Protest Bush, Despite Government clampdown"

by Dr J.V.A. Robinson - Private Thu Jun 24, 2004 19:22 victorlederle at yahoo dot co dot uk 0034965699915

What happened to free speech?
What happened to freedom of movement?
What happened to the right to protest?
What happened to neutrality?
What happened to independence?
What happened to decency?
What happened to caring about other people?
What has happened to the Irish?

Is it all down to greed, I wonder?

by yellow jacket Sat Jun 12, 2004 17:52

Huge force of 6,000 called up to keep Bush safe Saturday June 12th 2004 ALMOST 6,000 gardai and troops will be deployed in an unprecedented security operation for the visit of US President George Bush. The big protection build-up to the visit started yesterday when heavily armed patrols manned by detectives from the Garda's elite emergency response unit were sent into the south-west region. The massive security plan will be finalised next week when US Secret Service agents arrive here to review the blueprint with senior garda and army officers. But details of the plan masterminded by Assistant Garda Commissioner Dermot Jennings emerged last night as officers prepared for the most elaborate presidential protection operation to date. The blueprint includes: almost 4,000 gardai on duty on June 25 and 26, mainly deployed around Shannon airport and Dromoland Castle in Co Clare; back-up from 2,000 members of the Army, Air Corps and Naval Service, including bomb disposal experts; a special detention and processing centre to cope with 150 troublemakers to be set up in Shannon town; surface to air missiles placed on stand-by; no flight zone around Dromoland and a heavily restricted area over Shannon; and special passes for local residents to facilitate access through the security cordons being thrown around key areas. Special security teams are also being set up to protect other VIPs arriving here for the US-EU summit in Dromoland, including US secretary of state, Colin Powell, US national security adviser, Condoleezza Rice, US commerce secretary, Donald Evans, EU commission president, Romano Prodi, and EU security boss, Javier Solana. A purpose-built command centre has been established by Mr Jennings at Shannon garda station to be manned by emergency planning teams that will also include local authority officials and fire service and ambulance chiefs. Naval Service vessels will patrol the coastline while rivers and inland waterways will be checked out by garda boats. A zone between the airport and Dromoland is being "sterilised" with manhole covers sealed and other potential attack launch sites closely examined over the next fortnight. The US agents will act as close-in bodyguards for President Bush while he is here from the evening of June 25 until after lunch on June 26 but although armed, they are not being granted diplomatic immunity. The American CAT (counter action team) will be accompanied by a huge array of weapons, mainly handguns, in an estate wagon that will be part of the presidential cavalcade. A senior garda officer said last night: "We don't anticipate any major problems with the protest groups planning to demonstrate. "But we can't afford to take any chances and must have a plan in place, particularly as the security risk to Mr Bush is much greater than for any other US president to visit here, because of the war in Iraq," he added. Meanwhile, Taoiseach Bertie Ahern yesterday expressed his confidence in the Gardai and the Army. "Obviously, security is a big issue. But I think we successfully looked after the May Day events and we had people from all over Europe and the Middle East region during the EU presidency." The summit, which will take place four days before the handover of power in Iraq, will be dominated by events in that region, Mr Ahern admitted. But he was optimistic that world leaders could make some headway in the Middle East talks while here. Tom Brady Security Editor

by John O'Dreams Sat Jun 12, 2004 02:35

Looks like our regualr troll form CIA HQ Langley is here again making veiled threats.

Welcome Agent B!!

by is that a threat Sat Jun 12, 2004 01:50

is that a threat

by Al Asqua Sat Jun 12, 2004 00:53

apparently rumour has it on the ground that some protesters ideas of using marine SOS rocket flares whilst air force 1 comes in would be a bad idea as it would incite military escort jets to take decisive action misinterpreting the flares as sam 7s. Beware!

by bob Fri Jun 11, 2004 22:45

Ok, so,,, we get 10,000 people to come, have the cops deny their right to access, and we all sue the state for 5,000 EACH, and then we have 50,000,000 euro....

even taking out what people keep for themselves... as an incentive for more to come....

we'd have a great campaign in 2005 with that eh?


i think, just on the normany things what was sickening is that the old soldiers just wanted to remember their friends, not have to wait in the sun for a bunch of politicians to make political capital out of it.

meanwhile... they continue to conspire to sell more weapons and cause more strife, to cause more wars for other peoples kids to fight and die in...

by Curious Fri Jun 11, 2004 10:50

What's wrong with American flags flying in Normandy for the anniversary of the D Day landings? Allied troops died on those beaches so subsequent generations could exercise their freedom. As someone who is opposed to war I suspect that I am not alone in marvelling at the capacity of the Irish anti war movement to be so selective in it's condemnation of America.

by Acid Fri Jun 11, 2004 00:27

Didnt the Gardai stop people from assembling in Shannon last June?
The cops work for the state. The state can (and likely, will) allow gardai to do whatever they feel necesary to disrupt protesters from gathering or whatever. All the legal issues can be dealt with later. In six months time. Only to be prosboned for a further six months. This is a tactic they keep using. And it works.

