Shannonwatch

Wednesday morning, Oct 3rd, at Shannon airport at least two aircraft on contract to the US military. One Omni Air International plane, registration N477AX parked at Gate 40 most likely carrying armed US troops. It arrived from Norfolk US Naval Station in the US, and went on to the Middle East.

Everything looked normal at Shannon Airport as the monthly Shannonwatch peace vigil took place outside the airport. We would have preferred to highlight the military use of the airport at the terminal building, but as usual a cordon of Gardai standing behind crowd control barriers would not let us enter the airport.

However everything was not normal for a civilian airport. During the one hour peace vigil two US military contracted planes landed. Both were operated by Omni Air International.

The first, with registration N207AX arrived at Shannon from Bardufoss Airport in north Norway, having previous been in Gdansk Poland and in Fort Worth Texas.

Saturday August 25th at Shannon, two more aircraft on contract to the US military were refueled on their way from the USA. 

Omni Air International N477AX using US military call sign CMB556 arrived at Shannon about midday having come from Kileen Fort Hood Airbase. It took off at 16.14 pm and landed in Poland near Poznan Airport. 

At our Shannonwatch peace vigil today we displayed a beautiful banner produced by IPSC with artwork in memory of some of the Palestinian children who have been killed in Gaza. It was an appropriate banner, given all the children killed by wars facilitated by Shannon Airport.

We also held a special ceremony to remember the 12 peace activists who have passed away peacefully since we began our peace protests at Shannon in 2001.

The following letter from Shannonwatch's Edward Horgan was published in today's Irish Independent.

The appalling situation in Yemen is getting worse. According to the United Nations 10,000 people - two-thirds of them civilians, including thousands of children, have been killed and 55,000 injured.

On 9th August a bus carrying children to a summer school was hit by a Saudi air strike in the town of Dahyan in northern Yemen. At least 47 civilians including 29 children, all under 15 years of age, were killed. Col Turki al-Malki spokesman for the US backed Saudi dominated coalition said the attack was "a legitimate military action, conducted in conformity with international humanitarian law".

Book now for Global Governance: The Force of Law, or the Law of Force

World Beyond War and Shannonwatch are organizing a Peace Conference in Cloughjordan Eco-village, Tipperary, on Saturday, September 8th. The event is titled "Global Governance: The Force of Law, or the Law of Force," and it will feature a range of expert speakers who will address vital topics such as: Practical Protests and Legal Actions; The Role of Women in Peace; Transforming the Role of the Military from War to Peace; The Dangers of an EU Super-State, and need to dismantle the new Iron Curtain; Ireland's Role in International Affairs; Ireland, Europe and Neutrality; Shannon and the Law; and finally Law vs War.