A month on from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, European states, including Ireland, are faced with some of the most significant challenges in decades. How should the West react? With humanitarian aid? With issuing a welcome to refugees? With weapons? With direct military interventions such as imposing a ‘no fly zone’ and therefore potentially extending the conflict beyond Ukraine’s borders?
It’s a pity that the European Union has in effect forfeited a potential diplomatic role, due to the decision of some member states to supply arms to one of the belligerents (albeit the victim of aggression), to the extent that diplomatic efforts at securing a settlement are being hosted by Turkey under Erdogan, which is not exactly a country renowned for protecting civil liberties or democratic values.
It’s also a pity that the popular uproar greeting Putin’s invasion has not been seen in the past few years in response to other conflicts, including the war in Yemen which has raged, without an end in sight, since 2014.
The pictures shown here are of a protest organized by the Irish Anti-War Movement in an effort to raise awareness of the tragedy Yemenis are still experiencing, as well as a call for Ireland’s neutrality or non-alignment to be maintained. They hope instead that the State can play a major role in leading necessary diplomatic efforts to resolve conflicts around the world, including the war in Ukraine.
There now seems to be a concerted efforts on the part of the political establishment to push to formally abandon the country’s neutral status, already strained by past and current use of Shannon Airport by NATO forces.
Therefore, this evening at 6 o’clock, another protest has been organized in front of Dáil Eireann on Kildare Street in support of a bill to include a neutrality clause in the constitution.
The Irish Anti War Movement @IrishAntiWarMvt are holding a protest at 6PM at the Dáil in solidarity with Ukraine for peaceful solutions to the war and to defend Ireland's neutrality.
Support our bill and come to the protest pic.twitter.com/rRLytLQQSh
— Richard Boyd Barrett (@RBoydBarrett) March 28, 2022