FF TD Eoin Ryan, the CIA and Shannon

by Mary Kelly Wed Dec 20, 2006 19:36

Anyone got an email address for Claudio Fava, the Italian MEP?

by Edward Horgan - PANA et al Wed Dec 20, 2006 22:06

For the record, Mary and others, the contact details of Giovanni Claudio FAVA is: EU Parliament, FAVA Giovanni Claudio [gfava@europarl.eu.int]+32 2 284 7203 or 5203. Temporary Committee on Illegal Detentions and Transportation in Europe (TDIP).

This European Parliament special committee (TDIP) has produced a series of interim reports that have been far more effective that one might have expected given that a majority of its members are also MEP from the governing parties of most European Union states and therefore, like Eoin Ryan, inclined to bury the truth rather than expose it. In some respects it has not carried out its duties as effectively as is warranted, and the likes of Eoin Ryan have managed to curtail some of its investigations and findings. For example little attempt has been made to investigate the use of US military and air force aircraft for the transfer of prisoners through Shannon and other European airports. It is known that the US military played a significant role in moving prisoners from Afghanistan and Iraq to Guantanamo and elsewhere, especially in 200002 and 2003. The TDIP committee was also probably warned off any serious investigations into the Black site prisons in Poland, Bulgaria, Romania and Bosnia and possibly elsewhere. In my submission to this European Parliament commitee, I was severely criticised for referring to the US and UK as rogue UN member states, because of their breaches of international law and the UN Charter, for referring to Poland and other 'Black Site' States as rogue EU states for their breaches of EU and Council of Europe legislation, and for referring to Ireland as a Rogue neutral state because of the use of Shannon airport by the US military and the CIA. Among those who criticised my remarks on Irish neutrality was Fine Gael MEP Simon Coveney whose response was along the lines of "how dare call Ireland a rogue neutral state". Fine Gael has clearly indicated that they will abandon any pretence to Irish neutrality at the first available opportunity, and it is clear that they will also support the continued abuse of Shannon airport by the US military and the CIA.
To have the references to the 147 CIA aircraft deleted from the EU TDIP report amounts to cover-up, given that these figures are only part of the CIA facts at Shannon. When US military aircraft used for prisoner renditions and other CIA aircraft that have not yet been identified are included, it is likely that there were over 300 US aircraft landings at Shannon associated with the CIA and rendition for torture. It is inconceivable that several of these aircraft were not caarrying prisoners. The present Irish Government is hoping that their spinning of events around their complicity with CIA torture will confuse enough voters between now and the next election, and that the "smoking gun" of solid evidence that prisoners were taken through Shannon to and from Guantanamo will not become public until after the election.
Leaks from the CIA and US military will be the most likely source of this information, because those who work at Shannon including security services have not yet had the courage to blow the whistle.
The frantic efforts by the Irish government to spin of web of deceipt around the rendition for torture at Shannon airport is indirect evidence that they know Shannon has actually been used to transfer prisoners through Shannon. Part of the spinning is that there is no logical reason to use Shannon in this rendition process. Just one look at a map of the world or the Globe will clearly show that Shannon is halfway between the Middle EAst and Guantanamo. What were those 147+ CIA aircraft doing at Shannon otherwise?
The European Parliament is just one body investigating the Rendition for torture issue. The Council of Europe and the UN have also carried out separate investigations, and these reports back up the findings of the EU TDIP Committee. Much more has yet to be revealed.
Most important is information on the fate of the dissappeared prisoners, who were rendered to Egypt, Jordan, Syria and elsewhere. Many of these are already executed to prevent evidence of US and European complicity in their torture being revealed. "If you want prisoners to be permanently disappeared, you send them to Egypt". This is a quote from a CIA source cited in the EU TDIP report.

by Fabio Thu Dec 21, 2006 00:02

You can contact Eoin Ryan TD (Fianna Fail) at:

19 Vavasour Square, Sandymount, Dublin 4, Tel: (01) 667 3790, Fax: (01) 667 3790, Email: eoin.ryan@oireachtas.ie / eryan@europarl.eu.int

Or:

Fianna Fáil HQ, 65-66 Lower Mount Street, Dublin 2, Tel:(01) 618 4375, Fax:(01) 618 4464, Email info@fiannafail.ie

Website:

http://www.eoinryan.ie/

by Seán Ryan Thu Dec 21, 2006 14:47

In the last half hour or so a story has come in from Canada that puts the Government's complicity in Extraordinary Rendition, in much a starker light.

