Garda attempt to stop peace event in Galway this Sunday

by Ciaron - Pit Stop Ploughshares (personal capacity) Sat Jun 24, 2006 09:45

As the country gets increasingly more complicit in this colonial war, our freedoms statr to shrink.

It is nourinshing to hear of this action, the preparations to nonviolently confron the UK warship on its way to Dublin, the recent citizens arrest down south, the nonviolent blockade of the U.S. Embassy up north, the anti-Raytheon campign of FEIC in Derry. We just might have a grassroots anti-war movement developing. Go Galway, can anyone find that one hit wonder red baloon German song from the '80's and put it up on here?

Go Galway!

by iosaf Sat Jun 24, 2006 04:46

as long as one light person isn't holding the 99 strings, no-one will break the navigation act.
& also as long as you're outside of the air exclusion zone and prevailing wind conditions blow the stringed balloons in the other direction.

problem sorted.
proper little benjamin franklin me.:.

by Niall Farrell - Galway Alliance Against War Sat Jun 24, 2006 02:47

How Saddam Could Have Won the Iraq War or Political Policing in Galway

“It is official: Saddam Hussein could have defeated the might of the USA and Britain if he had had in his arsenal biodegradable red balloons. This stunning fact became apparent when a representative of the Galway Alliance Against War accompanied by Councillor Catherine Connolly met with two members of the Galway Gardaí to discuss the peace group’s intention to release 99 balloons this Sunday 1.30pm at a peace event at Nimmo’s Pier in the Claddagh.

According to Garda Inspector Tony O’Donnell if the balloons “collided” with the warplanes taking part in the Salthill War Show it could cause the warplanes to crash. While the Garda Inspector appeared to be up-to-scratch on the dangers of red balloons and aero-dynamics, his knowledge of the law of the land seemed much more sketchy. He told the GAAW representative that if the 99 balloons were released the group would be contravening the Navigation laws. However, he admitted not knowing which sections of this law the group would be breaking.

Instead, he preferred to refer to a discussion he had had with a greater authority: local air traffic controller Tony Gibbons. Apparently, for the Salthill War Show there is a 6 nautical mile exclusion zone in place banning all airborne objects.

All airborne objects? Kites? The Inspector was maintaining “an open mind on kites”. But red balloons, because of their deadly nature, were banned. In the discussion that ensued it became apparent that it was Garda Inspector O’Donnell that had contacted the air traffic controller Mr Gibbons, not the other way around, which would suggest that the latter may not have been that concerned about these deadly balloons.

Why the Gardaí have never raised the issue of airborne objects before any previous air shows was never established from the discussion. Nor could the GAAW representative and Councillor Connolly ascertain whether the sale of balloons would be banned at Salthill this Sunday. And as to the authorities plan for dealing with the birds in the sky that remains a mystery.

One thing was clear to the GAAW representative and Catherine Connolly they were witnessing political policing in action, no doubt whatsoever. And this conclusion was conveyed to the Garda Inspector. But being peacemakers – not wagers of war like some of those British pilots participating in the War Show – the GAAW representative said that his group would be abiding by the law, whatever that was. Nevertheless, the 99 Red Balloon event will be going ahead and the balloons will be given to those who attend.”

by Edward Horgan Fri Jun 23, 2006 23:59

Good luck Niall on your very creative efforts to promote peace instead of war. Thanks also to the Green Party Mayor of Galway for daring to boycot the display of murderous artifacts of war. The failure of the Gardai to arrest the war criminals who are flying some of the warplanes over Galway is a continuation of their failure to arrest war criminals passing through Shannon airport and their failure to intern US troops passing through a neutral state.
Just as well Conor Cregan was around to do the Gardai' s job.
If every citizen passing through or near Shannon airport were to attemt to arrest US troops on a daily basis as Conor did, then these actions could make Shannon unuseable to the US military.

The panic reaction of our foreign minister Dermot Ahern last week to the shackled prisoner at Shannon clearly indicated that he knew Guantanamo prisoners had passed through Shannon and he though the game was finally up. The cover will be blown one of these days when more workers at Shannon find the courage to do their duty.

Comming up soon the number of US troops that have passed through Shannon airport will have reached 1,000,000. Lets mark this event with further protests at Shannon

by Anon Fri Jun 23, 2006 21:25

Phone Number of Mr Cregan?

by Timmy Fri Jun 23, 2006 21:20

Ballons actually do effect air traffic controllers radar when they reach a certain height, this is well known by anti war activists and I think it is appalling that they are showing total disregard for the 100,000 or so men women and children who will be attening the event and placing them in danger, what amazes me more is that the new mayor of galway is actually going to attend this event rather than the salthill airshow, he should resign immediately, elected mayor and in the same week show total disregard and endanger 100,000 people in the city that he is mayor. Where else would it happen.

by Green Ink Fri Jun 23, 2006 13:29

Their email address is gaaw@eircom.net.

by Anon Fri Jun 23, 2006 11:53

How do I get in contact with the organisers

by shane - FEIC Fri Jun 23, 2006 10:46

Red balloons being dangerous - that's something along the lines of Guantanamo internees dying of hungerstrike being described as "Act[s] of assymmetrical warfare" by the camp's US commander.

"WAR IS PEACE
FREEDOM IS SLAVERY
IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH'

- The ubiquitous slogans of Big Brother's ruling Ingsoc Party in George Orwell's 1948 novel "Nineteen Eighty-Four"

by hedgehog Fri Jun 23, 2006 04:28

You want your child to go to bed early

you tell them "you can go to bed at 8.00 or you can go to bed at 8.30"
child gleefully chooses 8.30
child goes to bed at 8.45 with minimal fuss

That is democracy.

by Naomh Fri Jun 23, 2006 02:27

Ah, yes, war what an imaginative idea (profitable too). if you got 1 1000th of the people that will be killed at war at a peace rally he would be surprised. but who needs democracy when you wanna go to war?

by saint Fri Jun 23, 2006 02:16

A yes the salthill war show what an imaginitive title. If you get 1 1000th of the people that will go to the air show at your ballon release i would be surprised. Ah democracy you got to love it.