Galway no events posted in last week
Interested in maladministration. Estd. 2005
RTEs Sarah McInerney ? Fianna Fail supporter? Anthony
Joe Duffy is dishonest and untrustworthy Anthony
Robert Watt complaint: Time for decision by SIPO Anthony
RTE in breach of its own editorial principles Anthony
Waiting for SIPO Anthony Public Inquiry >>
Indymedia Ireland is a volunteer-run non-commercial open publishing website for local and international news, opinion & analysis, press releases and events. Its main objective is to enable the public to participate in reporting and analysis of the news and other important events and aspects of our daily lives and thereby give a voice to people.
Julian Assange is finally free ! Tue Jun 25, 2024 21:11 | indy
Stand With Palestine: Workplace Day of Action on Naksa Day Thu May 30, 2024 21:55 | indy
It is Chemtrails Month and Time to Visit this Topic Thu May 30, 2024 00:01 | indy
Hamburg 14.05. "Rote" Flora Reoccupied By Internationalists Wed May 15, 2024 15:49 | Internationalist left
Eddie Hobbs Breaks the Silence Exposing the Hidden Agenda Behind the WHO Treaty Sat May 11, 2024 22:41 | indy Human Rights in Ireland >>
Fifteen Year-Old Swiss Girl Taken into Care After Parents Refuse to Consent to Course of Puberty Blo... Wed Jul 24, 2024 15:00 | Dr Frederick Attenborough A Swiss girl has been been taken into care because her parents stopped her taking puberty blockers, breaching a ban on conversion therapy. Is this what Labour means by a "full, trans-inclusive ban on conversion practices"?
The post Fifteen Year-Old Swiss Girl Taken into Care After Parents Refuse to Consent to Course of Puberty Blockers appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
Net Zero is Impoverishing the West and Enriching China Wed Jul 24, 2024 13:30 | Will Jones The West's headlong rush to jettison fossil fuels and hit 'Net Zero' CO2 emissions is impoverishing us while enriching China, which is ramping up its coal-fired industry to sell us all the 'green' technology.
The post Net Zero is Impoverishing the West and Enriching China appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
The Threat to Democracy Wed Jul 24, 2024 11:29 | James Alexander 'Populists' like Donald Trump and Nigel Farage are a "threat to democracy", chant the mainstream media. In fact, they are just reminding our politicians what they are supposed to be doing, says Prof James Alexander.
The post The Threat to Democracy appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
In the Latest Weekly Sceptic, Nick Dixon and Toby Young Talk About Biden?s Withdrawal, Kamala Harris... Wed Jul 24, 2024 09:00 | Toby Young In the latest Weekly Sceptic, the talking points are whether Biden was the victim of a palace coup, Kamala Harris's staggeringly bad speeches and Kim Cheatle's humiliation.
The post In the Latest Weekly Sceptic, Nick Dixon and Toby Young Talk About Biden?s Withdrawal, Kamala Harris?s Chances and the Kim Cheatle?s Shame appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
Wanted: Climate Researcher to Write Extreme Weather Just-So Stories to Serve Up to Credulous Media Wed Jul 24, 2024 07:00 | Chris Morrison If you wondered where the MSM get all their lurid stories attributing 'extreme weather' to climate change, look no further than a new job ad for a "researcher" focused on creating alarmist propaganda, says Chris Morrison.
The post Wanted: Climate Researcher to Write Extreme Weather Just-So Stories to Serve Up to Credulous Media appeared first on The Daily Sceptic. Lockdown Skeptics >>
Voltaire, international edition
Netanyahu soon to appear before the US Congress? It will be decisive for the suc... Thu Jul 04, 2024 04:44 | en
Voltaire, International Newsletter N°93 Fri Jun 28, 2024 14:49 | en
Will Israel succeed in attacking Lebanon and pushing the United States to nuke I... Fri Jun 28, 2024 14:40 | en
Will Netanyahu launch tactical nuclear bombs (sic) against Hezbollah, with US su... Thu Jun 27, 2024 12:09 | en
Will Israel provoke a cataclysm?, by Thierry Meyssan Tue Jun 25, 2024 06:59 | en Voltaire Network >>
|
7th Anniversary Of Afghan War Marked
galway |
anti-war / imperialism |
news report
Friday November 21, 2008 21:06 by GAAW - GALWAY ALLIANCE AGAINST WAR
![Report this post to the editors Report this post to the editors](../graphics/report.gif)
IRISH TROOPS OUT OF AFGHANISTAN
The Galway Alliance Against War marked the 7th anniversary of the invasion of Afghanistan yesterday, Thursday 20th November and called on the Irish government to withdraw Irish troops from this occupied country. Ireland’s involvement in this conflict does not stop at Shannon airport. Irish officers are presently working alongside NATO forces in Kabul and some of those soldiers are known to come from Galway’s Liam Mellows barracks.
