Irish Air Corps Planes sent to evacuate citizens

Steyr

http://www.independent.ie/breaking-news/national-news/planes-sent-to-evacuate-citizens-2551656.html


Tuesday February 22 2011

Two Government planes are due to be deployed to airlift Irish citizens stranded in Libya.

The military aircraft will fly to Malta, where they will remain on stand-by ahead of a possible evacuation on Wednesday.

About 40 Irish nationals in Libya are seeking to leave the troubled north African state as violent protests over Muammar Gaddafi's 42-year autocratic rule escalate.

Taoiseach and Foreign Affairs Minister Brian Cowen approved the immediate deployment of the two Air Corps planes to Malta following talks with Defence Minister Eamon O'Cuiv.

A Government spokesman said: "The decision follows increasing concern in relation to their safety arising from the latest assessment of the deteriorating political situation in that country."

Foreign Affairs officials have been liaising with European Union counterparts to establish options to assist citizens and help them leave the country safely.

The group includes at least six Irish workers in Libya's second city Benghazi with Dublin-based firm Mercury Engineering. Four other women who hold Irish passports are long-term residents in the city and married to Libyan men, but it is unlikely they will attempt to leave.

More than 200 people have been killed in the past two nights of clashes on the streets of Libya, with Colonel Gaddafi vowing to fight "to my last drop of blood".

The Department of Foreign Affairs has advised against all travel to Libya and warned Irish citizens who are already in the country to leave.

Anyone who has any concerns over family or friends in Libya can contact its Crisis Centre on 01 4180222.

David086

Pictures from twitter:

http://yfrog.com/gzyobbzj

http://yfrog.com/h7kb1hfj

logie101

David086 wrote: »

Pictures from twitter:

http://yfrog.com/gzyobbzj

http://yfrog.com/h7kb1hfj

Would 40 people fit on the Casa and Learjet? Or would the have to make more than one trip?
Why didn't they send the Gulfstream?

radar0976

logie101 wrote: »

Would 40 people fit on the Casa and Learjet? Or would the have to make more than one trip?
Why didn't they send the Gulfstream?

Do they still have the Gulfstream ?

Tabnabs

The right tool for the right job you might say

http://www.military.ie/aircorps/fleet/casa/index.htm

Plowman

This post has been deleted.

who the fug

Plowman wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

Surprised that it is only 40, bet there are lot more than that

Tabnabs

Aid workers? Libya is a very oil rich country. An OPEC member, Libya has estimated reserves of 42 billion barrels — the third largest in Africa — and pumps an estimated 1.8 million barrels per day.

Tabnabs

All in a days work

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQVYTFopW8M

Andrew42

How will they decide who travels "First Class" in the Lear and who travels "Steerage" in the CASA?
Very simple now that I think of it!

"Would all white collar workers please make your way to the white aircraft
and would all blue collar workers please proceed to the blue aircraft"
"Thank you for flying with IAC (not that you'd much choice haha)"

David086

Departure video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQVYTFopW8M&feature=youtu.be

BrianD

As I said in the Military forum. Most people who work in middle eastern countries do so tax free.

Will the state be sending a bill to each individual? Seems only fair or that they should have insurance to cover it.

Absurdum

BrianD wrote: »

As I said in the Military forum. Most people who work in middle eastern countries do so tax free.

Will the state be sending a bill to each individual? Seems only fair or that they should have insurance to cover it.

No. They are Irish citizens and we are obliged to evacuate them if required.

The G IV is on standby to fly out there too.

Barname

2 days before an election .....

more inefficient waste by a bumbling government

those ac cannot carry the numbers concerned

better had the government leased or chartered instead.

(and yes, costs should be borne by the user)

Absurdum

Barname wrote: »

those ac cannot carry the numbers concerned

Yes, they can.

SNAKEDOC

i'm sure the casa has been configured to hold the max load. and the lear jet is there to be a few extra if needed. i can't imagine all forty mad to get out though as someone said there is a few married and stuff so not all might want to go. Have the crew flown out alone or have the brought any troops with them like rangers or anything. can you imagine been stuck on the ground in Libya and the protesters storm the airport or worse the airport is shut by the army and mad gadaffi. I know they will be very cautious about moving to Libya and landing but in a volatile situation like that you never know.

