Ed Horgan arrested at Shannon this morning
clare |
anti-war / imperialism |
news report
Thursday December 22, 2005 14:15
by SNN Watch
On way to UK, held by Airport police.
Ed was detained and forcibly removed from the duty free area this morning while waiting to board a flight to the UK to visit his children and grandchildren. He was brought to the Airport Police Inspectors office, his mobile phone and camera confiscated, but then the Gardai refused to arrest him. He has been released.
Just two days after appearing at the Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs, at which there was testimony of repeated harrassment of peace activists by the authorities, Ed Horgan was arrested this morning by Airport Police while waiting to board a flight to the UK, where he intends to spend Christmas with his children and grandchildren.
Ed Horgan made sure to be at the airport early this morning to catch his flight, and of course, it was no surprise for him to see US military flights at the airport. By text he informed this reporter that there was a World Airways jet N801DE at Gate 42 (the US military gate) and an ATA jet N552TZ beside it . Both airliners are chartered to carry troops for the Pentagon.
Of course, only two days earlier, Ed was part of a four person presentation to the Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs, which received detailed evidence of US military use of Shannon Airport, including troops, cargo flights, and CIA aircraft. The committee was also told that peace activists were subjected to systematic harrassment at the airport while doing perfectly legal things such as taking notes or photographs or aircraft. Specifically mentioned were instances where activists were taking photos in public places, and were detained and had cameras taken and in some cases the film removed and destroyed. Senators and TDs replied that the activists should not have to put up with such behaviour.
This morning, Ed took some photos from the public car park before checking in, having a cup of tea, and then going to the departures lounge, with his passport and boarding card at the ready.
While in the boarding area, he was approached by Airport Police Inspector John Martin, who had him forcibly removed from the area. Ed protested loudly that this was an unlawful arrest. his camera and mobile phone were taken.
Ed was taken to Inspector Martin's office and told he was being held under the Air Transport and Navigation Act.
Two members of the Garda Siochana were also present and Ed demanded that they ring the station sergeant at Shannon Garda Station.
At one stage Ed's phone rang, and it turned out to be Senator David Norris on the line.
The Gardai refused to arrest Ed, as requested by the airport police, and he was subsequently released and his phone and camera given back to him. In his last phone call, he said he said that he thinks he will still make his flight.
printable version
Digg this
del.icio.us
Furl
Reddit
Technorati
Facebook
Gab
Twitter
View Comments Titles Only
save preference
Comments (21 of 21)
Jump To Comment: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21I hope Mr Dorgan wished the troops Happy Christmas and Godspeed.
dont forget: the airport cops are members of SIPTU. Would any SIPTU members be prepared to complain about the way they act? these people are not just "following orders". they are acting like gestapo members, they seem to think they have more powers than the gardai.
there should be no place in the trade union movement for these crypto-fascists. airport cops out of SIPTU!
It is obvious the airport police are suspcious and wary of anyone taking notes and photos of US military aircraft. No doubt they are afraid of some sort of terrorist attack and attacks by so called 'peace' activists on military aircraft...
American aircraft have been using shannon for a long long time and to stop this would not be in the interests of this country. They'd all be out of the streets whinning then cause of loosing their jobs, blaming the government who have the cop on to realise what that decision would do to our good relationship with america, no not bush, but the wider american people..
Also - What sort of union throws out members who are only doing their jobs..
ed horgan is a former army officer and well known peace activist. the airport police are not doing their job they are harassing people, exceeding their authority and incidentally , breaking the law.
there should be no place in the labour movement for the enemies of the working class. you remind me of sexton, general secretary of the Dockers & Labourers Union who when the RIC in Belfast went on strike in 1907 said: "i see no difference between a man who works with a shovel and a man who works with a truncheon"!
yes, hes a known peace activist and in shannon there is basically a stand off between the authorities and the peace activists and at the moment it is 1 - 0 to the peace activists as they have damaged 1 plane, so when these guys see peace activists in the terminal noting planes and taking pictures, they are going to act in some way but obviously it has to be in a legal way..
If they are in siptu, is doing their job against protesters to their place of work mean they are going against the union movement or just going against the protesters. i'm sure they would prefer not to have the grief but its just the way things fell..
ed horgan was legally in shannon airport, he was breaking no laws. senator david norris even phoned him while he was being (illegally) detained by the APes. perhaps you think norris is part of some terrorist plot? the APes acted illegally by harassing him. its not their job to break the law or exceed their authority. These APes are not workers, they should not be in SIPTU.
Ed, hope you did in the end manage to make the flight?
