[As reported in the January e-mail/web
supplement] Missile-manufacturer Raytheon have announced the closure of their
computer software plant in Springtown by the end of February (announcement made
13th January). This almost certainly means the end of its presence in Northern
Ireland. While employment has recently been cut to single figures, and
Raytheon explains its Derry closure in terms of consolidation, it is certain
that this move would not have happened without the determined opposition to the
presence of this world-leader in weapons of death and destruction. It looks
like, following the trial and general acquittal of the Raytheon 9, the firm
felt they did not have the law behind them. While the plant dealt with
computer software – an essential element in any modern weapons systems -
Raytheon (and others) initially lied to the public by stating that it was only
engaged in civil, rather than military contracts; this was disproved by former
employees. Congratulations to FEIC/Foyle Ethical Investment Campaign, Derry
Anti-War Coalition and all involved. Meanwhile nine women are due up in court
again on 8th March for entering the plant during the bombing campaign on
Palestine a year ago. See interview with FEIC members in this issue.
Shannonwatch
Eight years after the U.S. military were
given the use of Shannon Airport for the invasion of Iraq the airport continues
to play a vital part in two wars. Around 5000 troops plus their weapons go
through the airport every week, as do contracted cargo planes and other
military aircraft on their way to and from Iraq and Afghanistan. The airport is
also known to have been used by the CIA as part of their worldwide networks of
kidnapping and torture. Shannonwatch is a group of peace & human rights
activists based in the mid-West of Ireland that campaigns to end the U.S. military
use of Shannon and to stop rendition flights through the airport. It also seeks
to obtain accountability from the Irish government for complicity in human
rights abuse and for the decisions to support wars that are both illegal and
immoral. It records military and suspected CIA traffic through the airport and
publishes summaries on its website http://www.shannonwatch.org. Shannonwatch
holds regular monthly vigils at Shannon to draw attention to the airport's
complicity in war and human rights abuse; these take place on the second Sunday
of the month from 2 to 3pm. Groups and individuals from around the country are
invited to join these peaceful demonstrations. The next one which is on
Valentines Day, February 14th, will use the symbol of a black heart to show
that it is war, and not love, that is being promoted at Shannon. For details,
contact 087 8225087 or email shannonwatch@gmail.com
Corrymeela – more building work
The Cottages and Village at Corrymeela,
Ballycastle, closed at the end of January and the building of new residential
accommodation for 42 people will start at the end of February. Accommodation
will therefore be restricted for some 15 months. A wind turbine will soon be
erected on the site. A brochure of open events for 2010 for both the Corrymeela
Centre and Knocklayd is about to be published. Ray Davey, Founder of
Corrymeela, had his 95th birthday in January. Contact: Corrymeela, 8 Upper
Crescent, Belfast BT7 1NT, ph 028 – 90508080, e-mail
Belfast@corrymeela.org, and website http://www.corrymeela.org The
subscription to become a Friend of Corrymeela (who receive Corrymeela magazine)
is £26 waged (€33/US$50), £13 unwaged (€16/US$25).
Prejudice and Pride
“Defeated intellectually, prejudice lingers
emotionally” - The Irish Peace Centres (IPC) biennial conference will be held
in La Mon Hotel, Belfast on Tuesday, March 30th and Wednesday, 31st 2010. The
conference will explore the role of prejudice and its impact for peace-building
both in Northern Ireland and in other conflict regions. It will consider the
various manifestations of prejudice such as sectarianism and racism, the vested
interests surrounding it, ways of combating it and identifying pathways towards
a society free of prejudice. Speakers confirmed to date include Anna Lo MLA,
Duncan Morrow (CRC), Bernadette McAliskey (STEP), Chen Alon (Israel), Nouraddin
Shehadah (Palestine), Nenad Sebek (Balkans), Kenneth Bush (INCORE), Maureen
Hetherington (Towards Understanding and Healing), Peter Tatchell (Human Rights
activist), Wilhelm Verwoerd (IPC), Theatre of Witness, Alistair Little (IPC).
Entertainment will be provided by Different Drums. Further information,
including brochures and booking forms, are available from
peacecentre@eircom.net or paddy@donegalpeacecentre.com See also http://www.irishpeacecentres.org The Irish Peace Centres is a consortium of 4 peace-building organisations -
Co-operation Ireland, Glencree Centre for Peace and Reconciliation, The Donegal
Peace Centre at An Teach Ban and the Corrymeela Community.
The Organic Centre
The Organic Centre in Rossinver, Co.
Leitrim is a non profit organisation set up in 1995, with the aim of providing
public education, training and information about organic growing and
sustainable living. The Centre is located on a 19 acre site in Rossinver, Co
Leitrim, and we have outreach centres in Co. Clare and Co. Wicklow. We run
workshops on organic horticulture, gardening, green building, alternative
energy, and artisan food production. The Centre is a recognised eco-tourism
destination. Our facilities include demonstration gardens & polytunnels, an
orchard & soft fruit area with heritage varieties and an eco-shop selling
organic seeds, garden tools, books, and seasonal vegetables.
Projects run by the Centre include
Community Food Projects funded by the HSE and a full-time course in organic
horticulture supported by FAS. In the past The Organic Centre has organised a
cross-border schools programme and women’s cross-community projects promoting
peace through gardening together, funded by the Programme for Peace and
Reconciliation and the IFI. We enjoy the support of a wide network of friends.
Our Friends Scheme offers a range of benefits including free entry to our
gardens and open days, gardening advice, and 10% discount on shop & seed
sales, and training courses. Our online shop for quick and easy shopping is on
our website. The Centre is open daily from 10am to
5pm. Our annual Potato Day is on Sunday March 14th from 11am – 5 pm.