Maher Arar was 'rendered' to Syria in September in 2002 and after being tortured he 'admitted' that he was a member of al Qaeda. This has since been shown to be horseshite.

Arar has been cleared of any terrorist links by a Canadian enquiry, despite this, he remains on the American terrorist list, and they will not remove him from it. The Americans claim to have 'intelligence,' about Arar that they are keeping to themselves (so much for sharing information and global security, if this loosely termed 'intelligence' is anything other than horseshite).

Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay is scheduled to meet Condoleezza Rice shortly and he will rip her a new arsehole over this affair. Condolleezza it must be remembered, is responsible for having 'assured' the Irish Government on numerous occasions that Irish airports and authorities were not linked to the illegal and unlawful rendition project. Bertie himself even said that he accepted these assurances from Condoleezza when he was cornered and questioned earlier in the year by Shannon Activist Conor Cregan. http://www.indymedia.ie/article/74341

So...

FF TD Eoin Ryan (no relation - familial or in terms of patriotism) has not a leg to stand on with this latest act of cowardly denial. The fact remains that his government's acts of complicity in genocide and war crimes are firmly set within the public domain and in particular, are well documented here on Indymedia. Regardless of denials and 'assurances,' justice will be seen to be done.

Related link: http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/200...anada

by MichaelY - iawm Thu Dec 21, 2006 15:03

Hi all,

The Press release posted below went out on Monday evening. As a result, there was a long debate on Clare FM beween the FF MEP O'Naughton and myself on Tuesday morning.
We in the iawm and yourself Ed were labelled unpatriotic by the gentleman in question. And he tried to suggest that the fact of the 147 landings was "an obfuscation by left wingers".

Below is the body of the PR

Eoin Ryan and Fianna Fail Attempt to Rewrite History – again!!

A European Parliament special committee, headed by Italian MEP Claudio Fava, that has been investigating the issue of CIA secret flights and prisons in Europe since January last, put 11 countries in the frame in its report: Germany, Austria, Britain, Italy, Poland, Sweden, Spain, Portugal, Greece, Cyprus and Ireland.. The US has already admitted that its intelligence agents detained and transported terrorist suspects. The Report stated that many EU governments not only knew about the practices but helped in a variety of ways in either operating secret prisons or allowing their territories to be used for the illegal transfer of prisoners to locations where they were likely to be tortured or even assassinated.

The report, launched in late November, recommended that the individual states, many of which - including Ireland – were faulted for not fully co-operating with the committee, now launch national enquiries into whether their own secret services, or part of their governmental structures, were involved in illicit actions that may contravene EU human rights legislation. What has been the response of our FF/PD Government?

Dermot Ahern had angry exchanges with the authors of the report, when he was invited to attend the Committee and explain his Government’s actions. Now, as reported in the Irish Times today, Fianna Fail MEP Eoin Ryan has tabled a series of amendments trying to delete parts of the report that mention the 147 rendition flights that stopped over Irish airports, particularly Shannon
The Irish Anti War Movement condemns unequivocally this latest Fianna Fail attempt of trying to brazen out its collaboration with the US/British Alliance. Instead of acting on the Irish Human Rights Commission’s statement that the Government “has not lived up to its human rights obligations by failing to inspect the aircraft at Irish airports”, Eoin Ryan, in one of his amendments, goes as far as to state that the Irish Government “has one of the finest records on human rights”!! These shananigans will not only make our country the laughing stock of Europe but will also be repudiated by the vast majority of the MEPs, including not only the Left but also the liberals and the European Peoples Party.

This total disregard of the Coalition for straight – but damning for them - facts and the reality that hundreds of thousands of armed soldiers have passed through Shannon over the last three years as part of an illegal war, along with 147 specifically registered torture flights, reflects one more time the thinking of our political elite re:human rights and foreign policy. It continues to highlight the servility of our Government re: the Empire.

