Something up at Shannon? Man seen in shackles?

by Fintan Lane - AWI Tue Jun 13, 2006 13:25

Press conference is supposed to be by Dermot, not Bertie, Ahern.

by grape vine Tue Jun 13, 2006 13:32

the rumour, which is circulating among journalists, is that D. Ahern is trying to respond to a Noonan's cleaner's claim that two days ago, (Sunday) while working at the airport (s)he saw a man in shackles.

Pity this comes out the day Haughey died. He'll be top story of course.

by Green Ink Tue Jun 13, 2006 13:44

Is this just a rumour or has it been published anywhere? Govt unlikely to hold a press conference on strength of rumours.

by Margaret Tue Jun 13, 2006 13:51

From the Dept. of Foreign Affairs website

Press Section
13 June 2006

Media Notification: Press Conference, Iveagh House, 12.30 Tuesday 13th June
Press Conference

The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Dermot Ahern TD, will hold a press conference in Iveagh House, St Stephen's Green, Dublin 2, at 12.30pm today (Tuesday, June 13th) in relation to an incident involving the use of Shannon Airport by a civilian aircraft.

ENDS+++
13th June 2006
Press Office

by Margaret Tue Jun 13, 2006 13:57

Statement of the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Dermot Ahern TD
At 5 pm yesterday my Department was contacted by the US Embassy and informed of the following events;

On Sunday last, 11 June, a civilian aircraft landed at Shannon for a technical refuelling stop en route from Kuwait to the United States.

Among other unarmed military personnel the plane was carrying a US Marine convicted of a minor breach of the US military code. He was in military custody. He was wearing military fatigues.

While the transfer of such a prisoner would be lawful under international and domestic law, it requires the consent of the Minister for Justice. The US authorities did not seek such consent. This failure, though inadvertent, is unacceptable. It is a matter of gravest concern to the Irish Government.

Yesterday evening, upon my return from the General Affairs and External Relations Council in Luxembourg, I was informed of these events and immediately summoned the US Ambassador to Iveagh House, where we met for the best part of an hour.

I outlined our serious concerns. The Ambassador confirmed the sequence of events as set out above and made clear that the failure to seek consent arose from an administrative error.

He conveyed his deep regret for the breach of procedures. He undertook urgently to advise his authorities of my views.
He also confirmed his willingness to review the situation immediately with a view to ensuring that there is no recurrence.

I informed the Ambassador that, notwithstanding the fact that this incident had no connection with allegations of extraordinary rendition, it was unacceptable that it should happen.

I also informed the Ambassador that Cabinet, at its meeting this morning, would consider what steps it now considered appropriate in light of these events.

I briefed the Cabinet this morning. Following our discussion, we decided to make public our grave concern. We are looking for a full written report from the US Embassy. In addition, to ensure that appropriate steps are taken to prevent any recurrence of this incident, we will engage in further discussion with the US authorities on arrangements for notification and information sharing, and the strengthening of verification procedures as necessary.

These steps have been conveyed to the US Embassy.

It has been the consistent position of the Irish Government that no aircraft can use Shannon for extraordinary rendition. We will not facilitate and have not facilitated extraordinary renditions. That is, and remains, our policy.

We have always held that if the Irish Government at any stage received hard evidence of extraordinary rendition we would act upon it and expect An Garda Síochána to act upon it – a position I repeated yesterday in an interview in Luxembourg.

While I would reiterate that this incident is unconnected to allegations of extraordinary rendition, it is essential, not least in the interests of public confidence, that the Government take appropriate steps in response to such a breach. This is what we have done.

ENDS +++
13th June 2006
Press Office
Department of Foreign Affairs

by Fintan Lane - Anti-War Ireland Tue Jun 13, 2006 14:17

So, Dermot Ahern has been forced to admit (thanks to the vigilance of cleaning staff at Shannon) that at least one shackled prisoner has been brought through Shannon airport, without the permission of the Irish government.

The US military were caught this time, not by the gardai or the state, but by a vigilant worker. The question remains: if the US were willing to ignore the Irish government this time, how many times has it happened before?

