War Planes at Shannon on Women's Christmas

international | anti-war / imperialism | news report Monday January 08, 2007 16:02 by Edward Horgan - PANA, IAWM, AWI etc

Death and destruction are Ireland's new year gifts to the people of Iraq

Ireland has abandoned 90 years of neutrality by allowing over one million US troops and refueling CIA Torture Rendition planes at Shannon airport. The Irish Government is complicit in the deaths of over 660,000 people in Iraq. By default the Irish people now owe a huge moral debt and financial debts and reparations to the victims and to the people of Iraq.

The 24 hour vigil at Shannon airport on 6th January was organised primarily in solidarity with over 660,000 people who have died in Iraq as a result of the war unleashed on the Iraqi people by the US and the UK in direct contravention of the UN Charter. Over 3,000 US soldiers have also died in this war also, more than the number killed on the attacks on the US on 9th September 2001. It is necessary to remind ourselves that Iraq or Saddam Hussein had nothing at all to do with those attacks on the US.
The US also unleashed a war on the people of Afghanistan, also without UN approval, in November 2001, that has so far caused the deaths of up to 30,000 Afghani people so far.
Since these war began over one million heavily armed US troops have been allowed pass Shannon airport in gross breach of international laws on neutrality particularly the Hague Convention V on Neutrality.
More secretly, the CIA and the US military have been transporting prisoners around the world for the purpose of torture. Shannon airport has been used very extensively for these torture rendition purposes, with at least 147 CIA landings confirmed by the EU Parliament committee report. This does not include the US military planes, that are also known to have participated in rendition, that are likely also to have been refuelled at Shannon.
The Irish government has disgraced itself on these matters, and is still doing so.

I participated in the peace vigil at Shannon over this weekend, along with almost thirty other determined peace activists. Initially all was quiet at Shannon, with no US troops or suspicious US military aircraft in evidence. This changed later on Sat afternoon as the distinctive loud noise of a US military Hercules C130 was heard coming in to land. A visit to the airport perimeter fence confirmed the aircraft was parked in the special security area at the centre of the airfield, constructed at a cost to the Irish taxpayer of over one million euro. It was being guarded by the Irish army, and additional Gardai were also on duty. The Gardai at Shannon were very closely monitoring the movement of peace activists at the peace camp, while studiously ignoring the presence of possible war criminals at the airport, and ignoring the possibility that this Hercules warplane might be carrying prisoners through Shannon airport. We approached the two Gardai who were on Sentry Duty at the peace camp, and asked them to search this US military aircraft, or to request their superiors to have it searched. We helpfully offered to search it ourselves, if the Gardai were not for some reason able to search it, and asked them to pass this offer on to their superiors also. This offer appeared to interest the Garda authorities, as it resulted in a significant increase in the level of security that the Gardai provided to our peace camp attendants.

We kept this Hercules under observation and were satisfied that no Garda search was carried out. The peace activists then proceeded to walk up towards the airport to formally request the airport authorities and the Gardai to search this particular aircraft. It was pouring rain at the time. Our march to the airport seemed to cause some considerable confusion among the Gardai, and several of the peace activists had actually passed the security checkpoint on the way to the airport. Fiona Wheeler and Edward Horgan carefully explained to the forty or so Gardai and airport security personnel on duty what their duties were under Irish and International laws, and under their individual oaths of service to uphold the law. Repeated requests were made to the Gardai to go and do their duty and search this aircraft. After a break for tea, and some shelter from the wind and rain, a further protest at the security checkpoint was held just before midnight.

The following morning three peace activist went around the rear of the airport to check for US aircraft at the airport. We noticed that the Hercules was still being protected and that a World Airways troop carrier chartered to the US military was parked at Gate 42 being refuelled. We then drove further on towards the Honk pub, to check what was happening in this area. We were stopped at a Garda checkpoint, where the following events and conversation took place at about 0945 on Sunday 7th January.
Edward Horgan was driving his own car.
EH: Good morning Guard.
Garda O’Murchú CL177 : Good morning, can I ask where you are going?
EH: I am going down the road.
Garda O’Murchú: What business have you in this area?
EH: We are having a look around to see what is going on.
Garda O’Murchú: What are you going to look at, there is nothing down there only a pub.
EH: Then we are going down to the road to see the pub among other things.
Garda O’Murchú: You can’t go down there.
EH: Oh yes I can. (EH said this because he was aware that this was a public road, and that there were not obstructions to prevent public access on this road, so it was incorrect of the Garda to say “you cant go down there”. He don’t not at any stage say you are forbidden to go down there.)

