Anti-War Ireland media panel for Bush protests
national |
anti-war / imperialism |
press release 
Monday May 31, 2004 23:48
by Anti-War Ireland
info at antiwarireland dot org
Anti-war media panel for Bush protests
Anti-War Ireland, a broad-based national alliance of anti-war groups, is organising the demonstration that will meet George W. Bush when he lands at Shannon airport on Friday evening, June 25th. This demonstration will assemble at 7pm in Shannon town centre before marching to the airport.
Anti-War Ireland is also conjointly organising, with AmBush2004 (a coalition of grassroots groups), a parade for peace from Bunratty to Shannon the following day. Assembing at 12pm.
Anti-War Ireland has appointed the following media panel for the Bush protests. These individuals are willing to do media interviews on behalf of Anti-War Ireland to explain the reasons for the protests, which revolve around our opposition to Bush's aggressive foreign policy and the military misuse of Shannon airport.
ANTI-WAR IRELAND media panel for Bush protests
HARRY BROWNE is an American who has been living in Ireland since 1987. He works as a journalist, contributes regularly to arts programmes on radio and TV, and lectures in the School of Media at Dublin Institute of Technology. He is based in Dublin. Contact: 087 77648065.
CAOIMHE BUTTERLY is a member of many human rights and activist groups including Voices in the Wilderness, Anti-War Ireland, and the Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign. Caoimhe is a PRO with Anti-War Ireland. She has worked on human rights projects in many parts of the world: in 2002 she spent many months living in the West Bank, mostly in Jenin Camp. On 21 November 2002 she was shot by an Israeli soldier while ushering children to safety. She spent much of 2003 in Baghdad where she was active with Voice in the Wilderness and she observed the US occupation, and community resistance, at close hand. She is based in Dublin. Contact: 087 2134160, or masasa73@hotmail.com
DOMINIC CARROLL is the co-ordinator of the Anti-War Ireland demonstration scheduled to assemble at 7pm in Shannon town centre on the Friday evening that President Bush arrives in Ireland. He is PRO of Clonakilty Against the War and is also involved with the Cork Anti-War Campaign. He is based in Clonakilty, County Cork. Contact: 023 40881 or clonakiltyagainstthewar@eircom.net
EDWARD HORGAN is a retired commandant with the Irish Defence Forces and a decorated UN peacekeeper. Last year he took a High Court case against the Irish government over its decision to allow US military planes to overfly Ireland and refuel in this State (specifically at Shannon airport) while en route to war in Iraq. He claimed that this compromised Irish neutrality and that this country runs the risk of being party to war crimes. He left the army in 1986 and later became a full-time student - he was awrded an M.Phil. (Peace Studies) from TCD in 2000. Over the past 10 years he has also worked as a civilian UN volunteer on election and democratiisation missions in Bosnia, Croatia, Nigeria, Indonesia, Zimbabwe and East Timor. On 27 September 2003, Commandant Horgan returned to the Irish government his military medals awarded by the UN in protest against Ireland's participation in the war on Iraq. He is based in Limerick. Contact: 086 2380911.
