Cowen says US not moving arms through Shannon

Ireland does allow aircraft carrying arms or armed military personnel land at Shannon Airport, the Minster for Foreign Affairs…

Ireland does allow aircraft carrying arms or armed military personnel land at Shannon Airport, the Minster for Foreign Affairs, Mr Brian Cowen reiterated tonight.

Following news reports that uniformed troops were seen at Shannon yesterday and a US Navy cargo plane landed last Friday, Minster Cowen tonight reiterated comments from the Taoiseach yesterday that the Government was not allowing arms be landed at Shannon.

Mr Cowen's statement comes after Opposition pressure to clarify the Government position. "It is simply not the case that the US is using Shannon to transit large quantities of arms to the Gulf," Mr Cowen said in a lengthy statement this evening.

He said Ireland was acting in accordance to UN resolutions and that Shannon is one of a number of European airports used for the transit of military personnel.

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He said civilian aircraft could carry military personnel but that civilian planes carrying arms could only overfly or land with permission from Minister for Transport to "carry munitions of war".

He said: "A significant proportion of US military aircraft landing at Shannon are VIP transports and refuelling planes. The remainder are cargo planes, none of which in the recent past were declared as carrying munitions.

He said in the course of 2002, there was only one request for the landing at Shannon of a civilian aircraft carrying munitions.

"It has been indicated to us that troops travelling on civilian aircraft are sometimes accompanied by their personal weapons which are carried in the hold of the aircraft. However, they do not carry ammunition and they do not bring their weapons into the airport buildings," he said.

He said officials at the Department of Foreign Affairs have contacted US authorities to ensure that civilian carriers are reminded of their obligation to seek permission for the transit of weapons and ammunition through Irish airports.

He also confirmed that US troops have been allowed to wear uniforms in the transit area of Irish airports, but that further permission must be sought for them to wear uniforms outside these areas.

He emphasised that the Government has, at present, no intention of altering the existing regulations regarding overflight and landing arrangements.

On the matter of the likelihood of war in Iraq, the Minister said: "Security Council Resolution 1441 represents a road map to a peaceful settlement. Only if Iraq fails to meet its obligation to divest itself of any nuclear, biological and chemical weapons capability will the Council, in the words of UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, have to face its responsibilities".

He also hit out at critics of UN policy: "Those who complain that the Security Council is not always consistent in its response to various threats to international peace and security should not themselves seek to pick and chose when they are prepared to back the action taken by the Council."

Today British Prime Minister Tony Blair said he would consider attacking Iraq without UN sanction.

Minister Cowen also confirmed that, in the event of UN-backed action in Iraq, airports policy would reviewed before the Dáil.