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Irish antiwar activist Damien Moran, acquitted in Dublin, Ireland Circuit Court 18 months ago by jury trial of doing €2 million damage to a U.S. military plane at Shannon Airport as a protest against the Iraq war, was deported from the U.S. on Sunday, April by Homeland Security agents at Chicago 's O'Hare Airport. He had been invited to attend and speak at a conference against Star Wars. The former seminarian with the Holy Ghost Fathers in Kimmage is currently living and teaching in Poland .
Moran stated: “I was immediately detained and questioned by Homeland Security officers about our nonviolent and legal action at Shannon in February 2003. The information the border authorities claimed to have was that I was arrested for damaging a U.S. fighter jet at Shannon . I let them know that their database was out of date and that it should also read acquitted as we had a lawful reason.”
He continued: “My mobile phone was seized and I was interrogated about the purpose of my trip and why I had damaged U.S. military property. I had been invited to speak at a university in Colorado Springs and at a conference in Omaha, Nebraska on U.S. militarism in Poland and Ireland . I also had tickets to visit my brother and his family in Virginia . Homeland Security's unjustified refusal to allow me to enter the U.S. is just another example of how quasi-fascist the U.S. state apparatus has become.”
The juxtaposition of my refusal to enter the U.S. to speak on the grave need for military divestment and social investment as the U.S. officially celebrates the life of Martin Luther King Jr. should not go amiss. I was barred from entering due to my act of dissent at Shannon five years ago. This was done to protest U.S. militarism at home and abroad. There is no room for dissenters' perspectives in America today ”
Furthermore the deportee claims “It is high time the omnipotent military -industrial complex in the U.S. is terminated by concerned citizens.When I informed them about our action and acquittal they were none too pleased.”
Unfortunately I've lost $350 dollars in flight expenses while the Global Network Against Weapons in Space organisation that invited me has been set back over $1,000. Not much money compared to the $2 trillion plus bill that U.S. taxpayers will have to pay to help their government wage the Iraq war.”
More on the conference that Moran was due to attend can be found at www.space4peace.org. There is more information on the Shannon Ploughshares action at www.warontrial.com. Moran's current activities include resistance to the controversial U.S. missile defence plans for Poland . See www.m29.bzzz.net for more details.
Damien Moran can be contacted at:
Landline 0048228944746
Mobile 0048607340093
Related Link: http://www.peacenikhurler.blogspot.com
Check out my latest Blogs: www.peacenikhurler.blogspot.com
Polish activist news: www.cia.bzzz.net/english_news
Campaign Against Militarism: www.m29.bzzz.net www.tarcza.org
Ciaron O'Reilly
Blog http://ciaron.wordpress.com/
"The poor tell us who we are,
The prophets tell us who we could be,
So we hide the poor,
And kill the prophets."
Phil Berrigan
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