Veterans for Peace Ireland - Photo Credit
Veterans for Peace Tarak Kauff and Ken Mayers spent 13 days in Limerick prison for trying to inspect a US plane at Shannon airport last St Patrick's Day.
In Ennis District at that time they were denied bail. A Garda told the judge they might be a flight risk.
The banner in the picture above tells clearly what their message to the Irish people is:
RESPECT IRISH NEUTRALITY and U.S. WAR MACHINES OUT OF SHANNON AIRPORT.
They had to travel from Limerick prison to Dublin's Cloverhill courthouse last week in what became a successful effort to get the High Court to grant them bail.
But even in the High Court they were refused permission to return to their homes in the United States while their case was being processed in Ireland.
The prosecuting Garda again thought they might be a flight risk.
Other peace activists here have found to their cost that the Irish justice process can take years.
It takes only one word from a prosecuting Garda for a judge to make the draconian decision that one is denied bail or cannot leave the jurisdiction.
Yesterday, back in Ennis, Judge Patrick Durcan mentioned the word "jurisdiction" but no sooner had the word come out of his mouth than the Garda prosecutor advised him "We haven't got to that stage yet Judge". The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) wasn't yet ready, he said.
When "jurisdiction" was mentioned by the judge we hoped he might be thinking of transferring the case to the Circuit court.
But the Garda intervention meant that Ken and Tarak must now twiddle their thumbs in Ireland until the DPP prepares her massive case against them: trespass and criminal damage (to the fence). Their next date with the court is 3 May.
I have sat through similar cases in Irish courts relating to charges against the 5 Pitstop Ploughshare defendants and, separately, Mary Kelly.
In the case of the Pitstop Ploughshares, we all found out why there had been such a long delay with the proceedings. Even though they had admitted going through the fence, cutting the wires and, in their case, (unlike Ken and Tarak) damaging a plane, the prosecution found it necessary to commission monstrous maps to show the jury the layout of the airport. The jury members found it hard to open the maps, they were so big. But the Senior and Junior Counsels had great fun pointing to them and talking about them. They proved that these people really had done what they had already admitted doing.
Now, many years later, no use for Tarak and Ken to give their word of honour to each and every court that they wanted to return for trial and would so return.
No. They must wait for the Irish justice system to lumber on like the cruel farce that it is and keep them waiting, waiting, waiting, far from their loved ones - because they dared to call on the Irish government in a dramatic way to respect Irish neutrality and stop letting US war machines pass through Shannon airport.
Such war machines have been known to wreak havoc on children, women and men, in places like Yemen, Syria and Afghanistan.
These brave peace protesters want to end all of such havoc and bring peace to our world.
However, the DPP must think long and hard over the next month on how to present her evidence to the court. She will spend much of that time, no doubt, weighing the high motives and principles of these two peace activists against the shocking "crimes" of "trespass" and damage to a wire fence in a field in Ireland that the State assesses at €2500.
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