Anti war activist speaks out at Dail

international | anti-war / imperialism | news report Tuesday December 13, 2005 18:24 by Derek O Halloran

Cindy Sheehan,criticises use of Shannon by US military

Speaking today outside the Dail, US anti war activist Cindy Sheehan said that the use of Shannon airport by the US military made Ireland complicit in the Iraq war.

Cindy Sheehan condemned the use of Shannon by the US military today outside Dail Eireann, saying it was against the will of the people. “The Irish people are against the war and against the use of Shannon by the US military.” She said, adding that “Ireland was complicit in the war.”

The mother of Casey Sheehan a US serviceman, who died in an improvised explosive device attack five days after arriving in Iraq, she rose to prominence last summer, establishing a peace camp outside George Bush’s Texas ranch. Camp Casey became a focus for opposition to the war, galvanising the anti war movement and embarrassing President Bush.

Calling the Iraq war “illegal and immoral”, she said “humanity must stand together against the war crimes being committed in Iraq.”

Over 100,000 people rallied on the streets of Dublin in opposition to the war in February 2003. The use of Shannon airport continues to cause controversy, most recently because anti-war activists have recorded CIA flights passing through which have been used in renditions of terrorist suspects. They accuse the US of transporting suspects to countries where human rights aren’t respected for the purposes of interrogations, including torture.

The US has denied this, Condoleezza Rice speaking in advance of a recent trip to Europe said, "The United States does not transport, and has not transported, detainees from one country to another for the purpose of interrogation using torture." However she refused to give further details of the US actions saying, "We cannot discuss information that would compromise the success of intelligence, law enforcement, and military operations.”

Detainees have described a process where they were bundled onto planes to unknown destinations, by men with American accents and flown back to their countries of birth. Once there, they allege they were subjected to torture. The Guardian recently reported the case of Khaled al-Masri a Lebanonese born German national who alleges he was spirited away to Afghanistan by the CIA while visiting Macedonia. Held for five months, he claims he was tortured while in captivity.

The American Civil Liberties Union is suing the CIA over his case, naming former director George Tenet as a defendant. Al-Masri’s case is one of many renditions highlighted by human rights groups.

Sheehan will address a rally tonight at Belvedere College on Denmark street in Dublin. Rose Gentle the mother of a British soldier killed in Iraq will also speak, along with Richard Boyd Barrett of the Irish Anti War Movement.