Madam, - Dr Colm Stephens (Dec 10th) accuses me of living in a "topsy-turvy world of neo-cons" and questions what qualifications I might have to suggest that the US Federal Aviation Authority will stop US airlines from using Shannon. As the holder of a multi-engine pilot licence issued by the FAA, I suspect I know far more about their attitude to such things than anyone in the "Irish Anti-War" movement.
The FAA's job is the promotion of civil and general aviation, which implicitly involves safety. One of their top priorities at the moment is cutting down on what the trade refers to as "Runway Incursions".
I know this because the FAA sent all their pilots two separate letters on this very subject.
Their idea of a serious problem is a pedestrian crossing an unused taxiway without permission. The thought of axe-wielding peace protesters wandering among parked US-registered aircraft looking for military equipment to sabotage must be keeping them awake at night.
The motives of the trespassers are irrelevant - their mere presence is enough to raise serious concerns about Shannon. If the so-called "Anti-War" movement can gain access, then who else can? Why not make the whole problem go away by telling the airlines Shannon is no longer safe?
According to Dr Stephens, all the acts of sabotage up to now have been carried out by responsible individuals who made sure their work would be noticed and waited to be arrested. Can he personally guarantee that this will continue in future?
Is he in a position to vouch for the bona fides of everyone who shows up at his demonstrations? Since he can't give positive answers to either of these questions, isn't he the one living in a topsy-turvy world in which he gives assurances on a situation that he has created but does not control?
By encouraging trespass, distracting the gardaí and creating chaos, his movement is creating an ideal environment for a professional terrorist who has infiltrated the ranks of the protesters to enter the airfield and do whatever they want without being detected.
This is what I had in mind when I suggested that the results of one of these protests might not be discovered until the aircraft in question was literally and figuratively beyond the point of no return. The fact that the Anti-War movement is not prepared to confront this scenario shows what a profoundly irresponsible and unaccountable group they are. - Yours, etc.,
DAVID ROLFE, Leinster Road, Rathmines, Dublin 6
Madam, - Dominic Carroll (Dec 3rd) highlighted my continued imprisonment because of my refusal to pay a €750 fine imposed in April for my part in a peaceful anti-war mass trespass at Shannon airport on October 12th, 2002.
I am also banned from entering Co Clare for a period of two years.
My action was an act of conscience taken to protest against the integration of an Irish civilian airport into the US war machine. On the day, more than 100 anti-war activists staged a peaceful sit-down protest inside the perimeter fence at Shannon airport. Peace songs were sung, anti-war slogans chanted, and ten of us were arrested.
That demonstration was only one of a series across Ireland against American plans to invade Iraq and against Irish complicity. The largest, in Dublin on February 15th, attracted 100,000 participants. Still, Fianna Fáil and the PDs continued to facilitate the US war machine and almost 100,000 US troops passed through Shannon airport in 2003. In September alone US military flights ferried 10,000 soldiers and many weapons and equipment through this civilian airport. This is an outrage.
It seems that I will spend Christmas and the New Year in prison because of my opposition to what is happening at Shannon. I am not looking forward to this, but I will not pay this fine. Peaceful civil disobedience is a legitimate tactic when human lives are at stake. - Yours, etc.,
Dr FINTAN LANE, E Wing, Limerick Prison, Mulgrave Street, Limerick.