Shatter claims "immunity" for US Military at Shannon!

SHATTER CLAIMS
"SOVEREIGN IMMUNITY"
FOR US MILITARY
AIRCRAFT:

 

Under pressure of opposition questions in Dáil Éireann last week, Defence and Justice Minister, Alan Shatter, introduced a new concept of “sovereign immunity” for US Military aircraft using Shannon airport to tranship troops and their equipment and whatever else they might be carrying, to justify the failure of Irish governments to carry out their obligations under international human rights laws and neutrality laws in respect of misuse of the Airport by the US Military in the past 12 years since the illegal invasion of Afghanistan.

John Lannon of Shannonwatch, the locally based group of peace activists who monitor US activities at the Airport commented:

 

"The Minister for Justice and Equality and Defence, Alan Shatter has claimed that An Garda Síochána (Irish Police) has no role in relation to the inspection of foreign State or military aircraft at Shannon or other airports because they enjoy "sovereign immunity". In effect this means that the government allows the US military to take whatever or whoever they want through Ireland, regardless of the human rights, security and other consequences.

His statement was made in response to Clare Daly, TD, who asked the Minister whether or not the Government or the Garda Commissioner has instructed Gardaí at Shannon not to search US military aircraft, or chartered aircraft transporting US troops, or aircraft associated with the CIA.

According to Minister Shatter, An Garda Síochána has statutory powers of search and entry available to it under various legislative provisions, and these apply to aircraft as much as to any other type of private property.  He was talking here about civilian as opposed to military aircraft.

The Minister said that these powers may only be exercised in circumstances where a member of An Garda Síochána reasonably suspects that an offence has been or is being committed. But, there have been plenty of incidents in which there were reasonable
grounds to suspect involvement in torture-related offences and these have not been investigated.

The Minister also said that An Garda Síochána has fully investigated a number of allegations of unlawful activity at Irish airports and files have been submitted to the Director of Public Prosecutions in some of these cases. This is a claim that was also made by the government in their report to the fourth periodic review under the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights.

At that time they noted that 17 complaints were received by An Garda Síochána regarding alleged rendition flights to/from Shannon Airport. "However they could only confirm that 7 of these were investigated"

Shannonwatch calls on the Department of Justice to make the outcomes of the investigations of all the complaints known, or if no investigations took place to explain why".

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This new and outrageous attempt by Shatter to avoid legal responsibility for crimes at Shannon Airport is typical of his contemptuous attitude to any reporting of international law and human rights violations by the US Military or Israel and to the opposition who draw attention to these events on a regular basis, the monthly demonstration organised there by Shannonwatch being the most hated by this imperialist toady who, unfortunately for the Irish people, was put in charge of the Irish departments of Defence and Justice by the current Fine Gael/Labour coalition government.

There is no such thing as “sovereign immunity” for military transports in Irish or International Law; it is a spurious and malignant invention by Shatter to bolster his own pro-imperialist, pro-NATO and pro-zionist views expressed publicly at every opportunity along with vituperative and vicious comments on any opposition to his war-mongering and genocidal cronies in the Pentagon and Tel-Aviv.

 

The Hague Conventions, 1907:

The Second Hague Convention of October 1907, (Treaty V, Convention relative to the rights and duties of neutral powers and persons in case of war on land), specifically states:

“Art. 2.

Belligerents are forbidden to move troops or convoys of either munitions of war or supplies across the territory of a neutral Power”.

 

Although this Hague Convention of 1907(V) has not specifically been incorporated in modern  Irish Law by Dáil Éireann, the foundation of the Irish Free State/Saorstát Éireann in 1922, under the Irish Free State Constitution Act 1922, affirmed all laws previously in force under the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland remained in force unless amended or repealed by Dáil Éireann and a similar provision in the 1937 Constitution (Bunreacht na hÉireann) regarding the laws of Saorstát Éireann, allows the 1907 Hague Convention, to which the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was a signatory, to be validly considered as Irish Law since no amendment or repeal of this convention has been enacted by Dáil Éireann.

Further, after World War II, the judges of the military tribunal of the Trial of German Major War Criminals at the Nuremberg Trials found that by 1939, the rules laid down in the 1907 Hague Convention were recognised by all civilised nations and were regarded as declaratory of the laws and customs of war. Under this post-war decision, a country did not have to have ratified the 1907 Hague Conventions in order to be bound by them.