Moreover, Dermot Ahern has asked us repeatedly to trust in Bush administration assurances. Once again, these assurances and the 'goodwill' of the US military have been undermined. Why should anybody trust the Bush administration after this? Why should anybody trust the Irish government after this?

The policy of the US war machine seems to be to leave the Irish government out of the loop, so that Ahern can 'honestly' claim to know nothing when incidents such as this occur. The Fianna Fail/PD government is fully complicit in facilatating the US war machine.

by Deirdre Clancy - Pitstop Ploughshares Tue Jun 13, 2006 14:25

It's excellent that the cleaning operative in question was willing to come out about this. I hope more workers at Shannon start being so conscientious.

by Kim Philby Tue Jun 13, 2006 16:03

I am wondering if the Marine is connected with Hadithe massacre?
Massacres are minor breaches of US military code, I suppose

by maybe Tue Jun 13, 2006 16:23

Taking part in the Hadithe massacre?
More likely to be something which the US army would regard as more serious - like refusing to follow illegal orders. Or hitting an officer or criticising the president, "serious" things like that.

by Conor Cregan Tue Jun 13, 2006 16:25

This has been going around the town here for some time now. I have heard this from three different sources.
Funny during a discussion on the Vincent Browne Show a local councilor denied there was prisoners going through Shannon because she didnt hear any rumours in the town centre. How wrong is she?
Anyway I think there is more to this and i look forward seeing it come out in the wash.

By the way US troop planes dont get cleaned at Shannon Airport. The Airport management are very careful as to who gets on the plane at Shannon. The is another rumour of a man nearly getting sacked for trying to look into a troop plane at Shannon.

Ahern has been presented a can of worms lets see if he can hold it shut!

by Tickle Me Elmo Tue Jun 13, 2006 16:30

The Irish Times reports, the prisoner was dressed in a US uniform and accompanied by two military police among 180 Marines aboard the plane and was identified as an American by his "accent."
Its possible the Marine was actually a suspected terrorists desguised a Marine and forced to mimick an American accent by his captors.

Seriously think about it.

A captured Iraqi or suspected terrorist is given a regulation buzz cut and dressed in desert fatigues and boots - he would be just one more Marine on a troop transport wouldn't he? I don't know how many Arab Americans are in the US military but there are probably a few. But why not just pass him off as a Hispanic with the name "Rodriguez" or "Lopez" say on his uniform tunic? Nobody would suspect a thing unless he opened his mouth. But he wouldn't if he had a pistol in his ribs and was surrounded by a plane load of real US soldiers.

How about drugging him unconscious, dressing him in make up and "bloody bandages" to look like a critically wounded GI and stash him in a with scores of other hospital cases on a transport plane to Europe or America?

Why not just drug him and stash in the cargo hold of a commercial airliner - the cargo hold of most airliners is pressurised and suitable for transporting pet cats and dogs - if you wanted to they could transport a captive?

I would put nothing past the US military.

by immortal terrier Tue Jun 13, 2006 17:00

You're joking, right?

If not, why are you cheapening a real story, which in itself shows wrongdoing on behalf of the US military in Shannon and calls into question how trustworthy they are, with ridiculous speculation?

Why the feck would they go to all that trouble, when there's CIA jets for the purpose of renditions?

Besides which,suspicions should be based on something, not just random thoughts you pluck out of the air...

by Ciaron - Ploughshares/Catholic Worker Tue Jun 13, 2006 18:35

On the Con Air flight I took to Oklahoma Fed Pen in 1991, there were military prisoners who got off in Kansas heading to Leavanworth.

The contempt that the U.S. has for Irish nationhood is exhibited in the lack of permission sort for prisoner transfer in this case. It echoes the contempt they have for international law.The sycophancy exhibited by the Irish echoes the behavior of the Australian government. In 2004, two U.S. marines were arrested fro slashing the troat of a university student in Townsville, the Australians handed them obver to the U.S. The charges were dropped immediately on one. The second was acquitted (2005) in a military tribunal that the Australian victim was not asked to testify or informed of.

by Dr. Coilín ÓhAiseadha Tue Jun 13, 2006 21:14 aat2004 at mail dot dk 086 060 3818

Thanks for posting this very revealing story!

