Republican News · Thursday 26 June 2003

Arrogant MoD regard Irish Sea as dumping ground

As if the accumulated debris of over 50 years of weapons-testing were not enough, the British Ministry of Defence (MoD) has recently announced further test firing into the north Irish Sea, on this occasion from the weapons range at Eskmeals in Cumbria, reveals Bernard Moffatt, Secretary General of the Celtic League.

"It is difficult to quantify the environmental impact of such testing but suffice to say it is considerable," says Moffatt. The Celtic League has branches in the six Celtic Countries of the western British Isles and Brittany. It works to promote mutual cooperation and campaigns on a broad range of political, cultural and environmental matters. It targets human rights abuse and monitors all military activity within these areas.

Further north from Eskmeals in the Solway, reports Moffatt, depleted uranium munitions have been expended for several years. Similar activity has also occurred further west in test areas in the north Channel. A large area of the coast off the north west of the Isle of Man is polluted with air-dropped explosives munitions expended for 40 years into the sea off Jurby. Despite repeated requests for the area to be cleaned up, the British government remains obdurate.

"To the south of us in the Central Irish seas, missile ranges in north and mid Wales add their detritus to this accumulation of MoD explosives and scrap metal," says Moffatt. "It is arrogance of the most blatant kind on the part of the British government and Ministry of Defence to continue to regard the Irish sea, which is the common inheritance of the communities that surround it, as their dumping ground.

"All concerned organisations, governments and politicians should express disquiet at this continued pollution of the marine environment.

The Irish Sea is not a tip for discarded munitions debris. We hope that the Manx government will register a protest with the MoD. The Celtic League certainly will."