Dear All . Just reporting on the events of today, and our action in Cork . First, it's been an incredible week re communication. On wednesday , Margaretta got on Liveline, and hour long daily talk show on RTE national radio. We had sent out press releases about our proposed action to indict Bertie. She got almost a whole hour on the show and was giving a fantastic info packed interview, despite the interviewer who was quite cynical. I phoned up,and got on the show too , and backed up what she was saying, and said that I had been to Shannon, and seen the video of loads of US planes landing there disguised as looking normal, and filled with tanks and helicopters. He would not believe me and said that surely the people working there would know about it? Not necessarily I said , seeing as there are many people working here in Arms factories and they dont know what they are making!
The next day 2 men from Shannon, that we know, got onto the same show, and told them far worse details about these war planes using Shannon. and backed up what Margaretta had said. Then I got on 2 Cork stations and told about our plan to indict Bertie, and was well able for the questions. I said that even Amnesty was now speaking out against the Northern Alliance, and the horrendous torture and slaughtering of 600 (approx) prisoners, which was due to 2 CIA agents blundering into the prison camp and causing the horrifying massacre of prisoners who were already wounded and tied up in horrific ways. The US never wanted any prisoners and they caused this and are even on record on the world radio service as saying "get that camera away" when some one tried to film them slaughtering.
A woman rang up the show and said she could not believe I was Irish coming out with such anti-US stuff, and what about the Irish people who had been killed on Sept 11th. I was able to say that some of the relatives are at this moment walking from Washington to New York in protest at the war saying that their grief was not to be used to wage war. Due to great syncronicity, Michael D Higgins TD, a government minister who has been very helpful to us about Tristan's death choose this moment to walk out of the Dail as they refused to discuss the killing of those prisoners as Bertie would be busy for the next 10days (off plotting with Blair). Michael D said he was outraged, and was ashamed to be a part of a government that would take 10 DAYS! to discuss the issue while more war planes were landing in Shannon. He was told he was out of order. He basically said what is out of order is the US!! The chairman tried to suspend him but he said , 'Excuse me I am leaving!!'
There were also statements from other TD's including Joe Costello. All of that was on todays paper, and also a terrible picture of Afghani kids, orphans, with no food . So this morning Becky and I met with a few stalwart supporters outside the city hall, and then proceeded onto the main Garda station where the press came to photograph us walking up the steps. We had a huge puppet of a judge with wig on, and a huge scroll documenting all the laws that Bertie was breaking. Even John Baker came to lend support! I had phoned up the Garda earlier on to say that I would be coming to file a complaint about a man who had violated me. I took loads of newscuttings and a colour picture of the criminal , and a synopsis of Prof Boyle's findings that the US war on Afghanistan was illegal. I also had a copy of the Irish constitution, which I said on radio should be publically burned as the laws in it were being completely ignored by the Government. Becky and I and an American woman friend were the ones to actually go into the station. The guard at the desk looked amazed and started to smirk when I said I had come to make a complaint against the Taoiseach. I had to speak to 2 guards and get extremely annoyed in a very controlled authoritarian way to get what I wanted because they were refusing to take my statement. One guard said that he did not think Bertie was guilty of anything. I said I was not interested in his opinion and that he was supposed to be a keeper of the peace and was being paid to paid take statements about crimes comitted. I asked to see the Chief Superintendent several times . They went off to consult their own legal Dept. because I said I was not leaving until something happened.
Eventually the guard came and wrote out my statement. I basically made him
write out nearly all the wording on the Indictment document, and added that
he was causing me extreme psychological torture as I cannot sleep or live
knowing that all that genocide is going on, and Bertie is forcing me to be
complicit in this . Also as a nurse it is completely against the ethics of
my profession to be part of Ireland's shameful collusion in this silent
genocide. Thats about it. We left , dignified and satisfied. Becky exploded
at the guard at one stage for ignoring me. She apologised later and explained
it was because her son had been tortured and killed in a horrific manner.
The guard said quietly that he had heard about that case. We are tired and
temporarily satisfied. I am on a borrowed machine, so this is brief.
Good luck to us all. Mary
Atlantis foundation action network