Civil liberties groups, anti-war campaigners and a number of politicians have expressed concern that senior gardaí will be present at a conference on so-called "less-lethal" weapons in Dublin next week.
Assistant Garda Commissioner Joe Egan, Inspector John Gantley and Detective Superintendent Patrick Hogan, who is described as being on the Garda's "less lethal weapons implementation team" are listed as speakers at the Jane's Less Lethal Weapons Conference 2004.
Campaigners against the event today have described it as "grotesque". They said it was an "ominous" sign for policing in the State that the Garda is to be represented.
The conference, due to take place at the Berkeley Court Hotel on Tuesday and Wednesday, will be attended by weapons manufacturers from around the world, as well as senior defence personnel, government policy makers, equipment purchasers, scientists involved in developing weapons technology and academics.
The Garda has not responded to questions submitted by ireland.comlast week about its participation in the event or any planned acquisition of non-lethal weapons.
Representatives of the Irish Anti-War Movement, the Peace and Neutrality Alliance, the Labour Party, the Socialist Party, Sinn Féin, the Irish Council for Civil Liberties and Amnesty International spoke out against the conference in Dublin this morning. They plan a protest outside the conference on Tuesday evening.
Mr Richard Boyd Barrett of the Irish Anti-War Movement (IAWM) said the term "less lethal" weapons was a misnomer, as there had been many fatalities involving such weapons as plastic bullets.
"The Taoiseach has said these weapons have no place in a post-ceasefire Northern Ireland, so in this context, it's very worrying that the Garda are attending the conference where they will be discussing the use of these weapons," he said.
Mr Barrett said nothing had happened in Ireland in terms of protests that would in any way justify the use of such weapons. He said the "most violent" event that had occurred was during the May Day events on Dame Street in Dublin two years ago when gardai had "run amok".
Labour party president Mr Michael D Higgins said the holding of such a conference involved an extension of the worldwide "climate of fear" into Ireland.
He said police forces in Holland had introduced "sociological" technologies 30 years ago for crowd control that involved "no force at all". Moving towards arming police with such weapons would result in crowds becoming identified, in the minds of police, as "the enemy" and as something "collectively dangerous", he added. Mr Higgins said the traders at next week's conference were "lethal huxters".
Mr Roger Cole of the Peace and Neutrality Alliance (PANA) said the conference was part of the growing desire to transform the atmosphere in regard to peaceful protest.
"The so-called non-lethal weapons include plastic and rubber bullets which have killed 17 people in Northern Ireland and pepper spray which, according to the Los Angeles Times, has resulted in 61 deaths between 1990 and 1995. The Taser, a handgun that fires two barbed darts attached by a wire to the gun, which is capable of delivering 50,000 volt electric shocks to the victim, is described as a non-lethal weapon."
Socialist Party TD Joe Higgins said: "This arms bazaar is a grotesque manifestation of how the trade in arms is just one more example of international big business putting the lust for super profits before any other consideration.
"Such weapons have been used as tools of political repression and torture by some of the world's most brutal regimes and pose a threat to democratic rights at home and abroad. The planned presence of Irish gardai and defence force personnel at this event represents a further step in the process of eroding the right to peaceful protest and criminalising those who exercise this democratic right."
The Green Party TD Mr John Gormley said in his view arms dealers are "the lowest of the low". "In human terms, they are lower than drug dealers."
The Jane's Group has told ireland.comthat no weapons will be on display at the conference. The group has also said media reports have distorted the event and that it will allow the discussion of less-lethal weapons in all their contexts.
The group said it is a private company with "an extremely strong tradition of providing fair, balanced information internationally and to the public via the media".
"Our commitment to balance is reflected in the conference. The conference discusses not only the technology, it also looks at the use of these weapons to save lives or individuals wishing to harm others, or even themselves," the group said.
It pointed out that Amnesty International representatives will speak at the conference, although an Amnesty representative made it clear today the organisation will not be attending in support of the weapons conference.