Pitstop Ploughshares

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In Ireland today, the "Pit Stop Ploughshares Community" received a presidential pardon from Martin Sheen. Sheen who plays the U.S. President on the television series "West Wing" gathered with Deirdre Clancy, Nuin Dunlop, Karen Fallon, Damien Moran and Ciaron O'Reilly in the Tipperary town of Borisokane in the Irish midlands delivering the following statement granting a presidential pardon to the five peace activists. The five await trial preceedings at Kilrush Circuit Court beginning June 24th on criminal damage charges carrying maximum ten year prison sentences. The charges arose from their nonviolent disarmament of a U.S. Navy war plane at Shanon Airport on February 3rd. (see www.ploughsaresireland.org). 50,000 troops passed through the civilian airport on their way to the recent war on Iraq. Three U.S. airlines transporting U.S. troops and munitions withdrew from Ireland following the ploughshares disarmament action.

Statement by Martin Sheen as follows,

"The action of these brave and commited young people at Shannon sprang from the command of the prophet Isaiah to"beat swords into ploughshaeres and study war no more" in compliance with the gospel of the nonviolent Jesus as well as the Nuremburg Principles.

As Christians we are never asked to be successful. We are asked only to be faithful and although their action has clearly jeapordised their future, their moral courage in speaking out at this dark time is a powerful inspiration to peace loving, nonviolent people everywhere.

As a fellow Catholic peace activist I am compelled to support them in their struggle for peace and social justice and their efforts to gain a fair trial with a Necessity Defence which has thus far been thwarted.

For some time I have observed with growing alarm the current U.S. administration, whose legitimacy was questionable from the start, in it's darkly chartered course where every legitimate opposition has been met with condemnation or intimidation.

It appears now that the war on Iraq was a foregone conclusion. From September 2001 to September 2002, the U.S. government moved from legitimate protection to illegitmate paranoia when it declared a new first strike policy, including nuclear first strike, against any nation it percieved as a threat. Contrary to its stated intentions in Iraq this war has only served to further destabilise an already destabilised Middle East.

As a patriotic Irish-American, with a deep love for both of my countries, I urge the Irish Government which still enjoys the highest level of moral assendancy in the eyes of the world, to grant these brave young patriotic peace activists a fair trial by permitting their Necessity Defence on moral grounds supported by the Nuremburg Principles.

And if that doesn't fly, in accordance with the power stated in me as the "acting" President of the U.S. I hereby grant full pardon and amnesty to these so called "Pit Stop Ploughshares".

A press conference by Martin Sheen and the "Pit Stop Ploughshares" followed the statement.

More information, photographs, video footage

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Press Conference Audio
First link is 20min mono MP3, 5MB, of press conference
http://www.convergence.sustainable.ie/medcen/audio/Sheen_CW_BOK230503_edit.mp3

Second link is 3min mono MP3, 600KB, just Sheen statement
http://www.convergence.sustainable.ie/medcen/audio/Sheen_CW_BOK230503_short.mp3

Hint for non-nerds: These files are NOT streamable, so save to disk before attempting to play.

Press Conference Video
File is 23min edited footage in super high quality DivX 5.0.5, size 145MB, so be prepared for a bit of a wait unless you have your own satellite, a flat-rate or a whole boring day at work - !! WARNING !! do not attempt to DL this using your granny's modem, ok!?

http://www.convergence.sustainable.ie/medcen/videos/Sheen-CW-BOK230503_edit.avi

Hint for non-nerds: This file is NOT streamable, so save to disk before attempting to play.
Codec package and player can be DL'd free here:
http://download.divx.com/divx/DivX505Bundle.exe

Martin Sheen with Father Berrigan

Martin Sheen at a "Star Wars" protest with ploughshares activist Father Daniel Berrigan

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AP Story: Sheen supports Australian activist
26may03
AMERICAN actor Martin Sheen, who plays the US president in the television program West Wing, has "pardoned" an Australian peace activist facing charges of causing over $4.5 million in damage to a US military jet.

Sheen symbolically pardoned peace activist Ciaron O'Reilly who, along with four others, has been charged with damaging the jet during a protest in Ireland in February.

The Australian is a member of the Pit Stop Ploughshares organisation, which was vehemently opposed to the US-led military campaign to oust Iraqi president Saddam Hussein.

The five protesters entered Shannon Airport near Limerick on February 3, poured human blood on the runway and then used hammers to batter the US Navy warplane, the group's website says.

O'Reilly, originally from Brisbane, faces 10 years in jail if convicted.