TIM HOURIGAN is a leading member of both the Mid-West Alliance against Military Aggression (MAMA) and Refuelling Peace. He is also a PRO with Anti-War Ireland. He was one of those who first alerted the public to the refuelling of US warplanes at Shannon and he has steadily monitored the US military presence over the past few years. He has an unrivalled knowledge of the military misuse of the airport. He is based in Limerick. Contact: 087 9777703, or tim_hourigan@hotmail.com
Dr FINTAN LANE is convenor of Anti-War Ireland and a leading member of the Cork Anti-War Campaign. He served 45 days in Limerick Prison (between November 2003 and January 2004) because of his refusal to pay a E750 fine imposed by Tulla District Court in April 2003 for his part in a mass trespass during an anti-war protest at Shannon airport in October 2002. He described his participation as ‘an act of conscience’. He is an historian, the author of books on Irish social history, and editor of Saothar, the journal of Irish labour history. He is based in Cork and Dublin. Contact: 087 1258325, or info@antiwarireland.org
Prof. JOHN MAGUIRE is professor of sociology emeritus, University College, Cork. He is the author of a number of books including Defending Peace: Ireland’s Role in a Changing Europe (Cork University Press: 2002) and, with Joe Noonan, Maastricht and Neutrality (People First/Meitheal, 1992). He also wrote the song ‘Hey Ronnie Reagan’, which was recorded by Christy Moore, and is a long-time peace activist. He is a member of the Cork Anti-War Campaign. He is based in Cork. Contact: 021 7331871/087 1258325, or info@antiwarireland.org
MAGGIE RONAYNE is the co-ordinator of the Global Women’s Strike in Ireland. She has organised with women in Kurdistan and Iraq against war and torture, and against the destruction caused by large dam projects. He is a lecturer in archaeology in NUI Galway and has spoken out against the cultural destruction caused by the war in Iraq. She is based in Galway. Contact: 087 7838688, or maggie.ronanye@nuigalway.ie
To contact Anti-War Ireland, phone 087 1258325 or email info@antiwarireland.org
Comments (20 of 20)
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Remembering the War Dead
Memorial Day (May 31st.) is a national holiday in the U.S. where the war dead are remembered.
In Dublin the Dublin Catholic Worker, U.S. Citizens for Alternatives to War were joined by U.S., Australian & Irish citizens, members of the Spiritan Community and other activists in a 2 hour anti-war vigil at Dublin's U.S. Embassy (cnr. of Elgin & Pembroke) on Monday May 31st. 5pm-7pm.
Banners included "War is Terrorism is War" and placards called to "Remember the Dead, Bring U.S. Troops Home!" and to "Free Imprisoned Peace Activists" Other placards called to "Free Kathy Kelly" (serving 4 months for trespass at Ft. Benning Georgia (www.soaw.org) to "Free Sr. Ardeth Platte, Sr. Jackie Hudosn, Sr. Carol Gilbert" (serving 2 & 3 years for a nonviolent inspection and plowshares action at an ICBM Missile silo in Colarado www.jonahhouse.org) & "To Free Sgt. Camilo Meija" recently court martialled for his refusal to continue to be deployed to Iraq.
A shrine was constructed in the front of the security pod at the front of the U.S. embassy with candles and photos of an Iraqi child wounded by U.S. fire and the recently deceased U.S. peace activist Dave Delinger (in the photo clipped from last week's Guardian obituary Dave was pictured with Abbie Hoffman and Jerry Rubin of the "Chicago 8").
As Ciaron O'Reilly of the Pit Stop Ploughshares (www.ploughsharesireland.org) read the names of U.S. military dead and Caoimohe Butterly read the names & ages of Iraqi slain, they were accompanied by San Franciscan Brenda Malloy on the harp. It was a beautiful and moving litany - a powerful reminder of lives behind the daily statistics.
Following the litany, Irish based U.S. journalist Harry Brown - spoke to how the planned plunder of Iraq was on course amidst the scenes of social chaos and killing. Harry introduced his mother New Jersey based Flavia Alaya - a U.S. solidarity Activist with the thousands who have been detained/interned under Ashcroft's draconian legislation to round up immigrants in the U.S. Flavia spoke powerfully to the issues of lost freedoms i a country mobilised for a war without end.
Glenda Cimino, U.S. peace activist, exposed lies that were the basis of marketing the war in the U.S.
The anti-war vigil will continue every Monday 5pm - 7 pm at Dublin's U.S. embassy in the lead up to George Bush's arrival at Shannon Airport on June 25th. Shannon presently facilitates 16,000 U.S. troops a month commuting through to the invasion, occupation & plunder of Iraq.
More vigil information Ph. 087 918 4552
The story/posting above (same wording etc., just giving the Anti-War Ireland spokespersons for the Bush protests) has been deleted from irishantiwar.org where it was posted on the newswire earlier tonight.