David086

SNAKEDOC wrote: »

i'm sure the casa has been configured to hold the max load. and the lear jet is there to be a few extra if needed. i can't imagine all forty mad to get out though as someone said there is a few married and stuff so not all might want to go. Have the crew flown out alone or have the brought any troops with them like rangers or anything. can you imagine been stuck on the ground in Libya and the protesters storm the airport or worse the airport is shut by the army and mad gadaffi. I know they will be very cautious about moving to Libya and landing but in a volatile situation like that you never know.

They were landing in Malta which is pretty safe.

SNAKEDOC

i know that hence why i said that they will be cautious before going any further and landing in Libya. they forwarded to malta to be closer so when they have a window to move they can rather than having to fly all the way from here to libya. they can act a lot faster now they are in malta ready to go. and they can if required to just bundle people into the casa get them to malta and they are out of harms way.

Andrew42

David086 wrote: »

They were landing in Malta which is pretty safe.

It's only pretty safe?

I'm sure the Baldonnell boys are furious about being stuck on a sunny Mediterranean Isle in February "waiting for a window" instead of back here square bashing:rolleyes:

BrianD

Absurdum wrote: »

No. They are Irish citizens and we are obliged to evacuate them if required.

The G IV is on standby to fly out there too.

It's absurd that they should not pay upon their return - at least the price of a commercial flight back to Ireland.

Remember that these people are probably paying no tax to the Irish state and they have
- chosen to work in a state run by a despot
- the same despot blew up commercial airlines and sponsored terrorism worldwide
- the same despot supplied arms to the IRA which were used to murder Irish people.

Get them out and then charge them when they are home.

In any case, sending out the Air Corps is a waste of time. They should be using a commercially hired jet or throwing in our hand with the Brits and buying a few seats on the 757 they are sending out.

Steyr

If you look on the video you will note that the CASA was stripped of everything and has Airliner seats installed up the front.

Skuxx

BrianD wrote: »

It's absurd that they should not pay upon their return - at least the price of a commercial flight back to Ireland.

Remember that these people are probably paying no tax to the Irish state and they have
- chosen to work in a state run by a despot
- the same despot blew up commercial airlines and sponsored terrorism worldwide
- the same despot supplied arms to the IRA which were used to murder Irish people.

Get them out and then charge them when they are home.

In any case, sending out the Air Corps is a waste of time. They should be using a commercially hired jet or throwing in our hand with the Brits and buying a few seats on the 757 they are sending out.

Maybe your right, they aren't paying taxes to the Irish State while working out there but they are Irish citizens and the state has a duty to protect them. Its the same reasons we have ambassadors based in countries around the world, they are there to help irish citizens abroad.
I'm sure your attitude would be different if you were stuck in Lybia!!

EchoIndia

I don't think the State's obligations extend to some sort of obligation to assist Irish people in difficulty abroad. However in this case, with a potential breakdown of normality in Libya, the Government has decided, as have several other countries, that it would be appropriate from a humanitarian point of view to help evacuate Irish citizens from the country. As only limited ordinary Government business or ministerial travel would be taking place during the election campaign, the MATS fleet is not too busy at the moment anyway, I suspect.

Ozwald

Maybe our potential new Louth (:eek:) TD, good 'ol Gerry could get on the phone to his longtime mate, Muamar and arrange some kind of 'facilitation' (rhymes with 'situation' :rolleyes:) for our folks out there.

Considering the business they've done in the past and possibly in the future, I reckon Mumu (only to his friends) would only be too happy to oblige.

David086

Defence Forces Twitter:

An Air Corps CASA aircraft has successfully landed at Tripoli International Airport #Libya at 4.50pm this evening. More info when we have it.

Manic Moran

I wonder who's running Air Traffic Control there right now?

I also wonder if the crew were issued battle rattle, to include sidearms.

NTM

DOCARCH

David086 wrote: »

An Air Corps CASA aircraft has successfully landed at Tripoli International Airport #Libya at 4.50pm this evening. More info when we have it.

Report on the 9pm news on RTE that aircraft has left Tripoli but there may be no pax on board?

muppet01

Manic Moran wrote: »

I wonder who's running Air Traffic Control there right now?

I also wonder if the crew were issued battle rattle, to include sidearms.

NTM

What is the purpose of the learjet? Is it for the spare crew?, seems a strange use of aircraft.Would it not be a better use of resources to have a small squad of rangers on the CASA for close protection of the aircraft and citizens in a potentially hostile landing zone??I dont mean this in a "entebbe" way, but in terms of a team of specialists able to secure aircraft and those embarking on it

Manic Moran

That's why I hypothesised the sidearms.

