Emergency Plastic Bullets Motion To Dublin City Council

dublin | rights, freedoms and repression | press release

Thursday September 03, 2009 20:45

by éirígí PRO - éirígí

éirígí chairperson Brian Leeson has announced the details of an emergency motion
that was today [Tuesday] submitted to Dublin City Council by éirígí activist,
councillor Louise Minihan.

Emergency Anti-Plastic Bullet Motion Submitted To Dublin Council

éirígí chairperson Brian Leeson has announced the details of an emergency motion
that was today [Tuesday] submitted to Dublin City Council by éirígí activist,
councillor Louise Minihan.

The motion, which will come before a full meeting of Dublin City Council on
Monday, September 7, was drafted in response to the firing of plastic bullets
by the PSNI in the Short Strand area of east Belfast last night [Monday] and in
the Ardoyne area of north Belfast on July 13.

The motion reads as follows:

“This council notes with deep concern the firing of plastic bullets by the PSNI
in Belfast on July 13 and August 31 2009. These lethal weapons have already
killed seventeen Irish citizens and injured and maimed countless others. This
council calls for the immediate banning of the use of plastic bullets under any
circumstances in the Six Counties before they cause further injury or death.”

Leeson said: “Given the events in the Short Strand last night and Ardoyne in
July, the issue of plastic bullet use by British forces in Ireland is once
again centre stage. The submission of this motion will help to highlight what
is quite literally a life and death issue for those who live in the occupied
Six Counties.

“The firing of plastic bullets by the PSNI during a peaceful protest in Ardoyne
and again last night is a worrying development. A number of people, including
several children, have been injured as a result of these two incidents.

“Nobody, not least the families and communities that have borne the brunt of
plastic bullet violence, needs to be reminded of the deadly nature of these
weapons. Since their introduction in the early 1970s, 17 civilians have been
killed by plastic bullets, fired by various British forces. Many more have
suffered horrific injuries, including blinding, as a result of being struck by
plastic bullets.

“This motion has been drafted in such a way as to allow political parties who
don’t share éirígí’s wider analysis to support the motion on a human rights
basis. The issue is just too important for petty political point-scoring. We
would encourage every councillor who is concerned with human rights to support
this motion.”

Leeson continued: “The firing of plastic bullets by the PSNI is part of the
broader role that force plays in protecting the British occupation. Over the
course of the last year, the PSNI has also used 28-day detention legislation
against republicans, worked hand-in-glove with the British army’s Special
Reconnaissance Regiment and collaborated on a daily basis with MI5. These
actions, along with the fact that the force remains routinely armed with
assault rifles, Tasers and CS gas, expose the paramilitary and inherently
political nature of the PSNI.”

Leeson concluded: “While intending to build political pressure against plastic
bullet use through this motion, éirígí is under no illusions about the
limitations of such measures. The campaign against plastic bullets will have
to be built on the streets and within communities as well. For our part, we in
éirígí are committed to playing our part in the campaign to get plastic bullets
banned – both inside and outside of the council chambers.”