Irish arms ‘fair’ is foul
A considerable escalation in Irish involvement with the arms industry and international militarisation took place on 25th November with a webinar run by the Department for Foreign Affairs and the Department of Defence in Dublin. While originally intended to be a face-to-face arms fair, it was moved to be an online webinar (which also saved those attending having to wade through protesters outside the event); a protest at the proposed venue, the Aviva Stadium, was cancelled by PANA www.pana.ie and others. Only slightly tongue in check, PANA said it is “concerned that these ongoing seminars are an effort to get companies in Ireland more deeply engaged in the rapidly growing military industrial complex to take part in a suggested environmentally friendly war as partners in an EU Army.” The event included both exploration of opportunities for Irish companies to access EU arms and military funding plus presentations by arms companies. This is a truly shocking development in Irish engagement with the world and a further nail in the coffin of Irish neutrality – a policy which the bulk of Irish citizens support. See report by Eamon Rafter in this issue (e-mail and web editions).
‘Downpatrick Declaration’ to be launched
A major peace initiative, the Downpatrick Declaration, is being launched in Downpatrick on 7th December backed by Afri, INNATE and StoP (the arms trade network in Ireland), among others. This consists initially of a Declaration drawing on Irish culture and political documents such as the Good Friday Agreement and the Irish Constitution to argue for a peaceful future without investment in the arms industry or support for military developments internationally. Backed by a range of prominent figures from civil society and the arts, the Declaration will be launched in Downpatrick by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Mairéad Maguire. There will be a website where anyone can support the Declaration and more events will be planned around it. Check out the Afri and INNATE websites from 7th December for the link, www.afri.ie and www.innatenonviolence.org
Rage and frustration after COP26
Rage and frustration have been voiced in varying degrees by different parts of Irish civil society and green groups following on from COP26 in Glasgow. A wide variety of material and analysis is available on the Irish Friends of the Earth website https://www.foe.ie/blog/2021/11/18/reflections-on-cop26-with-some-resources-to-watch-and-read/ On their website see also coverage of Irish government plans for fossil fuel gas plants. There is coverage in Larry Speight’s column and an editorial in e-mail and web editions of Nonviolent News.
Military still off the hook on climate change
Amazingly, no change was made at COP26 to exempting the militaries of the world from inclusion in national carbon emission figures. As Joe Murray of Afri states in the Irish Examiner https://www.irishexaminer.com/opinion/commentanalysis/arid-40746339.html “a huge elephant in the room at Cop26 was the failure to even consider tackling the war industry’s part in this crisis. This industry is powered by fossil fuels and is among the biggest polluters on the planet.” The article goes on to look at the Irish government-sponsored ‘arms fair’ which eventually took place online (see above)’
Irish peace movement history
INNATE’s two webinars on work for peace in Ireland, ‘Bits and Peaces’, respectively on Northern Ireland and international peace work, took place in November. These had 6 speakers for 10 minutes each in the first and 5 speakers in the second sharing some of their experiences. It forms part of INNATE’s efforts to record peace work done, for the record, for inspiration, and to challenge violent narratives (with relevance for the future). A photo of speakers and participants and with links to the two videos can be found on the INNATE photo site at https://www.flickr.com/photos/innateireland/51689114275/in/dateposted/
l In a related piece of work, INNATE has produced a 12-page draft document giving a chronological listing of peace groups in Ireland since the 19th century with links for further information. Entitled “Resource material on peace groups in Ireland”, and listing upwards of sixty different groups, it is currently out for amendments and additions before a revised version will go on the INNATE website, probably in February. This document is being sent out to email recipients of Nonviolent News and is available on request to innate@ntlworld.com but is not a finished product.
ICCL on hate crime in Ireland
ICCL, the Irish Council for Civil Liberties has been highlighting the effects of hate crime in Ireland at a time that legislation on this issue is being prepared – though no official data exists. The Oireachtas Justice Committee has heard of the devastating impact of hate crime on affected communities such as Travellers, Roma and migrants, from three members of the Coalition Against Hate Crime Ireland. The Committee met as legislation to outlaw hate crime and review incitement to hatred provisions is being prepared. Dr Jennifer Schweppe of the European Centre for the Study of Hate stated: “In our research we have consistently shown that the absence of hate crime legislation in Ireland has led to what we refer to as the ‘disappearing’ of the hate element of a crime through the criminal process. We have also found that courts have treated offences as racially aggravated in the absence of any evidence that racism was involved in the commission of the offence.” https://www.iccl.ie/news/still-no-official-data-on-hate-crime/
CAJ 40……
An online event will celebrate the achievements of CAJ (Committee on the Administration of Justice) over the last forty years and explore what can be done today to promote human rights locally, nationally, and internationally. Albie Sachs, freedom fighter and former Judge of the South African Constitutional Court, will provide a keynote address during which he will reflect on the role of human rights over the past decades. The talk will be followed by a retrospective panel with key figures from CAJ’s past and present. This takes place from 10.30am to 12 noon on Friday 10 December 2021 (followed by the CAJ AGM which is open to members). Further info and booking link on the CAJ website at https://caj.org.uk/2021/11/17/caj-40th-anniversary-celebration-and-agm/
Shared Future News
Northern Ireland is not always a bundle of intriguingly different or positive news but there is plenty if you look, locally or online. One such space is Shared Future News, edited by Allan Leonard, which covers peacebuilding, reconciliation and diversity, and, currently, a series on What Northern Ireland Means to Me. https://sharedfuture.news/
WRI Prisoners for Peace
Prisoners for Peace Day is 1st December but it is not too late to send messages of support to conscientious objectors and war resisters around the world. The War Resisters’ International compiles a list which this year features Singapore, the Republic of Korea, Eritrea, the USA, Israel and Ambazonia. See the WRI website for details at https://wri-irg.org/en/story/2021/december-1st-support-and-write-prisoners-peace
Church and Peace on peace, migration
Clarity and humanity are two aspects often missing from discussion of migration but a recent Church and Peace statement reads “The European Union should build bridges, not fences between itself and its neighbours. It should oppose the criminalisation of those coming to the aid of refugees. It should prevent pushbacks and ensure that refugees can apply for asylum and be received in accordance with Europe-wide standards and international obligations. Moreover, the EU should implement the UN Migration Pact and, within this framework, open up more safe and legal pathways for asylum seekers and migrants into the member states of the Union.”
