The conviction of the independent TDs Clare Daly and Mick Wallace on two
charges of breaching airport by-laws at Shannon Airport and the fine of
€2,000 imposed on them is farcical beyond belief. What Clare Daly and
Mick Wallace did in Shannon Airport on 22 July 2014 was a peace action
against the US warplanes landing there.
Both these peace activists had the absolute moral right and duty to
protest against the US military using Shannon Airport as part of their
global war strategy. It is clear to everyone, except, it seems, to the
Irish establishment, that American soldiers, munitions and killer drones
have been passing through Shannon Airport, while the government turns a
blind eye, making this state complicit in the military actions and war
crimes of the United States and NATO, which have resulted in the deaths
of hundreds of thousands of people.
This state has also ignored the illegal transporting of victims who
experienced “extraordinary rendition” or, in ordinary people’s language,
kidnapping, who have also passed through Shannon Airport while their
torturers stopped off to have an Irish coffee.
Neutrality must mean something, not just some vacuous slogan trotted out
by a lame political establishment. It is time that this charade of
Shannon Airport was ended and all military flights banned from landing
in Ireland or passing through Irish air space.
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