If there's a rush for the aircraft, the crew need to be able to sort it out or they'll be stuck there, though I would certainly have thought just four or five soldiers sitting on the floor would do handily.

NTM

Steyr

http://www.rte.ie/news/2011/0223/libya.html

Libya: Efforts to evacuate foreign citizens
Updated: 23:03, Wednesday, 23 February 2011

The Department of Foreign Affairs has said an Air Corps flight from Tripoli has touched down at Valetta in Malta, however it is understood it returned with no passengers on board.

The Department of Foreign Affairs has said an Aer Corps flight from Tripoli has touched down at Valetta in Malta.

It is understood the plane had clearance to land at Tripoli but left the airport without any passengers on board.

The Department says it was not possible to communicate with the flight when it was on the ground in Tripoli and it is awaiting a debriefing from the crew.


The aircraft is one of two Air Corps planes which had been sent in an attempt to bring home Irish citizens from Libya as protests against Muammar Gaddafi intensify.

The operation is one of many being taken by Governments around the world concerned for the safety of their citizens in Libya.

Nine Air Corps personnel left Casement Aerodrome in Baldonnel overnight in two aircraft.

The Defence Forces are liaising with the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) regarding the operation.

The DFA has said there are no reports of any Irish deaths in Libya.

A Learjet 45 and a Casa patrol plane were on stand by in Malta since last night for a possible evacuation of about 40 Irish people from Libya.

Meanwhile, European Union governments have agreed to prepare possible sanctions on Libya in response to Muammar Gaddafi's violent crackdown on anti-government protests.

Experts will now draw up a list of proposed measures, which could include visa bans, asset freezes, an arms embargo and other restrictions, before EU governments agree when to impose them.


Popular protests in Libya's neighbours Egypt and Tunisia have toppled entrenched leaders, but Gaddafi said he would not be forced out by the rebellion.

'This is my country, my country,' he said in a speech on national television yesterday. 'I will fight to the last drop of my blood.'

Mr Gaddafi said he would 'die a martyr in the land of my ancestors' and urged his followers to demonstrate their support.

'Capture the rats,' he said of anti-regime demonstrators. 'Go out of your homes and storm them.'

In New York, the UN Security Council has condemned the use of violence and called for those responsible for attacks on civilians to be held to account.

Amid reports of further defections from the Gaddafi government, several hundred people held a pro-Gaddafi rally in Tripoli's central Green Square last night.

A government spokesman accused international media of exaggerating the gravity of the situation in the country.

But swathes of Libya are no longer under government control.

In Sabratah, 80 km west of the capital, the Libyan army has deployed a 'large number' of soldiers after protestors destroyed almost all the security services offices.

Rebel soldiers in eastern Libya say the city of Tobruk is no longer under Gaddafi's control.

Tobruk residents said the city had been in the hands of the people for three days. They said the smoke rising above the city was from a munitions depot bombed by troops loyal to one of Gaddafi's sons.

Human Rights Watch says 62 people have died in clashes in Tripoli in the past two days, on top of its previous toll of 233 dead.

Opposition groups put the figure far much higher.

muppet01

Since the country is descending into anarchy who is in control of the airport?
Most countries are using Malta as a staging area but are "waiting for clearence" .If the country has gone tits up who runs the airport/. From what i have seen and read in the media the Libyan AF have no interest in securing the skies.

SNAKEDOC

that is very odd that the aer corp jet landed in tripoli but left without any passengers. i doubt they left malta without expecting to land and have passengers out. something obviously went wrong. i wonder will there be a second attempt or will the casa and learjet return from malta. It must be frustrating for the crews and the irish left stranded.

Steyr

SNAKEDOC wrote: »

that is very odd that an air corp CASA landed in tripoli but left without any passengers.

Fixed for you

SNAKEDOC

pardon me i just said jet as i had seen the report stating that the learjet had returned from tripoli without passengers may i be excused for not calling the editor of the Irish times and examining the details more carefully. Afterall it is a machine with wheels wings and engines and a great big tube that the peoples sit in to go for a spin. those magnificent men and their flying machines. Your right i'm sure someone might have mistook mY statement to mean that we sent a convoy of nissan patrols cross country to pick them up or maybe the pheonix and all forty passengers were strapped to the wings with plexi glass to look through or maybe a flying elephant called dumbo or better yet seening as it was a jet maybe an f14 with plenty of pylon space for passengers. Feel free to pick holes in everything anybody says because you always know best and everybody needs to know how you know so much.

