Activists demand ban on US military

ANTI-WAR activists yesterday demanded the Government bring in a blanket ban on CIA and American war planes using Irish airports — in a bid to prevent the torture of foreign prisoners.

As the Irish Human Rights Commission (IRHC) called for aircraft to be inspected, retired army commandant and peace campaigner Ed Horgan said that prohibiting the US military was the only way to ensure Ireland could abide by international obligations.

"We welcome, belatedly, the pressure. But I would go further than that all US military aircraft should be banned," he said.

"I believe it is very likely that prisoners were transported through Shannon at some stage in the past and CIA planes were being used in the process of taking prisoners to be tortured. The CIA should be banned from going through for past offences," he added.

The IRHC urged the Government to urgently seek an agreement with US authorities to allow inspections of aircraft suspected of involvement in so-called extraordinary renditions.

Mr Horgan, who was arrested and detained at Shannon yesterday as he travelled to England, said he was very concerned about reports that 2,000 unnamed and undocumented prisoners had been moved out of Europe in the last few weeks.

IHRC president Dr Maurice Manning said Irish officials had an obligation to prevent actions on our soil which could facilitate torture.

"In the commission's view, and in light of Ireland's international legal obligations in this field, reliance on diplomatic assurances is not sufficient to protect against the risk of torture," Dr Manning said.

"Given the fact that the obligation on the state to protect against all forms of torture, inhuman and degrading treatment is an absolute one, and given the gravity of the allegations that have been made to date and which are under active investigation by the Council of Europe, it is not sufficient for the Government to rely on such assurances," he added.

Irish Anti-War Movement spokesman Richard Boyd Barrett welcomed the recommendation but insisted US aircraft should no longer have free run of Shannon.

"The report makes it clear that it is not acceptable to turn a blind eye to the fact that Shannon may have been used to facilitate torture," he said.

"It looks fairly clear that the US is involved in organising very elaborate systems of kidnap and torture. It is good that there is more pressure on the Government to end its connection with the US military at Shannon," he added. Under domestic and international law Ireland is obliged to ensure prisoners do not travel through the state en route to countries where they may be tortured.

Foreign Affairs Minister Dermot Ahern pressed US Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice on the matter in Washington earlier this month. She insisted prisoners were not being transported through Shannon.