SLIGO MEETING TOLD WAR IS NOT INEVITABLE

national | miscellaneous | news report Tuesday January 28, 2003 18:41 by B Scanlon - Sligo/Leitrim Labour Party laboursligo at eircom dot net High Street, Sligo 071-45490

A war with Iraq is not inevitable if enough people mobilise to campaign for peace said Ms Mary Kelly, peace activist and a founder of the Peace Camp at Shannon Airport, when she addressed a public meeting organised by the Labour Party in Sligo's United Trades Club last week. The meeting was also addressed by Labour activist and psychologist Mr John Gaffney, Student Peace Activist Ms Katherine Harford and Alderman Declan Bree.

A war with Iraq is not inevitable if enough people mobilise to campaign for peace said Ms Mary Kelly, peace activist and a founder of the Peace Camp at Shannon Airport, when she addressed a public meeting organised by the Labour Party in Sligo’s United Trades Club last week.

“While our government is obviously failing us, it is now up to ordinary people to prevent this war. It is particularly important that citizens indicate their opposition to the use of Shannon by the US military.”

“In blatant disregard for Irish neutrality, the safety of Irish citizens, not to mention the lives and well being of the people of Iraq, the Irish Government is facilitating the landing and refuelling of American warplanes on a daily basis at Shannon.” Ms Kelly said.

Labour Alderman Declan Bree told the meeting that the real reason for the war is that “the US want to control the oil supplies of the middle east.”

“This war is not about weapons of mass destruction, this war is about ownership of the Iraqi oil fields by US big business and is part of the ongoing drive for US domination of the worlds fossil fuel energy.”

“According to reports from Washington this week we are told that ‘conservatives’ in the Bush administration are now proposing the privatisation of the Iraqi oil fields following a US invasion. Any of us with any knowledge of American politics will be aware of the intimate connection between the Bush family, the Bush administration and the oil lobby.”

In reality what is at stake here is not weapons of mass destruction, but oil, money and people’s lives.” Alderman Bree said.

Mr John Gaffney, a psychologist and Labour activist told the meeting that “War invokes in the individual profound disillusionment in their belief in humanity and also alters fundamentally our attitude to death. It cheapens life and glorifies death.”

“The last war I protested against was Vietnam. The reason I did protest was in some ways connected to a political position, but it was also connected to the emotional stirrings that such an event created in me. I believed we could stop the war, and as a result change the ways we thought and behaved and perhaps look to a more optimistic time on this fragile planet.” he said.

Ms Katherine Harford, a student at the University of Limerick spoke about the Peace Camp at Shannon and said “the camp will remain until the US planes leave. “While it has not been easy to maintain the camp the reality is that it is the will of the people which insures its existence. Everything from the candles and food to the porta-loo and caravan have been donated and it is that support from the community which keeps us strong and motivated.”

All of the speakers appealed for support for the National Demonstration against the war which is to take place in Dublin on Saturday February 15th.

The meeting agreed that a broad based local peace network be established to mobilise opposition to the war. Meetings of the network will take place in the Trades Club, Castle Street, Sligo, every Tuesday night at 9.00.p.m.