Tag Archives: Irish Neutrality

We Deserve and Demand Immediate Answers

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Workers Party President, Cllr Ted Tynan, has demanded immediate clarification from the Irish Government on the work being undertaken by Collins Aerospace (Cork). The company is a subsidiary of the American based Collins Aerospace which is a supplier of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance equipment and sophisticated arms systems to warring countries, including Israel.

“At a time when the state of Israel is engaged in a genocidal war against the Palestinian people, and in the face of the Irish government’s duplicity on the issue of peace in the Middle East, I have written to the Taoiseach, Tánaiste, the Industrial Development Agency and to the  Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment”, Councillor Tynan said.

“I am seeking immediate clarification on the involvement of Collins Aerospace (Cork), and any other companies based here, in the design, manufacture and export of military equipment including dual-use technology and, in particular, highly sophisticated military guidance systems.

“The arms industry is a dangerous and deadly business that fuels conflict, repression and war and sustains regimes which abuse human rights, all in pursuit of profit. This vile industry does this with the full support of governments,” Cllr Tynan said.

 “Ireland has a tradition of military neutrality which is being increasingly undermined by successive governments and the EU in an attempt to draw this country into the deadly embrace of NATO and its war machine. The people of this country deserve and demand immediate answers,” he concluded.

Defending Irish Neutrality and why Britain should get out of NATO

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The Republic of Ireland has a proud and principled history of international neutrality, but events over many decades and the current Government forum on ‘international security’ are posing a serious threat to that position.

Ireland has traditionally distanced itself from military alliances and has been a consistent advocate for peace and against war and aggression.

Now we are being told that Irish neutrality is naïve, impractical and even selfish and dishonourable. 

Of course, there is never dishonour in peace. The dishonour lies in the barbarity of the slaughter of many thousands of people in Iraq, Libya, Sudan, Syria, Afghanistan, Ukraine and elsewhere. It lies in the inhumanity which results in hundreds of children and their parents drowning in the Mediterranean Sea as they attempt to flee from wars they didn’t start.

The Republic of Ireland, already compromised by the use of Shannon Airport by US military war missions and illegal ‘rendition’ flights, is now being prepared for the end of its neutrality policy, membership of NATO and the commitment of its defence forces to NATO and EU aggressions.

In a world where imperial powers are waging wars and military interventions in the pursuit of markets, resources and profit, the Republic of Ireland must remain a positive and progressive bulwark against their barbaric intent and not be either forced or shamed into joining military alliances. Ireland should establish a reputation as a champion of peace and disarmament and abandon its increasing subservience to the merchants of war.

That is a cause for working people to pursue. Irish and British workers cannot directly change the corrupt governments of Russia, Ukraine and elsewhere, but we can, and must throw the weight of the working class behind the international challenge to imperialist wars, militarism and the arms industry. That is why Irish neutrality must be defended and why Britain should be forced to leave NATO.

Workers Party President, Councillor Ted Tynan, recently addressed a public meeting of Cork Neutrality League on the issue of the Irish Government’s Consultative Forum on International Security Policy.

address-to-the-cork-neutrality-league

The Empire Wants to Fight

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Buiding an Empire with working class lives

The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen (right) has called on the EU
to develop its own military capabilities – an EU Army.

The issue has been around for some time but now there is increasing pressure for a formal military structure. Not that it was mentioned much by the Remain lobby during the referendum debate. They were obviously keen to avoid the subject.

All the evidence points to the EU wanting to extend its power and influence and formalise its empire. An EU flag, an anthem, a common currency and the final piece of the jigsaw an army of its own.

An EU army will, unquestionably, lead to interventions in other countries. The press release will claim humanitarian motives or bringing an end to ‘tyranny’ but the reality is that it will be about extending the EU’s influence and markets. The grimmer reality is that hundreds, if not thousands, of young working-class men and women from across the continent will be used as commercial cannon fodder and the peoples of countries subjected to “intervention” will be the victims of the devastation and horror of destruction and war One other thing is certain – Ursula van der Leyen will not be in the firing line.

The prospect of an EU army raises very serious questions for the Republic of Ireland and its record on neutrality. 

What kind of pressure will the EU Commission bring to bear on the Republic of Ireland to join an EU army? Don’t expect a principled stand from Fine Gael, Fianna Fail or from Sinn Fein, all of whom have shown that they will bend over backwards to curry favour with Brussels. 

There will be others who would welcome an EU army. The armaments industry, its suppliers and associates will profit massively, at public expense from the formation of such an army let alone from its “interventions”.

An EU army will have nothing to do with peace, peace keeping or making the world ‘a safer place’. It has everything to do with the contradictions between the capitalist states, the development and consolidation of the capitalist system, the pursuit of profit and the exploitation of working people to deliver it.    

 

The story of the US military and Shannon airport

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How Ireland has become “part of the US military conveyor-belt of death”

PANA – the Irish Peace and Neutrality Alliance – has produced a fact sheet outlining the history, and the extent, of the US military involvement at Shannon Airport in Co. Clare.

More than 3 million US troops have passed through Shannon

It is estimated that over 3 million US troops have gone through Shannon Airport since 2002. The exact figure is unknown. As these aircraft have the troop’s personal weapons on board, the flights must be given prior permission to land by the Irish Minister for Transport. Permits must also be given for flights carrying weapons through Irish airspace. The US military account for well over 90% of all flights requesting permits to carry munitions through Irish airspace and airports

The erosion of Irish neutrality is inextricably linked to the daily use of Shannon Airport by the US military for almost two decades.

It is now effectively a forward operating base used to support US operations in the Middle East, with approximately three million US troops and their weapons, regular US Air Force/Navy cargo planes, and an unknown number of CIA extraordinary rendition flights passing through since 2002.

Constitution

Two Articles of the Irish Constitution have been repeatedly and consistently undermined through this misuse of a civilian airport. Despite this, Shannon has provided direct support for ground offensives and bombing campaigns, and has been complicit in the deaths and displacement of millions of people

See the PANA fact sheet here:

us-military-operations-and-shannon-airport

PANA website: https://www.pana.ie/