Workers Solidarity Movement

REMAIN INDOORS, TERRORISTS ARE COMING FOR YOUR FREEDOM

Minister for Foreign Affairs Charlie Flanagan has said Ireland is on alert for terrorist attacks and that sweeping zero-tolerance anti-terrorism legislation will be soon before the Dáil.

Enough hysteria. In Ireland we've prided ourselves for not indulging such wacky 'anti-terrorism' mania to the extent the US and UK have post-11/9. 'Terrorism' is an ill-defined nonsense term and this is as true as ever.
 

The following exploration of the policing of the anti-war demonstrations will be in two parts: the first will look at the change in policing through the eyes of a participant, a new activist, while the second will make a more thorough examination of the forces at work which lead to such a massive escalation in the policing of anti-war protest, particularly at Shannon, both on the side of the protesters and that of the gardaí.

GAAW have published a communique from the group that sabotaged a US war plan at Shannon airport on 20 Dec 2011. This action has been only briefly mentioned in the Irish media as the 'vanadalism' of a plane, we reproduce the communique in full below and encourage others to do likewise.

Remember the good old days - before the election - when the Green party used to be in favour of the anti-war cause and used to support the searching of CIA ‘rendition’ planes passing through Shannon? Remember how the Greens used to believe that the reason why the then Fianna Fail/PD government wouldn’t sanction the searching of these planes was because they were in George W Bush’s pocket?

So, for the first time in the history of the Irish state the Green Party are in government. Does this mean we will see any real, radical change? Can the Greens stay true to their Manifesto promises?

Never have we witnessed an election like the one just passed in the states history. Essentially, we witnessed a public refurendum on two possible coalitions. In the end we were given a government unique in the states history, in that for the first time it features the Green Party.

Five peace activists have been acquitted of all charges in relation to their disarming of a US navy plane at Shannon airport in February 2003. The five, calling themselves the Pitstop Ploughshares, used axes and lump hammers to inflict over $2.5m worth of damage in what they described as a “non-violent ploughshares action”. In June they received a unanimous acquittal by using Section 6 of the Criminal Damage Act 1991 which allows for a “lawful excuse” where the damage is caused “in order to protect another or property belonging to another.” They say they were acting in defence of civilian life in Iraq, the local infrastructure, the lives of US soldiers and of Irish people who may become targets of a terrorist attack as a result of Irish complicity in the war.

The Workers Solidarity Movement congratulates the Pitstop Ploughshares 5 on their victory in court, and congratulates the jury who delivered a verdict which placed a greater value on Iraqi lives than on US warplanes.

Scenes of great joy and relief at the Dublin Four Courts as the Catholic Workers/Pitshops ploughshare five were acquitted of all charges.

Image - Karen and supporter after the acquittal