Why would the IAWM delete this? It simply gives details of the Shannon protest and a list of Anti-War Ireland spokespersons. What is going on?
It's disrepecting every one of the activists on that list.
Why would the IAWM delete this?
The IAWM (i.e. the SWP) is a commercial enterprise. They want to sell their brand name and fight competition. It's like capitalism. The only difference is that they don't pay their workers (paper sellers).
Sad, but that's the way they work.
i think this thread comments and the comments shown on the iawm announcement thread show exactly what the main readership of indymedia ireland now amounts to,nothing more then a small collective of non aligned individuals hell bent on petty sectarianism towards the likes of the swp(my party) and the sp and the like and their wish for the demise of the iawm.
John Paul,
There are reasons for the hostility towards the SWP-run IAWM, and you would do well to take them seriously. Your party has prided itself in the past on its opposition to Stalinism, but its practice is little different from that of an orthodox communist party. Do you find this acceptable?
The IAWM should disband and the SWP should join with everybody else in Anti-War Ireland. The IAWM still has the ear of the media (no surprise there), but that will be gradually eroded as more and more journalists discover that most anti-war activists have left and are now supporting the creation of a genuinely open, broad-based anti-war movement - AWI.
It will be a long time before anti-war activists forgive the SWP for what they done to the anti-war movement in Ireland.
Cheers.
A brilliant and scientific analysis of the plight of Indymedia. It's funny the way we always get people coming on here and explaining which one of our problems is reponsible for our declinging readership. They never seem remotely embarrassed that they don't have a clue what they're talking about and that we know it - we read the stats and our traffic has been steadily rising since the start of the site.
5,578,775 hits last month, not including the traffic that was diverted off-site for Mayday (a lot). The small collective of non-aligned individuals must be getting tired fingers from hitting reload so often. Let's assume that there are 5-6 people in the collective. That makes about a million hits each. Making various rough allowances for multiple hits per page and cacheing, I'd estimate that all 5 or 6 of them must have been hitting the reload button every 3-4 seconds, 24 hours a day for the last month. They were also cunning enough to hide their use behind some 80,000 or so different IP addresses. Some collective.
i regularly visit indymedia,as do,im sure many members of the swp,sp,sf and the like,but that is not reflected when i look at the threads comments which are predominantly anonymous or from the same people time after time,i get the impression that lots of people,like myself,dont respond regularly as its really a case of putting your head above the pulpet to get fired at
Ah John Paul. I can see you feverishly reading indymedia in a Paul Street cybercafe. Tis like watching a guilty soul reading porn.
Seriously though, are you suggesting that all tha hits are really from that vast army of SWP members? And they are daily overwhelmed by the tiny bunch of non-aligned types (yuk! non-aligned!) who spent all day thinking about you and yours?
Have you seen a doctor recently (no offence intended)?
This posting about the Shannon demo and listing the Anti-War Ireland spokespeople was reposted on the irishantiwar.org newswire earlier today (apparently by the webmaster) but it has been deleted again.
What is the IAWM's problem with this? It advertises an antiwar protest at Shannon as Bush arrives and gives the names and details of Anti-War Ireland spokespeople. If PANA or the NGO Peace Alliance posted something similar, would it be deleted?
This is a disgraceful insult to the spokespeople of Anti-War Ireland, all of whom are esteemed and well-known antiwar activists. It's an absolute disgrace and I demand an explanation.
This is a useful list of some the leading anti-war activists involved with Anti-War Ireland. Most of us know loads of other prominent activists who also support this new group. All prominent and reputable anti-war activists.
So, what about the IAWM? Well, it wouldn't matter who fronts them if the IAWM didn't pretend to represent the anti-war movement. But they do, even though all the leading antiwar activists in this country from Mary Kelly to the people listed above have long dismissed the IAWM, so which 'leading activists' are involved with them? Who is speaking for the IAWM and who still supports it?
