NOBEL PEACE prize winner Archbishop Desmond Tutu has called for steps to be taken to ensure that all parties in the Corrib gas dispute “demonstrate a commitment to non-violence and the protection of human rights”. The South African archbishop said this commitment to human rights applied “particularly” to those parties “representing the State”.
Archbishop Tutu made his comments in a statement in which he called for a national and international investigation into the alleged assault on north Mayo farmer Willie Corduff during a protest at the Corrib gas landfall site in Glengad last month.
He said Mr Corduff was a small farmer whose opposition to the gas project had always been entirely peaceful and non-violent.
Mr Corduff is due to make a statement to the Garda on the alleged incident.
Shell EP Ireland has refused to respond to queries on the matter, while gardaí have said that they will investigate any complaint by an individual.
Minister for Energy Eamon Ryan reiterated his call for protesters to “remain within the law”, speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland programme yesterday.
Pobal Chill Chomáin and Pobal Le Chéile, the two community groups who had recently engaged in direct talks with Shell and the Government, said that legal actions had and were being taken, but the Government’s failure to ratify the Aarhus Convention on access to environmental information made the cost of legal action a deterrent for residents.
Ireland is the only European country that has not ratified the convention.
Mr Ryan has declined a request by Pobal Chill Chomáin to make available a copy of the legal advice provided by the Attorney General on the current works by the Corrib gas developers at Glengad. He has said the advice is covered by legal privilege and that the consents for the Glengad works are “in compliance with the law”.
An Bord Pleanála’s preliminary hearing into the application for a modified onshore pipeline has been deferred till next week at the request of Pobal Chill Chomáin, as have Corrib-related court hearings.
The community group made the request as a mark of respect to the families of Garda Terence Dever of Achill and Stephen Conway of Inver who were killed in a road collision outside Belmullet on Sunday.
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