Shannon --- Long Term Resistance

national | anti-war / imperialism | press release Sunday October 26, 2003 23:19 by Adam peace at gluaiseacht dot net 087 773 2508

An open invitation to the peace movement

Dear friends,

Shannon --- Long Term Resistance

An open invitation to the peace movement

The last year or so has seen people all over the world on the streets in an attempt to protect people they were never likely to meet.

In Ireland we have seen the Government, in defiance of the will of most of the people, play an active role in supporting an illegal, barbarous war. We have seen them allow Napalm, Radioactive Weapons, Cruise Missiles and who knows what else as well as over 90,000 troops to be transported through a civilian airport. We have even seen the Irish Army deployed to prevent ordinary people doing anything about it.

In response, we have marched, we have monitored and, in some cases, we have actively resisted. In the short term, we may have failed. In the longer term, however, the realisation that we have to act if we our to have any hope of a peaceful future, that wherever we live we are involved and affected and that "our" government listens only to its political masters overseas - and not to the people it claims to represent - that realisation must be built on. In short, this war is not over and the next is already brewing.

Ireland will be involved next time. Shannon will be used again. Unless we prevent it. There will be another war soon. If we wait until it is upon us we will in all probability see a repeat of this year. The government knew what the level of opposition in the country was but they decided to "ride it out". We mustn't let them.

We in the peace movement must sustain and re-energise ourselves. We must not stop simply because CNN says the war is over and we must not let Bertie off the hook.

Also, we must learn the lessons of the last year. February 15 was amazing, but it wasn't enough alone. Mass marches are useful but have their limitations - the politicians will make paper concessions, procrastinate and lie until the energy has drained from the marches then carry on as before. We cannot rely on only appealing to politicians - we must make the practice of warmongering as difficult as
possible.

The fact that the army was deployed at Shannon was a sign of panic in high places. A panic induced by the exposure of the truth of what was happening at Shannon (in large part by the Peace Camp) and the practical disarmament work of Mary Kelly and the CW5 (which also forced two of the companies ferrying troops and weapons through Shannon to withdraw).

In summary, we must redouble our resistance to this war and we must start resisting the next one now. And we must be prepared to resist, not just oppose.

You are therefore invited to a meeting in Halla Ide, Thomas St, Limerick City on Saturday 1
November at 3pm with the aim of creating an inclusive peace campaign, based on Non-Violent Direct Action and focussed on the militarisation of Shannon Airport. This call is being made/supported by a number of peace activists and is aimed at filling a gap in the existing peace movement in Ireland. It is intended this group would complement the existing structures within the peace movement, not compete with them. The invitation is open to any interested party. The form and direction of the campaign is being left largely open until that meeting, although the following principles form part of the invitation:

*The campaign would use/support the use of Non-Violent Direct Action on this issue.
*The campaign would be non-party political.

The following suggestions have been made already for future activities, more are welcome:

1 - A 1-2 week Action Camp at Shannon Airport in March.
2 - Actions in support of the Top Oil Boycott.
3 - Some kind of pledge of resistance.

For more info please contact: 087 773 2508 or mailto:peace@gluaiseacht.net.

It would be helpful if we could have an idea of numbers in advance.

Please forward this invitation as widely as possible.

In Peace,