Margaretta D’Arcy and Niall Farrell’s incursion onto the runway at Shannon Airport on 7th October 2012. Shanonwatch
“This is not a regular airport,” Margaretta D’Arcy said to me as we heard a C-130T Hercules prepare to take off from Shannon Airport in Ireland after 3 p.m. on September 11, 2022. That enormous U.S. Navy aircraft (registration number 16-4762) had flown in from Sigonella, a US Naval Air Station in Italy. A few minutes earlier, a US Navy C-40A (registration number 16-6696) left Shannon for the US military base at Stuttgart, Germany, after flying in from Naval Air Station Oceana in Virginia. Shannon is not a regular airport, D’Arcy said, because while it is merely a civilian airport, it allows heefeg US military planes to fly in and out of it, with Gate 42 of the airport functioning as its “forward operating base.”
Am Alter vun 88 Joer ass den D'Arcy, eng legendär iresch Schauspillerin an Dokumentarfilmemaacher, e reegelméissege Member vun Shannonwatch, besteet aus enger Grupp vun Aktivisten, déi - zanter 2008 - monatlecht Vigil an engem Rondpoint no beim Fluchhafen ofgehalen hunn. Shannonwatch's Ziler are to “end U.S. military use of Shannon Airport, to stop rendition flights through the airport, and to obtain accountability for both from the relevant Irish authorities and political leaders.” Edward Horgan, a veteran of the Irish military who had been on peacekeeping missions to Cyprus and Palestine, told me that this vigil is vital. “It’s important that we come here every month,” he said, “because without this there is no visible opposition” to the footprint of the US military in Ireland.
No engem Bericht vu Shannonwatch mam Titel "Shannon Flughafen an 21st Joerhonnert Krich,” the use of the airport as a US forward operating base began in 2002-2003, and this transformation “was, and still is, deeply offensive to the majority of Irish people.”
Artikel 29 vun der Iresch Verfassung vun 1937 setzt de Kader fir d'Neutralitéit vum Land op. Erlaabt engem auslännesche Militär iresche Buedem ze benotzen, verletzt den Artikel 2 vum Den Haag Konventioun of 1907, to which Ireland is a signatory. Nonetheless, said John Lannon of Shannonwatch, the Irish government has allowed almost 3 million U.S. troops to pass through Shannon Airport since 2002 and has even assigned a permanent staff officer to the airport. “Irish airspace and Shannon Airport became the virtual property of the US war machine,” said Niall Farrell of Galway Alliance Against War. “Irish neutrality was truly dead.”
Pitstop of death
Margaretta D’Arcy’s eyes gleam as she recounts her time at the Greenham Common Women’s Peace Camp, located in Berkshire, England, and involving activists from Wales, who set up to prevent the storage and passage of US cruise missiles at this British military base. That camp ugefaang an 1981 an gedauert bis 2000. D'Arcy ass während dësem Kampf dräimol an de Prisong gaangen (aus engem Ganzen op d'mannst 20 Mol war si am Prisong fir hiren Antikriegsaktivismus). "Et war gutt," sot si mir, "well mir vun de Waffen lass sinn an d'Land fir d'Leit restauréiert gouf. Et huet 19 Joer gedauert. D'Fraen hunn konsequent gekämpft bis mir kruten wat mir wollten. Wéi den D'Arcy festgeholl gouf, hunn d'Prisongsautoritéiten hatt gesträift fir hatt ze sichen. Si huet refuséiert hir Kleeder erëm unzedoen an ass souwuel an engem Hongerstreik an engem plakege Protest gaang. Dobäi huet si d'Prisongsautoritéite gezwongen d'Praxis vun der Sträifsich ze stoppen. "Wann Dir mat Dignitéit handelt, da forcéiert Dir se Iech mat Dignitéit ze behandelen," sot si.
Part of this act of dignity includes refusing to allow her country’s airport to be used as part of the US wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Since 2002, several brave people have entered the airport and have attempted to deface US aircraft. On September 5, 2002, Eoin Dubsky gemoolt "Keen Wee” on a US warplane (for which he was fined); and then on January 29, 2003, Mary Kelly took an axe onto the runway and Hit a military plane, causing $1.5 million in damage; she was also fined. A few weeks later, on February 3, 2003, the Pitstop Ploughshares (a group of five activists who belonged to the Catholic Worker Movement) attacked a US Navy C-40 aircraft—the same one that Mary Kelly had previously damaged—with hammers and a pickaxe (a story erzielt lieweg vum Harry Browne an Vun den Iren gehummert, 2008). Si hunn och gesprayt gemoolt "Pitstop vum Doud" op engem Hangar.
