Activist placed US soldiers under arrest
Saturday June 24 2006
Shannon-based peace activist Conor Cregan said yesterday that he briefly detained the six on Thursday afternoon after finding them walking on the Limerick Road leading out of Ennis.
"I placed the soldiers under citizen's arrest because these soldiers are not supposed to be walking freely on the streets of Ireland in uniform. It is a breach of the Irish Constitution and Irish neutrality,"he said.
The six were part of a group of 238 troops who were forced to stay overnight on Thursday in due to technical problems experienced by their aircraft at Shannon airport.
They were staying at the West County Hotel in Ennis and met Mr Cregan near the hotel on a public footpath.
He said yesterday: "I immediately called for the six to stop and said to them 'I am placing you all under citizen's arrest. Do not move'."
The men remained on the footpath as Mr Cregan contacted emergency services. "I was put through to Ennis garda station, but the garda on duty made light of the matter," Mr Cregan said.
Flagrant
Green party leader Trevor Sargent said yesterday that US troops walking in uniform in this country "was a flagrant breach of Irish neutrality. An army of another country can't flaunt itself in uniform and it was an important gesture by the anti-war activist to ensure that the law is being upheld," Mr Sargent said.
- Gordon Deegan