 

This leaves no grounds whatsoever for Shatter’s spurious legalisms and such malignant inventions designed to give a fig-leaf of spurious legality for war-crimes and human rights violations by the world’s most aggressive imperialist power, the USA, must be vigorously opposed and rebuffed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

US MILITARY BUILD-UP AT SHANNON:

UPSURGE IN US MILITARY
TRAFFIC AT SHANNON AIRPORT:

A significant increase of US Military traffic at Shannon Airport, Co Clare, Ireland, close to Limerick City in the West, Atlantic  coast,  was reported by local observers this week. On Saturday alone, at midday, four US military aircraft plus an air refuelling tanker aircraft and one Omni AIR (Contracted by the US military) troop carrier were landed on the tarmac. In addition, a fuel tanker vessel was observed at the marine fuel delivery point in the estuary on Saturday and Sunday this weekend. Local Peace group, Shannonwatch, issued the following statement:

"Number of U.S. Military Aircraft at Shannon Raises Concerns

Shannonwatch, 8 Sept 2013

Shannonwatch have called on the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Eamon Gilmore, to clarify the significance of several U.S. troop carriers and other military aircraft at Shannon Airport in the run-up to what might well be a U.S. led attack on Syria. As U.S. President Barack Obama continues to look for support for an attack that would have serious repercussions for the Syrian people and the region as a whole, the organisation calls on the Irish government to make its opposition clear by immediately ending the U.S. military use of the airport.

In the last week Shannonwatch recorded14 U.S. military aircraft as well as four troop carriers at Shannon Airport. The military aircraft included Hercules C-130s operated by the U.S. Air Force and Navy,and two KC-10s. The KC-10 is a military version of the DC-10 and is used by the U.S. Air Force for transport and aerial refuelling. The presence of the KC-10s at Shannon could indicate that other US military aircraft are being refuelled in or near Irish airspace. 
Shannonwatch are particularly concerned at the fact that on Saturday Sept 7^than armed man in army clothing was seen beside one of the U.S. Air Forces’ Hercules at the airport. “This man was either part of a support service being provided by the Irish army to the U.S. military, or the unauthorised presence of an armed U.S. soldier on Irish soil” said Shannonwatch spokesperson Edward Horgan. “If it was an Irish soldier providing support for the U.S. military,it calls our neutrality into serious question. If it was a U.S. soldier, it is a violation of Irish law as well as our neutrality, since the U.S. does not have permission to have weapons on its military aircraft at Shannon”.

The situation regarding the presence of weapons on U.S. military flights at Shannon was outlined by the Minister for Foreign Affairs Eamonn Gilmore in June of this year. In answer to a written parliamentary question he stated that permission for foreign military aircraft, including U.S. aircraft, to land at Irish airports is given only on condition that the aircraft are unarmed, carry no arms, ammunition or explosives and do not engage in intelligence gathering and that the flights in question do not form any part of military exercises or operations.

“It is inconceivable that U.S. military aircraft transiting Shannon airport would not be carrying armed personnel” said Edward Horgan. “The only way to be sure that they are not is to inspect them. But despite being asked repeatedly to do so, the authorities refuse”.

On 7^th September Shannonwatch also recorded a U.S. Army C-12 twin-engine turboprop aircraft at Shannon Airport. C-12’s are used for various duties, including embassy support, medical evacuation, as well as passenger and light cargo transport. Some C-12’s are modified with surveillance systems for various missions.

“It is not clear if the C-12 seen at Shannon on Saturday was carrying military cargo or not” noted Edward Horgan. “Given the risks associated with a U.S. military attack on Syria, it is more important than ever to inspect these aircraft now”.

On Sunday 8^th September two Omni Air International troop carriers departed from Shannon. “This means hundreds of troops passing through a civilian airport. Shannon is not equipped to deal with potential attacks on an army that may be now be preparing to attack Syria, having already invaded Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya over the last decade” said the Shannonwatch spokesperson. In addition to the U.S. military planes at Shannon this week, Shannonwatch also identified a Gulfstream Aerospace G-1159A Gulfstream III that is reportedly leased by the Italian Air Force. It is not the first time it has visited Shannon but its presence in a supposedly neutral country is worrying. While Shannonwatch welcomes the Italian government’s statement that they will not take part in any US-led attack on Syria without full UN authorisation, there are nonetheless questions to be answered about the Italian Air Force presence in Shannon at the same time as the US Air Force according to their spokesperson Mr. Horgan.