Dear crew commander of the casa flying to libya

is there space for one more for a friend of mine

yours sincerely,

SNAKEDOC:pac

thank you for straightening my post i will sleep better knowing you are forever trying to impress people on boards.

Good night and on a serious note spare a thought for the fellow countrymen or women who may be genuinely stranded in a foreign and hostile country trying to find a way home. Isn't it nice to see that at least wee have a government and an Aer Corp that is willing to go out there and get them. and not drop bombs on them.

ArseBurger

Plowman wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

Ericsson professional services more than likely.

Steyr

SNAKEDOC wrote: »

thank you for straightening my post i will sleep better knowing you are forever trying to impress people on boards.

Good night and on a serious note spare a thought for the fellow countrymen or women who may be genuinely stranded in a foreign and hostile country trying to find a way home. Isn't it nice to see that at least wee have a government and an Aer Corp that is willing to go out there and get them. and not drop bombs on them.

Bit of a rant there..........Of course I care about the Irish over seas but no harm in being corrected, for I have been corrected too SHOCKER :cool:.......it is Air Corps or Aer Chór na hÉireann, you are not the first to be corrected by me or anybody else as to the correct title of the Irish Air Corps in fact this is a common subject that has been corrected on other Boards and Forums, I doubt you will be the last to ever be corrected here and the same goes for me and I am sure you will correct people on here too, we dont have any bombs to drop anyway :pac: I live to impress on Boards..:eek:

Steyr

SNAKEDOC wrote: »

pardon me i just said jet as i had seen the report stating that the learjet had returned from tripoli without passengers may i be excused for not calling the editor of the Irish times and examining the details more carefully.

Have you a link to the above as I can not find one but what I can find from the paper mentioned is:

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2011/0223/breaking19.html

One of the two Air Corps aircraft which were on standby in Malta today has landed at Tripoli International Airport this evening.

The aircraft landed at 4.50pm Irish time, and Department of Foreign Affairs officials are currently co-ordinating the evacuation of up to 70 Irish citizens seeking to leave Libya........The two Air Corps aircraft, a Casa plane and a LearJet with nine crew members, flew into Malta last night.

The Casa aircraft, routinely used for fisheries patrols, can carry 21 people and the LearJet can hold eight. “The LearJet was dispatched with a spare crew for the Casa if a window of opportunity arises,” a Defence Forces spokesman said.

_____________

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/frontpage/2011/0224/1224290735560.html

AN AIR Corps aircraft that arrived at Tripoli airport late yesterday afternoon to evacuate Irish citizens left last night for Malta with no passengers on board. It is understood there were difficulties at Tripoli airport which resulted in the aircraft returning to Malta.

The Irish plane, a Casa aircraft which can accommodate 21 passengers, landed at 5pm.

mle1324

If there's 40 people and only 29 places how does that work ?

dowlingm

Instead of sending a CASA and the Lear the government could have chartered in or gone in with another country for a larger aircraft which might have brought people closer than Valetta. But during election season I guess it looks well to justify the Lear (no offence to Air Corps, only their pol masters)

Canada chartered a 220 seat aircraft from Skylink, Tripoli-Rome, 1 piece of luggage, sign an agreement to pay Govt of Canada $500. 213 signed up. After the Lebanon-Israel war cost Canada a fortune to extract residents they started tightening up on pre-existing but rarely enforced rules to allow the government to demand repayment (post-extraction) from evacuees - same happened with Cairo, where on top of everything else passengers had to contribute to a bribe of $2,000 in "fees" to let the plane depart.

SNAKEDOC

Steyr wrote: »

Have you a link to the above as I can not find one but what I can find from the paper mentioned is:

I heard that it was the learjet on tv. i am not sure who the statement came from or even the channel but it was an Irish station so i figured they had their facts straight. i think it was Vincent brown so there you go another reason not to watch him. Anyway is it such a big deal which of the planes were sent out to Libya its done now.

Tenger

dowlingm wrote: »

Instead of sending a CASA and the Lear the government could have chartered in or gone in with another country for a larger aircraft which might have brought people closer than Valetta. But during election season I guess it looks well to justify the Lear (no offence to Air Corps, only their pol masters)

I think the IAC option is more cost effective.

Hiring a commercial aircraft to be on standby in Malta may well cost quite a lot. There is also the question of whether or not a commercial airline would allow their aircraft to head to Tripoli. The IAC staff are already on the payroll so fuel used, landing charges, overnight accommodation, food, any required maintenance while there are the extra costs.