At this point Garda O’Murchú was standing at the drivers window, which was open. He had not at any stage asked for the name of the driver or his licence. We were stopped for several minutes, and that Garda had plenty of time to tell us not to proceed or to tell us to remain at this location, or whatever.

Having said “Oh yes I can” EH then moved off very slowly, with the drivers window still fully open, and Garda O’Murchú was given ample opportunity to signal with his voice, his hand or whatever method he wished to the driver if he wished to give him further instructions. He failed to do so.
As we moved off, we were followed at a distance by the Garda squad car that was at the checkpoint. The squad car made no attempt to overtake us, or to indicate that we were in a prohibited area, and did not use its siren or flashing blue lights, and made not attempt to stop us at any point. We drove past and observed the Honk pub and kept going to the end of the cul de sac a few hundred yards beyond. We turned there and so did the squad car and followed us back to the chechpoint. Garda O’Murchú was now in a bit of a state and had gone very officious. He belatedly demanded the drives driving licence, and informed EH that he was in contravention of the road traffic act for failing to remain at a Garda Checkpoint. EH corrected him and told him that we did stop and remain at the checkpoint and obeyed all the instructions given by him, in so far as they were understandable to the driver. Garda O’Murchú stated that I may be prosecuted under the road traffic act for failing to remain at a Garda checkpoint. However, he did not issue a caution of any sort during these proceedings. EH informed Garda O’Murchú that he was not in breach of any road traffic regulations and that Garda O’Murchú would be wasting the courts time by bringing any such prosecution. As we left the scent of the Garda checkpoint, greetings along the line of “see you in court” were exchanged in a relatively friendly manner.
We then drove back to the other side of the airport and viewed the airfield from the industrial estate. From this vantage point we saw that a third US aircraft was now parked near the Hercules C 130. This was a US air force executive jet, registration number 10028. This is the type of warplane that is often used for transporting senior US generals to and from the Middle East. Since these generals are engaged in the ongoing war in Iraq and in Afghanistan, their presence at Shannon is in breach of the Hague convention on neutrality, and there is an obligation on the Irish authorities including the Gardai, to arrest and intern them for the duration of the war.

At about 1245 pm I went to Shannon Garda Station and requested Garda Daren Cahalane to take a statement from me, requesting that the three US war planes at Shannon airport be search by Gardai.
The following is the content of this statement and request to search:

Statement of Edward Horgan
Taken by Garda Daren Cahalane, Shannon Garda Station

“I wish to request that 3 US aircraft currently located at Shannon airport be searched to ensure that they are not being used for unlawful purposes. Such purposes include the transport of troops to Iraq in contravention of the Hague Convention on Neutrality and the possible transporting of prisoners for torture contrary to the UN Convention Against Torture. The aircraft are as follows: One World Airways chartered troop carrying aircraft, likely to be carrying armed US troops through the airport located at Stand 42. The second aircraft is a \Hercules C130, Air National Guard, Michigan, no. 37672, and located in the middle of the airfield being protected by an Irish army landrovers, and possibly carrying weapons, munitions or prisoners for torture. The third aircraft is US air force executive jet. The Number I think is 10028. It is possibly carrying war criminals who have been guilty of war crimes in Iraq, including General Casey and other US senior military leaders. This statement has been read over to me and is correct. Signed Edward Horgan, withnessed by: Darren Cahalane.

Some good photographs of the Shannon peace vigil were taken by several of the peace activists. These hopefully will be attached to this report as soon as possible, together with their comments on the peace vigil. A special thanks to Conor Cregan for organising this weekends events and thanks to the stalwarts from Galway, Dublin, Shell to Sea Campaign, and all the others who participated in this peace vigil despite the atrocious weather.