“Because of the unusually high level of military activity at Shannon over the weekend, we are asking the Minister to immediately clarify whether or not the airport is being used to assist in the build-up to an attack on Syria, and to make a statement on the matter. As the Minister for Foreign Affairs it is his duty to ensure Ireland is not complicit in another illegal attack on a Middle Eastern country by the U.S. And the only sure way to do that is to end their use of Shannon Airport now.”

The presence of an Italian Air Force aircraft is an unusual occurrence, particularly as the Italian Government has publicly stated that Italy would not participate in any US-led attack on Syria. The arrival of two marine tankers signifies that other US aircraft are being re-fuelled in Irish airspace contrary to Irish and International law on military air traffic. The citizens of nearby Limerick City are particularly concerned at this increase in military traffic at what is a civil airport and the consequent danger of accidents with aircraft carrying large quantities of fuel and high-explosive weaponry.

The Irish Government must immediately answer these serious public concerns.

 

 

 

 

 

Anti-War Granny causes Court upset:

                Margaretta D'Arcy, (79), veteran Irish Peace Campaigner outside Ennis Courthouse


ANTI-WAR GRANNY
CAUSES COURT
UPSET IN ENNIS:


An anti-war granny caused mayhem in a court room when she confronted a judge in a bright orange jump suit.

Disabled  Margaretta D’Arcy, 79, refused to stand down from a bench in front of Judge Patrick Durcan at Ennis (Co Clare) District Court - and the hearing had to be halted. Ms Darcy appeared in connection with the alleged interference of the proper use of Shannon Airport last October 7, 2012, by going on the runway without permission. Ms D'Arcy, a well known artist, is a veteran of the Irish and International Peace Movement and has been a regular attendee, health permitting, at the monthly Peace Protest at the gates of Shannon Airport, Co. Clare, in the west of Ireland near Limerick city since the protests began following the illegal invasion of Iraq in 2003. Since the invasion there has been large-scale use of the Airport by the US Military despite public opposition in Ireland, an officially neutral country.

When the case was called last Wednesday,10 July Ms Darcy, of Woodquay, Galway, approached the bench the better to hear and see the judge properly because of poor sight and hearing. She then stood on the bench below the judge's podium to hear Judge Durcan say he was going to adjourn the matter to September 11 next because her co-accused wasn’t in court.

Ms D'Arcy – who needs a zimmer frame with wheels to walk - said that she wanted the judge to dismiss the summons against her as it is inaccurate. Judge Durcan said: “That is a matter for hearing and not for today.”  The judge then asked Ms D'Arcy: "Will you please go down to ground level and stand on the ground for safety reasons. I will not have you standing on the bench.” Ms D'Arcy refused and replied: “I am going to stand here. We have to see each other as equals. It is the citizens of Ireland that own the courts. In response, Judge Durcan said: “You are going to be removed. I am going to suspend the court for two minutes.”

As the judge was walking from the bench, Ms D’Arcy called out after him: “So you don’t want a conversation with me around the word ‘proper’ and the use of the airport as a military airport. Murder, Complicity in murder. Run, run away and never hear the truth.” Ms D'Arcy then stepped down from the bench with the assistance of two Gardaí (Irish police)and she was then applauded by her supporters in court, including retired UN Assistant Secretary General, Denis Halliday, and well-known anti-war activist Dr Ed Horgan.

On returning to court, Judge Durcan said that on the adjourned date in September, he would decide if the case will be heard in the district court or the circuit court. This is an obvious dodge by the state prosecutor to avoid hearing evidence of the misuse of the civilian airport at Shannon by the US Military since the invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 with the full collaboration of Irish Governments since then despite public opposition. The local Shannonwatch organisation, who monitor US Military activities at the airport, had brought to court a wheelbarrow (literally) of documentary evidence of the violations of Irish and International law occurring there in the past 10 years.

 

Full court report here:

http://www.shannonwatch.org/blog/margaratta-darcy-leaves-court-her-questions-unanswered