Ex Guantanamo Prisoner For Galway Outdoor Public Protest

galway | anti-war / imperialism | event notice Wednesday January 23, 2008 20:13 by Niall Farrell - Galway Alliance Against War

AS LIAM MELLOWS DONS ORANGE BOILER SUIT

The Galway Alliance Against War will hold a public meeting at Liam Mellows statue Eyre Square this Saturday at 1.30pm. The main speaker will be Rhuhel Ahmed a former Guantanamo prisoner. On the day, GAAW intends to dress Liam Mellows in an orange boiler suit to highlight the unimpeded use of Shannon airport by the CIA torture flights.

GAAW Poster

The Galway Alliance Against War has announced that a former inmate of the infamous US Guantanamo prison camp, Rhuhel Ahmed, will be the main speaker at an outdoor public meeting at Liam Mellows’ statue in Eyre Sq this Saturday, 26th January, at 1.30pm. Rhuhel Ahmed, a British citizen, spent over 2 years in the camp. He was kidnapped with two friends while they were attending a wedding in Pakistan in 2001. The film “The Road to Guantanamo” is based on their experiences.

Galway’s local peace group may once again be facing into the eye of a political storm in the city over the event, as it has announced that Liam Mellows statue will be dressed in an orange boiler suit to mark both the 6th anniversary of the opening of the US Guantanamo prison camp and the use of Shannon airport by CIA “special rendition” flights.

The local Palestinian solitary group will also contribute to the event with a speaker. It is concerned at the silence by the Irish government and RTE on the crisis in Gaza.

There will also be music from local piper Tommy Keane and songs sung by the El Safty sisters from Barna. Following the outdoor event, the meeting will be continued in Richardsons of Eyre Sq, where Rhuhel Ahmed will be able to answer questions.

Niall Farrell, GAAW’s spokesperson, admitted the group expects criticism from the “usual quarters”. However, he stated: “Liam Mellows fought the superpower of his day, England. If he were alive now he would oppose today’s superpower and be on the side of the oppressed. He would have been against allowing a superpower to use Irish soil to wage war and carry out kidnapping and torture, as is the case with the use of Shannon airport today by the US forces.

“Over the years Mellows statue has become a place of ritual where government ministers lay wreaths every Easter and make hypocritical speeches that would make poor Liam turn in his grave. We want to reclaim Liam Mellows the anti-imperialist and that is why he will don an orange boiler suit on Saturday, to highlight the macabre anniversary of CIA torture flights using Shannon airport on a regular basis travelling to Guantanamo or even worse. We also wish to express our solidarity with the poor Palestinian people of the Gaza who are being murdered with impunity by the Israeli army while our government and our national broadcaster, RTE, remain silent.”