Madam, - In his letter of July 13th, Edward Horgan asserts that the Irish Peace Institute's approach to peace is somehow "blinkered" because it does not meet his narrow definition of promoting peace. His term "a blinkered approach to peace" ignores the volume and importance of the work undertaken by the IPI, as well as the potential that work has for developing peace in other conflicts outside Ireland.
Since its inception in 1984 the Irish Peace Institute has worked with governments and communities in the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland and the UK to bring people together and create a foundation for political agreement. This process of "managed co-operation" has been an essential first step in promoting peace in Northern Ireland and could provide a useful example of peace-building in the wider world.
He questions the use of armoured vehicles in crowd control. Recently our own Army deployed these vehicles in support of dismounted infantry to control a huge crowd of protesters in Kosovo. It was described as a model operation on how to defuse tension that was running high. There are many other examples of such actions of crowd control which I could personally relate.
The surrounding and daubing with paint of one of the Army's Mowags at Shannon was an act of unacceptable vandalism and not the work of peaceful protesters. To defend this act as inexplicable beggars belief to this writer's mind.
Strange that he should mention Palestine. This writer was one of the three negotiators appointed by the EU to the Tri-Lateral Forum in Palestine in 1995 under the Washington Agreement. In weekly meetings with Palestinian and Israeli delegates a large number of problems were resolved, which greatly assisted the running of free and fair elections in Palestine in 1996. Since then the IPI has maintained contact with both sides in the dispute to offer advice and assistance towards the resolution of this terrible conflict. This type of work is often referred to as "track-two diplomacy" in peace-building.
Our work in Northern Ireland and in the Republic is extensive. We receive support from the European Union, the Department of Foreign Affairs, and from individuals and firms here, in the US and through organisations in Northern Ireland.
I am very much au fait with Article 40 of our Constitution and its implications for peaceful assembly and protest. The series of protests at Shannon have unfortunately resulted in incidents that have been referred to our courts. This is a fact.
Edward Horgan mentions that oppressive security caused thousands of Irish citizens to stay away from protests at Shannon. A member of the Garda estimated the number of protesters for President Bush's arrival at Shannon as approximately 600. The reality is that Irish citizens ignored the protest at Shannon in a very real way.
The IPI's record of the past 20 years of peace activity against the excesses of paramilitarism on the islands of Ireland and Britain brought hundreds of thousands of peaceful protesters on to our streets in support of peace. These peaceful protests contributed substantially to the climate which brought about the Belfast Agreement.
Finally, the writer must surely be aware that the large military presence in and around the Dromoland/Shannon area was in an anti-terrorist role. The control of the protesters was admirably carried out by unarmed members of the Gárda Síochana
The Irish Peace Institute now considers its part in this correspondence closed. Yours, etc.,
MICHAEL SHANNON, Chairman, Board of the Irish Peace Institute, University of Limerick.