Sligo Mayor and Deputy at odds over recent visit of Israeli ambassador

sligo | anti-war / imperialism | other press Wednesday April 02, 2008 20:52 by Rayo

Normally, mayors and deputy mayors sing from the same hymnsheet but a note of disharmony has emerged in Sligo between Fianna Fail Mayor Jonathan McGoldrick and his deputy, Independant Socialist Cllr. Declan Bree, over a recent visit by the Israeli ambassador to City Hall where he was met by Mayor McGoldrick.

Clr. Bree said he was very disappointed that a mayor of Sligo would welcome a representative of the Israeli regime to City Hall in Sligo. "This is the same regime that continues to violate the basic rights of the Palestinian civilian population. It is the same regime that continues to ignore the legally binding resolutions of the United Nations Security Council," Clr. Bree.

He added: "To my knowledge, elected representative of all political persuasions in Sligo have refused to have any dealings with representatives of the Israeli regime since Corporal Dermot McLoughlin was killed by the Israeli military while serving with the UN peace-keeping forces in the Lebanon.

"All of us have heard from returning Irish peace-keepers of the outrageous and inhumane behaviour of the Israeli army and its treatment of Palestinian and Lebanese civilians.

"It would appear to me that the mayor did not realise or appreciate the significance of what he was doing. It is my belief that all of us have a duty and an obligation to take a stand against injustice. Archbishop Desmond Tutu once said, ‘If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor’. Considering the level of human rights violations perpetrated on a daily basis by the Israeli regime against defenceless Palestinians I believe we should be isolating those who are responsible for such behaviour.

"We should be making it clear that representatives of the Israeli regime are not welcome in Sligo or Ireland until such time as they agree to abide by international law and respect the inalienable rights of all be they Palestinian, Lebanese or Jewish," Cllr. Bree concluded.