Am Joer 2012 sinn d'Margaretta D'Arcy an den Niall Farrell marschéiert op the runway to protest the airport being used by US planes. Arrested and convicted, they nonetheless zréckkomm to the runway the next year in orange jumpsuits. During the court proceedings in June 2014, D’Arcy grilled the airport authorities about why they had not arrested the pilot of an armed US Hercules plane that had arrived at Shannon Airport four days after their arrest on the runway. She gefrot, "Ginn et zwee Sets vu Reegelen - eng fir Leit wéi mir déi d'Bombardementer stoppen an eng fir d'Bomber?" Den Inspekter vum Shannon Fluchhafen Pat O'Neill huet geäntwert: "Ech verstinn d'Fro net."
"Dëst ass en zivilen Fluchhafen," sot d'D'Arcy mir wéi si op d'Piste geste. "Wéi erlaabt eng Regierung dem Militär en zivilen Fluchhafen ze benotzen?"
Extraordinary renditions
The US government began illegally transporting prisoners from Afghanistan and other places to its prison in the Guantánamo Bay detention camp and to other “schwaarz Siten” in Europe, North Africa, and West Asia. This act of transporting the prisoners came to be known as “extraordinary rendition.” In 2005, when Dermot Ahern, Ireland’s minister for foreign affairs, was asked about the “extraordinary rendition” flights into Shannon Airport, he gesot, "Wann iergendeen Beweiser fir eng vun dëse Flich huet, rufft mir w.e.g. un an ech wäert et direkt ënnersichen." Amnesty International huet geäntwert datt et direkt Beweiser huet datt bis zu sechs CIA charteréiert Fligeren de Shannon Fluchhafen ongeféier 50 Mol benotzt hunn. Véier Joer méi spéit huet Amnesty International eng grëndlech produzéiert Rapport that showed that their earlier number was deflated and that likely hundreds of such US military flights had flown in and out of the airport.
Wärend d'iresch Regierung iwwer d'Jore gesot huet datt et géint dëser Praxis, der Irish Police (d'Garda Síochána) hunn net u Bord dës Flich hinnen ze kontrolléieren. Als Ënnerschrëft vun der Europäescher Konventioun fir Mënscherechter (ënnerschriwwen an 1953) an der Vereenten Natiounen Konventioun géint Folter an aner grausam, onmënschlech oder degradéierend Behandlung oder Bestrofung (adopted in 1984 and ratified in 1987), Ireland is duty-bound to prevent collaboration with “extraordinary rendition,” a position taken by the Irish Council for Civil Liberties. Am 2014 waren d'iresch Parlamentarier Mick Wallace a Clare Daly festgeholl ginn at Shannon Airport for trying to search two US aircraft that they believed were carrying “troops and armaments.” They were frustrated by the Irish government’s false assurances. “How do they know? Did they search the planes? Of course not,” Wallace and Daly said.
Mëttlerweil, laut der Shannonwatch Rapport, “Rather than take measures to identify past involvement in rendition or to prevent further complicity, successive Irish [g]overnments have simply denied any possibility that Irish airports or airspace were used by US rendition planes.”
Am Joer 2006 ass de Conor Cregan mam Vëlo bei Shannon Fluchhafen gefuer. Fluchhafen Policeinspekter Lillian O'Shea, deen hien aus Protester erkannt huet, huet him konfrontéiert, awer de Cregan ass fortgaang. Hie gouf schlussendlech festgeholl. Beim Cregan sengem Prozess, O'Shea zouginn datt d'Police gesot krut, d'Aktivisten um Fluchhafen ze stoppen an ze belästegen. Zoe Lawlor vu Shannonwatch huet mir dës Geschicht erzielt an duerno gesot: "Belästegung wéi dës verstäerkt d'Wichtegkeet vun eisem Protest."
In 2003 and 2015, Sinn Féin—the largest opposition party in the Northern Ireland Assembly—put forward a Neutralitéit Gesetzesprojet d’Konzept vun der Neutralitéit an déi iresch Verfassung anzeschreiwen. D'Regierung, gesot De Seán Crowe vu Sinn Féin, huet "iresch Neutralitéit Stéck fir Stéck géint d'Wënsch vun de Leit verkaaft." Wann d'Iddi vun der Neutralitéit vum iresche Vollek ugeholl gëtt, ass et wéinst den Opfer vu Leit wéi Margaretta D'Arcy, Niall Farrell a Mary Kelly.
Dësen Artikel ass produzéiert vu Globetrotter.
ZNetwork gëtt eleng duerch d'Generositéit vu senge Lieser finanzéiert.
Spendenaktioun