It comes as no surprise to Afri or to those involved in opposing Ireland’s involvement in the iniquitous arms industry that components made in Ireland have been found in weapons used by Russia in Ukraine. (Sunday Times – Jan 15th)
This discovery implicates Irish manufacturers and Irish workers in the appalling suffering of women, children and men in Ukraine. It implicates Ireland in the destruction of homes and infrastructure and in the forced migration of tens of thousands of Ukrainian people – many of whom – thankfully –have been welcomed and made to feel at home in Ireland.
The weapons industry is immoral, wrong and out of control (the global military budget surpassing $2 trillion in 2021) and Ireland – until recent years could’ve held its head high and claimed to have minimal involvement in this evil trade. However, in recent years the Irish Government has set out, calculatedly and with malice aforethought, to establish a weapons Industry in Ireland. Unbelievably, this is being ramped up under the stewardship of the Green Party, including the hosting of the grotesquely named ‘Building the Eco System’ arms fair in October 2022.
It is hypocritical and disingenuous, to say the least to wring our hands when we see the shocking suffering of the Ukrainian people under Russian bombardment, while at the same time we contribute components to the very weapons that are causing this suffering. And the suffering is no less if bombs with Irish made components are dropped on Afghanistan, Iraq, Yemen or any other war zone in our troubled world.
We call on the Government to change course and to abandon this evil business. The last thing our war-riven world needs, as we tether on the brink of environmental catastrophe, is more lethal weapons.
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