US and Shannon - Assurances by US called into question

THE controversy over Ireland’s alleged collusion in the unacceptable US practice of airlifting suspects for interrogation and torture took an extraordinary twist yesterday when it emerged that a convicted US marine, shackled and in military custody, was transferred through Shannon Airport last Sunday with the knowledge of the Irish Government.

In an even more bizarre turn, it now transpires that a cleaner, and not the State authorities, discovered he was on board the civilian aircraft which landed at Shannon for a technical refuelling stop en route from Kuwait to America. Apparently, cleaners are now the eyes and ears of the Irish security forces.

Though guilty of a minor breach of the US military code, the man, who wore military fatigues, was handcuffed and bound with shackles.

No doubt, the incident could have gone unnoticed were it not for the international row over America’s policy of so-called extraordinary rendition of terrorist suspects to other countries for interrogation. Ireland already stands accused in an EU report of colluding with this cloak-and-dagger practice by providing stop-over facilities for the CIA.

The sequence of events is intriguing. Fearing the person could be a victim of rendition, the cleaner reported the matter to a manager in the aircraft handling agency who boarded the plane and satisfied himself the prisoner was American. Surprisingly, he then contacted the US Embassy in Dublin rather than the airport authorities at Shannon.

Embarrassingly, it was the embassy that informed the Department of Foreign Affairs of the security breach. Significantly, however, that communiqué was not made until 5pm on Monday. Apparently, nobody at the airport was aware of the incident until yesterday. Why the agency duty manager did not alert the airport authorities was unclear yesterday.

While the transfer of such a prisoner would be lawful under international and domestic law, diplomacy demands that consent be sought from the Minister for Justice. According to Foreign Minister Dermot Ahern, the American authorities did not seek this consent. As he put it: “This failure, though inadvertent, is unacceptable. It is a matter of gravest concern to the Irish Government.”

This scenario will re-focus attention on the upcoming visit by the International Committee of the Red Cross to the infamous US detention centre at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba where three prisoners committed suicide at the weekend.

In a classic illustration of the American regime’s gung-ho reaction, a senior officer described the deaths as a PR stunt while another claimed it was an “act of war”.

Significantly, the US state department has distanced itself from those appalling comments.

Up to now, there have been dozens of failed suicide attempts at Guantanamo which holds some 460 prisoners. Unsurprisingly, intense pressure is mounting on America to close the prison.

In a significant development, the EU Parliament voted overwhelmingly in favour of a motion calling on the US to put an end to incarceration of prisoners without trial at the naval base. However, it is doubtful if President George W Bush, who paid a surprise visit to Baghdad yesterday, will heed the EU or the rising clamour around the globe against a concentration-style camp reminiscent of Nazi excesses.

Meanwhile, at yesterday’s Cabinet meeting in Dublin, the Government decided to seek a full written report on the Shannon incident from the US Embassy.

The burning question is why the Government did not take such a firm stance when allegations first arose about the use of Shannon for CIA rendition flights.

Given America’s casual attitude to Ireland’s legal stipulations on prisoner transfer, it has to be asked if US assurances about Shannon and extraordinary rendition — assurances the Government accepted without demur — were worth anything?