Gardai stop Galway-Shannon peace March

national | miscellaneous | news report Monday March 24, 2003 14:30 by Tim

harrassment continues against peace activists.

In the past few weeks Shannon town and airport are looking more like a police statelet. The March from Galway to Shannon was stopped at the archway without explanation. The Peace House is under 24 hour surveillance. Visitors get stopped for ID checks. A few examples are listed below.

Every time we leave the house we are monitored and followed.
Two nights ago I looked out the window at 4am and saw a detective standing outside.
Conor caught a garda lurking out the back.

We got a lift out from Limerick following Saturday's peaceful protest.

The woman who drove us out is a law abiding citizen and mother of four. She disagrees with the use of Shannon for war.
After we dropped off our placards and stuff at the house we went to check in on the tralee lads at their temporary peace camp.

We got as far as the corner when a black unmarked car pulled stright across the junction (no indicators, flashing headlights - and a broken tail-light actually)

The car contained two men in plain clothes, a local garda and a detective garda.
The garda jumped out and flashed his ID in front of the driver. His colleague Det Gda K had nothing to say besides his name.
The garda asked to see the drivers license.
After seeing this, he was asked why he had stopped us.
He said he could not tell us why, and said that we could ring the station or Inspector Kennedy.
Conor complained of harrassment as Conor had been stopped not 24 hours earlier in someone else's car. And the same Garda had followed Conor on a bicycle only the day before.

As he knew Conor and myself, he didn't ask our names but - without asking - he opened the back door of the car to ask the young man in the back who he was. He was a student who had come out to see the peace camp, but first he was getting a lesson on the value of civil liberties in this country.

After 5 minutes we were allowed to move on.
We got to the peace camp, followed this time by the branch and spoke to the guys who had travelled up from Kerry.

The new campsite was a few hundred metres from the old one. No-one had planned foing there anyway because of the injunction, but just in case, the authorities had erected a big long fence across that strip of land, and for some reason extending further and blocking the entrance to a church.

We said hello and didn't stay long, and told them we'd be back later on our way plane spotting.

Conor rang the station to complain.
He was told to address his complaints to the complaints board. He said he would, but he was ringing to let the station know of his complaint first.

That night, we took our bikes and telescopes and headed up to the airport.
As only one of us had lights, (the others had reflectors) we stayed on the footpaths and cycled through a park.
We were followed the whole way up, (even though the flourescent yellow reflectors should have indicated we were not hiding)
When we got to Drumgeely flats we dismounted our bikes to cross the road.

A local detective, Mike Houlihan backed up by four other Gardai, including Sergeant Con Ryan decided to quiz us about our lights, even though he had just seen us WALKING the bikes across the road.
This is the first time I saw a detective and four Gardai handling a bike-light case.
Houlihan asked us to empty our pockets.
We asked under what power he was requesting us to do so. He merely repeated his questions.
When asked what I had in my pockets I replied "my personal belongings"
Sgt Ryan then started asking us our names addresses and dates of birth, even though the Detective with him knows us all.
I gave my name address and date of birth.
Then the sargeant started asking for previous addresses. I told him my current address was all he needed and that he's not going to go bothering former housemates or my parents.
they then started questioning the lads from Kerry who must have given all this info three times already.

We left them to it and walked into the industrial estate by a footpath.

We went up to our usual spot and set up the scope as we have done on many prior occasions.
in less than thirty seconds we had 3 Garda vehicles with us.
The usual crack, names and addresses.
There was about 12 of them and three of us. they just stood around trying to look intimidating.
soem of them were in dark blue overalls that said GARDA but had no other ID.
They were obviously armed too.
Only one of them identified himself.
They ignored us when we pointed out Arrow Air at the terminal (Arrow carries military cargo through Shannon)

Then an Airport 'police' car arrived up and "Inspector" Martin insisted on shining a big bright spotlight in our faces.

