Sir, – Ann Marie Hourihane is to be commended for her piece (Opinion, February 11th) about the recent report on the US extraordinary rendition programme and Ireland’s shameful involvement in that programme.
It is disgraceful that no Government minister has taken time to respond to the report and, unfortunately, I do not expect that situation to change any time soon. Indeed, my fear is that the present Government is far more likely to respond to the overtures of the US-led Nato military alliance, as reported on your World News pages the same day. – Yours, etc,
Sir, – It is to be hoped that Ann Marie Hourihane’s scathing article on the deafening silence surrounding rendition (Opinion, February 11th) will elicit some positive reaction from our Government and particularly from our Minister for Foreign Affairs.
Ireland’s tacit support for the shameful and outrageous practice of torture and rendition is well known. The Government is well aware of the many times over the past decade that rendition aircraft used Shannon airport. There is a dedicated group of human rights observers in Limerick who have painstakingly documented the rendition planes arrivals and departures. They have regularly requested the gardaí at Shannon airport to search those planes, but that has never been done, even though the Garda Síochána has a perfect right to do so. There was a time when Ireland acted honourably in relation to foreign policy, but it seems we no longer believe in obeying international law.
I agree with Hourihane that there is a shameful and deafening silence about the disgraceful matter of rendition and globalised torture in which Ireland is undoubtedly complicit. – Yours, etc,