Press Releases & Updates 2003

On Tuesday June 17th., in Limerick Circuit Court, Judge Carroll Moran heard submissions from the "Pit Stop Ploughshares Community" legal team - solicitor Joe Noonan, Junior Barrister Giollíosa Ólideadha & Senior Barrister Michael O’Higgins.

The submissions related to further discovery of police evidence, the alleviation of bail conditions (daily signing on, banned from County Clare & a mile radius of the U.S. Embassy in Dublin) imposed on the defendants - Deirdre Clancy, Nuin Dunlop, Karen Fallon, Damien Moran & Ciaron O’Reilly and a change of venue for the trial.

The Pit Stop Ploughshares defendants have been charged with two counts of criminal damage to a hangar window (approx €200) at Shannon Airport and a U.S. Navy war plane (Govt. sources approx. €2.5 million). These charges arise out of the Pit Stop Ploughshares nonviolent disarmament of a U.S. Navy war plane at Shannon Airport on February 3rd. 2002. The Pit Stop Plougshares face a maximum sentence of 10 years imprisonment if convicted of the charges. 50,000 U.S. troops & munitions passed through Shannon Airport en route to the war on Iraq.

The Prosecution admitted to further discovery. The Prosecution opposed a change of venue from County Clare. The afternoon was spent in legal argument concerning issues of a "fair trial", "perceived bias" in calling a jury from County Clare where Shannon Airport is such an integral part of the economy and the United States is such a significant customer. The defense barrister quoted a series of prejudicial statements in relation to the defendants from a variety of local and national media & local and national politicians. It was argued that these statements have made a most significant impact in a community with the said strong economic ties to Shannon Airport. The Defense Barrister observing "perhaps the people of Clare might be more inclined to know which side their bread was buttered on".

Following two hours of defense argument and prosecution rebuttal, Judge Carrol retired to make a decision. He rejected defense arguments in relation to a Clare jury being pressured by economic ties to the United States fearing possible economic consequences of an acquittal.

The Judge acknowledged that his duty was to guarantee that the accused had a fair trial and not to consider the evidence of the case at this time. He stated that the perception that the accused would receive a fair trial was important. He conceded to the defense application for a change of venue to Dublin. A trial date is to be set by the Dublin Circuit Court, most likely for October or January sittings.

Ciaron O’Reilly from the Pit Stop Ploughshares stated,

"We look forward to carying the spirit of nonviolent disarmament into court and putting the issues surrounding our act of conscience at Shannon Airport before the consciences of a jury.

The continued use of Shannon Airport as a pit stop for the U.S. war machine remains a serious moral issue for the people of County Clare and Ireland. Our broader community will return to Shannon Airport on Saturday June 21st. 12 noon. As the five defendants -who remain banned from County Clare- hold a peace vigil on the Limerick border, others will gather at the airport to construct a shrine and remember the war dead. The gathering will be addressed by Nuria Nastafa, a member of the Iraqi Community in Ireland, who will travel to Iraq with an aid convoy. Andrea Needham, initially jailed and subsequently acquitted as consequence of the 1996 "Seeds of Hope Ploughshares" disarmament of a British Aerospace Hawk Fighter, will also speak. Ed Horgan from Limerick & a former commandant in Irish Defense Forces will also address the gathering.

A peace walk will then begin meeting the defendants on the Limerick border. We will have a "Celebration of Hope" in Limerick on Saturday night, celebrating the disarmament and ongoing nonviolent resistance to the war & occupation of Iraq.

We carried out this act of disarmament of the U.S. war machine around the Feast of St. Brigid. We were originally set for trial in Kilrush Court, County Clare, on the Feast of John the Baptist - June 24th. We will resume the peace walk at Brigids Well in Kildare on Monday morning, June 23rd. 9 a.m. in and continue to Dáil Eireann arriving on Tuesday evening June 24th. - the Feast of John the Baptist. We will conduct a fast for peace through Tuesday night at the Dáil.

"The axe is already laid to the roots of the trees; any tree that does not produce good fruits will be cut down and thrown into the fire" - John the Baptist, Matthew 3:10

There will be vigils challenging the role of Shannon Airport and Irish complicity in the continued war on and occupation of Iraq on this feast day at - Irish Embassy London, Irish Embassy Washington DC, Irish Consul New York City, Los Angeles Federal Building, Philadelphia Federal Building, Houston Federal Building, Brisbane, Perth, Irish Embassy Sweden, Irish Embassy Netherlands, Irish Embassy Austria, USAF Base Harewood Christchurch, Irish Embassy Wellington, Irish Consul Auckland, Dili East Timor, Archbishop Romeros tomb El Salvador, Irish Embassy Slovakia, Belfast City Hall and elsewhere".

www.ploughsharesireland.org

The Manchester pensioner was charged with a breach of the peace at the blockade of the Trident base on 6th August, Hiroshima Day, last year. She freely admitted taking part but said her action was justified. Each Trident warhead was eight times more powerful than the Hiroshima bomb.

The protest that day had also focused on Iraq which had suffered twelve years of slow genocide through the UN sanctions and had recently been threatened with Trident by Geoff Hoon. Further, we might have expected that the wholesale broadcasting of radioactive materials through DU ordinance in the Gulf War and elsewhere, with their terrible effects in cancer and infant deformations, should have resulted in an outcry among the general public. Pat was horrified that this had not happened and that we had been softened up to accept the development of "low-yield" nuclear weapons and the use of nuclear weapons on the battlefield.

Pat went on to explain how Trident breached the principles of international law as spelled out in the Hague conventions. It could not distinguish between civilians and the military, its radioactive toxins could not be limited to one target area and it posed a long-term threat to the environment. International law, as enshrined in the Nuremberg Principles, recognised that everyone had a duty to take action against genocide, including the planning of genocide. The protest on that day had alarmed no-one, it was entirely peaceful, there were flowers and singing. The Trident Ploughshares campaign had strict nonviolence guidelines to cover such events.

Justice of the Peace Fraser Gillies fined her £175. Earlier Ivor Birnie (46), from Edinburgh, charged with taking part in a blockade of Faslane on the previous day, also argued that no-one had been placed in a state of distress or alarm by his action. He was fined £180.

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