I find it particularly revealing that Dermot Ahern should inform the US Ambassador that "notwithstanding the fact that this incident had no connection with allegations of extraordinary rendition, it was unacceptable that it should happen."

This incident is unacceptable, and it is in fact also closely connected with the extraordinary renditions. The connection is that, time and again, parties acting on behalf of, or in collaboration with the United States have been caught committing crimes under international law and under domestic laws, and that spokespersons for the United States have attempted to make excuses for these crimes or to deny that they have happened at all. This applies both with regard to this incident and to many other incidents relating to the widespread use of torture in the pursuit of the so-called war on terror.

The action of the cleaner in reporting this crime serves as an inspiring example of moral clarity and strength of conscience. It's good to know that some people know a crime when they see one, and know what to do about it then.

Perhaps this will encourage those who have knowledge of the movements of aircraft and personnel associated with the serial crimes of kidnapping and torture known as "extraordinary renditions" to come out and share their knowledge with the police or others who can intervene to prevent further crimes of torture.

Here, I'm thinking of workers including the following:
- ground crew
- air traffic controllers
- staff at the Aviation Authority
- staff at Met Éireann
- airport security
- Garda Síochána
- army intelligence

When a large number of people are witnesses to a crime, there is a strong inclination to abdicate responsibility to one's colleagues, boss or even subordinates, but if you have knowledge of a crime, then it is YOUR responsibility to recognise your status as a witness and to ask for help to intervene.

If you do not disclose information of crimes associated with the extraordinary renditions, then you are an accessary, not only to the crime you have witnessed, but also to many other crimes of torture that you have not witnessed. Your silence means collusion. And your collusion means that all of humanity suffers.

If you have information relating to crimes of torture, then there are many people you could approach for help:
- a solicitor or barrister
- the Garda Síochána: www.garda.ie
- the Garda Commissioner, if necessary:
http://www.garda.ie/angarda/hq/commoffice.html
- Amnesty International: www.amnesty.ie
- the Irish Human Rights Commission: www.ihrc.ie
- highly visible activists at Shannon
- journalists or editors, e.g. at Village Magazine: http://www.villagemagazine.ie/contactus.asp

If you have witnessed a crime, then, whatever you do, don't do nothing!

Best,
Coilín.

by anon Tue Jun 13, 2006 22:09

Is this the first time its happened, there was report in the ms news after I think the Human Rights conference of a cleaner seeing a man in shackles though I didn't raise it at the time because I was leaving it up to Ed to say anything further so how long has these rumours been circulating Conor about atleast arrested US military personnel being transferred. How was the worker who notified this treated?

It seems like more don't ask don't tell practice by the Gov.
There statemenet of course implies this is once off, but how many times have military prisoners been transferred before, with or without permission.

http://www.rte.ie/news/2006/0613/shannon.html

Thisis the dail debate, alot of strong questions/statements were asked today, and last week by the oppositions little new came of them, so parliment looked like it was functioning... or not.
http://debates.oireachtas.ie/DDebate.aspx?F=DAL20060613...#N423

Confused, unarmed personnel didn't we already have this arguement? And unarmed Military Police, even for a soldier with a minor breach?

This incident has gotten copied to a few American newspapers http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1103AP_Ireland_U....html

Ah here more info its alleged he US Marine was convicted of stealing
http://dublin.usembassy.gov/ireland/washfile1.html

by bucolic Wed Jun 14, 2006 01:10

so said the US Ambassador as reported on the RTE night news. They managed to squeeze in this grave issue along with vintage footage of the Artane Boys' band in the ongoing 4 day national and diasporic mourning for György Ligeti. How will they report Garett's death?