Happy Christmas and enjoy your holidays,
Clare
I called Inspector John Martin at Shannon Airport this evening at 5pm. I told him I was reporting for Indymedia on this mornings incident with Ed Horgan, gave him my name and asked him a few questions.
NH. I want to ask you about this mornings incident at the airport with Ed Horgan. Could you tell me please on what grounds you detained him?
Insp.JM. I'll tell you, eh, the person you should be speaking to would be the, eh, the public relations officer, eh, the press officer I should say.
NH. Since you were directly invilved in the incident I think you'd be the best man to speak to.
Insp.JM. I'm not at liberty to speak to you OK?
NH. Why not?
Insp.JM. You can call the press officer.
NH. Would you mind just telling me why you're not at liberty to speak to me?
Insp.JM. I'm not at liberty to speak to you, no further comments OK, thank you, bye bye.
NH. Could you put me on to somebody then who could speak to me?
Insp.JM. Directs me back to switch 061 712000.
NH. Could you tell me why, as a public servant, you are not prepared to speak to the public through the media on the incident this morning.
Insp.JM. No further comments, Ok, thank you, bye bye. He puts down the phone
I then rang the press office a number of times only to get the answering machine and rang back Inspector John Martin on a related matter but not directly related to this mornings incident.
NH. Hello this is Niall Harnett again. I rang the press office and I can't get an answer. Though I don't want to talk to you again specifically about what happened this morning, could you please tell me is there a policy within the airport of dealing with peace activists in general?
Insp.JM. I think that's a question you'd be better directing to the press office.
NH. But surely you'd be aware of any policy.
Insp. JM. No further comments.
Puts down the phone.
I'll try the press office again tomorrow, they probably knocked off early for Christmas pints with a few of the CIA boys.
Who's buying the drinks lads?
Happy Christmas Ed and congrats on a landmark meeting with the joint Oireachtas Commitee on Foreign Affairs.
Hello, my name is Richard J Stryker, your local democracy spreader.
If anyone asks, I'm based in the embassy / local CIA station, but I'm usually at Shannon, They don't give out my number or where my office is located, so if you send a postcard c/o Shannon Warport administration, they'll forward it on to me.
I'll be buying the drinks for the APOs this week, and I'd like to thank all our supporters out there. If one peacenik hits a plane, then we can rough any of the others up as well, dammit. Pity Mr. Martin couldn't have dragged him to my office, cos I have a few spare orange jumpsuits in there, and we'd have on of our planes 'round here in no time... but these Irish cops don't have the stomach for enforcing democracy.
That pinko commie had no right to be within the airbase perimiter. I don't buy this whole "he had a plane ticket and a boarding pass" thing. What kind of show are we runnign here? Let him walk to Britland, his file here says he has plenty of experience at marching. It also has his shoe size and dental records.
Personally, I think it was a big mistake for the boys in Washington to allow Ryanair, Aer Lingus and British Airways to use our airbase for these interfering and useless civilian flights. But that's politicians for you... Of course, if they were Latin American politicians, I could 'sort them out', but we only rarely get to whack our own leaders.
Anyway fellow lovers of freedom and democracy, please help the federal authorities by joining in my campaign...
CIVILIAN TOURISTS OUT OF SHANNON!!!!
"so when these guys see peace activists in the terminal noting planes and taking pictures, they are going to act in some way"
He wasn't taking photos or notes in the terminal. He did that in the car park, and nobody interferred with him or asked him to stop. It was only later, when he had checked in, moved into the transit lounge, and was not taking photos or notes, that he was detained by the APOs, so they had no reason to do it other than malice, and personal grudges, and anyone who has had any dealings with the APOS will tell you that their egos always take priority over their professionalism.
" i'm sure they would prefer not to have the grief but its just the way things fell.."
Actually, John Martin quite enjoys giving people grief. Some of his colleagues prefer to avoid unneccessary grief, but not Mr. Martin or his protoge Mr. Benn.
Inspector Martin has pushed people, stood on their toes just for fun, and generally does his (poor) Clint Eastwood impression to look tough, but it makes him slink away in embarrasment when the real cops with the Garda uniforms refuse to back him up (which has happened more than once)
If the US military don't want their planes noted or photographed, they have a simple solution,... land at a military base. Otherwise, shut up... you land at a civilian airport, then you're in the public eye, and people are entitled to take evidence that you were there.
Or is the type of democracy where one is free to express anything, so long as the cops and their masters agree with it?
Perhaps he was stopped and searched in case he was carrying a bayonet?
Commiserations and solidarity Ed.
It's a sad and disgraceful truth, that a man of peace must become a victim of oppression and bigotry himself and that this, is the forced nature of activism. In the long run, it is shown that the powers that be, do not practice democracy, but dictatorship.
