On June 14, hundreds took part in a successful demonstration to express support for neutrality and to keep Ireland’s Triple Lock  

Members and supporters of DiEM25 joined with other peace activists and Palestine Solidarity groups, elected Oireachtas TDs and Senators, political parties and civil society organisations in the unified Together for Neutrality demo and rally on June 14.

Speakers at the rally included Senator Alice-Mary Higgins, a member of DiEM25 Advisory Panel, and also acclaimed actor Liam Cunningham, known to many worldwide for his role in Game of Thrones.

Alice-Mary related that, when she was Chair of the Oireachtas Peace, Neutrality and Disarmament group, she advocated that Ireland’s best international contribution should be as a voice for peace. Liam said that war is a racket that the wealthy elite benefit financially from while everyone else suffers, either through fighting in the wars or from paying for the war that the rich get richer from.

Other speakers expressed concern about Israel’s attack on Iran, and how EU governments are justifying the aggression by repeating the mantra that ‘Israel has a right to self-defence’.

Speakers also referred to the false narratives put forward by the government on Ireland’s Triple Lock.  The government is using the pretext of sovereignty by stating that only elected TDs in Dáil Éireann and the Cabinet should decide on when and where soldiers for peace keeping are sent. This raises the dilemma – what established international mechanism will be used for this type of deployment?

Would a situation arise where TDs vote to land troops into a dangerous conflict zone without any consultation and agreement for peaceful resolution with and between the belligerent parties?

The fact remains that despite its shortcomings, challenges and obvious need for major improvements, the United Nations is the only available international inter-governmental means for facilitating any trans-national peace-keeping roles for States.

Hard working officials in the Department of Foreign Affairs would be better employed in efforts to try to bring about the necessary changes to make the UN operate more effectively for peaceful resolution of conflicts and the upholding of international law. In the words of Omar Barghouti, a co-founder of the BDS movement – it is past time to ‘decolonise the UN to radically reform it’.

The Irish government rhetorically talks up its role as a great supporter of the UN. But all its endeavours to negate Irish neutrality by withdrawing from UN sponsored decisions for deployment of Irish troops abroad proves otherwise. This is at a time when the US, the UK and Israel and others are strenuously working to undermine the legitimacy of the UN, potentially resulting in devastating consequences for the one global institution which stands, however weakly, between the present chaotic ‘peace’ and the slide into catastrophic war.

UN credibility is being shattered due to European and US indifference and active efforts to retrogressively make it like a piece of old obsolete hardware of the empire. The government of Ireland’s attempt to effectively bypass the UN, runs the risk of potentially fabricating yet another nail for the coffin.

Another mantra of the governing parties is ‘we are neutral militarily but are not politically neutral’. This ignores the fact that war is politics by other means. A State adhering to the principle of neutrality means that they are enemies of none by trying to maintain friendly relations to all. If a conflict escalates or arises between other states, a country like Ireland should remain neutral in that conflict by not supporting or joining in with any of the aggressive activities of either party, whether they be through financial, economic, cultural or military measures. This has advantages for peace and security. One is that a neutral country is better placed to promote or make a valuable contribution for the peaceful resolution of the conflict. Another is that they could genuinely offer and deliver humanitarian aid to citizens or residents of either or all the countries involved in the war, where this would be possible.

The Minister for Foreign Affairs and Defence Simon Harris recently said that “we don’t become militarily allied or get involved in wars”. But the Irish Defence Forces participation in the recent EU Battlegroup war readiness exercises exposes this to be incorrect. Army ‘battle groups’ explicitly relate to forces with the purpose to engage in wars. To involve troops in adventures overseas or across borders, and then using sanitised terms like ‘emergency interventions’ or ‘special military operations’ does not disguise the reality that it is all part and parcel of waging wars or conducting invasions.

This Minister also suggested during a television interview in May that dismantling Ireland’s Triple Lock would enable Irish armed forces to combine with troops of other countries ‘to combat drug smuggling in the Mediterranean’. However, activities such as drug smuggling are criminal matters for sovereign states to deal with by utilising their courts, police services and other legitimate national or international implementation agencies.

This is similar to US politicians proposing to invade Mexico on the pretext to combat drug trafficking.

Measures of dealing with civil matters through military means are increasingly happening in some other nations. This is especially worrying now with the news that President Trump is deploying the Marines and other troops to Los Angeles, while branding civilians as a foreign enemy, because they are protesting his draconian federal government actions.

Peace and humanity are better served when military personnel are activated to help in humanitarian missions. This was the case when over 10,000 people were rescued in the Mediterranean by the Irish Naval Service.

The call by Francesca Albanese for a global sea fleet to try to break the Israeli illegal siege of Gaza should also be considered.

This could involve redirecting the projected boost in military spending away from wasting finances on fighter jet squadrons. Instead, It could be put towards gearing the Navy for such humane tasks. After all, there is the concept of human security when giving attention to peaceful international relations.

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