Canada obviously needed that 220 aircraft. As noted above we only need 40 seats max. So 2 trips with the CASA should be enough, maybe just a single trip by both aircraft if not all of the 40 want to leave. Teaming up with another nation (UK) may not be optimal as their aims may differ from ours and they may prioritise their citizens over ours.

In regards to protection I would hope that they have maybe 4 members of the Ranger Wing onboard. Purely as a precaution. If so I don't think the media would be allowed to know/report this.

Andrew42

It stated on the news this morning that Libyan authorities would not allow anyone board the Casa, also said there are 70+ Irish at the airport in Tripoli.
It would seem the Lear carried diplomatic staff out who could act as a kind of "field embassy" at Tripoli Airport.

FiSe

On my way to 'a big shmoke' yesterday I was listening to the East Coast Radio and there was an Irish bloke, who works as a teacher in Libya, interviewed. He was describing how they got out of there, he's in Turkey now.
He basically said that when they contacted consular in Rome they've been told to feck right off and 'use their common sense' if they want to get out as the Irish government will not spent any money on any rescue attempt.

My apology if I got it wrong, but was listening to it while driving, so something could escape me.

The Irish Air Corps are doing their job and I doubt that any aircraft could be leased within such a short period of time and that any company would lease the a/c when informed about the real purpose of the mission.
The cost of this operation is virtually nothing in comparsion to some of the other 'public' projects like LUAS, Dublin Port Tunnel, N11 and many others...

BTW, can't believe some comments on here, must be dreaming or something.

ZedsDead

i'm sure some of the scrooges on here would strongly disagree but shouldn't we also be trying to help any Brits who havent managed to get out? I've heard of at least 1 Irish woman lecturing out there that got on a UK govt flight to Gatwick.

BrianD

ArseBurger wrote: »

Ericsson professional services more than likely.

So what do they do there? Mobile phone infrastructure?

Joe 90

BrianD wrote: »

It's absurd that they should not pay upon their return - at least the price of a commercial flight back to Ireland.

Remember that these people are probably paying no tax to the Irish state and they have
- chosen to work in a state run by a despot
- the same despot blew up commercial airlines and sponsored terrorism worldwide
- the same despot supplied arms to the IRA which were used to murder Irish people.

Get them out and then charge them when they are home.

In any case, sending out the Air Corps is a waste of time. They should be using a commercially hired jet or throwing in our hand with the Brits and buying a few seats on the 757 they are sending out.

They might not pay any income tax to the Irish state but they are bringing back money to the Irish state.

BrianD

Joe 90 wrote: »

They might not pay any income tax to the Irish state but they are bringing back money to the Irish state.

The way companies operate these days, I'd be somewhat if it ever comes back to these shores.

And they are supporting a regime that terrorises it's own citizens and has aided the murder of Irish citizens through supplies of weapons and training to the IRA.

I am also concerned that another poster has mentioned that some Irish citizens have been working for Eiricsson professional services whose business is to supply professional services to telecoms operators. One can only presume that this is to the Libyan operator. We are all aware of how the Libyan regime has been monitoring calls, restricting or removing service to Libyan citizens. This is direct assistance to the regime in the persecution of it's citizens.

Not only do we need to whack a big bill onto these people for evacuating them at taxpayers expense but we also need to know what level of complicity they have in the deaths in Libya.

jmayo

Ozwald wrote: »

Maybe our potential new Louth (:eek:) TD, good 'ol Gerry could get on the phone to his longtime mate, Muamar and arrange some kind of 'facilitation' (rhymes with 'situation' :rolleyes:) for our folks out there.

Considering the business they've done in the past and possibly in the future, I reckon Mumu (only to his friends) would only be too happy to oblige.

Maybe ferris is heading over on a trawler ?

Steyr wrote: »

http://www.rte.ie/news/2011/0223/libya.html

Libya: Efforts to evacuate foreign citizens
Updated: 23:03, Wednesday, 23 February 2011

The Department of Foreign Affairs has said an Air Corps flight from Tripoli has touched down at Valetta in Malta, however it is understood it returned with no passengers on board.

The Department of Foreign Affairs has said an Aer Corps flight from Tripoli has touched down at Valetta in Malta.

It is understood the plane had clearance to land at Tripoli but left the airport without any passengers on board.