This is why the Irish Anti War Movement, along with PANA and the NGO Alliance, and in co-operation with its affiliated organisations, will make Shannon and its use by the Empire a key election issue. Enough is enough we say.

by Seán Ryan Fri Dec 22, 2006 16:23

It seems that Condoleezza Rice, having Removed abusive comment -Ed is calling on the Secretary of Homeland Security to re-examine the issue surrounding the US's continued insistance that Maher Arar is a terrorist despite the fact that the Canadians have found that he has absolutely no terrorist connections or tendancies.
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2006/12/21/america/NA_GE...e.php

This case in particular should be noted by the likes of FF apologist Eoin Ryan. He should note that the US has not pulled all its business interests out of Canada and the fact that the US has not set out to cripple Canada financially. The fact of the matter is, that despite the shite that has constantly issued from the mouths of our Government and their mindless parrots, the truth is, that the truth should never be witheld from one's true friends because it might cause offence.

Our Government should have criticised American Genocidal policies and should not have participated in them. They should have done this, not on the behalf of their commercial masters, but on the behalf of those whom they are Constitutionally bound to serve and represent.

by Edward Horgan Sat Dec 23, 2006 13:34

Hello MichaelY and all.
I consider it an honour to be called anti-national by the likes of MEP Naughton. His idea of nationalism is that obfuscation and lies are justified in his version of the so-called "national interest". Telling the truth for the truth's sake and doing what is right because it is right seem to mean nothing to FF appologists. Eoin Ryan would like to bury the truth about the CIA at Shannon also, as would all FF and PD government ministers. The longer such truths remain burried the greater the stink will be when it is unearthed. The argument that a democratic majority of the Irish people may support US military and CIA use of Shannon simply goes to show what a cynical selfish bunch of people many Irish have become. The counter argument is that a majority of the German people supporter Hitler throughout World War II, but that majority were criminally wrong. Denials that Ireland have faciliated crimes against humanity at Shannon airport, by Naughton, Ryan and others, are the equivalent of the Holocaust denials by Irving and other Hitler appologists. If the carry-on of Naughton, Ryan and other supporters of US crimes against humanity is to be considered "patriotic" or "nationaist" then please count me in as unpatriotic and anti-nationalist.
I firmly believe that our neighbours are all humankind, and that the lives of Iraqi children are just as sacred and prescious as the lives of Irish children
In this season of celebration, let us take some time out to begin the process of attonment for the crimes against humanity that the Irish Government has facilitated at Shannon airport.

by MichaelY - iawm Sat Dec 23, 2006 14:36

Hi Ed, hi Conor, hi all our friends in the west

Little to add to your message above. We will continue our work, we will continue working with you, we will continue being anti-patriotic in O'Naughton's and Ryan's terms, we will continue trying to push this Government from collaborating with US/British/et al alliance in their wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and their help and support of the Israelis in Palestine and Lebanon.

Guevara used to say Venceremos - our Christmas wish is for all of us to repeat: We will win!!

by Seán Ryan Sat Dec 23, 2006 17:09

Speaking of wishing folks a merry Christmas - check out the not so merry folks at Guantanamo Bay this year. They've received some Christmas cards too.

I found this particular story in the American Press. 'Bottom of the barrell' news organisation - FOX - in particular caught my attention.

It seems that somewhere between 500 and 14,000 christmas cards (different folks are spinning the figures different ways).

FOX in particular have despite their spin, shown the needless cruelty that is once again visited on the illegally detained humans. Army spokesperson Col. Lora Tucker at Guantanamo according to FOX has said: ""She said she did not know the faith content of the cards sent to the mainly Muslim detention population, because "Once it goes to the detainee, it's the detainee's mail."

She said the guard force at Gitmo has no interest in the content of the mail after it is screened for operations and security purposes""

FOX have suggested the following as possible seasons greetings:

'Dear Avowed Enemy of America: Merry Christmas.'

OR

'Dear I Yearn to Be a Martyr and Hook Up With 72 Virgins in Heaven: Happy Hanukkah.'

OR how about:

'Dear Friend of Usama Bin Laden: Happy New Year.'

Here's the full FOX article: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,238357,00.html

Here's the article that claims that 14,000 cards (more than were sent to American troops it seems) were sent to illegal detainees in Guantanamo: http://worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=53475

Cruel and unusual? Maybe not...

More like Cruel and typical.