The Workers’ Party have strongly criticised Northern Ireland First Minister Peter Robinson and his deputy Martin McGuinness for inviting US President George W Bush to visit Belfast and the party will take part in protests against the visit outside Belfast City Hall today (Monday).

Workers Party General Secretary and Northern Chairman John Lowry said that the vast majority of people in Ireland, north and south, are opposed to President Bush’s policies and regard him as a war monger.

Mr. Lowry said that  President Bush had been responsible for suffering and death on a massive scale with his hawkish policies which had seen him launch two major wars; in Iraq and Afghanistan and a degrading human rights policy which had seen appalling treatment of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay and Abu Ghraib in breach of the principles of international law on the treatment of prisoners as laid out in the Hague Convention.

“Many millions of decent Americans are also deeply ashamed of the record of the Bush administration and I believe this will manifest itself in next November’s US Presidential election”, said Mr. Lowry. 

The Workers’ Party spokesman called on Peter Robinson and Martin McGuinness to at very least raise the issues of prisoner treatment and rendition flights with Mr. Bush today but he suspected that they would not.  “Throughout Ireland people are deeply concerned at the US military use of Shannon Airport which has been deeply implicated in so-called rendition flights and the carriage of munitions for war. This is the third time Mr. Bush will have come to this island and many people are deeply opposed to his visit today”, said John Lowry.

Mr. Lowry also criticised the presence of Taoiseach Brian Cowen at today’s reception for President Bush, saying he hoped that Mr. Cowen could be as robust in standing up to Mr. Bush as the Taoiseach was on other issues. 

view a short video of today's anti-war demonstration against the visit of George Bush to Belfast - video copyright of the Belfast Telegraph:-

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/tv/article3805346.ece

Issued 16th June 2008