Shannon Blockade 1: Pluses & Minuses

national | anti-war / imperialism | news report Sunday December 07, 2003 20:35 by Dominic Carroll - Clonakilty Against the War (personal capacity) clonakiltyagainstthewar at eircom dot net

Let's Learn the Lessons

The attempt to blockade Shannon Airport could be considered a qualified success. Credit is due to those who attended and those who worked to build the demo over a period of months. As with any anti-war event, there are identifiable pluses and minuses.

Pluses
• The attendance of around 400 was superb given the travelling involved, the time of the year and the energy-sapping nature of relentless anti-war activity. Those who made the trip were sending the message in no uncertain terms that as long as the US wages war and the Irish government provides illegal support, the anti-war movement will act.
• The role of the state (government, gardai, army, courts, etc.) in protecting this US military installation was again graphically highlighted and witnessed on prime-time TV.
• Media coverage (though hopelessly biased, as usual) was pretty extensive (both in the run-up and on the day). No-one in the country could have been unaware of the protest.
• Arrests were minimal (compared to the 10 made in June when a smaller crowd attempted to block a road after being denied the right to march to the terminal). This can be attributed to a number of factors: a) no protestor behaved violently or illegally; b) when someone was in danger of being arrested, other protestors crowded around in solidarity; c) public opinion in Ireland is overwhelmingly against US aggression and war, thus serving to put restraints on the guards.
• Participants effectively engaged in a mass reconnaissance of the area surrounding Shannon. Garda tactics were observed, lessons will be learned, mistakes will not be repeated and future attempts at blockading Shannon will have an improved chance of success.
• The protest (and the travel involved) provided a rare opportunity for anti-war activists from different parts of the country to discuss strategy and tactics.
• Following the protest, a number of buses called to Limerick Prison in solidarity with Fintan Lane (serving 60 days for involvement in a protest at Shannon a year ago).

Minuses
• Preparations for the blockade and the action itself were hampered by on-going rivalry/antagonism and the total lack of communication between the two anti-war organisations in the South: the Irish Anti-War Movement and the Grassroots Network Against War.
• Tactics for actually blockading the airport were a) poorly planned; b)badly implemented c) wantonly disregarded; d) hopelessly improvised.
• The democratic deficit within the IAWM was again demonstrated. Decisions were made for the IAWM “on the hoof” and undemocratically. Since no mechanism existed for the steering committee to make decisions on the day, stewards on the IAWM bus from Dublin decided on the tactic for the day (disregarding previous decisions) and communicated what they considered a binding decision to buses from Cork and Galway. Open discussion at the assembly point prior to the protest was disallowed. As the event unfolded, decisions were woefully communicated and participants treated as no-line bit-part actors.
• The IAWM “leadership” (accompanied – willingly and in some cases unwillingly – by the majority of the stewards) attempted a de facto termination of the protest by leaving at about 5pm (a decision not communicated to most of those participating in the demo). The majority of the protestors began leaving Shannon at around 6.15pm onwards.

Shannon Blockade 2
• Shannon must remain the focus of the anti-war movement in Ireland. Marches to the terminal, unless thousands strong, are currently off the agenda (this became apparent in June when gardai halted a march). A more militant approach is necessarily required.
• Planning for future blockades must be dramatically improved.
• The IAWM and GNAW must communicate and co-ordinate.