Err...Richard Boyd Barrett (who hardly left the speaker's platform in Stephen's Green during the past year, even squeezing real Shannon activists off in the process) and...emmm...Rory Hearne (a refugee from the failed Another Europe is Possible) and...errrr....fuck it, that's it. Nobody with a national profile actually.
The IAWM steering committee? Nobody seems to know who is on this. The IAWM hasn't published the list since their flop of an AGM (virtually nobody attended) in the Teachers Club recently. What we do know is that if you knew the names of the IAWM steering committee members, you wouldn't recognise them. Complete unknowns directing the 'movement'.
Seriously, the IAWM is claiming to speak on behalf of us; they won't tell us who's on their committee and claiming to make decisions on our behalf. In fact their committee has nobody with any profile within the wider movement. Complete unknowns with no serious track record. Nobodies. They are people dragged in off the street. Some Green called Sinead something or other has posted on indymedia recently. She was recruited to the IAWM steering committee by the SWP recently, but who is she? No matter, she is your leader!
A committee of unknowns under the thumb of the SWP. The leadership of the anti-war movement? I don't think so.
What's all this about unknowns? Sounds a bit elitist to me . Not all of us can be college lecturers you know
I agree fully with 'Unknown'. The comment above is replete with snobbery and elitism, and is hardly constructive.
George Bush will be here in a few weeks and I think it would be better if people put their obviously considerable energy into building for the protests.
Remember your date with President Bush:
7pm, Friday evening, June 25th, assembling in Shannon town centre.
My point was simply that no nationally known anti-war activist supports the IAWM, even though they still claim to speak on behalf of the anti-war movement. Nobody remains involved except SWPers and a few hangers-on. That's all I meant.
I think it is important that we focus a bit more on mobilising for the Bush protests. Measuring Anti-War Ireland against the IAWM is a pointless exercise.
Anti-War Ireland is developing at its own pace. In my opinion, it is growing as an alliance of groups in favour of particular objectives and democratic methods of working, and not as an alliance brought together by antipathy to another anti-war group.
Leave the sectarianism to the professionals, please.
from the INLA's political wings website
Though it has been many years, we in the IRSP have not forgotten that Fintan's father, Jim Lane, was
once the chairperson of our party and that Fintan was an energetic and talented member of the IRSP as
well. Even were this not the case, however, the IRSP would continue to demand his release. Fintan's
participation in the demonstrations against the US military's use of Shannon during its war with Iraq
should not have resulted in his being treated as a criminal. Rather, he should be recognised as a defender
of Irish sovereignty and Irish neutrality, as should all those who protested and continue to protest the US
presence in Shannon.
Your choice.
Fair cop guv'
It's true, I was once a member of the "Holy Name Sodality" headed for 20 years by Queensland's Special Branch supremo Les Hogan.
Yep the O'Reilly pew always skipped the part of the pledge that swore "obedience to all lawful & civil authority". But there you go, happened during my 8 year tour of duty as an altar boy at Mitchelton's "Our Lady of Dolors" parish.
Anti-terrorist, why don't you debate the issue on the table i.e. the wisdom or otherwise of the location of the various anti-Bush demonstrations? Well your choice of alias gives an interesting clue, given that we are in the midst of a so-called war on terrorism. Looks like yours is the neo-con reflex to label all opponents terrorist, with no discussion of motives or rationale to muddy up the sanctimoniousness.
Oh and by the way, I don't know much about Fintan's history but even your mischievious posting acknowledges that at most his involvement was in the past and not current. As for a discussion about the IRSP, that's for another thread... so give us a break and take it outside.
Oh and for the record, I think the main demo should be in Shannon. Smaller demonstrations are appropriate if people can't make it to the Shannon. So this time let's call Dublin a region let's endorse it as Shannon 'the real capital' of the anti-war movement.
The phone number given for one of the Anti-War Ireland spokespersons above has one '7' too many.
Harry Browne's contact number is actually 087 7648065.
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