Dongeal Peace Group urges politicians to uphold constitution

donegal | anti-war / imperialism | press release Friday September 05, 2003 10:06 by Ruairi - Dongeal Peace Group muscailt at yahoo dot com

Press Release

Donegal Peace Group are calling on Dongeal TDs, MEPs and Minister Mary Coughlan to work towards an immediate end to the use of Shannon airport by the U.S military.

The Irish people have voted on numerous occasions, including during last year’s Nice referendum, to uphold the neutral status of our constitution. Again and again the government has decided to flout the laws of the land by allowing foreign military forces to use Irish airspace and facilities.

This became a key public issue at the height of the American led invasion of Iraq as up to 50,000 U.S troops, a quarter of the total force, used Shannon airport as a refuelling base on their way to bomb Iraq. Indeed, the war is ongoing as Iraqis and Americans are killed on a daily basis. The military use of Shannon airport continues despite widespread opposition from the Irish public.

The government has consistently lied about Shannon. Minister Brian Cowen insisted that there was nothing illegal going on at the airport. Finally, following campaigns of civil disobedience and protest, the extent of Ireland’s complicity as a partner to the war coalition was revealed.

A recent report (The Examiner, Sept 3) showed that 28 patriot missiles have passed through the airport, giving more credence to the claim that Ireland is no longer neutral but is in fact an active supporter and facilitator of the war on Iraq. This follows developments such as Ireland signing up to NATO’s Partnership for Peace force and the government giving huge amounts of taxpayers money to manufacturers of weapons components in Ireland.

Donegal Peace Group claims that the Irish government is in breach of our constitution, a set of governing laws and principles that were hard fought for. We add that the government has defied the wishes of the Irish people by supporting the International war machine. In addition, by supporting a war that had no United Nations mandate, the government has but the future of international law and the United Nations at risk.

The U.S Government has now asked Ireland to supply troops to an American led occupation force in Iraq. Should the Irish government agree to this, it would surely spell the end of our sovereignty and act as a final irony in the history of Ireland as a colonised country.

Donegal Peace Group believes that the resolution of conflicts, from community based to international, should be given the necessary time and resources to achieve a peaceful outcome. As can be seen by the mass atrocities in Afghanistan and Iraq, violence only breeds violence. Once a superpower attacks a weak country and secures control of its wealth and resources in the name of human rights, resentment and bitterness grows and the cycle of violence continues. In fact, such campaigns against ‘terror’ are indeed terror themselves. Such violation of the people’s rights and of national and international laws, breeds terrorism.

We hereby call upon all elected representatives of Donegal, particularly from the ruling Fianna Fail party, to desist from misleading the Irish people about neutrality. We demand that the democratic wishes of the people of Donegal be respected and that the Irish government immediately asserts itself as a peace loving, democratic and sovereign entity. We urge all Donegal people to raise these issues with their local representatives.