CIA Flights Through Shannon
Mr. Gormley: Last Monday at a debate in Ranelagh about the nature of republicanism my constituency colleague, the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, told the audience that a republic was based on the rule of law.
Mr. Durkan: He would know.
Mr. Gormley: If that is so then the United States which is also a republic has abandoned the rule of law and it has dispensed with the niceties of international treaties and tramped rough-shod over human rights legislation. At the meeting the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform assured the audience that if there was any evidence at all that the United States was acting in bad faith the Irish Government would not be found wanting. The evidence does exist despite what the previous speaker has said. The evidence has been outlined by Amnesty International and we did have to wait on the Marty report.
Mr. Durkan: That is right.
Mr. Gormley: We know that planes that were used for the purposes of extraordinary rendition landed at Shannon Airport. There is absolutely no doubt about this.
Mr. Stagg: That is correct.
Mr. Gormley: There is doubt about whether there were prisoners on board and there is such doubt because we have not checked. This is the issue. I say directly to the Minister that these planes landed at Shannon, they refuelled at Shannon. Did the Government facilitate this? I find it difficult to believe it did not? The Government must have known. Amnesty International has a list of CIA plans as long as one’s arm. Is the Government saying it did not know? If the Government knew nothing it stands indicted of negligence, incompetence and of culpable ignorance. If it did know it is guilty of straightforward collusion. This evening we need some commitments from the Government.
Will the Government maintain and update a register of aircraft operators whose planes have been implicated in rendition flights and require them to provide detailed information before allowing them landing or flyover rights. I have a list here from Amnesty International of the CIA planes and their registration numbers.
Recently I travelled to the United States and had to go through some rigmarole to get in. We should demand the same from the United States. Irish people are finger printed at Shannon. Why are not Americans put through the same wringer? This is only something we should expect. Will the Minister ensure that the detailed information includes the full flight plan of the aircraft, including onward stops and full itinerary, full names and nationalities of all passengers on board and the purposes of their travel? If any passengers are listed as prisoners or detainees, more detailed information about their status and the status of their flight should be required, including their destination. Will the Minister refuse access to airfields and airspace if the requested information is not provided?
Regarding diplomatic assurances, as they have become known, will the Minister make these assurances, or the correspondence comprising such assurances, public as Amnesty International has requested? Up to now that request has been refused. Will the affirm that such assurances are not an effective substitute for the Irish State’s responsibility to exercise due diligence in the prevention, investigation and punishment of violations of international human rights law? Will the Minister disown himself and the Government from any arguments that the Irish State’s economic and diplomatic interests in maintaining good relationships with the United States should be the paramount interest here?
Will he state clearly that international law and human rights standards must be upheld and that statements made by Senators from his own party, when an investigation by the Seanad into CIA flights was scuppered earlier in the year by Fianna Fáil Senators, are not reflective of official practice? Did Senators Dooley and Mooney reflect Government policy when they claimed a select committee on the matter would “insult a friendly nation” and that it would be “extremely dangerous” to the relationship between this country and America to challenge what was going on, that jobs and economic interests would be jeopardised. Those Senators said a select committee on the matter would “insult a friendly nation” and that it would be “extremely dangerous” to the relationship between this country and America to challenge what was going on, that jobs and economic interests would be jeopardised. This is what they said and that is at the root of it. This is why the Government has turned a blind eye to human rights abuses.