Trevor Sargent Justifies Damage to US Military Aircraft

national | miscellaneous | news report Wednesday January 29, 2003 14:44 by Graham Caswell - Green Party caswell at indigo dot ie

It highlights a Far Greater Injustice, he says

Green Party leader Trevor Sargent has spoken out in support of Peace Activist Mary Kelly who damaged a US military aircraft earlier today at Shannon airport.

Green Party Leader, Trevor Sargent T.D., who will be at the Shannon Peace Camp on Saturday February 1 and who has spoken with the Gardai at Shannon and with the women who is now in custody having been charged with breaching airport security, said today:

"It is sometimes justifiable to damage property if, for example, a door has to be forced to access a burning house to save life. In relation to the US war effort intent on killing innocent civilians in Iraq, there is in a similar way a
legal excuse for non-violent direct action. A legal case of this sort was won by three women in Britain who damaged a Hawk fighter plane which was due to kill people in East Timor in January 1996."

"Meanwhile the Irish Government is arrogantly failing to comment in the Dáil over the involvement of Shannon in preparations for a war in Iraq, a war which may not even have a UN sanction. Day to day security at Shannon Airport is also deeply flawed. There is really no excuse for this given the revenue Aer Rianta is gleaning from the US Military authorities in landing fees."

"The Irish people who protest against the US military use of Shannon in preparation for war are acting in the interest of constitutional peaceful conflict resolution and are acting to save the lives of innocent people who happen to live on top of an oil rich country which the US wants to control."