Gardai remove IFPAL sign near Israeli Embassy

national | rights, freedoms and repression | news report Tuesday October 06, 2009 18:14 by Sean Clinton - IFPAL - Irish Friends of Palestine Against Lisbon info at ifpal dot ie

On Sunday evening Gardai in Irishtown confirmed that they had the previous day removed an IFPAL referendum sign from a pole close to the Israeli Embassy on Pembroke Road Dublin. The sign read:

Israel killed 300 Palestinian children in January
Yet the EU will not impose sanctions
EU policy facilitates Israeli genocide.
Vote No to Lisbon

Following enquiries made to Superintendent Finbar O’Brien from Donnybrook Garda Station yesterday afternoon to find out why Gardai removed the sign, Sergeant Tom O’Sullivan this morning contacted Mr. Clinton and informed him that the sign was being held as “an exhibit” and investigated for “the possibility of the offence of incitement to hatred”.

IFPAL believe Gardai have absolutely no grounds for such an investigation as nothing on the sign is “threatening, abusive or insulting” as prohibited by the Prohibition of Incitement To Hatred Act, 1989. The sign gives factual information about the number of children killed by Israel last January and expresses the opinion that the EU facilitates what many commentators have described as the genocidal policies of the Israeli government.

We in IFPAL believe Gardai have employed powers given to them by the Oireachtas to maintain public order and safety for overt political reasons, denying IFPAL the right to freely express convictions and opinions as enshrined under Article 40 of the Irish Constitution. Gardai have made a number of what IFPAL believe are spurious claims in relation to their referendum sign close to the Israeli Embassy – one of over twenty such signs that have been prominently displayed throughout Ireland since August, none of which have given rise to any complaints from Gardai.

Gardai in Donnybrook successively claimed the sign was a distraction to motorists, falsely claimed it could not be erected without permission and a permit and claimed it was displayed with intent to provoke a breach of the peace or with recklessness as to whether a breach of the peace might be occasioned. Now they claim that the sign is “likely to stir up hatred”.

IFPAL believe the proximity of the sign to the Israeli embassy is the real reason behind the interference of the Gardai in the democratic process. Gardai employed a number of tactics to have the IFPAL sign removed in order to shelter the Israeli ambassador from reading details of the genocide for which his country was responsible, details that would embarrass any civilised person.

The actions of the Gardai call into question what if any lessons those in the upper echelons of the force learned from their experience with the Morris Tribunal into Garda corruption in Donegal. It is clear from the initial involvement of the Gardai, claiming the original IFPAL sign was a distraction – without any evidence other than the opinion of a sergeant in Donnybrook to support such a claim - that the Gardai have used their powers in a manner which we believe dangerously extends and may even exceed their legal remit.

We in IFPAL look forward to defending any charges brought by the DPP in relation to this but we doubt very much that any charges will be forthcoming.