Protest in Shannon airport

by Justin Morahan - Peace People Thu Mar 02, 2006 11:25

I didn't answer your last comment, hoping the abuse it contained re President McAleese and the Catholic Church - totally unrelated to our non-violent protest at Shannon - would be removed immediately and that you would then make your points for what they are worth.

When that happens I will reply.

by Justin Morahan - Peace People Tue Feb 28, 2006 01:11

Colm and I were waved on, parked and walked in to the airport. We wandered around for over an hour, sat in the observation lounge and saw three US planes, one Aer Lingus and one Ryanair, two small planes partly out of sight. Unfortunately, we had no camera. We also saw US troops passing up and down the corridor behind a glass panel opposite our window.

After sipping a cup of tea we decided to do our protest in the middle of the Departure Lounge where there were passengers waiting and other people including staff to the left, right and upstairs. Colm took out his favourite poster (as in previous vigil in Ranelagh) and I mine . Then I gave my speech (below, impromptu, but as well as I can recall it) standing with our two posters and Colm also with his Pitstop T-shirt. I first recited Ed McCurdy's poem "Last night I dreamed"

The people were all listening, some smiling, but Colm said the people upstairs were more supportive -looking than the waiting passengers. After that we stood with the posters for about five minutes (at least it seemed a long time). Eventually 2 airport police came rushing through a door and one of them told us to leave the airport immediately. We said OK (as planned) but asked out loud "But,do you know why we are here? He said, out loud too "That's perfectly obvious" As we left, we asked him "But are you going to search these planes.? Planes landing here have brought people for torture to other countries" He said airport staff had been inside the planes several times and saw nothing suspicious. We walked through the front door still showing the posters as he rang the Guards.

We needed to go back to pay our parking fee and did. Outside, about four Gardai had arrived and took our names, Colm and I were in separate places. We told them why we were there etc.There was no hassle.
Later Detective Sergeant Houlihan arrived, smiling, talked about meeting us in Dublin July 3rd. He asked "Are ye going in to make a protest" and we said we had finished. (The gist of my replies as recollected are in brackets)

He pleaded that 1) there was no evidence whatsoever that people had been brought through Shannon to be tortured, (I said no-on was alleging that there was evidence of a person having been rendered through Shannon but that there was evidence that a torture rendition plane had landed there as part of the rendition)
2) that US soldiers had been going through Shannon for ages without protest ( But Bertie Ahern and Brian Cowen were denying that they were passing through until they were exposed on TV. Also if it was always happening, does that make it right?)
3)that Russian war planes had passed through without protest (If I had known, I would have been protesting )
4) it was only in the last few weeks that it was found out that a rendition plane had landed there (Tim and Ed had told you when they first took photos of it)
5) We have sent the evidence that was given to the DPP but it wasn't sufficient
6) the airport would go to economic ruin without the custom of the US military. (so, if Hitler had been using Shannon to transport gas for the extermination of the Jews, that would be ok because it was good for the economy of Shannon?)
7) Our people at the airport are very sharp and would know if there was anything suspicious
8) If people had any evidence, they should give it to us (How can people come in and examine these planes. I would go in now and examine them if I had permission. But people like Tim and Ed are harassed when they take photos. I was in the Dáil before Christmas listening to TDs and Senators - even Fianna Fáil members - expressing shock and amazement that someone had tried to stop them taking photos in the airport. How can they procure evidence unless they are allowed to board the planes?)
I finished by saying to Det Sgt Houlihan: "I am now making a formal request of you to examine all of these planes"

We also talked about the courts system and how Judge Moran disallowed Mary Kelly's defence and Judge McDonagh, in the Pitstop Ploughshares trial, asked the potential jury members not to go on the jury if they had any conflict of interests but there he was on the bench, a buddy of Bush's himself!

The Speech (including Ed McCurdy poem)

"Last night I dreamed the strangest dream
I never dreamed before
I dreamt that all the world agreed
To put an end to war

I dreamed I saw a mighty room
The room was full of men
And the papers they were signing said
They'd never fight again

And when the papers were all signed
And a million copies made
They all joined hands and bowed their heads
And grateful prayers were said

And the people in the streets below
were dancing round and round
While swords and guns and uniforms
Lay scattered on the ground

Last night I dreamed the strangest dream
I never dreamed before
I dreamed that all the world agreed
To put an end to war.

