BCI accused of censorship over anti-Bush ads

The Irish Anti-War Movement (IAWM) has accused the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland of conniving with the Government to censure legitimate political protest against the forthcoming Bush visit.

The IAWM has been forced to relocate a planned fundraising concert from the Point Depot to the much smaller Vicar Street venue after a series of radio advertisements on Newstalk 106 and Today FM promoting the event were pulled this week.

The "When Bush Comes to Shove" gig, featuring artists including Christy Moore, Damien Rice and Kila, had been scheduled for this Saturday at the 9,000-capacity Docklands venue. It was intended to raise funds for the IAWM's protest around Dromoland Castle, where US President George W. Bush is attending a US/EU summit hosted by the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, on June 25th and 26th.

The IAWM pulled the concert over fears they would not be able to fill the Point due to the ads being cancelled. Irish singer Mundy, who was due to play Vicar Street the same night, has handed his slot to the IAWM for the concert, which is now sold out. A second concert will be held at the same venue the following night, featuring Damien Rice and the Walls, amongst others.

Mr Richard Boyd Barrett of the IAWM claimed the BCI decision was part of a "campaign of sabotage and censorship" by the Government to silence political dissenters. "We feel this comes from interference by the Government as part of their campaign to undermine our protest and make it difficult to organise anti-war events," he said. He insisted the ads had "no political content whatsoever".

A BCI spokesman said the ads were a breach of Section 10(3)[1] of the Radio and Television Act, 1988, which prohibits advertising directed towards a political or religious end. "It was our opinion that the ad was in breach of the Act," he said. "We outlined our reasons and then invited the IAWM to come back to us, detailing why they believed their proposed advert was not in breach of the law, but they did not respond."

Ms Aisling Reidy of the Irish Council for Civil Liberties said the BCI decision was the latest in a "worrying" series of measures to clamp down on public protest. She also cited the Litter Act, which prohibits posters advertising political events, the tightening of the Freedom of Information Act and the pressure put on independent radio stations by the BCI to quash stories critical of the Government prior to last week's elections.

"It is an arbitrary use of statutory laws in a politically-motivated way," Ms Reidy said. She also said there were growing incidents of gardaí harassing activists handing out anti-war and anti-referendum leaflets.

The Green Party's  Mr John Gormley claimed the Taoiseach was trying to clamp down on dissent as he was "extremely nervous" at the prospect of huge anti-Bush protests. He accused the BCI of being "putty in the hands" of the Government and called for an end to political appointments to the board.

Sinn Féin's Mr Daithi Doolan claimed the BCI was engaging in "unofficial Section 31" by banning the ads. He also accused Mr Ahern of "colluding in Bush's re-election campaign".

Damien Rice said that he was participating in the event because, although he was non-political, he wanted to show that he "didn't like the idea of innocent people being killed."

The IAWM is organising dozens of buses from all over Ireland to converge on Dromoland on Saturday 25th for what they insist will be a peaceful protest. They also hope to march on Shannon airport to protest at the presence of US military aircraft.

A huge security operation, involving thousands of gardaí, has been planned in Co Clare for the US president's visit.