Sheehan urges end to US army use of Shannon

It was a case of "waiting for Cindy" during much of a press conference called yesterday to announce that 72 candidates in tomorrow's general election had signed a pledge refusing to take part in any government which allows Shannon to be used by the US military.

Ms Sheehan ("my name means peace in Gaelic"), whose US soldier son, Casey, was killed in Iraq in April 2004, had been delayed on a flight from Amsterdam.

The press conference was called by the Irish Anti-War Movement (IAWM), the Peace and Neutrality Alliance (Pana) and the NGO Alliance.

Taking part were Richard Boyd Barrett and Michael Youlton of the IAWM, Roger Cole of Pana, Brendan Butler of the NGO Alliance, trade unionist Mick O'Reilly and former Guantanamo Bay prisoner Rhuhel Ahmed. The attendance included Patricia McKenna of the Green Party, Senator David Norris, the artist Robert Ballagh and members of the Iraqi, Palestinian and Lebanese communities in Ireland.

Cindy Sheehan wondered how many of the 15 US soldiers killed in Iraq at the weekend had passed through Shannon and she called on the Irish Government to stop it being used for such purposes and by "alleged rendition planes".

She said that approval for the war was down to 28 per cent in the US.

The press conference was told that three outgoing Labour Party TDs, Michael D. Higgins, Tommy Broughan and Joe Costello, had signed a pledge that they would not be part of any government which allowed Shannon or other Irish facilities be used by the US "to conduct war in Iraq or any other imperialist war".

Patricia McKenna, Green Party candidate in Dublin Central, who also signed the pledge, said that she would "refuse point-blank to be in, or support" any government which allowed the US military to use Shannon.

Ms McKenna conveyed a message from Green Party TD John Gormley, saying that he too was "totally opposed" to the use of Shannon in this way.

Other Green Party candidates to sign the pledge include David Healy in Dublin North-East, Bronwen Maher in Dublin North-Central, Niall Ó Brolcháin in Galway West, David Grey in Kerry North and John Hickey in Kerry South.

All Sinn Féin, Socialist Party and People Before Profit candidates and outgoing TDs Tony Gregory and Finian McGrath have also signed the pledge.

Richard Boyd Barrett, a People Before Profit candidate in Dún Laoghaire/Rathdown, described Irish Government policy on the use of Shannon by the US military as "utterly shameful".