One View of the events of March 1st Shannon Airport

Sunday March 02, 2003 22:24

by Unamerican Chris

On Saturday the 1st of March, there was a rally at Shannon Airport of approximately 450 Gardai who had gathered for the purpose of preventing some several hundred of the extraordinary citizens of Ireland from expressing their opposition to the continuous use of the airport by the US military forces as a base of operations for their long running campaign against the poor and defenceless men, women and children of what they commonly refer to as the third world.

On Saturday the 1st of March, there was a rally at Shannon Airport of approximately 450 Gardai who had gathered for the purpose of preventing some several hundred of the extraordinary citizens of Ireland from expressing their opposition to the continuous use of the airport by the US military forces as a base of operations for their long running campaign against the poor and defenceless men, women and children of what they commonly refer to as the third world.

The protestors consisted of two separate groups. One group was mainly the Socialist Workers party who this month are calling themselves, humbly enough The Irish Anti-War movement. In the main they comprised about 250 people whose modus operandi is to conduct highly regimented, colourless, mundane marches choreographed by a rash of blaring megaphones manned by what could only be former kindergarten teachers who revel in collaring bold children who dare to stray off the path to revolution.

The whole banal affair was proudly lead by their charismatic spiritual ruler Richard Boyd Barrett. This reporter had the misfortune of being stranded with this group as they marched down the long entry to the airport. The endless barrage coming from the megaphonic socialist cheerleaders was so stifling one had to hang back towards the back of the crowd. One particularly ironic chant was 'This is what Democracy looks like' which puzzled me as I had thought this is what government sponsored rallies in North Korea looked like.

This lot are what could be termed the civil servants of the protest movement. Rigidly hierarchical, with important decisions made in secret, and with little opportunity for individual expression. By calling themselves the Irish Anti War Movement they are suffering from unrivalled illusions of grandeur that somehow the workers of Ireland are going to give up their jobs to live in a socialist paradise with only the enduring love of their all knowing leader RBB to feed their hungry bellies. Sounds like the libretto of a Brecthian opera about Albanian Hari Krishnas. The greatest shame of the day occurred when the SWP's were passing by the second group of protestors who were engaging in direct action at the fence. Not only did they not pause to show solidarity with those who were also trying end American occupation of Shannon, but they also tried desperately to stop anyone who had marched down among them from joining the others. It was a pitiful sight to watch as a large number who had march down among them defected to help the NVDA protestors amidst the shouts from their megaphones of "Stay with the mass movement". At this stage, their "mass movement" was nearly the same size as the other movement. So having lost a sizable number of what they had wishfully thought were new cult members, they then sulked off to listen to dry speeches at the airport terminal.

Now that the SWP's were out of the way and Gardai were assured they would not engage in any meaningful attempt to address the issue of American warplanes at Shannon the might of the state's security forces were able to turn their attention fully to what was a very colourful collection of very loosely allied individuals that I suppose for the sake of the media convenience could be called the Grass Network Against War. Several attempts were made by some of the people to pull at the fence with either their hands or ropes with crude hooks that were fastened to the fence with the same intention. Several arrests were made and few activist were minorly injured.

There were a few heated incursions by the Gardai and a certain amount of violence dished out on their part. Of note was the actions of Garda CL75 who several activists singled out for unsocial behaviour and violent tendencies. A spokesperson for the activists was quoted as saying, "Although we acknowledge that the majority of the 500 Gardai present at the demonstration had a genuine enthusiasm for peaceful protest, freedom of speech and expression, and a common desire to rid Shannon of American imperialism, there was a small but influential hardline grouping in the Guards who are anti-democratic, pro war, and generally bad tempered who under the direct wishes of the Minister of Injustice PD Michael McDowell are trying to highjack the Garda Siochana and fashion the force into a KGBesque security organisation prepared to wipe out any resistance to the PD/FF agenda to make the Republic the 51st state of the Untied States of America and the British Isles. It is our intention using all non-violent means available to us to act inaccordance with the wishes of the majority of people on this island and indeed the rest of the world to put an end once and for all to American government warmongering. We hope more people will turn out at the next action and join in on the fun."