by Haggy Ragsbottom Thu Jun 10, 2004 23:32

I was just in France, where apparantly ANY protests were BANNED (in Paris anyway), and the whole area/city of Caen -in the north- was virtually sealed off, with butched-up American G.I's swinging machine guns on the bridges near the region! And get this; these veterans (from 'WW2') -who are now extREMely old- were left standing (without chairs) in the seriously baking heat, for I think over an hour, in full military uniform, because the visiting 'dignitaries' were held up elsewhere! Shows who counts in this world.. Bush, Blair, the QUeen and a mob of other unsavoury charcters were all in Normandie for the anneversary of the DDay landings by the way, which is good wartime propaganda for the US needless to say. There were actually American flags flying all over the place! fuxake

by Fintan Lane - Anti-War Ireland Thu Jun 10, 2004 21:43 info at antiwarireland dot org 087 1258325

We have the right to peaceful assembly and protest, and we will be exercising that right on Friday evening, June 25th, as Bush touches down in Ireland. The venue remains unchanged: 7pm, Shannon town centre, to march against the war policies of the neo-conservative Bush administration and against Irish complicity with the US war machine at Shannon airport.

It is important that everybody makes a special effort to get there for 7pm. There will be Garda checkpoints, but we have the right to proceed to Shannon town centre to assemble. Factor in the possible delay and make sure you are there for 7pm. Bush will arriving just after 8pm.

Assert your right to protest and get to Shannon to unwelcome Bush as he lands on Irish soil.

by Tim Thu Jun 10, 2004 20:59

some of the residents in Shannon plan to get together to burn the passes issued by the Garda.

Others intend to carry alternate passes (a copy of article 40 of the constitution)

There is in fact no law in Ireland that requires people to carry passes.
the closest thing to compulsory ID is having to keep your driving license with you when you drive.

seeing as nobody is expecting to be let sit next to Bush in the private grounds of dromoland, and are exercising their rights to be in public areas of Clare, like Shannon town, why are the gardai getting involved?

like in London last november, the police helped to keep the demonstators out of the view of the news cameras outside buckingham palace (but in a place just as close to the front of the palace - so obviously not for security reasons...)

So, a quick recap...

there's no law to back up the passes...

and there is a constitutional guarantee to the right to freedom of movement and peaceful assembly....

so, when the people asser their right to peaceful assembly in public the official Garda explanation will be?

by Tim Thu Jun 10, 2004 20:45

I'll ignore the ignorant trolls and tell you something useful.

last year, police in England decided to prevent protestors entering a COUNTY where a protest was planned.

they had no reason to suspect anything other than a peaceful protest, but they prevented at least one coachload of protestors from getting in. It may have been three coaches I don't recall off the top of my head.

what happened?

the offended citizens took the state to court for breaching their rights to freedom of movement and expression.
I think they got about 3,000 STERLING ...EACH.

then they gave the money to one of the anti-war campaigns.

So, if the Irish state wants to stop lots of peaceful protestors from (shockingly) gathering in the town of Shannon, then they'd better be aware that they could end up paying more in court than they do in Garda overtime.

by Dr. Faustus Thu Jun 10, 2004 20:18

The US immigration and naturalization service has a name for people it does not want in its country. It calls them "illegal aliens." George Bush is accused of war crimes and a foreigner, in other words, an illegal alien.

The citizens of this country cannot travel to the US without permission. Why do we now require permission to travel to part of the land of our birth?

In the name of freedom, we are to be denied freedom. Any shocked reaction in the liberal press? Intellectuals should be outraged.

by An@rky member 279 Thu Jun 10, 2004 19:53

No perimeter can hold us away. We're already in the sewers under the airport ready to go!

by righteous pragmatist Thu Jun 10, 2004 19:45

George W. Bush crushed the Taliban government of Afghanistan and Saddam Hussein of Iraq probably the most brutal and oppressive regimes imaginable.
Millions of people now live in freedom and after the endorsement of the interim Iraqi government by the international community will soon enjoy the right to vote in democratic elections.
Bush has begun a revolution in the Middle East that is going to shake the tyrannical regimes in Arab countries to their foundations.

You people want this reversed.

You sided with Saddam Hussein and not with the liberation of the Iraqi peoples.
You sided with the Taliban and not with the liberation of the Afghan peoples.

You side with despots and tyrants and terrorists.

The Islamic dictatorships and fascist tyrannies of the Arab world wish the destruction of liberal democratic Western society in order to their oppression of their own people remains unthreatened.

The UN security council has backed the interim Iraqi government and in elections to come this coming January the Iraqi people will select their leaders.

You are protesting against the freedom of Iraqis.

By protesting against the War On Terror you are infact siding with those wish to destroy the freedom.

You are a sick joke.

by Smart Arse Thu Jun 10, 2004 18:43

As most people will be protesting well over 40 miles away from Shannon on the Friday, perhaps the cordon isn't big enough.

by Anonymous Thu Jun 10, 2004 18:25

"40 square miles cordoned off"

Whatever happened to democracy?? The urgency on all citizens of the world to get active increases daily.