State renditions committee ‘only met twice’

A CABINET committee to review the law and ensure gardaí have the power to board and search suspected rendition flights has only met twice in one year, according to Amnesty International.

With the eighth anniversary of Guantanamo Bay falling today, the human rights body called on the Taoiseach to announce when the Cabinet review will finally take place.

Criticising the lack of progress on the issue Colm O’Gorman, executive director of Amnesty International Ireland said the Government had to make a commitment to its promise.

“In November 2008 the Government announced it was setting up a special Cabinet review. At the time the Government said this was an indication that it was, “taking human rights seriously. Over a year later however there is still no sign of this review and the committee has only met twice.”

Last month activists at Shannon announced that five planes previously connected to rendition flights had used Shannon Airport since March 2009, some on multiple occasions.

A spokesman for the Department of Foreign Affairs said it had received assurances that no prisoner has been transferred through Irish territory and said the matters for discussion by the committee were still under review.

Mr O’Gorman said the issue of Ireland’s role in rendition flights, like Guantanamo, had not gone away.

“There is a widespread belief that President Obama ended the practice of renditions. This is not the case. The CIA is still permitted to carry out rendition operations,” he said.

“In the cases of four men, Abu Omar, Khaled al Maqtari, Khaled el Masri and Binyam Mohamed CIA agents used Shannon Airport as a launching pad for rendition operations.”

The organisation also renewed its call on President Obama to close Guantanamo.

Last January President Obama signed an executive order committing his administration to closing the detention facility “no later than a year from the date of this order” but in November he admitted the US would not meet this deadline.

“Guantanamo is the most visible symbol of a system of prisons, secret detention sites and renditions networks that made possible the illegal kidnapping and imprisonment of hundreds of people,” said Mr O’Gorman.

“The closure of Guantanamo would mark a clean break with the previous administration. Those prisoners still held there should be given a fair, independent and impartial trial or released.”

Amnesty International Ireland said, however, Ireland had made a valuable contribution to closing Guantanamo last year by accepting two cleared detainees for resettlement.