We are here today to protest against the use of Shannon airport as part of a war effort. And we are protesting against the airport being used to refuel CIA torture planes after they had carried prisoners to other countries where they were tortured.
We know of one plane that had carried prisoners to Egypt where they were tortured and that plane stopped at Shannon on its way back to the United States.

Donald Rumsfeld stood in this airport making a speech to his own US troops preparing them for war - just imagine that - a foreign Commander-in-Chief addressing his own troops on Irish soil as they went out to war against another country. This is an absolute disgrace

What is happening to Ireland? What the hell is happening to this country? Our Government allows our airport to be used in this way.
Let us be clear about this. This use of Shannon has made us participants in a war. Let there be no waffle, let there be no pretence. Because our Government allows this to happen it is making us complicit in war and torture. This is an absolute disgrace and the Irish people should not allow it to happen.

Now we have made our protest, we wish you a safe and happy flight to wherever you are going - and be sure to tell everyone what you have seen at Shannon.
Thank you".

by Niall Harnett Mon Feb 27, 2006 23:07

Good for you Justin & Colm.

Takes conviction, guts and nerve to do something like that when you know the experiences of intimidation, assault and arrest of others who've done similar. Of course matters of principle are incomprehensible to State officialdom from the humble APO through the Gardai to the ministers of ill and Gontanama the Gay himself ... Bertie.

Complicity in stupidity from A - Zee
One big happy family.

What has been hidden from the 'wise' and the 'prudent' has been revealed to the babe and the suckling.

by Ploughshares Mon Feb 27, 2006 01:28

Frank Cordaro appeared at the Federal Courthouse in Omaha this
afternoon(2/24/06) on a Federal Misdemeanor Criminal Trespass charge.
He pled
guilty and asked to be sentenced right away. The prosecutor asked for
6 months in jail and a $5,000 fine but the judge sentenced him to 6
months in jail and no fine. The statement Cordaro read in court is
reprinted below.

Renee Espeland also appeared in Federal Court today and pled not
guilty. Her next court appearance is scheduled for April 11, 2006.

Frank Cordaro is being held at the following location for the next
7-10 days and will eventually be moved to a Federal facility.

Frank Cordaro
Pottawattamie County Jail
1400 Big Lake Rd
Council Bluffs, IA 51501

Cordaro's statment to the court:

I am a thirty-year member of the Des Moines Catholic Worker
Community, a former diocesan priest, and a life-long believer that war
is not the road to peace. For me, it's a religious issue, your Honor.
It is based upon my understanding of what it means to be Faithful.
That personally held conviction has carried with it some deep social
and political implications and today it leads me into your courtroom.
Thank you for the opportunity to speak on my own behalf, Your Honor.

For 26 years, Catholic Workers and many other peacemakers have
gathered in Omaha the day after Christmas for a two and a half day
retreat to reflect and ponder a deeper and truer meaning of this holy
observance. We come annually to build community amongst ourselves; we
especially pray and reflect on the Gospel of Matthew's story of Jesus'
birth. Then, on December 28, the date in the Catholic Liturgical Year
we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Innocents, we gather at the gate to
Offutt AFB to testify and proclaim this deeper and truer aspect of
Christmas seldom considered or proclaimed.

The Feast of the Holy Innocents memorializes the killing of
all the male children under two in Bethlehem. It was a massacre
ordered by King Herod, in an attempt to put an end to the child Jesus
before he became an adult. We read Matthew's story of Jesus' birth as
a highly political text in which King Herod's killing of the innocent
children casts the dye for the way Jesus will be treated in the
remainder of the story. Put in its historical context, King Herod was
a political operative of the Roman Empire. His primary obligation to
Rome was to maintain political and economic stability and to secure
his subject's allegiance to Rome. The birth of Jesus threatened Rome's
stability and the allegiance of Herod's constituents. In ordering the
killings of the innocent children, Herod determined that an end
justified the means and the murdered children became collateral
damage.

We then reread the story in the present day context. If we
re-contextualize this Christmas story in today's world, then we must
face a ghastly irony: that is, in the name of Peace, we, the most
powerful nation in the World, represent the Roman Empire. And like the
Romans before us, we and our political operatives commit a war of
aggression against the few, and tens of thousands of innocents end up
slaughtered in the process - all in the name of democracy, freedom and
above all global stability. That is why we go to Offutt AFB, year
after year, so that we can remember the teachings of the Prince of
Peace and shed light on a truer and deeper meaning of the Christmas
season.

