Monday, February 3, 2014

Feb, 1st in Geneva: Support of Syria, Its army, Rejecting Terrorism


March in front of Geneva UN HQ, in support of Syria, its army and in rejection of terrorism

Feb 01, 2014

Geneva, ( SANA delegate)- Hundreds of Syrians on Friday morning gathered in front of the UN's Headquarters in Geneva to express their support to the motherland, Syria, its army and Syria's official delegation to Geneva 2 conference.
They expressed their rejection of the terrorism backed by regional and international countries.
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The Syrian citizens raised national flags and photos of President Bashar al-Assad, chanting slogans in support of Syria and its army in confronting terrorism which is targeting the Syrians.
They also expressed full support to Syria's official delegation taking part in Geneva 2 conference as the one which represents the Syrians and shoulders their concerns, hailing the delegation's stances in defending the Syrians' rights and interests.
The participants called for continuing fighting terrorism and extremism , in addition to forcing countries which support terrorists to adopt UN resolutions related to fighting terrorism and stopping arming, supporting and financing terrorists.
They also affirmed the need for engaging national opposition in the talks regarding Syria's future and not to limiting opposition to a delegation that  only represents the western and US interests in the region.  
Information Minister Omran al-Zoubi told the participants in the march that the next round of dialogue should include all spectra of the national opposition with which we agree regarding the love of the homeland and drawing its future.
The Minister stressed that the Syrian official delegation taking part in the conference will never give up on the Syrian sovereignty and the coalition delegation knows well that there is no one Syrian who can give up on a single drop of soil from the Syrian territories.
Al-Zoubi pointed out that Geneva 2 conference did not reach results as the coalition delegation rejected to condemn terrorism and foreign intervention.
He added that the Syrian official delegation asked the UN Envoy to Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi, officially to have the opposition delegation next time represent all opposition factions, including the national opposition.
Al-Zoubi said that in the coming days, there will be a new round of talks, in principle, but neither in this round nor in any other round to follow could they get any surrender from the Syrian official delegation.
He noted that the Lebanese who support Syria today are the resistance and they are not only from Hezbollah, adding that the Palestinian people supports Syria totally except for some young men who were misled from Hamas movement.
"From Geneva, the greatest salutation is sent to the Syrian Arab Army that is fighting in defense of us all and the greatest salutation as well is sent to the martyrs of Syria," al-Zoubi concluded.
 Syria's permanent representative to the United Nations Dr. Bashar al-Jaafari, also addressed the participants saying : " We conveyed your voice into the hall of dialogue and told them who wants to know what the Syrian people want should go outside the meeting hall to see the gathering people."
Al-Jaafari said that only Syrian people determine their own future, but the coalition delegation thinks that they came to take power.
He added, "We do not want a de legation that it is controlled by Turkey, the US and France; we want honest Syrian citizens to sit and discuss the future of Syria with us."
Al-Jaafari said, "Collective work led us to where we are now, and we are here to help the homeland emerge out of the crisis which we know its causes and solution."
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For her part, Presidential political and media advisor Buthaina Shaaban affirmed that Syria is for all Arabs and for the world’s freedom fighters, adding that the secret of its  strength lies behind its great people, and it did not and won't abandon any of its or Arab rights.
Deputy Foreign and Expatriates Minister Fayssal Mikdad said that the Syrian people are against terrorism and want restoration of security, adding that Syria has withstood due to the people’s continuous support to President Bashar al-Assad.
In turn, Director of the Presidential Media Office, member of the Syrian official delegation to Geneva 2, Luna al-Shibl, affirmed adherence to the sovereignty of Syria's national decision-making and to not forfeiting a single speck of Syrian soil.
Addressing the gathering people, al-Shibl said "with your presence, with the presence of the Syrian people who have remained steadfast in the face of terrorism for three years, and with the presence of the Syrian Arab Army which is sacrificing its dearest for the sake of the country, I would reassure you that we will not forfeit a single speck of soil."
She also reiterated that Syria will remain proud, dignified and honorable, and that President Bashar al-Assad will remain for all Syrians and Arabs. 
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Solidarity Declaration to our Friends and Colleagues from PANA

Arbeitskreis für Friedenspolitik (AKF)
Atomwaffenfreies Europa – e.V.



