Shannonwatch Vigil

clare | anti-war / imperialism | event notice Wednesday July 08, 2009 12:13 by John Lannon

Protesting against war and torture at Shannon Airport

The regular Shannonwatch vigil will take place on Sunday 12th July from 2pm to 3pm. Meet at the roundabout just before the security hut (gantry) on the way into the airport.

This month has seen the publication of a new report from Amnesty International outlining the extent to which Ireland and Shannon has been complicit in human rights abuse through its facilitation of the US renditions pogramme.

This month also, the US army launched another major offensive against the Taliban in Afghanistan. About 4,000 marines as well as 650 Afghan troops are involved, supported by Nato planes. This is the first large-scale operation since US President Barack Obama authorised the deployment of 17,000 extra US troops to Afghanistan, as part of a misguided new strategy for winning a war there. Many of these are being redeployed from operations in Iraq.

To coincide with this new aggression we have seen increased amounts of US navy and military traffic through Shannon Airport. It would appear that "neutral" Ireland is once again supporting the ongoing destruction of another country, widespread civilian casualties, and the displacement of thousands of innocent people.

Join us for an hour on Sunday 12th July to protest.