David Norris (Independent) | Oireachtas source

The word "torture" has been invoked this morning in the case of Irish prisoners and torture was used in Áras Attracta. A much worse condition was discussed in the House and attempts were made to rectify it. I am talking about so-called rendition flights. Members present will recall that I consistently raised the issue. For the first time in history, a special committee of Seanad Éireann was established to investigate it, but it was collapsed as a result of the intervention of Fianna Fáil councillors from Shannon. They were concerned about their jobs, but we now have the proof that it was torture. Diane Feinstein who compiled the report of over 6,000 pages after seven years of considered investigation said it was definitively torture in any meaning of the word, but this was denied to our ambassador. President Obama said, "One of the things that sets us apart from other countries is that when we make mistakes, we admit them." Let us hear it in the case of rendition flights and the bombing of groups of people without warning using drone aircraft, which happens every day. What happened to the rule of law, habeas corpusand the right to a defence for civilians? Americans can just choose who they want to blast off the face of the earth, but these are not the values for which I stand as a western politician. They do not represent the ordinary decent people of Europe, America and the West generally. Despite the fact that the former Polish President, Mr. Kwasniewski, has admitted to the presence of black sites in Poland, our wonderful Department of Justice and Equality has admitted that what it calls a small number of commercially leased aircraft that have been involved in legitimate commercial activity may also have been involved. We know that the Government and the Civil Service are not very good at arithmetic. Is 200 instances a small number of aeroplanes, the registration numbers of which are known? Were there continuous circuits of rendition flights whereby people were delivered to externalised torture sources?
What was the nature of this torture and what were its results? The results so far are completely meaningless. Not one fragment of useful information has been accessed by the CIA as a result of this disgraceful breach of international law. The Republicans have claimed useful information was obtained, but there is not one case among the 20 serious cases examined by Senator Feinstein. They suggested they had obtained information on the whereabouts of Osama bin Laden, but this is another lie, just like the lies told to us by the previous Government and the Department of Justice and Equality.
I invited the President, Michael D Higgins, to a meeting with the then Garda Commissioner. He told us one thing, while the Government told us another and they never reconciled. I made a complaint to the Garda Commissioner and asked for it to be investigated, but gardaí never went on board the aeroplanes, saying there was no evidence. From where do we get the evidence, except on board the aeroplanes? We have the aeroplane numbers and flight plans. Everyone knew and this country was deliberately complicit in the torture, arrest and detention of the people concerned. We know that one person died, having been chained to concrete outside in freezing temperatures. The person responsible should be held up on a charge of murder if we are to believe the American President. One man was in such pain that he chewed off part of his arm. They attempted rectal feeding and, after forced rectal feeding, the recipient of torture tried to chew off his arm.
These are the things we are confronting. Are these western values? Should we not protest? Should we not have a debate at long last?