by Tickle Me Elmo Wed Jun 14, 2006 12:06

If random inspects are authorised it will be the CIA who will simply dictate to Irish authorities which planes are "clean" and can be inspected.
The Gardai will simply bring along an RTE camera crew and show them a plane inspection if necessary and hey presto they will have "proved" that no planes are carrying detainees.
Case closed.
I have completely lost faith in Irish authorities - after the imprisonment of Nicky Kelly, the Richy Barron "murder" investigation, the murder of John Carty at Abbeylara, the release of Mr. A. etc. etc. etc.

by A10 Wed Jun 14, 2006 13:55

That the next thing that will happen in Shannon,is that ALL personel employed by Aer Riannta and outside personel or contract personel will have to sign the Offical Secrets Act????Which will have to do with working in a sensitive area at risk from terrorism. No sign,no work.You talk and you breach that act,bye bye for a long while as you become a guest of the nation.
There,another future embarrasment patched up nicely and another source of information for the anti war movement gone.

by roger cole - peace & neutrality alliance Wed Jun 14, 2006 14:06 pana at eircom dot net

Congratulation to the worker who broke the story. I hope the cleaner does not now get into trouble.
The Pentagon has stated this war is going to be a "long war" and this Irish Government has clearly decided to actively support it by allowing Shannon to be used.
The only way that can change is by the removal of this Government and its replacement by a Government that will terminate the use of Shannon. PANA therefore will focus on making the use of Shannon an election issue and we would hope all other peace groups do so as well.

by Tickle Me Elmo Wed Jun 14, 2006 14:47

None of the mainstream political parties nor TD's could care less.
Michael D makes a lot of noise but he wont get the Foreign Affairs portfolio though he is the Labour party spokesperson. That will be given to a pro- international business (i.e. pro-American) member of the Fine Gael party.None of the independents could give a toss either only if they can get a few votes to inch past the election post. Sinn Fein don't want to endanger their Irish American fundraisers by criticising foreign policy too loudly ( remember what happened to Adams last Paddy's day).
The ignorant brainwashed culchies are only worried about parish pump issues - a few potholes fixed here and a few travellers exiled there while the middle class bourgeoise are only concerned with traffic congestion and "quality of life."

by Edward Horgan - PANA Wed Jun 14, 2006 15:19

Minister Ahern's press release and statements contain several false statements. The most glaring one is "We will not and have not facilitated extraordinary rendition". The Council of Europe and the dogs in the street say otherwise. The suggestion that the other US military personnel were "unarmed" is also most likely false. The military police escorting this soldier prisoner would virtually always be armed with side arms, and in addition each planeload of troops would have a special armed guard in the main cabin of the aircraft. In addition most of the 180 US soldiers on board would be equipped with both an M 16 automatic rifle and an automatic pistol. Most of these may be stored in the hold, but are always carried on the same aircraft as the soldiers.

Congratualations to the cleaner who blew the whislte.
He or she is behaving like the Dunes Stores anti-aparthied strikers in Dublin in the 1970s. The working class have a bit of class and courage, while their cowardly bosses are complicit in torture and mass murder.

It is essential that a public support campaign be put in place to protect such whistle blowers, and ways must also be found to honour and reward them.
We now need whistle blowers to come forward to reveal that they saw prisoners going to and from Guantanamo on CIA aircraft over the past several years.
There is an opportunity now for individuals working at Shannon airport to do the most important thing they may ever do in their lifetimes. If all remain silent, then Shannon airport will continue to be used for future wars and future torture programes, because the bloody and dreadful precedent has been set by the present Government.
Please do what is right because it is right.

by Akrasia Wed Jun 14, 2006 17:36

There is talk in the media (on the rare occasion the media covers this) about this possibly leading to a loss of trust between Ireland and the Americans, ie: America didn't inform us this time, so why should we trust them when they say they would inform us on all other occasions, but a serious point is always ignored.

These Flights are run and operated by the CIA (rendition flights, not Military transports). The CIA are a highly secretive organisation who's principle mode of operation is through lies, deception and through subverting normal processes. Why shoudl we trust the CIA? They are one of the most depraved institutions on earth. They are responsible for millions of deaths, for the rise of fascist dictatorships in Chile, Iran, Iraq and Indonesia amongst others, they have lied to their own government officials on countless occasions and broken U.S. domestic law countless times, why would anyone think that they would respect Irish or International law in this instance?