In the last 26 years, we have vigiled at Offutt AFB through
the civil wars in Latin America, the end of the Cold War, and through
the first Gulf War. We are now in the midst of Gulf War # II and a
declared new global War on Terrorism. Since the last time I crossed
the line at Offutt, four years ago, things have changed for the worse,
your Honor. Offutt AFB is now the home of the US Nuclear and Military
Space Commands, called STRATCom. Its mission includes a new way of
making war, a hybrid of nuclear weapons systems and space technology.
Its stated goal is the projection of US military might; both nuclear
and conventional, anywhere on the planet within 30 minutes – dubbed a
Global Strike Force.

With that in mind, I stood hand in hand with 3 other peace
makers at the entrance drive of Offutt AFB on Dec 28th and made a slow
but deliberate approach to Offutt's main gate. When we reached the
gate we were asked to leave by the awaiting Offutt security officers.
We chose instead to take our witness on to the base as we opened the
unlocked gate and stepped through. We were immediately and peaceably
arrested.

This was all done, openly and nonviolently, Your Honor. No
property was damaged nor was any human being threatened or
disrespected. Permits were previously obtained through the proper
authorities for our presence on the public property leading onto the
base. The Offutt security people were told before hand that we were
coming and of our intent to enter the base.

A serious crime, a crime against humanity is taking place
on a daily basis at Offutt AFB, and I don't know how I could live with
myself if I don't stand up and say it is wrong. Thousands of people
are dying every day under the weight of Pax America; hundreds of
Herods are killing the innocents to maintain the USA's global
political and economic stability. I do recognize the need for trespass
laws and I do not oppose them. In this instance, however, I believe I,
and the others were justified; it was the breaking of a smaller law to
call attention to a greater crime - a defense of necessity in my
humble view.

Finally your honor, for the life of me, for the Gospel I
follow and for the Jesus I believe in, I can not reconcile our
country's possession of and intent to use nuclear weapons with my
Christian Catholic Faith. Nor can I reconcile it with the national and
international treaties to which our Government is a signatory. Whether
we are talking Gods law, or man's law, I believe we are, as a nation,
in violation of a law.

Some day, maybe today perhaps, I believe, as surely as the
arc of human history bends towards truth and justice, our necessity
defense will be acknowledged and the Justice system will side with the
peace makers. If not today, then I shall find my peace in knowing
that I have not violated God's law, and in believing that I have not
violated man's law, either.

As you deliberate the sentence, I ask your understanding when I
tell you that I can not in good consciousness pay any fine, as I live
and work without pay at the DMCW as a volunteer for the homeless, that
community service is my way of life every day, and that I could not
accept a probation with a restriction against my work for peace.

I want you to know that no matter what the outcome of
today's proceedings, I hold no ill will towards you, or anyone from
the prosecutor's office or Offutt AFB. I believe the power of
nonviolence and love will transform the fearful world in which we
live, and I know it must begin with me.

Thank you, again, for allowing me to present this statement.

by Ciaron Mon Feb 27, 2006 01:17

Sean O'Reilly in Alice Springs Court on Monday F27
Over Pine Gap- A Call for Solidarity!

They're in Court for Us, We're on the Loose for Them!

The first court case against the five people arrested
at Pine Gap in December takes place on Monday February
27th.2006. Sean O'Reilly, from Redcliffe. was arrested
by Australian Federal Police officer at a solidairty
vigil at the gates of Pine Gap following the
nonviolent resistance action inside the base early
that morning, December 9th. Sean is charged with
"obstructing an officer of Australian Federal Police"

HOW YOU CAN HELP?

The 5 defendants need help to get back to court.
Transport costs to Alice Springs average $500 each.
Can you donate to a solidarity fund to facilitate the
continuation of this witness against the warfighting
role of Pine Gap? ....if so please donate to the group
c/- "Sean O'Reilly" Commonwealth Bank, Kippa-Ring
Branch Account Number :064166 102 66 104

BACKGROUND In the early hours of December 9th. 2005,
four peace activists made their way into Pine Gap
Joint U.S./Australian military facility. Pine Gap
shrouded with secrecy plays a targetting role for the
U.S. war machine in hi tech attacks on Third World
people in Iraq, Afghanistan etc.