Tours of the centre and workshops for groups can be booked. For more
information ph 071-9854338, e-mail: info@theorganiccentre.ie and website:http://www.theorganiccentre.ie
‘Be the change’ at Drumalis
"Be the Change" - a weekend event
at Drumalis, Larne, from Friday 26th to Sunday 28th February (main events on
Saturday); an exploration into the underlying causes and possible solutions to
the critical planetary issues of our time – “Towards an ecologically
sustainable, socially just, spiritually fulfilling approach to life on the
planet”. £75 residential, £50 non-residential, Saturday only £10. Coming up at
Drumalis from 13th – 18th July; “The other way round – Revisioning
our beliefs in an emerging universe”, retreat with Anne Harnett and Margaret
Rose McSperran. Further information: ph 028 – 28272196 e-mail
drumalis@btconnect.com website: http://www.drumalis.co.uk
INCORE 11th International Summer School
2010
INCORE (International Conflict Research
Institute) at the University of Ulster invites you to the 11th International
Summer School which will run from 7th-11th June at the Magee Campus in Derry.
The INCORE Summer School provides a structured learning opportunity to analyse
the dynamic and constantly changing field of conflict resolution and
peacebuilding; the three courses to choose from his year are Peacemaking and
Peacebuilding: Exploring the Lessons Learned from Northern Ireland, Evaluation
in Conflict Prone Settings, and Interpersonal Reconciliation after Violent
Political Conflict. For more information visit
the website INCORE contacts; e-mail
school@incore.ulst.ac.uk ph 028 7137 5500. INCORE, University of Ulster,
Aberfoyle House, Northland Road, Derry/Londonderry BT48 7JL.
The Transitional Justice Institute (TJI) at
the University of Ulster will be running their Summer School entitled
"Gender, Conflict and Transition" in the same week as the INCORE
Summer School.
Radical booksellers take on Amazon
Housmans, one of Britain's oldest and
last-remaining radical bookshops [and the nearest peace-and-nonviolence
bookshop to Ireland - Ed], is attempting to turn the tide in online bookselling
by offering an alternative service to that of market-dominating Amazon. Amazon
has a record of abusing its position of market dominance by forcing publishers
to supply them with books under value, and also from actively stopping its
workers from unionising, further increasing their profits. Housmans’ history as
the bookshop of the peace movement in Britain makes it the ideal candidate to
take on the corporation, and it can now provide over half a million titles by
mail order. Books can be shipped worldwide, with secure payment. Visit
http://www.housmans.com
War Resisters on nonviolent livelihood
struggle and global militarism
War Resisters International recently
completed a conference, with Indian partners, having 175 participants from 32
countries; “What resonated throughout the conference were the amazing parallels
that can be seen across the world. People engaged in myriad struggles across
the world discover the irrefutable link between “development”, mining and
industrialisation, arms manufacture and trade, militarism and war profiteering
on the one hand, and displacement, loss of livelihoods, assault on traditional
lifestyles and state violence on the other.” See http://www.wri-irg.org for
further details including the conference statement and background reader.
Talk about Mordechai Vanunu at Peace People
Meir Vanunu, his brother, will speak about
Mordechai Vanunu and his call to be allowed to leave Israel, at a meeting on
Tuesday 9th February from 7.30 pm at Fredheim, 224 Lisburn Road, Belfast.
Mordechai Vanunu is the Israeli former nuclear technician, who citing his
opposition to weapons of mass destruction, revealed details of Israel’s nuclear
weapons programme to the British press in 1986; kidnapped in Italy, he spent 18
years in prison and continues to live under severe restrictions. Peace People,
224 Lisburn Road, Belfast http://www.peacepeople.com ph 028 - 90 663475.
Still, the blackbird sings
With the subtitle “Incidents at Ebrington
Barracks”, Dave Duggan’s play re-invents dramatic events in the life of the
poet-soldier Francis Ledwidge, with hard questions being asked which are very
relevant today. Francis Ledwidge, sometimes referred to as the ‘poet of the
blackbirds’, was an Irish nationalist who joined the British Army and was
killed on the opening day of the Third Battle of Ypres in the First World War.
Written by Dave Duggan, directed by Caitríona McLaughlin, and produced by
Jonathan Burgess in a Playhouse production, “Still, the blackbird sings” is on
as follows; Playhouse Theatre, Derry 25th – 27th February (plus matinee
on 26th February); Project Arts Centre, Dublin 1st – 6th March (matinee
on 6th March); Balor Arts Centre, Ballybofey, 9th March (including matinee); An
Culúrlann, Belfast, 11th – 12th March (Matinee 12th March); Ebrington
Barracks, Derry, 13th – 14th March.
As always there is lots to choose from in
the current programme from Cultivate who are at their new premises, The
Greenhouse, St Andrew Street, Dublin 2. For information and for bookings
please ph 01-6745773. One series to look out for - along with a variety of
practical courses - is “All you need to know about climate change”, a four week
workshop with Gavin Harte that explorers the science, causes, impacts and
responses to climate change, taking place on Thursdays 25th March to 15th April
from 7.30 – 9 pm, fee €60 with 20% discount for Cultivate Members. For
more details on all the courses see http://www.cultivate.ie
INNATE networking group meets next on
Weds17th Feb at 7pm in Corrymeela House, 8 Upper Crescent, Belfast – all
welcome.
Engendering discussion of violence and nonviolence
Rob Fairmichael talks about gender,
masculinity, nonviolence and violence, following a course he attended in
December 2009 with the Women Peacemakers Program (WPP) in the Netherlands on
“Overcoming Violence - Exploring Masculinities, Violence and Peace”.
This is followed by the “Call to Men and
Boys” put together by the group.
Nonviolent
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