Black Shamrock re-launched as Irish anti-war symbol
The Black Shamrock, used as a symbol of opposition and resistance to Irish involvement in war and the Iraq war of 2003 in particular (especially the use of Shannon airport by the US military), has been relaunched at events on St Patrick’s Day, see e.g. https://www.flickr.com/photos/innateireland/51944146789/in/dateposted “The Black Shamrock is a symbol of resistance. In wearing it, all of those who do so declare opposition to any Irish involvement, be it economic, strategic or logistical, to war. We also call for a new socially and ecologically informed vision of human security, which places economics and the state at the service of human rights, the rights of nature and regenerative economies.
“The Black Shamrock campaign is a grassroots non-party political, non-partisan campaign to highlight the views of the majority of people in Ireland and the rest of the world; that we want no part in war and occupation and instruct our leaders to follow Irish and International law and immediately withdraw support from such inhuman folly. The campaign welcomes the support of members of all political parties and none.
“The Black Shamrock symbolises our mourning for all those who died as a result of Irish collaboration in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, and all those who have died and are dying still as a result of the devastation those wars have unleashed, for which the airports at Shannon, Aldergrove and Baldonnel became “pit-stops”. It also symbolises our resistance to the ongoing deliberate assault on Irish Neutrality.” See https://www.facebook.com/blackshamrockpeace/ You can phone Jim at 44 (0)78 03268790 to order badges; groups they are available from include Foyle Ethical Investment Campaign/FEIC and Derry Anti-War Coalition/DAWC, INNATE, Afri, Shannonwatch and Galway Alliance Against War.
Thales demonstration in Belfast: Fighting on both sides of war
A demonstration took place at the Castlereagh, Belfast plant of arms company Thales on St Patrick’s Day, organised by INNATE. Planned and publicised before the Russian war on Ukraine, the event received wider publicity because of the war and the fact which the event publicised that Thales military equipment is being used by both sides in the war. The demonstration accused Thales of being violent, wasteful and corrupt (the latter fact was avoided by the mass media, despite chapter and verse being available, for fear of libel). See photos of this event and other previous ones at Thales at https://www.flickr.com/photos/innateireland/albums/72177720297420924 See also item in Billy King column in email and web editions of this issue.
Fanning the Flames
“Fanning the Flames: How the European Union is fuelling a new arms race” is an important new report from TNI and ENAAT which busts the myths about the EU being a ‘peace’ project. It focuses particularly on the European Defence Fund: “The European Defence Fund (EDF) and its precursor programmes explicitly aim to strengthening the ‘global competitiveness’ of the technological industrial base of European defence. There is a major disconnect between such technologies and their potential impact beyond the profits they will generate. They will inevitably boost European arms exports and fuel the global arms race, which will in turn lead to more armed conflicts and wars, greater destruction, significant loss of life, and increased forced displacement.” A summary can be found at https://www.tni.org/en/publication/fanning-the-flames and the full 94-page report for downloading in the same location.
This publication includes Ireland among the case studies, in a piece written by Angela Hegarty: “Although the Defence Ministry has said that ‘Ireland [does] not have a defence industry’, a group that represents the sector in Ireland estimates that ‘there are approximately 548 foreign and domestic firms active in the Irish defence ecosystem with the defence sector supporting approximately 1,739 ICT jobs in Ireland’. In 2020 Ireland exported €42 million in defence goods, mainly to the US, including personal firearms, mining explosives, aircraft components, ground vehicles, electronics and computer software.”
“The Irish government has signalled that it intends to expand its defence and security sector by leveraging the funding available from the EDF. It has undertaken a number of initiatives to facilitate ‘greater engagement with academia and enterprise to develop and exploit emerging and disruptive technology developments to support defence capabilities, while also supporting wider access and market engagement for Irish research by academia and enterprise’.”