I remarked to Insp Martin that we hadn't seen him in a while, and asked him to turn off the light.
I noted that it wasn't needed as the light from the squad cars and transit vans was enough to see us.
"I have poor eyesight" he said.
"that's not good in your job" I replied. "maybe it's why you have trouble seeing all these military flights going on?"

After noting one plane we moved a hundred metres to get another angle.
Not only did the silent dozen follow us but they parked the van to block the view of the airport.

We look around the van and noted nothing worth seeing anyhow.
It was just Arrow Air for the time being and we'd already logged it.
Inspector Martin started again with the spotlight.
I told him he was being embarrassingly petty for a man of his age.
Seeing no need to stay further, we walked home.
After a quick stop at the peace camp to check on lads and get the bikes we walked home via the park.
There were cops waiting by the house, and just before I hit the hay I noticed a branch man walking past the front of the house.
This was 04:15 on Sunday morning.

I got up four hours later to head to Ennis to join in the last leg of the Galway-Shannon Peace March, which had started two days earlier.
Our Iraqi friend Nuria was walking, along with her little daughter Bushra and others.

Kay drove us up there, followed a bit of the way by plain clothes.
We met up at Ennis and started our walk at 10:30
there was 15 of us at that point and support from passers-by was very good.

3 more people joined en-route, as well as two older ladies who accompanied us through their own village.

It wasn't until Newmarket-on-Fergus that we came under obvious police observation from a marked jeep on the outskirts of the town.

On the other side of the town we were checked on by a Det Garda.

The last bit of the long walk saw a marked increase in drive by surveillance, and then the deployment of the Army helicopter and the Garda
Air Support Units airplane -the "Defender 4000"
A squad car shadowed us the whole way to the airport and when we got there, we were told by Insp Gallagher that we could not enter the airport.
When we asked why we were eventually told that it was the air taffic and navigation act.
He refused to say what part was being invoked and would not let people pass.
Setcion 59 of the Air Transport and Navigation Act (1998) says that, -lest there be any doubt a state aerodrome is a public place.
(there are subsequent restrictions for certain areas like the airfield and customs, but the rest is public unless some specific power is invoked to restrict it)
I asked the Inspector what would happen if I walked past him seeing as he had given no reason I couldn't do so.
He said, "you try it and see."
I asked him to explain. he declined.
I said "if I go up there and you want to stop me, you'll have to caution me, and you'll have to tell me what I'm being cautioned with - or arrested for"
He remained silent. a few of us tried to walk around them but we were stonewalled.
I was told I couldn't go up.
I asked why. "I've got orders" was the reply.
"your orders don't apply to me, only the law does." I said, to little avail.
Nuria tried to wheel her daughter past them, but was blocked by two Gardai.
She appealed to them to let us up.
"We are peaceful protestors who just want to walk up there. We've walked a long way. I don't even know if my cousins are alive or dead. My city is on fire. Do you know what that must feel like? Did you know they bombed an orphanage yesterday? How can you stand there and not let us up there?"
Nuria was quite upset by all this.
Rather than appealing to their morals, which are separate to the uniform, I again asked them to justify their behaviour legally. They would not state by what law or right they were stopping us.

We decided to hold a circle of solidarity.
The Garda plane circled us continually overhead and the line of Gardai kept watch.
A bus passed by and the passengers gave us the thumbs up.
We spoke about why we were here.
People were opposed to the war, the sanctions the killing of innocents and our government's collusion. some, including myself also lamented the corruption of our once-proud Army and gardai by the powers that be.
We don't judge the local Gardai too harshly because we know that their orders come from the top by people without the guts to talk to us.
Just like Bertie won't address the people except through prepared media, kind of like how Bush doesn't get to see the faces of Iraqi kids killed or injured by his military.

While continuing to hassle us - for reporting the truth and protesting injustice - those who are following orders should spend some time thinking whether they'd rather do as they are told, or do what is right.

Corruption creeps in slowly when we, piece by piece allow it.