More US warplanes at Shannon

international | crime and justice | news report Wednesday July 11, 2007 23:18 by Edward Horgan

11 July 07 - Asylum seekers being deported as US warplanes welcomed and protected

A heavy garda escort was provided for four African asylum seekers who were being escorted through Shannon airport, loaded on to a Garda 'paddy wagon' and put on a plane back to God knows where, at about 4.30 PM on Wed 11 July 07. Meanwhile, three US warplanes sat on the secured central area of the airfield, with an Irish army protection escort.

2 US Hercules C 130 and OMNI troop carrier at Shannon 11 July 07

Ireland has a duty under the UN Convention on Refugees to provide protection for asylum seekers and refugees. Yet it puts considerable effort into preventing asylum seekers entering Ireland each year, and deporting those it deems invalid asylum seekers. The number of asylum seekers allowed in to Ireland each year is now down to about 4000, while at lease another 4000 are turned back at Dublin airport each year, and a significant proportion of those allowed in are later deported, like those passing through Shannon today. Ireland is failing to meet its international obligations to provide adequate protection for many of the asylum seekers that seek refugee here.

Ireland also has obligations under international laws including the UN charter and the Hague Convention on neutrality, to prevent Irish territory being used for crimes against humanity including torture and war crimes. Ireland is also failing to live up to these obligations, and instead it has allowed over 1,000,000 US troops to transit through Shannon airport to unlawful wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

There is now widespread acceptance in the US and the UK, and indeed worldwide, that the Iraq war was unlawful, unjustified and that therefore the over half a million people who died as a result were effectively murdered. Tony Blair has resigned as Prime Minister and is now seen a discredited person. George Bush now has the support of less than one third of the US people and is widely regarded as one the most discredited Presidents in US history, mainly because of the Iraq war.
Yet, even though the Irish Government has actively participated in this war, this complicity has become almost taboo in the Irish media. There is a conspiracy of silence.
We are deporting autistic children who seek our help and refuge, we are treating survivors of torture deplorably in so-called 'direct provision' hostels, and new legislation is being planned (the Immigration, Protection and Residency Bill) to arrest and imprison asylum seekers.
Under the Hague Convention we should be arresting and interning all US troops passing through Shannon airport, and under UN conventions on crimes against humanity and torture, we should be searching all US military and CIA planes passing through Shannon, and handing all known or suspected war criminals US war criminals over the International Criminal Tribunal.
Dozens of peace activists have been arrested at Shannon for the 'Crime' of exposing Irish complicity in war crimes, and several have been imprisioned.
In Mayo, farmers and fishermen are gailed for defending their human rights, and Gardai who carry out unjustified assaults get off Scott free.
Justice in Ireland is rapidly becomming a foreign concept.