Statement by the Communist Party of Ireland
2 August 2014
The Communist Party of Ireland strongly condemns the imprisonment today of Niall Farrell to serve a two-week sentence in Limerick Prison for a peaceful protest against the continued use of Shannon Airport by the US war machine.
Niall Farrell was standing up for peace and for an end to the transporting of US soldiers and munitions through Shannon Airport. No doubt some of those munitions have gone on to Israel to allow it to continue its genocidal war against the Palestinian people.
As Niall Farrell said, “my actions at Shannon Airport were specifically to oppose the continuing criminality taking place there . . . Indeed as I speak, cargoes of death that have travelled freely through Shannon Airport or Irish air space are raining down in an act of genocide on the helpless people of Gaza.
“It is not I who is the criminal, rather those in the Irish state who have willingly been an accessory to these crimes against humanity carried out through Shannon Airport and Irish air space by the US war machine and its proxies.”
We demand the immediate release of Niall Farrell and the closing of Shannon Airport and Irish air space to the US military and an end the collaboration of the Irish state with death and destruction.
We draw the people’s attention to the contrast between the sentence handed down to Niall and his fellow peace campaigners and that of the bankers. We note that Niall has been sent to prison while two bankers whose actions have brought great hardship to the working people of this country were sentenced to “community service.” Clearly there is one law for the rich and prison for peace campaigners.
We call on peace campaigners throughout the world to demand the release of Niall Farrell and to call for an end to the use of Shannon Airport by the US war machine.