Vorstand:
Rudolf Andreas Palmer (Vorsitz)
Heide Reich
Prof. em. Dr. Roland Reich
Irene Eckert (Kassiererin)

Kontakt: Rudolf Andreas Palmer, Gardeschützenweg 27/29, 
12203 Berlin Tel. (030) 834 44 37
Blog: Pwlasowa.blogspot.de

Berlin, February 3rd 2014

Solidarity Declaration to our Friends and Colleagues from PANA Peace and Neutrality Movement on Behalf of Antimilitarist  Margaretta D'Arcy who stands for "the release of Shannon Airport from the US military!"
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Dear colleagues and Friends,


 We fully support your struggle for the immediate release of Margaretta D'Arcy , who on Wednesday, January 15th,  was arrested and ferried by squad car to Limerick Prison to serve a three month sentence. 79-year old Margaretta D’Arcy, writer, member of Aosdana which honours outstanding contributors to the arts in Ireland,  and widow of the late playwright John Arden, did not commit a  crime, According to our shared views she was right when  not signing "a bond pledging to no longer trespass onto unauthorised areas of Shannon Airport."

Margaretta D’Arcy has been arrested twice for sitting on the runway at Shannon. Her first trial in December at Ennis District Court in Clare, found her and her co-defendant, Niall Farrell, guilty of interfering with the ‘proper’ use of Shannon Airport.  The defendants’ main argument is that Shannon Airport is not being ‘properly used’. It is supposed to be a civilian airport, yet it is being transited by US warplanes, military cargo and troop carriers as well as by planes implicated in the infamous ‘rendition’ flights, involving the kidnapping and transporting of people to secret detention centres for ‘interrogation’.

Ireland  -- purportedly a neutral state has allowed over 2m US soldiers to pass through Shannon Airport in the past decade, most on their way to wars in the Iraq and Afghanistan. Between January and September last year,  366 foreign military aircraft were allowed to land. The US Government is quite clear about the strategic importance of Shannon. A US Embassy briefing document in 2006, revealed by Wikileaks, stated that Shannon’s geography makes it a ‘key transit point for military flights and military contract flights carrying personnel and material to Iraq and the Middle East/Gulf theatre in the global war on terror, as well as to Europe and Africa’.
The Irish Government’s  rules on such flights are that the planes must be unarmed, carry no arms, ammunition or explosives. They must not engage in intelligence gathering, nor form part of a military exercise or operation. 
In September last year, however, when an attack on Syria seemed imminent, a US AC130 gunship with its 30mm side-mounted cannon in clear view, appeared on the runway at Shannon.

We support the  campaign that has now been launched for the release of Margaretta D’Arcy from Limerick Prison.  We join in voices with many artists, writers,  colleagues in Aosdana and a former UN Assistant Secretary General  who have spoken out on her behalf.  
The real call should be for the release of Shannon Airport from the US military, this being  the real reason for her imprisonment should not be forgotten.
Irene Eckert
Rudolf Palmer, Gardeschützenweg 27/29, 12049 Berlin

Bankverbindung: neue Kontoverbindung Berliner Sparkasse IBAN: DE63 1005 0000 0190 2834 32


I stand with imprioned Antimilitarist Margaretta D’Arcy (79), Widow of John Arden

