Shannon demonstration

national | miscellaneous | news report

Monday October 07, 2002 18:13

by Aoife Ni Fhearghail - Irish Anti-War Movement

info at irishantiwar dot org

087 7955013

info on bus to Shannon and other anti-war news

Monday 7th October 2002

GET ON THE BUS TO SHANNON

Over 3,000 people marched in Dublin last week against the drive to war on Iraq and opposing the use of Shannon airport as a stopover for US warplanes. Furthermore, the recent Irish Times/MRBI poll shows that 59% of voters believe that the government should vote against any UN Security Council authorising military action against Iraq. Clearly, the movement against militarism & war is growing in Ireland. Over the coming weeks and months we must put immense pressure on the Irish government not to sanction any military attack on Iraq through the UN Security Council and also to stop the use of Shannon as a warport.

Saturday’s demonstration is extremely important as a great many people remain unaware that US warplanes are refuelling in Shannon on an almost daily basis. This is a major opportunity to highlight the breach of Irish Neutrality at Shannon and to oppose our government’s role in international war-mongering. More than 10,000 tonnes of bombs have fallen on the Afghan people since the war began a year ago today. The Irish government must be held to account for its role in the horrific war against the people of Afghanistan.

Sign up for the bus …
So far over 60 people have booked places on the bus from Dublin to Shannon and anti-war groups in Galway and Cork are also sending buses along.

We need to know asap if you would like to come on the peace bus. Return tickets cost €12 (waged) and €10 (unwaged) and the Dublin bus leaves Liberty Hall (Eden Quay) at 9.30am on Saturday morning. Contact Aoife on 087 7955013 or email [email protected] if you would like to come (we need people to buy their tickets in advance so we know exactly how many buses to book).

For those coming please bring banners, placards and banner-making materials (paint, card, ribbon, whistles, crayons etc.) and maybe a packed lunch.

If you are available to put up posters or hand out leaflets in the Dublin area contact Aoife on 087 7955013.

THE WAR ON TERRORISM …
Last week, UN inspectors agreed with Iraqi arms experts on the logistics of a return, four years after inspectors were removed in December 1998. The inspectors had planned to return in mid-October but decided to hold off until the UN Security Council made a decision on the United States's tough draft resolution on Iraq. As further evidence of the Bush administration's preparations for "regime change" in Iraq, the US has begun compiling a dossier with which to prosecute Saddam Hussein for genocide and other crimes against humanity. Iran today said it would not permit the US to use its airspace in any attack on Iraq but Bush continues to attempt to build an international coalition against Iraq.
While weapons are aimed at Iraq for its refusal to comply with UN Resolutions, Israel continues to go unsanctioned. Today, in the largest raid in recent months Israeli soldiers killed 13 Palestinian civilians including a woman of 50 and a child of 12 in a raid in the Gaza Strip. Another 80 people were injured when a helicopter missile hit a crowd of people in the southern city of Khan Younis.

So far, there has been no condemnation of this attack by the Irish government although government & trade officials have been jumping over themselves to assure Israeli citizens of a ‘cead mile failte’ at Irish tourist locations. Pat Hennessy, Irish Ambassador to Israel is even travelling to Jerusalem to ‘extend the hand of friendship’ to an Israeli journalist who was refused accommodation at a Killarney holiday village because of the treatment of Palestinian citizens by the Sharon regime.

The owner of a Killarney holiday village, Brian O’Shea, refused to accommodate Mr Arik Bender (parliamentary correspondent with the daily newspaper Maariv) because of the treatment of Palestinians. Messages of solidarity with Mr O’Shea can be emailed to [email protected] For information on the Boycott Israeli Goods campaign in Ireland contact the Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign on 01 6770253.

For information about Shannon and other events contact Aoife on 087 7955013.