprised to hear that tim was released and not charged with anything. We have lost so much of our civil liberties in the U.S. by the hands of our own government (in the name of "security", of course!), that envolvement in any such action would carry huge legal reprecussions. Enjoy your freedom while you have it. Keep these actions up!

by Barry - None Wed Feb 26, 2003 22:34 tonybarry31 at hotmail dot com

I think u and ur protestors should fuck off and leave shannon.U are costing the goverment money for all the damage u are causing and for the army that are there and the cops. I think that Mary one should be locked up for 10 years for what she done u are nothing but a bunch of losers that are costing us loads of money. And for all the people that have to work when u fools are causing trouble what are they ment to do they have to up and leave home just because u are hell bent on causing trouble cops have to stay there for weeks and so do the Army. Also i think that Eoin fool should be sent to jail for all the shit he is causing. So why dont u fuck off and Leave shannon. Freaks