Irish Campaigners Join Calls For Obama to Pardon For Chelsea Manning

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TDs, Senators and human rights campaigners will gather outside the Dail today at 4pm for a photocall with a birthday cake and candles for imprisoned U.S army whistleblower Chelsea Manning, hosted by Senator David Norris. Manning marks her 29th birthday on Saturday December 17th. It is set to be her 7th birthday and Christmas in prison.

Irish supporters joining global calls for President Obama to pardon Manning include Afri, Amnesty International Ireland, TDs Mick Wallace, Joan Collins, Maureen O’Sullivan, Catherine Murphy, and Clare Daly, Senators David Norris and Alice Mary Higgins, member of the Council of State Ruairi McKiernan, and actor and playwright Donal O’Kelly. Continue reading “Irish Campaigners Join Calls For Obama to Pardon For Chelsea Manning” →

Anti-War Activism in the Trump Era

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Colm Roddy (left) and Dave Donnellan
Colm Roddy (left) and Dave Donnellan

Anti-War Activism in the Trump Era
Tuesday 15th November, 7.30pm
The Teachers’ Club, Dublin 1

Public Meeting in Solidarity with War Resisters.  Now the U.S. has chosen its new Commander-in-Chief…….. we gather to remember its victims and support our resisters!

Speakers:
– Dave Donnellan & Colm Roddy awaiting trial for anti-war resistance at Shannon Airport.
– Harry Browne on “What can we Expect from the New U.S. President?”
– Ciaron O’Reilly on the late Dan Berrigan, imprisoned Chelsea Manning and pursued Julian Assange.

Music:
“The Chelsea Manning Support Band” Joe Black, Robbie Synnot & RoJ Whelan

Entry free – donation to cover costs of staging the event.

Bloomsday Not Bombsday

Afri

Afri staff, volunteers and supporters donned Panama hats on Bloomsday, June 16th, and picketed 30, Botanic Avenue to highlight the fact, revealed in Panama Papers, that a company at this address facilitates commission payments on behalf of major Italian Arms Company Finmeccanica.  See below film about the action.

Film by RoJ

Shamrock Shame

Afri

On the 25th May 2016 peace activists and Afri friends, Dave Donnellan and Colm Roddy, entered Shannon airport to inspect illegal U.S. military war planes stationed there. The three security authorities of the Gardaí, Army and airport police all refused to search the planes for weapons in gross dereliction of their duty to protect innocent civilians. Dave and Colm were arrested and charged with criminal damage without lawful excuse. See article about the action here.

Statement from Joe Murray, Coordinator of Afri:  “In light of the courageous faith actions of Colm Roddy and Dave Donnellan in exposing Shannon’s bloody role in war, Afri calls on the government to end the use of Shannon as a warport. The consequences of the wars facilitated by Shannon are seen in the chaos in the Middle East region and the tsunami of refugees driven from their homes to which, in turn, Europe and Ireland has ruthlessly closed their borders.”

Film about the action by RoJ

Reclaiming the Vision of 1916

Afri
Afri's banner visible during the 'Reclaim the Vision of 1916' march and rally. Photo by Derek Speirs
Afri’s banner visible during the ‘Reclaim the Vision of 1916’ march and rally. Photo by Derek Speirs

Afri was invited to take part in the Reclaim the Vision of 1916 event in Dublin on the 24th April 2016, behind the banner, “The Right of the People of Ireland to the Ownership of Ireland” which focused on the ideals behind the 1916 Rising, as distinct from the military dimension which is so heavily emphasised in so many of the state commemorations.  Afri staff carried a banner with the message “Afri rising to the challenge of tackling climate change, abolishing war and restoring Irish neutrality”

Panama Papers show Ireland’s Complicity in the Arms Trade

Afri

Afri's Links report from 1996, which detailed Irish companies with links to the arms trade back in the 1990s.Afri has expressed alarm at recent revelations in the Irish Times regarding involvement by Irish-based companies in the international arms trade.

Afri cited as one of the most disturbing revelations in the report the fact that a Drumcondra-based company – Intertrade – has acted for one of the world’s largest arms companies, Finmeccanica, whose products include jet fighters, torpedoes and electronic warfare equipment, which are shipped around the world to cause death and destruction.

