Tragedy may happen at Shannon

national | anti-war / imperialism | press release

Thursday July 31, 2003 13:14

by Justin Morahan - Peace People

Tim Hourigan's address at Fairview meeting

"If one of the 747s at present passing through Shannon, carrying
missiles or depleted uranium, were to explode in the airport by
accident, the airport would be blown into obliteration, half of
Shannon town would be wiped out, and large areas of east Clare,
Limerick and Tipperary would be unfit for human habitation".

Press release:

A tragedy of major proportions is waiting to happen at Shannon
Airport, Mr. Tim Hourigan said at a public meeting organized by the
Fairview Anti-War group in Fairview on Wednesday night.

"If one of the 747s at present passing through Shannon, carrying
missiles or depleted uranium, were to explode in the airport by
accident, the airport would be blown into obliteration, half of
Shannon town would be wiped out, and large areas of east Clare,
Limerick and Tipperary would be unfit for human habitation," he said.

Mr. Hourigan, who is a member of Refuelling Peace and a founder member
of the Shannon Peace Camp, told the meeting that the presence of a
chemical factory next to the airport compounded the danger. Further
to that, parking military planes next to civilian ones is
transforming unknowing civilians into "human shields." This is a war
crime under the Rome Conference on the International Criminal Court,
Article 8(2)(b)(xxiii), he said.

The well known peace activist traced the history of the United States
military traffic through Shannon since October 2001. He said the
United States used military and chartered planes with the complicity
of the Irish Government but for a long time this fact was unknown to
the Irish public. Surveillance by members of the Shannon Peace Camp,
Dáil questions and the actions of Mary Kelly and the Pitstop Ploughsares
Five forced the Government to admit what had been happening.
In fact, one of the planes owned and used by the US, he said, had even
been painted in Aer Lingus colours.

Mr. Hourigan objects to the United States military aura surrounding
the airport at present and for the past number of years. As one
example he cited an incident in February 2002 when a fire broke out in
the cargo hold of a plane still in flight. The pilot, as a matter of
routine, called for help but, when the plane landed, entry to Irish
firefighters was initially refused by United Stated soldiers armed
with M16s.

The speaker showed copies to the audience of official Government
documents stating clearly that the Departments of Foreign Affairs and
Transport had given permission to United States aircraft to carry arms
and munitions through Shannon. This, he said, was in direct
contradiction of an Inspector's evidence in Tulla District Court that
he "presumed" these planes were just carrying "American food for
American troops."

He had taken hundreds of pictures of planes and soldiers, some of whom
he had seen in full uniform in the airport, he said.

The tankers refuelled at the airport, said Mr. Hourigan, provided a
direct link to the fighter bombers that bombed Iraq. Parliamentary
questions had revealed that these bombers, which were refuelled in
mid-air by the tankers, had then passed through Irish airspace.

Mr. Robin Hennessy, convenor of the meeting, said "We are determined to
keep campaigning until Shannon Airport is returned to civilian status
and the Irish facilities are no longer used as an outpost for United
States military agression."