Carol Fox on the background to Margaretta D’Arcy's latest imprisonment …
ImageOn Wednesday, January 15th, 79-year old Margaretta D’Arcy, writer, member of Aosdana which honours outstanding contributors to the arts in Ireland,  and widow of the late playwright John Arden, answered a knock on the door of her small Galway City terraced house. It was the Irish police. She was arrested and ferried by squad car to Limerick Prison to serve a three month sentence. Her crime: failure to sign a bond pledging to no longer trespass onto unauthorised areas of Shannon Airport.
Margaretta D’Arcy has been arrested twice for sitting on the runway at Shannon. Her first trial in December at Ennis District Court in Clare, found her and her co-defendant, Niall Farrell, guilty of interfering with the ‘proper’ use of Shannon Airport. Their second trial – the same charge,  – will probably be held next month. The defendants’ main argument is that Shannon Airport is not being ‘properly used’. It is supposed to be a civilian airport, yet it is being transited by US warplanes, military cargo and troop carriers as well as by planes implicated in the infamous ‘rendition’ flights, involving the kidnapping and transporting of people to secret detention centres for ‘interrogation’. Opinion polls have consistently shown that the vast majority of Irish people are opposed to Shannon being used by the US military.
Ireland  -- purportedly a neutral state – has allowed over 2m US soldiers to pass through Shannon Airport in the past decade, most on their way to wars in the Iraq and Afghanistan. Between January and September last year,  366 foreign military aircraft were allowed to land. The US Government is quite clear about the strategic importance of Shannon. A US Embassy briefing document in 2006, revealed by Wikileaks, stated that Shannon’s geography makes it a ‘key transit point for military flights and military contract flights carrying personnel and material to Iraq and the Middle East/Gulf theatre in the global war on terror, as well as to Europe and Africa’.
The Irish Government’s  rules on such flights are that the planes must be unarmed, carry no arms, ammunition or explosives. They must not engage in intelligence gathering ,nor form part of a military exercise or operation. The Irish have told the Americans what the rules are and expect the US authorities to conform. This is taken on trust. There are no checks.
There have been some embarrassing moments. The build-up to the Iraq War in January 2003 provided one of them. When US soldiers were seen at Shannon Airport  (and reported in the Observer newspaper)  carrying guns, the Irish Government had to implement a quick rule change: personal weapons were allowed but they weren’t allowed to have bullets. In September last year, when an attack on Syria seemed imminent, a US AC130 gunship with its 30mm side-mounted cannon in clear view, appeared on the runway at Shannon. The Irish Government complained but accepted the US Embassy’s assurances that this was an ‘isolated incident’ and the result of an ‘administrative error’.
Planes implicated in extraordinary renditions have also graced Shannon’s runway. Again, the planes have never been searched, despite revelations in Wikileaks that Ireland’s former foreign minister, Dermot Ahern, told the US Ambassador that he was ‘quite convinced’ that at least 3 flights involved in renditions had refuelled at Shannon. This was while the Minister was assuring the Dail and the Irish public that there was no need for concern. Many groups including the European Parliament, and the Council of Europe, have called on the Irish Government to institute an ‘inspection regime’ for such planes, something it is still resisting.
D’Arcy’s and Farrell’s first trial was complicated by the fact that an Aer Lingus and Ryanair plane had to circle overhead for 15 minutes because the two protesters were on the runway. This had not been intended. The two had been on the runway in daylight for half an hour, dressed in fluorescent Guantanamo Bay suits and carrying placards without being detected. They eventually rang the airport security on their mobile phones to inform them of their presence. The defendants were not the only ones on trial as the security systems at Shannon were also under heavy scrutiny, particularly given the military nature of much of Shannon’s traffic.
A campaign has now been launched for the release of Margaretta D’Arcy from Limerick Prison. Many artists, writers, her colleagues in Aosdana and a former UN Assistant Secretary General have spoken out on her behalf.  And the weekend after her arrest, Margaretta was visited by her old friend, Sabina Higgins, the wife of the Irish President, Michael D Higgins. This has caused some controversy, ensuring that  Margaretta’s case has remained in  the media.
But she has stated that the real call should be for the release of Shannon Airport from the US military, that the reason for her imprisonment should not be forgotten.

Syria: Nobel Peace Laureate Mairead Maguire Tells Her Account of What She Witnessed

Interview with the speakers at the PANA public meeting on Syria (7/9/13)
https://vimeo.com/74025823

Syria: Nobel Peace Laureate Tells Her Account of What She Witnessed
NATO or Neutrality? Debate by Irish Anti-War Movemen