I'm not suggesting that Ed made a marytr of himself, (Unless somebody wants to say that wanting to be with one's family and loved ones over Christmas is a contemptous act) but that the state chooses to try to quell the voice of dissent.
To quieten the voice of dissent, is to make an assumption of infallibility, to claim to be infallible, is to exhibit insanity.
I'd like to address Mr. City Slicker before I go, I know that interacting with trolls encourages them, but I cannot help myself.
Anyway, Mr. Slicker, I see that you now fear a terrorist attack at Shannon, now that your argument can use the fear of a terrorist attack. Do you think, that perhaps now, it is possible that you are now representative of the tiny clique in this country who are anti-anti-war?
Either way, methinks you should seek psychiatric
care for your intermittent and contradictory bouts of paranoia.
Sláinte,
Seán Ryan.
http://debates.oireachtas.ie/DDebate.aspx?F=FOJ20051220.xml&Node=H2#H2
http://www.rte.ie/news/2005/1223/shannon.html
Email Services from RTE
The commission said Ireland has an obligation under international and domestic law to prevent any actions which would facilitate torture, even in another country.
If you feel so strongly about these airport rent a cops, then book a flight, take a crew down to the terminal to get the flight, hang around as one does in an airport and then when the airport police come along to do what you say they love doing and try to tell yous what to do illegally, knock the f*cking shite out of them.. would that make you feel better cause thats what i would do.. and they might think twice next time..
May I start by saying that I'm glad Ed got to see his family over the christmas, having a camera on hand is quiet harmless and yes he has the right to take pictures of his own free will.
But when you are a known activist ,and wonder around taking snap shots then your fair game for the security who by now are sick of the unemployed gathering out front with their homemade sign's.
Also if Ed was looking forward to seeing his family then he shouldn't have taken out his red flag and start waving it at the bull..Cop on it seems like a ply to get name in print yet again.Don't get me wrong,Yes the government is corrupt,sneaky,and has a muppet at the helm,it's been that way since Yankie Doodle Dev.
So get over it, Known activists will be harrassed as long as they persist in antaganising, as well as the young pup on the street who goes looking for trouble.
When are people ever going to learn that rules are there for a reason and the rulemakers deals a hand to favour themselves...
Sittin on your arse writing about how hard done by you are, has been done since time began.
It has always been the same"the rich get richer" "the poor get poorer".It's not going to change no matter who gets into government.
Goodluck with the Sign making !!!!
Dear Bertie lover,
it seems to me that you suffer from a chronic case of fence sitting. And you seem to be in a state of denial.
You stand with nobody, yet you refer to rules.
You condemn, but you recognise no authority as being competent.
Ed Horgan is not about the rich getting richer, he is not a protestor, protesting the rights of the unemployed (Although the unemployed need someone to champion their cause), he is about stopping the slaughter, perpetrated by the American war machine and he focuses specifically on the innocent children who are victimised by the American war machine and its allies our government. He is a voice for them.
How dare you demand their voice be silenced or agree with this attempt to silence.
You attack the man, but fail to mention why he does what he does.
Your attack therefore is both a coward's approach and an approach that reeks of dishonesty, and is very reminiscent of the "American way" or at least the one that is currently practiced and espoused.
As for you blathering on about the status quo:
Conformity is the reason for it, and in this case when you add that special ingredient called apathy you get the shit-cake we are currently forced to ingest.
And by the way, you seem to be keen to push the famous nazi excuse, the "we were doing what we were told or employed to do," excuse. Please realise here that Ed's arrest was illegal. The Gardaí even realised this and refused to take this false arrest further.
I could go on, to tear apart everything that you've said.
But I won't.
You're just not worth it.
Shame on you.
Sláinte,
Seán Ryan.
Niall Harnett,
It would not be professional to speak with you about what happened. Isnt Ed entitled to privacy? Should Gardai chat away about prisoners in custody to anyone that rings up the local station? And please, do you think dropping your name or that of Indymedia will get you information because its Niall Harnett or Indymedia? If that worked for the Indo you would not be a happy camper.
Any user,
can someone explain where and how they acted illegally? They have powers of arrest and detention within the grounds. They used them. The Gardai not arresting doesnt mean the airport guys did wrong it just means the Gardai werent happy about arresting or didnt think it was necessary.
interesting or new to me
the most important thing as MK says...
