This article is from page 11 of the 2006-12-05 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 11 JPG
FOREIGN Affairs Minister, Dermot Ahern, has told the US authorities that no airplanes used for rendition are to be allowed land at Shannon.
The minister was answering questions in a heated session with a committee of MEPs investigating CIA rendition flights.
He told the committee that “we do not want any plane – and we have told that to the Americans bluntly – that is involved in extraordinary rendition entering our country and we have explicit assurances that is the case. They will not use our country in any shape or form for extraordinary rendition.”
Ireland is one of 11 EU countries named and shamed in a report by Italian socialist MEP, Claudio Fava, as allowing CIA ghost flights to stop over.
The report alleges that the CIA flew terrorism suspects to secret prisons around the world with the apparent co-operation of certain EU states.
Earlier this week, MEPs identified 147 landings in Ireland which they considered suspect.
A plane that landed at Shannon is alleged to be the same one that took Obu Amar from Italy to Egypt on February 17, 2003 and delivered him into the hands of interrogators, where he is still being held.
MEP Proinsias De Rossa, who is a member of the committee, said that it was “indisputable” that the plane landed at Shannon en route.
“It is an established fact that Abu Omar was kidnapped in Italy and transferred to Egypt by the CIA and tortured. The plane used in that kidnapping, known as the Guantanamo Express, stopped over at Shannon – presumably to refuel – on February 18, 2003. That clearly makes Ireland an accomplice to that illegal operation,” the Labour MEP said.
But Minister Ahern insisted that the US had given categorical assurances that no plane carrying terrorist suspect prisoners had landed here.
“The United States has stated authoritatively to us that prisoners have not been transferred through Irish territory, nor would they be without our permission,” he said.
The assurances were not legally binding and had not been given in writing.
Minister Ahern said that the Government had no powers to board flights as this was the remit of the Garda. He added that the Garda not only had the power to board planes if they suspected a breach of anyone’s constitutional or human rights, but that they would be expected by the Government to do so.