Labour condemns Shannon warport

national | anti-war / imperialism | press release Wednesday November 03, 2004 20:03 by LY - Labour Youth

Labour condemns Shannon warport

Ongoing use of Shannon contributing to illegal war in Iraq

Issued : Wednesday 3 November, 2004
Statement by Emmet Stagg TD
Chief Whip &Spokesperson on Nuclear Safety

Labour Party Chief Whip Emmet Stagg has said the Government’s ambivalence over the war in Iraq is exposed over the growing use of Shannon Airport by US troops on their way to combat in Iraq. He was speaking at an Irish Anti-War Movement press conference in Dublin ahead of a protest at the airport on Saturday.

“The figures published a couple of weeks ago by Shannon Airport show that so far this year, over 100,000 US troops have passed through the airport on their way to Iraq.

“By the end of this year, some 350,000 US troops will have passed through Shannon in the past three years.

“I do not regard the response of Defence Minister Willie O’Dea or Transport Minister Martin Cullen to questions about the frequent landings at Shannon of a jet used to transport al-Qaeda suspects to Guantanamo Bay and elsewhere as adequate.

“I remain concerned about repeated allegations that ‘suspect terrorists’ are being transported in planes through Shannon on their way to illegal detention and possibly torture for information.

“It is not sufficient for Minister Cullen to state that each landing by this plane was ‘a technical stop’ and that no passengers left the plane. What he has not answered is whether prisoners, illegally held or otherwise, are being transported through Shannon. He should put himself in a position to answer the questions so many Irish citizens are reasonably asking.”