More than 650,000 armed US troops in uniform, accompanied by large amounts of munitions and war materials, have passed through Shannon Airport over the past three years.As well as flights carrying troops, there is roughly an equal number of flights carrying military cargo, flights of military aircraft such as those used to refuel military fighters and bombers in mid-air and an unknown number of overflights
--
Cmtt - we have invited the US Ambassador to appear before the committee to get explanations from him and to give us an opportunity to question him on those matters. To date, we have not received a response
MDH -The note states further that the Government “has not and will not permit any flight engaged in extraordinary rendition to pass through Ireland”. I demand that the document be withdrawn. It drags us into the lies. The Government has permitted at least one flight - but probably several - which was engaged in extraordinary rendition through the national airspace. The flight may not have been on the way out, but it was certainly on the way back and it means the statement that the Government has not permitted a flight “engaged in extraordinary rendition” is untrue. Chairman, I repeat my demand that the document be withdrawn.
MDH-
If the case was one involving drugs and the aircraft were vans which had been known to do nothing but transport cocaine and were found in the car park at Shannon Airport, the Garda would attend to the matter pretty bloody quickly. Why is the Garda not represented here today?
--
MDH
The Department of Defence is sending bills for fuel to CIA shadow companies at post office boxes in central Africa.???
--
War/Money hawk politicians-
America is our friend relations good to us, blaa de fucking blaa
PMooney-
In the context of Ireland’s engagement of support for the war in Iraq, why is it, if we were being seen to support Iraq that when the US issued a list of countries that could tender for contracts in Iraq, Ireland was not included on that list?
MR-
The Seanad has, in principle, taken the decision to set up a select committee of the Seanad composed of members of all the groupings on a cross-party basis. We are preparing our terms of reference,
It is culminating in the Council of Europe, which is asking questions of Ireland to which it requires full answers by 21 February. We want to join in that debate.
[What of Marty's questionaire on flight plans?, Has it been received replied to?]
--
G
The presentation has been interesting in the way Mr. Ed Horgan has revealed another lie, the lie that is repeated in the Dáil when the Minister for Foreign Affairs time and again says this tradition of assisting the United States goes back 50 years. That is a lie, it is simply not true. If this committee does anything, I hope it nails that lie and we state that it is not true.
{er must have missed that part]
EH
--It was suggested by Deputy Mulcahy, I believe, that Ireland is still a neutral country and he expressed a contradiction to the effect that he would be opposed to Shannon Airport being used in any future war that did not have a Security Council resolution. What about the war in 2003?
-TH
In any event, the Act, which makes torture a criminal offence and seeks the punishment of the torturer, does not require the presence of the victim.
The Polish government has decided not to make public the results of an inquiry into the possible existence of US Central Intelligence Agency prisons on Polish soil, a spokesman said Friday.
US embassy close to admitting Syria rendition flight·
Statement contradicts ambassador's interview· Correction could leave Britain open to challenge
Robert Tuttle told Radio 4's Today programme that there was no evidence that US forces had sent suspected terrorists for questioning in Syria,
The US embassy issued a statement yesterday acknowledging that there had been claims that a suspect arrested in New York had been sent by the CIA for torture in Syria.
Maher Arar, a Canadian software engineer of Syrian descent, says he was arrested in New York in 2002 and transferred to Jordan, then to Syria, where he said he was tortured. The US use of Syria for rendition sits uneasily with Washington's portrayal of the country as a pariah state.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,12271,1673958,00.html
Norris getting noticed too/CIA Operating in Dublin Charge
http://www.irishabroad.com/news/irishinamerica/news/cia-operating-dec2105.asp
Please spare a though this Christmas for possibly several dozen kidnapped prisoners who had been held in secret prisons in Poland, the Czech Republic, Romania and Bulgaria, in special CIA 'Black site' prisons. They were all suddeny transferred to countries such as Morocco and Egypt, when news of the existence of these prisons was publisised, and just prior to Condolesa Rice's European visit in early december. It is now likely that most if not all of these prisoners will be permanently disappeared, that is executed, in order to avoid providing proof of the existance of these prisons and torture, and to avoid embarrasing the US and its European allies, including Ireland.
There is an urgent need for Red Cross and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to get immediate list of these prisoners, and all such undocumented or hidden prisoners.
Red Cross must also be granted immediate and regular asscess to such prisoners, before it is too late.
The move followed reports that CIA Gulfstream, Boeing and McDonald DC9 jets, which are alleged to be used to transport terrorist suspects to countries like Egypt where they are tortured, have been refuelling at Baldonnel, Co Dublin.
It was claimed payments for facilities at the base, including the supply of aviation kerosene, are billed by the Department of Defence to a post office box rented by the US embassy in Accra, Ghana. However, the Government has insisted the reports are untrue.
“All bills for the US using facilities go to Lackland Airforce base in Texas. We have not sent any bills to Ghana,” a Defence Department spokeswoman said.