Everyone seems to admit that the very act of 'Extraordinary rendition' is illegal and immoral, so why would we accept the word of kidnappers and torturers about where they conduct their kidnapping and torture?
Forget inspecting these planes, The CIA flights should be completely denied access to Irish airports and airspace as long as they are in contempt of international law and our standard of Human rights.

by anon Wed Jun 14, 2006 19:21

Yeah thats the headline, which is a good one, even if its only pretend, as pointed out that the Aiport contacted the Americans and not the Irish Authorities.

http://www.irishexaminer.com/irishexaminer/pages/story....1.asp
the Irish Examiner has learned that the flight crew notified the airline’s ground handling agents, Servisair, shortly before landing at Shannon that it was transporting a man in custody.

A Servisair spokesperson said last night that one of its duty managers, in line with established protocol, notified both the US embassy and a Shannon Airport official.

Airport sources dismissed the suggestion that the controversy had come to light following an alarm raised by a cleaner.

A spokesperson for Shannon Airport declined to comment on the incident.

by Come on the Cleaners! Thu Jun 15, 2006 11:14

Anti-war activists have again slammed the lack of an inspection procedure at Shannon: “The cleaner who raised it should be congratulated,” Shannon-based peace activist Tim Hourigan told Daily Ireland
“However the CIA flights that would involve extraordinary rendition do not allow cleaners on, and should we as a country just be relying on cleaning staff at Shannon airport to raise these incidents.
“This incident shows that the US authorities’ assurances to the Irish government mean nothing. It also shows that there needs to be proper inspections at Shannon.”
An Amnesty spokesman warned: “We cannot know if this is an isolated incident.”

Daily Ireland link

http://dailyireland.televisual.co.uk/home.tvt?_ticket=1...opp=1

by Omygosh ! Thu Jun 15, 2006 12:20

"I informed the Ambassador that, notwithstanding the fact that this incident had no connection with allegations of extraordinary rendition, it was unacceptable that it should happen."

God, I bet that they are really crapping themselves ...
Imagine that, being summoned by the Foreign Minister of a banana republic in a state of complete economic dependence on US inward investment. The indignity of it all ...

by anon Thu Jun 15, 2006 23:20

It puzzles me because in a way this seem like a minor issue, the man was a prisoner but still a member of the US Army, seems like the gov are trying to look proactive on this issue in hopes that they look proactive..., the wider issues of whether they ask permission or have a free reign is the more important question. Although it does bring it back to to basic question of military use of the Airport.

look at this from Quinn

Mr. Quinn: What happened last Sunday at Shannon Airport has shaken me, because until then I believed the Americans. I believed what they said, although some other Members of this House did not. wtf??

Mooney says it was a member of the flight crew, not a cleaner don't you know, then with Dooley its back to a cleaner. He also states "who reported the matter to the duty manager at Shannon Airport who, in turn, contacted the Department of Foreign Affairs." (which is clearly wrong)

anyway heres some info from Senator Dooley in the Seanad yesterday about what happened at the weekend, take it with a pinch of salt. also Minister of state Noel Treacy speaks...

http://debates.oireachtas.ie/DDebate.aspx?F=SEN20060614...ge=10

Mr. Dooley: My understanding was that a member of the cleaning staff became concerned when she saw someone on the aircraft in the company of police officers, while others had disembarked. In reporting that to a supervisor, a decision was taken to contact the American Embassy. The embassy was quick to establish the facts of the situation and ascertained information from personnel at the airport. I believe they got the co-operation of airport staff in trying to establish the facts. I welcome that and the pro-active manner in which the embassy dealt with the situation. It is a difficult issue for a foreign mission, dealing with what it sees as a war situation, the army, intelligence agencies and their work.

