This article is from page 12 of the 2006-03-21 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 12 JPG
A CLARE Fianna Fáil Senator has claimed that those who he described as placing “mis-information” into the public domain about alleged rendition flights at Shannon Airport were also responsible for causing damage there.
Senator Brendan Daly alleged that while perimeter fences and airplanes were damaged, people who were boarding flights were also frightened.
The Senator derided the number who had turned up at a recent protest at Shannon, during a debate on a Labour proposal to establish a Seanad committee to investigate allegations of “rendition” flights landing there.
“As an indication of the public support for their attitude and their unfounded, wild allegations, which have been examined and rejected by the DPP, four people turned up to protest when the President of the United States was going through Shannon recently.
“There has never been any suggestion that prisoners on their way to Guantanamo Bay, or other places of detention, are being transferred through Shannon. There is no evidence of that.”
However, independent senator, David Norris listed three flights that were routed through Shannon in October 2002, October 2003 and January 2003 that came from Tripoli, Islamabad and Marrakesh.
“The sole purpose of these airplanes was rendition of illegally kidnapped victims and we facilitated that by refuelling those airplanes at Shannon,” he said.
After being interrupted by Senator Timmy Dooley (FF), Senator Norris retorted: “The Senator is not in the county council in Ennis now and he never will be, with the help of God and a toothbrush.”
Senator Norris went on: “The Government signally failed in its duty to inspect these planes and that is why this part of its answer is a downright lie and a disgrace to the Irish people.
“The gardaí told me – this is laughable – that they interrogated the cleaners. The cleaners might notice the odd cigarette packet on the ground, but they would not notice the subtle adaptations, so people can be shackled and manacled in the aircraft.”
Asked by Senator Dooley to withdraw his remark that the government’s answer was a lie, Senator Norris responded: “I will not withdraw anything . . . I sincerely hope that the people for whom the Government has been complicit in their kidnap and torture will sue the State.”
However, Senator Dooley described the proposal before the Seanad as “an anti-American sham”.
“The committee is a backdoor way of getting at the flights. It would establish an unhelpful witch-hunt.
The proposal was defeated by 28 votes to 16.