And on the EU and peace it states “The EU should remain true to its original goal of being a peace project. Instead of becoming ever more militarised, it should develop an understanding of comprehensive human security, with justice and nonviolence at its core, and accordingly set out on the path towards a civil security policy.” You can’t get clearer than that. https://www.church-and-peace.org/en/2021/11/on-the-future-of-europe/
Opportunities for solidarity
There are many different people looking for financial solidarity – donations and subscriptions – at this time of year. Here are two worth mentioning:
– Chernobyl Children International (CCI) are looking for financial support for its work with children and families suffering from the legacy of the 1986 Chernobyl disaster. As its website at https://www.chernobyl-international.com/ records, five years after the disaster “Many people believed that the danger was over, that the threat had been contained. In fact, the effects of intense radiation, mass displacement, poverty and lack of medical treatment continued to create intolerable conditions for the inhabitants of Belarus, Western Russia and the Ukraine.” CCI have developed the work they do extensively but continue their solidarity many year later.
–Solar lights from Afri: You can give the gift of a solar light to a family in Kenya, providing a clean source of light, and assisting them with their education and wellbeing. They cost €15 each. See https://www.afri.ie/donate/ for further details. Afri will also have themed calendars for sale, €7 plus postage, from admin@afri.ie
Published by INNATE, an Irish Network for Nonviolent Action Training and Education, 16 Ravensdene Park, Belfast BT6 0DA, Phone 028 (048 from Republic) – 90 64 71 06, e-mail innate@ntlworld.com and web http://www.innatenonviolence.org Nonviolent News is produced in e-mail and web editions and a shorter paper edition.. In January there will be a short news supplement, email/web only, deadline 6th January: the next full issue will be for February, deadline 1st February INNATE networking meetings are held regularly in Belfast, currently remotely; all welcome, please enquire for details. SUBSCRIPTIONS UK£10 or €15 minimum, £5 or €8 unwaged or you can have Nonviolent News e-mailed, suggested donation £5 or €8 minimum. Pay by British or Irish cheque or PayPal; subs are on a calendar year basis.
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What a tangled webinar we weave…..
EU Funding for Irish Defence and Security Enterprise and R&D – Maximising the Opportunities Webinar – 25 November 2021: Department of Defence/Irish Defence Forces
Report by Eamon Rafter
This shocking and shameful event was described as being ‘aimed at Irish industrial entities and will provide information on opportunities for engagement in cross-border European programmes and projects’. It was actually an inauguration of Ireland’s official role in European arms research and manufacture and Ireland was welcomed to the fold by EU bureaucrats and a selection of representatives of arms manufacturers and lobbyists.
Between discussion and complex explanation of European Defence Agency (EDA), European Defence Fund (EDF) , DEFIS and how Irish SMEs, dual-use EDTs and R&T entities could avail of funding, it was extremely hard to follow and presumably deliberately confusing to anyone not already familiar with the EU process of funding the arms trade under the banner of responding to current threats.
The opening remarks had come from Simon Coveney, Minister for Defence and the closing was by Lt. Gen. Sean Clancy both of whom made it very clear that the Irish Government and armed forces were fully behind the European initiatives to militarise defence and security. The Irish contact point for the EDF is the Irish Defence Security Association (IDSA) and we had inputs from them through Grainne O’Malley and Com. Damien Griffin who explained how they would operate to channel funding from the EDF to the successful companies and institutions.
Pat O’Connor, the Chairman of the IDSA, spoke about Ireland’s ‘vulnerability’ with the lowest defence spend in the EU and how we ‘need to develop defence capacity’. There was a big emphasis too on working in a broad alliance and the so-called ‘eco-system’ of government, industry and research institutes working together. He claimed there were 548 firms active in the ‘security/dual-use’ area in Ireland as part of this coalition and that in total this meant 1739 jobs. This was he said ‘bigger than the beef market’ and could grow to more than €2 billion in the next ten years. They were licking their lips at this stage.
The voice of the arms lobby came from Jan Pie, Sec. Gen. of Aerospace and Defence Industries Association of Europe (ASD) one of the big players with huge influence and ‘skin in the game’. He spoke about the threat from China through its economic development and how Europe was falling behind because it had been so fragmented. But now the EDF could act as ‘a catalyst for co-operation, as we can’t be internationally competitive if we don’t co-operate’.
He said that the European Commission was no longer a regulator but was now an investor in ‘common defence to iron out the difficulties’. He also emphasised the importance of ‘dual use’ and the links between ‘security’ and aeronautics. He argued that the new investment was necessary because Europe was becoming ‘a smaller part of the world’. He was delighted to see Ireland getting more involved and encouraging people to get involved. The representatives of Thales, Kongsberg and Rheinmettal were also happy to lay out their wares and encourage the Irish Defence Forces to purchase from the remarkable array of weapons they showcased.
The concluding speaker Lt Gen. Clancy summarised by reminding us how threats were multiple and we couldn’t ignore them so we need to get on board the European project and better resource ourselves to deal with them.
As for the future, the official e-mail about the event promised the “networking aspect rescheduled to a separate face to face event at a date to be confirmed in the spring of 2022’.