He spent more than a year behind bars in the US for similar actions in "disarming" a B-52 bomber on the eve of the 1991 Gulf War, the group's website says.

On Friday, Sheen met O'Reilly and his fellow protesters in Ireland.

Sheen's own opposition to the war was prominent in the US, where the West Wing is widely perceived as a reflection of daily life in the White House.

O'Reilly is scheduled to appear in the Kilrush Circuit Court for trial on June 24.

A statement attributed to Sheen published on the Pit Stop Ploughshares website says: "The action of these brave and committed young people at Shannon sprang from the command of the prophet Isaiah to "beat swords into ploughshares and study war no more" in compliance with the gospel of the non-violent Jesus as well as the Nuremburg principles.

"As a fellow Catholic peace activist I am compelled to support them in their struggle for peace and social justice and their efforts to gain a fair trial with a `necessity defence' which has thus far been thwarted," Sheen said.

"And if that doesn't fly, in accordance with the power stated in me as the "acting" President of the US I hereby grant full pardon and amnesty to these so-called "Pit Stop Ploughshares".

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The Irish Times

May 24, 2003

SECTION: CITY EDITION; HOME NEWS; Pg. 5

Sheen gives 'president's pardon' to activists
By JOE HUMPHREYS and CIAN MCCORMACK

The West Wing actor, Martin Sheen, has issued a "presidential pardon" to five Catholic Worker peace activists facing charges of criminal damage to a US military aircraft in Shannon.

Sheen, who is holidaying with family in north Tipperary, held a mock ceremony with the five in the Yanks Bar in Borrisokane last night, declaring his support "as a fellow Catholic peace activist". He also expressed his "growing alarm" at the US administration "whose legitimacy was questionable from the start".

He noted that in the year after the September 11th attacks the US moved to a "paranoid" position by declaring "a new first-strike policy, including nuclear first strikes, against any nation it perceives as a threat".

He added: "Contrary to its stated intentions in Iraq, this war has only served to further destabilise an already destabilised Middle East."

A close friend of Father Daniel Berrigan, a founder of the Catholic Worker Movement, Sheen - best known for his TV role as President Jed Bartlett - famously remarked: "Mother Teresa drove me back to Catholicism, but Daniel Berrigan keeps me there."

A former participant in direct-action peace protests in the US, he declared in the mock ceremony that "as the acting president of the United States, I hereby grant full pardon . . . to these so-called Pitstop Ploughshares activists".

The five - Ms Karen Fallon, Mr Ciaran O'Reilly, Mr Damien Moran, Ms Nuin Dunlop and Ms Deirdre Clancy - are to appear before Kilrush Circuit Court for a pre- trial hearing on June 24th.

Sheen visited the villages of Terryglass and Kilbarron to commemorate the 100th birthday of his late mother, Mary Ann "Babe" Phelan, with a special family Mass on Thursday evening.

Irish Independent

May 24, 2003

WAR PROTESTERS PARDONED BY SHEEN

HOLLYWOOD star Martin Sheen, has given protesters charged with criminal damage to a US warplane at Shannon, his own special "dispensation".

Sheen, who plays US Josiah Bartlet in the television series 'The West Wing', said he was prepared as "acting" president of the US to grant them "a full pardon". The Irish-American actor said what the five had done in Shannon was "brave and committed" and showed "moral courage".

He added: "Although their action jeopardises their future, their moral courage in speaking out in this dark time is a powerful source of inspiration to peace loving non-violent people everywhere," he said yesterday in Borrisokane, Co Tipperary. "As a fellow Catholic peace activist I am compelled to support them and their struggle for peace and social justice and their efforts to gain a fair trial.

"I urge the Irish Government, which still enjoys the highest level of moral ascendancy in the world, to grant these brave young Irish and American peace activists a fair trial by permitting their legitimate defence on moral grounds supported by the Nuremberg principles. If that does not work in accordance with the power invested in me as the acting president of the United States I am prepared to grant them full pardon."

Sheen, who holds an Irish passport, met the accused - Karen Fallon, Deirdre Clancy, Ciaron O'Reilly, Damine O'Moran and Nuin Dunlop of the Pit Stop Ploughshares Groupand the Catholic Worker movement - at 'The Yanks Bar' in Borrisokane.

The Emmy Award winning actor, and star of the Francis Ford Coppola anti-war classic 'Apocalypse Now', expressed anger at American foreign policy in the Middle East. "The military has become our foreign policy and it is devastating. There is great concern aboutit in the States. Unfortunately, this man (Bush) is more popular now than any other president."

Cian McCormack

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