US suspect flights go unchecked at airport

IRELAND’S relationship with the United States is such that it would be extremely difficult for the Government to take the “extraordinary step” of inspecting US flights through Shannon airport, a former top Irish diplomat said yesterday.

Even if it did, it would probably not find any evidence of terror suspects on board, Noel Dorr, former Irish ambassador to the UN, said.

Mr Dorr, who is also former secretary general of the Department of Foreign Affairs, said there seemed to be “some evidence” that planes used for so-called rendition flights may have passed through Shannon airport.

He was speaking at the launch of the Amnesty International report for 2006, which criticised the Government for not investigating claims that terror suspects were passing through Shannon in situations where they were at risk of torture or degrading treatment.

Mr Dorr said the Government had been given assurances that this was not happening from the US Government at the highest level, including the secretary of state.

“It’s very, very difficult with a country with which we’re enormously friendly with basically to challenge an assertion like that by one of its highest authorities.

He added: “I assume with all the fuss there’s been that if the Irish Government took the rather extraordinary step of stopping and searching planes, you’d probably find that there is nothing to find.”

Colm ÓCuanacháin, secretary general of the Irish section of Amnesty, said the onus was on the Government to inspect US flights.

“These diplomatic assurances are not written down, as we know of. In terms of the law, these assurances mean nothing.”

He said renditions were “torture in disguise” and that EU Governments had collaborated with the US.

The Amnesty report’s section on Ireland highlights concerns regarding the treatment of people with mental illness, new extensive counter-terrorism legislation, the conditions of some prisons and the Government’s anti-racism record.

Mannete Ramaili, Lesotho Ambassador to Ireland, acknowledged the work of Bono and Bob Geldof on the Drop the Debt campaign.

But she said countries such as Lesotho were being punished for complying with their debt repayments, while countries, who hadn’t met their payments, were having their debts erased.