![Click on image to see full-sized version gaaw_2.jpg](../cache/imagecache/local/attachments/nov2008/460_0___30_0_0_0_0_0_gaaw_2.jpg) Irish officers with experience of Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) from their time in Lebanon are involved in assisting NATO. Specifically their task is to try and prove a link between these Taliban weapons and Hizbullah and Iran, so as to give the US a “reason” to bomb Tehran.
Tom Clonan writing in the Irish Times in October had a more benign take on Irish involvement in Afghanistan, but he also stated that a senior Irish officer is currently deployed in “counter-propaganda operations” there - an equally sinister development and one that Mr Clonan did not elaborate on. One wonders was Irish involvement in this illegal occupation of Afghanistan ever discussed in the Dail?
GAAW came into existence to oppose this specific war. A war waged by the most powerful country in the world against one of the poorest and underdeveloped. In the past 29 years, Afghanistan has been a victim of the superpowers - first, the senseless and brutal Soviet invasion in December 1979 and then the US invasion in 2001. The war waged by Washington will fail just like Moscow’s adventure. But it is the Afghani people who will suffer most. It is not war the Afghans need but help - a third of the children suffer malnutrition, life expectancy is only 44 years and the country is one of the most underdeveloped lands in the world.
It is also 7 years this month that Galway Alliance Against War was formed. Our peace group has developed sound ties with the Irish Anti-War Movement over the years and has raised funds in solidarity with Mary Kelly, the Pitstop Ploughshares and the Raytheon 9 as well as contributing to a project in Lebanon brought to our attention by Caoimhe Butterly.
But during those 7 long years, GAAW has been waging its own struggle in Galway against the militaristic Salthill War Show. That campaign won us a lot of friends, but also a lot of enemies. Amongst the latter were the usual suspects, the rightwing politicians and the local gombeens. The Gardaí, of course, were on hand in 2006 with their pins to try and scupper our 99 Red Balloon Peace Event – in fact their intervention had the direct opposite effect, garnering our campaign even more support. In 2007, the Gardaí had a low profile, even though they banned our balloon event. But at one of GAAW’s peace vigils a senior Garda assaulted one of our members. But that is par for the course, as are attacks from former ultra-leftists: A former member of Militant by the name of Kevin Higgins decided to attack members of GAAW in a “poem” entitled “The Annual Salthill Air Show Protest”. As the title of Mr Higgins’ poem suggests he never believed GAAW could win its campaign against that obscenity. Alas, he was wrong! Last summer there was no War Show and only in the last week it has been confirmed there won’t be another ever again!
Anniversaries are an appropriate time to raise issues: earlier this year we held a vigil on the 6th anniversary of the Iraq war and last January GAAW had intended to have Liam Mellows don an orange suit in solidarity with those incarcerated in Guantanamo – a camp that was opened in January 2002. The local gombeens were aghast at this idea, but so too were the silly zealots of RSF. Without doubt if it had been a green suit the latter wouldn’t have been so outraged. However, the issue of Guantanamo and Ireland’s role in supporting “extraordinary rendition” was given a good airing in the local media.
So yesterday’s marking of the Afghan war was also used by GAAW to mark the 7th anniversary of our peace campaigning, but we don’t view it as a happy occasion. However, there were balloons, black ones.
![Click on image to see full-sized version gaaw_3.jpg](../cache/imagecache/local/attachments/nov2008/460_0___30_0_0_0_0_0_gaaw_3.jpg)
![Click on image to see full-sized version gaaw_5.jpg](../attachments/nov2008/gaaw_5.jpg)
![Click on image to see full-sized version gaaw_4.jpg](../cache/imagecache/local/attachments/nov2008/460_0___30_0_0_0_0_0_gaaw_4.jpg)
![Click on image to see full-sized version GAAW Supporters](../cache/imagecache/local/attachments/nov2008/460_0___30_0_0_0_0_0_gaaw_1.jpg) GAAW Supporters
|
View Full Comment Text
save preference
Comments (10 of 10)