WBW: Bearing witness to the reality and consequences of war
The five sessions in the World Beyond War Irish chapter’s series of 5 meetings on the above topic are all available as
videos. The speakers were 1) Nick Buxton and Niamh Ní Bhriain, 2) Lara Marlowe 3) Malalai Joya 4) Máiread Maguire and 5) Caoimhe Butterly. Go to https://worldbeyondwar.org/category/chapters/irelandchapter/
End Direct Provision & tackle the international protection process
Afri, with the involvement of MASI https://www.masi.ie/, has produced a 160-page report on the ongoing issues with Direct Provision for asylum seekers. The book emphasises that “the entire international protection system urgently needs deep and radical changes, far beyond the abolition of Direct Provision itself”. In particular, Afri’s aim with this book is to ensure that “the system is not maintained under another name”. The book delivers testimonies from ten people of their experiences in the international protection system and documents “material deprivation and isolation” and a host of other abuses and humiliations inflicted by the authorities and the private contractors they have paid to implement their policies. Short summary and full download available at https://www.afri.ie/category/book-launch-end-direct-provision-and-tackle-the-international-protection-system/
Corrymeela Centre fully open again, Jesus and nonviolence event
The Corrymeela Centre in Ballycastle is now operating at full capacity, it was closed for a year and then operating at only 25% of its normal intake, due to Covid. Upcoming events include a conversation with Rev Johnston McMaster on “Jesus and nonviolence in Ireland” at Ballynafeigh Methodist Church, Ormeau Road, Belfast, at 7.30pm on Thursday 7th April, all welcome. See website for lots more. https://www.corrymeela.org/
UK Human Rights Act under attack: CAJ responds
CAJ/Committee on the Administration of Justice has responded to UK government proposals: “We wish to make it clear that we object to the proposals in this consultation and the proposed Bill of Rights to replace the Human Rights Act 1998 (HRA), which in our view would greatly reduce the protections currently in place. It is our view that the underlying tone and content of this consultation misrepresents the positive impact of the HRA to wider society and the important role it has in ensuring accountability from public authorities. It is a further attempt to reduce access to justice and to interfere with the separation of powers, which does not have the support of civil society in Northern Ireland. It is of concern to CAJ that the particular circumstances of the Northern Ireland devolved administration, like that of Scotland and Wales, is addressed in one question of this 123 page consultation. We reject any plans to dilute or replace the Human Rights Act.” CAJ’s full submission available at https://caj.org.uk/2022/03/10/caj-responds-to-human-rights-act-consultation/
ICCL: Charity sector law anomaly, gender equality
The Irish council for Civil Liberties has said the government has knowingly missed an opportunity to fix an anomaly in Irish law which means community groups or volunteer organisations could be prosecuted for normal fundraising work; The wording of the 1997 Electoral Act means that organisations who lobby the government for social change are subject to the same restrictions as political parties with respect to donations and finances. These restrictions have meant that community organisations campaigning for equality or protection of the environment have been threatened with court action and have been forced to return donations BUT these same restrictions do not apply to commercial interests seeking to influence public policy. See https://www.iccl.ie/news/government-neglects-to-fix-problematic-law-on-charity-ngo-sector/
l Meanwhile ICCL has made a submission to the Oireachtas Committee on Gender Equality to support a referendum to make changes to the Constitution to provide protection for non-marital families, recognise and remunerate care work, and remove anachronistic language placing women in the home. See https://www.iccl.ie/news/call-for-referendum-to-guarantee-gender-equality/
MNI: Enabling access to justice and licencing of mediators
Mediation Northern Ireland is hosting a panel discussion on the implications of the NI Department of Justice’s General Authority for the deployment of mediators in legally aided non-family intra-litigation cases; as part of this new directive from the DoJ any mediator seeking to work on such cases must be licenced with an appropriate body. The discussion is on Zoom and takes place 12.30 – 13.30 on 11th April; further info and link at https://mediation-northern-ireland.idloom.events/EAJ
Faslane & Coulport, Scotland: June week of action
Trident Ploughshares are organising a week of action from 9th to 17th June against the UK’s weapons of mass destruction based at Faslane and Coulport; these are the deployment sites for the UK’s nuclear weapon system, comprising the base for its 4 nuclear-armed submarines and storage for its nuclear warheads, now estimated to number 255 – each capable of 8 to 10 times the destructive power of the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The organisers state “Our resistance to this ongoing criminal activity must be made visible and tangible and we will be building on the strong popular and political opposition in Scotland to having such a launch pad for mass murder on their land and in their waters.”
On a practical level the hope is that people coming to the gathering will make their own arrangements (for travel, accommodation, sustenance and material for protest and nonviolent direct action), but there will be camping space close to the Coulport base, and there will also be some common legal support and media work. “Our peaceful confrontation may take many forms, including blockading, entering the bases, and “redecoration”. All of this we can enhance by good preparations, good networking and sharing of ideas and some common planning here and there. And in all of this, adhering to the principles of nonviolence.” For information or to get involved contact Angie Zelter at reforest@gn.apc.org
Ukraine webinar
North Belfast Green party are organising a webinar on Ukraine, taking place from 7pm on Sunday 3rd April with voices from the region. Details and booking at https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/ukraine-voices-from-the-region-tickets-310359502627