The Department says it was not possible to communicate with the flight when it was on the ground in Tripoli and it is awaiting a debriefing from the crew.

The aircraft is one of two Air Corps planes which had been sent in an attempt to bring home Irish citizens from Libya as protests against Muammar Gaddafi intensify.

The operation is one of many being taken by Governments around the world concerned for the safety of their citizens in Libya.

Nine Air Corps personnel left Casement Aerodrome in Baldonnel overnight in two aircraft.

The Defence Forces are liaising with the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) regarding the operation.

The DFA has said there are no reports of any Irish deaths in Libya.

A Learjet 45 and a Casa patrol plane were on stand by in Malta since last night for a possible evacuation of about 40 Irish people from Libya.

Can someone clarify what happened as just heard from colleague that some lady on Liveline complaining they drove around airport looking for Irish aircraft and had to be evacuated with Brits ?

Did Irish aircraft, whatever make it or they were, actually make it to Tripoli airport and how long did they wait ?

Steyr wrote: »

...
Rebel soldiers in eastern Libya say the city of Tobruk is no longer under Gaddafi's control.

Tobruk residents said the city had been in the hands of the people for three days. They said the smoke rising above the city was from a munitions depot bombed by troops loyal to one of Gaddafi's sons.
...

Tobruk always falls in the end.
Now expect a bit of a siege.

muppet01 wrote: »

Since the country is descending into anarchy who is in control of the airport?
Most countries are using Malta as a staging area but are "waiting for clearence" .If the country has gone tits up who runs the airport/. From what i have seen and read in the media the Libyan AF have no interest in securing the skies.

I wonder what the landing fees in Malta are, and have they gone up ?

dowlingm wrote: »

...
Canada chartered a 220 seat aircraft from Skylink, Tripoli-Rome, 1 piece of luggage, sign an agreement to pay Govt of Canada $500. 213 signed up. After the Lebanon-Israel war cost Canada a fortune to extract residents they started tightening up on pre-existing but rarely enforced rules to allow the government to demand repayment (post-extraction) from evacuees - same happened with Cairo, where on top of everything else passengers had to contribute to a bribe of $2,000 in "fees" to let the plane depart.

Once again the Canadians show a level head and a method of saving money.

BrianD wrote: »

So what do they do there? Mobile phone infrastructure?

Have known quiet a few Ericsson employees who have got to visit wonderful places in the Middle East and Asia.
You do know that Ericsson were in the telephone business long before mobiles appeared.
We used to and probably still do have loads of their kit in our landline exchanges.

jmayo

BrianD wrote: »

The way companies operate these days, I'd be somewhat if it ever comes back to these shores.

And they are supporting a regime that terrorises it's own citizens and has aided the murder of Irish citizens through supplies of weapons and training to the IRA.

Yeah it is so awful that no one does business with them.
Oh wait a minute British and American arms manufacturers have suppplied units of the Libyan militarty with upto $200,000,000 dolars worth of equipment.
These would be companies from countries that actually attacked Libya over it's links with people like the IRA.

But of course people in Ireland should refuse to work there for their employers. :rolleyes:
Afterall employment is so plentiful in this country.

BrianD wrote: »

I am also concerned that another poster has mentioned that some Irish citizens have been working for Eiricsson professional services whose business is to supply professional services to telecoms operators. One can only presume that this is to the Libyan operator. We are all aware of how the Libyan regime has been monitoring calls, restricting or removing service to Libyan citizens. This is direct assistance to the regime in the persecution of it's citizens.

Not only do we need to whack a big bill onto these people for evacuating them at taxpayers expense but we also need to know what level of complicity they have in the deaths in Libya.

Oh FFS.
If you want to have a go at someone then complain about the British and US governments who were quiet willing to bury any hackets they had for Gadaffi and support him in return for business.
Instead you want to interrogate Irish citizens who happen to be employed for multinationals who happen to do business with Libya.

Listening to you these people must have been loading the guns for gadaffi's loyal military units. :rolleyes:

Manic Moran

Oh wait a minute British and American arms manufacturers have suppplied units of the Libyan militarty with upto $200,000,000 dolars worth of equipment.

Out of curiousity, what equipment?

I'm familiar with the British sales, but I cannot find anything on the US lifting its prohibition on sales to Libya. The most recent document I could find from the State Dept was dated October 2010, and the status was 'no sales'

NTM

muppet01

Great to see the one oclock news do a piece on the IAC in Malta and use a shot of an RAF Herc!!:D