The company is also implicated in financial scandals, accused of using bribes worth millions of dollars in relation to arms deals in India and Panama.  The leaks show how Intertrade uses offshore companies to process sales ‘commissions’ – a classic device to hide corrupt payments. Continue reading “Panama Papers show Ireland’s Complicity in the Arms Trade” →

NATO out of Neutral Ireland

Afri
Afri board member, John Maguire, activist Ciaron O'Reilly and Afri Co-ordinator, Joe Murray at a protest action during the Easter weekend
Afri board member, John Maguire, activist Ciaron O’Reilly and Afri Co-ordinator, Joe Murray at a protest action during the Easter weekend

The 100th Anniversary of the 1916 Rising was commemorated in a number of state events around Easter time and beyond. While it is very important to commemorate the first steps towards Irish independence it is regrettable that such emphasis was placed on the military hardware of the NATO-linked Irish Army today, as distinct from the ideals of the Proclamation, for example. One of the most bizarre events was the presence of a fleet of NATO Warships in Dublin Port over the Easter weekend. As we commemorated the sacking of Dublin City Centre by British warships 100 years earlier, the irony of a British warship among the other NATO vessels seemed to be lost on the Government as well as those queuing to go aboard. It was a striking illustration, nonetheless, of the degree to which Ireland has now abandoned neutrality and locked arms with the former colonial powers and their military escapades and ambitions. Hearing about this at the last minute, Afri organised a small picket and we were joined by anti-war activist Ciaron O’ Reilly who addressed the assembled audience!  Here’s a short film of him speaking at this event below (film by Redjade Magyarországon).

Impressions from the 2014 Hedge School

Afri
Cathyrn O'Reilly (standing) and Vonnie Munroe of the Dunnes Stores Anti-apartheid strikers speaking at the Afri Hedge School in ITB.
Cathyrn O’Reilly (standing) and Vonnie Munroe of the Dunnes Stores Anti-apartheid strikers speaking at the Afri Hedge School in ITB.

By coincidence, the Afri Hedge School 2014 took place on the 96th anniversary of the official ending of World War 1.  I say ‘official’ ending as of course a monstrous machine of that size and ferocity doesn’t suddenly come to a halt all at once. Active battling in which several human beings lost their lives continued well after that iconic moment of the 11th hour, on the 11th day of the 11th month on which the leaders cried ‘stop!”. And signatures were made on a piece of paper.  I say ‘official’ as the fallout, the ramifications of that horrific war, ironically titled in the recruitment propaganda as ‘the war to end all wars’, is still to this very day having its devastating impact. The battles continue long after Armistice. The trauma has traversed generations in the many insidious ways that trauma can. Palestine is just one of many, many ongoing casualties that continues to bleed and die.

The lives of those men who had chosen to become or had been forced to become soldiers and were sacrificed in that war are traditionally remembered by silence and ceremony on this iconic day.

The Afri Hedge School chose not to hold the silence, but rather to facilitate the raising of voices. It invited the testimony of witnesses and casualties beyond those in active combat. It welcomed the awkward questions. And it framed all of this within the matrix of conscience. Continue reading “Impressions from the 2014 Hedge School” →

The Wave

Afri
Detail from Hokusai's The Great Wave off Kanagawa
Detail from Hokusai’s The Great Wave off Kanagawa

The Wave

(after Hardy)

They gathered up the guns and tanks,
divided the soldiers into ranks,
turned to face the enemy –
make a new date for history.

Prepare to fight – the order came
as the foe came into sight –
horizon-filled: a mighty wave
sent them all into their grave.

All the bullets, guns and bombs,
nuclear missiles impotent.
What use these weapons made by Man
with humanity an also-ran.

What use now the hunger and greed,
the makers of superfluous need.
What use those forgotten goals
for climate change and ozone holes?

What use the trillions spent on arms –
while dust and drought sucked up the farms,
as consequences grew in turn
enough to wither, drown and burn.

All the bullets ever made, every gun
every grenade, every cluster or barrel bomb,
laser rays, loud battleships, whispering drone –
secret weapons until then unknown,
gathered up in proud array –
for once all pointing the same way –
(although no silver saucer spun
beneath the unforgiving sun)
singing from the same hymn sheet, as they say.
recording the Earth’s sad lament –
a planet came a planet went.

~Pete Mullineaux, October 2014

Pete Mullineaux’s latest book Just a Second!  Exploring Global Issues through Drama & Theatre has just been published and is available to buy from the Afri office.

Peaceful Endeavour to Terminate Aggressive Landings at Shannon

Afri

Afri has consistently opposed the abandonment by successive government of Ireland’s policy of neutrality, a policy whereby Ireland pursued largely non-militaristic foreign policy and refused to participate in wars of aggression.

All that has now changed, against the will of the Irish people and governments cravenly provide Shannon Airport to the US for its never-ending ‘war on terrorism’ as well as surrendering our neutrality in many other ways.

Afri recently launched a petition opposing the use of Shannon as a war-port, which is on-going and our Board member John Maguire has devised this campaign called ‘PETALS’ (Peaceful Endeavour to Terminate Aggressive Landings at Shannon) as a way of drawing attention to our continual participation in wreaking death and destruction on other peoples and nations.

John was prevented from handing these peace shamrocks to passengers in Shannon Airport this weekend. Apparently war planes and rendition flights are acceptable in Shannon but not shamrocks!

To sign our petition to show that you oppose the military use of Shannon airport go here.