Bryan Law from Cairns and Donna Mulhearn, a former
human shield in Iraq, from Sydney were arrested
cutting the fence line. Jim Dowling of Dayboro and
Adele Golide from Brisbane occupied the roof of the
facility Jim Dowling, Adele Golide, Bryan Law, Donna
Mulhearn who walked into Pine Gap are charged with:
Destroying or damaging Commonwealth property;
Trespassing on Commonwealth land; Unlawfully entering
a prohibited area; Unlawfully damaging property. Sean
was charged with obstructing Commonwealth Police. The
four were told the “Unlawfully enter a prohibited
area” charge needs to be approved by the Attorney
General, and we await such confirmation. This is the
1952 law Defence Minister Hill threatened them with.
It carries a maximum of seven years jail. No one has
ever been charged under this law in Australia before.
The four will be informed on Feb 27th. if this charge
is to be laid. The four go to a committal hearing in
April when we will receive a date for a jury trial
later in the year.

Please consider offering practical solidarity with
nonviolent resistance to the war! Sean O'Reilly 07
3889 4678 sean.oreilly@optusnet.com.au

LINK-Photos & Original report on the Pine Gap Action

http://melbourne.indymedia.org/news/2005/12/101603.php

My Brother is in Court
by Ciaron O'Reilly

My brother Sean goes to court in Alice Springs on a
trumped up charge. He is in court because of his
suport for nonviolent resistance to Pine Gap &
Australian complicity in the illegal, immoral &
unwinnable war on Iraq. I await a 3rd. trial in
Dublin, Ireland, on july 5th for nonviolently
resisting the same war. http://www.peaceontrial.com

As Baghdad lives under a daylight curfew, as the war
escalates & expands, there seems to be two things we
can be doing - direct nonviolent resistance &/or
proactive solidarity with our brothers & sisters
before the courts & in chains for resisting this war.
When I was stopped by ASIO at Brisbane Airport a few
weeks ago on returning to Australia, they didn't ask
me if I was back to organise a big march in a big city
against this war. They wanted to know if I was going
to Pine Gap with Sean, what I thought I was doing at
Operation Talisman Sabre last year etc Thi is what
worries them! Going to places where they plan,
recruit, deploy & target for their wars

28 years ago I spent the weekend in the Brisbane
watch-house with two of Sean's Pine Gap co-defendants
- Bryan Law & Jim Dowling. We were there because Joh
had suspended all civil liberties in response to our
attempts to stop uranium shipments from Queensland (to
Iran among other places!). I think all four of us
would say that what has sustained us over 28 years in
a life of nonviolent resistance is the solidarity of
others.

Given the unique problem of distance & travel in OZ
this is one area where we can all help out in a
practcal way. If all of us who are seriously opposed
to Australian involvement in the war and who are in
fulltime work put in $20 to this defense
account....that would cover the travel of these folks.

Sean works as a nurse and in the past worked at Alice
Springs hospital and on a number of aboriginal
communities. He is the father of two daughters - Ruby
& Esther. All the solidarity you can muster for him
Bryan, Jim, Donna & Adele is much appreciated!

www.peaceontrial.com

by Ciaron O'Reilly - Catholic Worker Sun Feb 26, 2006 10:34 OZ

Good going Colim & Justin,

I screened the Peace on Trial DVD (starring you both!) at a meeting of 30+ folks in Newcastle, New South Wales, OZ last night. And followed it up by giving a rap on Shannon & ongoing nonviolent resistance to the war in Ireland.

Baghdad's on a daylight curfew uh? Even conservative commentators are saying its unsustainable for the U.S. to cotinue on its presence course. Meanwhile the sychophantic conservative Howard Government in OZ is escalatg Australian troop commitment to Afghanistan and keeping the 500 troops in iraq even though their mission is over. Howard is just waiting for more orders form the U.S.

U.S. peace activist/Catholic Worker, Frank Cordaro who addresseda public meeting at the Teachers Club last June has been sentenced to 6 months imprisonment for trespass at the Strategic Air Command, Omaha, USA

If you can get a postcard in the mail to the address below in the next couple of days it should reach him befor he gets shipped to a Federal prison.......
Frank Cordaro
Pottawattame County Jail
1400 Big Lake Road
Council Bluffs, Iowa 51501
USA
No federal prisoner number is needed at this time till he gets to a federal joint.