A further mitigating fact was that the civilian airline flying these soldiers home does not normally transit through Shannon Airport, but through Frankfurt-Hahn in Germany. That airline has done a deal with Shannon Airport to fly the troops via Shannon during the world cup and in doing so, may not be as clear on the protocols in dealing with the Irish situation. That does not relieve the US Government of its obligation to observe the laws of this land, which we as legislators are proud to enact. The efforts made by the embassy to acknowledge the fact and to try to deal with the information deficit that was there has been welcome. That does not take from the fact that it was unacceptable that our laws were ignored, albeit inadvertently in my view.

niceone here Mr Dooley likens the CIA rendtions routes to Ryanair :)
There was no major evidence provided, albeit that there is a map that does not look like a spider’s web in my view, but more like the map that Ryanair has on its website.

Assurances

Treacy: In essence, as Deputy Dermot Ahern made clear in a letter earlier this year to the Irish Human Rights Commission, it is the Government’s view that there is a misunderstanding and misinterpretation of the relevant international case law. This does not in fact deal with assurances generally but rather, and explicitly, with assurances given about the treatment of particular individuals, extradited or expelled from one state to another.

Norris: The Minister of State quoted the business of assurances which were given. It has been made expressly clear by the Venice Commission that those assurances are not worth anything unless they are legally enforceable against the country giving the assurances.

anyway the motion to create committee to make a report was lost.

IMHO opinion the 'debate' in the Oireachtas about renditions has moved on somewhat, there is less arguement or denial from FF Senators about whether rendition takes place but more that there was no prisoners on board the planes when they were in Ireland, I don't know if that means the calrity of the issue has moved backwards or forwards.

See

Treacy: I reiterate the point made in Dáil Éireann last night, that in his recent report Senator Dick Marty makes no claim that prisoners may have been subject to extraordinary rendition through Ireland. It is encouraging to see that Senator Marty follows the approach of the executive director of Amnesty International in Ireland, Mr. Seán Love, who wrote in February last that those who “continue to focus their debate about ’extraordinary renditions’, on whether or not prisoners have been or are being transferred through Irish Airports...are missing the point.”

Mr. Norris: The Minister’s scriptwriter has either deliberately or dishonestly missed the point on that.

Higgens put a motion to the Dail, Ahern adds an amendment to dissolve it. Im not sure if after all that the gov is still suggesting it may inspect troop transports? The amendemt was passed.
http://debates.oireachtas.ie/DDebate.aspx?F=DAL20060614...2#H22

Arms flown to Indonesia by US via Shannon last year in contravention of arms embargo

Aengus Ó Snodaigh: The arms embargo on the Indonesian Government, for example, and other arms embargoes have been breached. In September last year, at least six months before the lifting of the embargo on Indonesia, the Office of Antiterrorism Assistance in the United States State Department ferried ammunition, explosives and arms through Shannon Airport, via Canada, and onwards on a chartered military transporter to a Bulgarian airport used by the military. From there it was flown to the US Embassy in Indonesia. This was supposed to be for an anti-terrorism training course for a government whose human rights violations, according to Amnesty International, remain a serious concern.

by anon Thu Jun 15, 2006 23:26

http://www.irishexaminer.com/irishexaminer/pages/story....1.asp

Local gardaí first learned of the situation the following day after a query from the Department of Justice. The SAA did not inform them.

by anon Fri Jun 16, 2006 01:37

http://www.swissinfo.org/eng/international/ticker/detai...76000

STRASBOURG, France (Reuters) - EU lawmakers backed accusations on Monday that the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency had kidnapped and illegally held terrorism suspects on EU territory and flown them to countries that used torture.

Their report draws largely the same conclusions as that issued by the Council of Europe last week, adding to the embarrassment faced by European governments over their possible cooperation with U.S. policies unpopular with domestic opinion.

" ... in a number of cases, the CIA or other U.S. services have been directly responsible for the illegal seizure, removal, abduction and detention of terrorist suspects on the territory of member states," read the text of the report approved late on Monday by a special committee of the European Parliament.

Can't find how Irish MEPs voted or didn't.

Council of Europe inquiry into rendition flights and secret detentions in Europe: Secretary General publishes additional responses received from governments
https://wcd.coe.int/ViewDoc.jsp?id=1009913&BackColorInt...9BACE