6 days ago
Actor says Irish Navy should bring aid to Gaza
The "greatest argument for neutrality is the genocide going on right now in Gaza", actor Liam Cunningham has said.
Mr Cunningham attended the launch of a small vessel carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza in Italy last Sunday.
Climate campaigner Greta Thunberg is part of the 12-person team onboard the Madleen.
Mr Cunningham said it was never intended that he would be on the boat, given its small size, and said it was; "loaded with the stuff that the Tel Aviv regime will not allow into Gaza. So, it's got crutches, it's got antibiotics, baby formula, it's even got a 3D-printed prosthetic baby's arm."
He said he believed a flotilla of Irish Naval vessels should be bringing aid to Gaza, given Ireland's obligations under International Law.
"The Geneva Convention says that at the sight of a genocide, it is beholden to signatories to the Geneva Conventions to intervene."
Under Article I of the Geneva Convention, which Ireland has ratified, there is an obligation to prevent and punish genocide where it occurs.
Mr Cunningham was speaking at the launch of a pamphlet - 'Defending Irish Neutrality' - by People Before Profit.
People Before Profit is calling on the public to attend a demonstration by the Irish Neutrality League on Saturday 14 June to save the Triple Lock.
Dublin South West TD Paul Murphy said he believed the majority of Irish people did not want the dilution of neutrality, which he said would be caused by the removal of the Triple Lock.
"I don't trust Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael to send troops abroad wherever they want. I think the majority of people in this country don't [trust them]. I precisely want to tie their hands. I want to have a political straitjacket. I wanted to know in future that they will not be able to send troops abroad unless they are genuine peacekeeping missions. And that's what the Triple Lock guarantees, and that's what the Government is trying to get rid of."
The Government wants to revise the Triple Lock so that the UN no longer has a role in mandating Irish troops to serve in overseas missions.
