Madam, - On February 15th this year the Peace & Neutrality Alliance, the NGO Peace Alliance and the Irish Anti-War Movement helped to organise one of the largest anti-war demonstrations in recent Irish history. We opposed the war on Iraq and called for the immediate end of the use of Shannon airport by the US in its build-up to war.
Those of us who marched were ignored by the Ahern FF/PD Government, which went on to destroy Irish neutrality by allowing Shannon to continue to be used by the US in its conquest of Iraq.
No weapons of mass destruction, the alleged reason for the conquest, have been found. Bertie Ahern was the first nationalist leader since John Redmond to support an imperial war. Our Army, which fought a war of national independence, has been reduced to being Bush's bodyguards, as they protect Shannon airport, which has seen over 80,000 US troops use it on their way to maintain Bush's Middle Eastern empire.
While over 400 US soldiers have died, little attention has been given to the Iraqi people who have been killed. IraqBodyCount.com estimates that 7,000 Iraqi civilians have been killed. The US based Institute, the Project on Defence Alternatives believes between 10,800 and 15,100 Iraqis have died as a result of the US conquest of Iraq.
The FF/PD and Independent TDs and Senators who voted to destroy our neutrality, and actively support the war by turning Shannon into a US airforce base have drawn us deeper and deeper into a war over oil and religion.
They must be rejected. The only way to remove the US military from Shannon is to remove Ahern and his FF/PD Government from power and the first opportunity to weaken this Government is in June 2004 in the EU and local elections. - Yours, etc.,
ROGER COLE, Chair, Peace & Neutrality Alliance, Blackrock, Co Dublin.