Limerick Leader Editor Attacking Anti-War Protestors

national | miscellaneous | news report Saturday December 21, 2002 00:26 by Raymond McInerney raymond.mcinerney at ul dot ie 122 Vale Avenue, Carew Park, Limerick 087 7750260

The Limerick Leader editor Brendan Halligan wrote the following on this weeks City Edition. I for one would most probably disagree with the proposed letter writers' submission. But there would be no way that I would threaten her in anyway. We are not just anti-war, we're PRO-PEACE

The sound of silence

A READER wanted to have a letter published in the Limerick Leader protesting at anti-American protests over the refuelling of US military aircraft at Shannon.

She wanted to say how good this traditional traffic must be for business-in terms of revenue, jobs and trans-Atlantic tourism; how far from compromising neutrality, it could help protect Europe from terrorism; how the protestors would be better employed doing something useful for society.

But she said nothing. To have her letter published she would have had to have her name and address published. She preferred to remain anomymous. She feared to speak.

That might tell us something about her sense of vulnerability. Doesn't it also tell us even more about the insidious nastiness of anti-Americanism?