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SINN FÉIN HAS played down a photo of its new member, former Fianna Fáil TD Chris Andrews, with the Syrian president Bashar al-Assad which was taken and distributed on constituency leaflets four years ago.
The former Dublin South-East deputy joined Sinn Féin on Saturday after the party’s Ard Comhairle accepted his application.
It is now likely that the grandson of one of the Fianna Fáil founders, Todd Andrews, will run as a Sinn Féin candidate in next year’s local and European elections or at the next general election.
Andrews is a vocal pro-Palestinian activist who forged a working relationship with the Sinn Féin TD Aengus Ó Snodaigh on the controversial ‘freedom flotillas’ that sailed to the Gaza Strip in an attempt to break the Israeli blockade in 2008 and 2011.
The photo with al-Assad, who the US and Europe believe was behind a deadly chemical weapons attack on his own people last month, appeared on constituency leaflets distributed in Dublin South-East in 2009 and has reappeared online in recent days. The photo was taken when Andrews visited Syria that year.
Picture used with permission of John Connolly/Cranky Notions
A Sinn Féin spokesperson said in response to the picture: “It’s not a new photo and has been doing the rounds again over the last couple of days.
“The photo was taken when Chris was in Syria lobbying on behalf of the many Palestinian refugees based there.”
Al-Assad and his army have been engaged in a brutal civil war with opposition to his regime for over two years with over 100,000 people thought to have died in the conflict and two million Syrian refugees fleeing to neighbouring countries, including one million in the last six months.
Andrews has previously said that the Labour “are pro-Israeli” and that Fine Gael’s foreign affairs policy on Israel is determined by “Israel’s puppet in Ireland Alan Shatter”:
Meanwhile, Sinn Féin said it would not be commenting on remarks Andrews made on a now deleted Twitter account – @brianformerff - last year in which he was heavily critical of Sinn Féin and party president Gerry Adams over his alleged IRA past.
The 49-year-old set up the account anonymously to criticise Fianna Fáil and its leader Micheál Martin.
Andrews's identity was revealed after the husband of a senior Fianna Fáil party figure - whom Andrews was accused of bullying - used surveillance to catch him sending the tweets from a Rathmines internet cafe.
"We will not be going into the detail of any discussions we had with Chris Andrews," the Sinn Féin spokesperson added.
Fianna Fáil declined to comment. A party source said Andrews and Sinn Féin are "well matched".
Andrews did not return calls.
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We’d probably hand him right back to the yanks on day one with some shamrock.
Not before he has his pint of Guinness though.
Sure he can kip in my shed
Once he’s seen the prices he would want to back.
Can we swap him for Drumm?
We let hundreds of thousands of welfare tourists in to this country which the irish people will never benefit from and this man is actually doin some good in the world and we turn our backs on him.
US Government : “Hand him over”.
Irish Government : “Okay”.
Exactly. Sorry Mr. Snowden. Ireland only grants asylum to tax dodging billionaires not to citizens who are lookiong out for the greater good of all humanity. If you had anything to offer this country financially, our political lapdogs would have you here in a heartbeat.
He’d love mosney…
Brilliant!!
Can’t see Enda standing up to Obama that would take balls. Hope he gets Asylum somewhere safe and can live in peace.
100% agree.
Fcuk him. He’s placed the entire Western security system at risk.
Enola… you are a fcuking idiot
This security system you refer to , who does it protect ? and from whom …
They protect people from spyng on us Deasun. And obviously the only way they could possibly achieve that is by spying on us of course.
And you’re a fcuking moron Daniel. Just like the rest of the anti-US brigade.
You need to educate yourself.
Ah yeah. It was only a matter if time before “educate yourself” arrived. You need to take off those roast tinted glasses and blinkers!
It’s rose tinted glasses…
*rose tinted
I am not anti American, I am anti Any government who spies on their citizens, and on their allies.
I do not work for or answer to my government, they work for me, and they answer to me, that is how it is supposed to be.
Dig your head out of your arse and stand up for yourself.
Lol! You actually BELIEVE Enda and Co work for you :D
No actually, I don’t.
But that is going to change pretty soon. Mark my words.
Ah Gillian – keep dreaming my friend!!
*Fighting.
@ Gillian – do you seriously think that most goverments DONT spy on thier own citezens???
you can have the piece of garbage. But don’t cry in your beer when he turns on you!
Doesn’t make it right. Spying on foreign governments doesn’t sound very legal to me.
@ Robert, Just because some countries spy on their citizens doesn’t mean it should be tolerated by other countries. America has no right to spy on citizens who pose no threat, and they can’t justify themselves by saying that Russia or China or any other country does the same. All I want to hear from Obama on this is an apology and a pardon.
I seriously think that all Governments shouldn’t spy on their citizens.
ENOLA STRAIGHT – Thats nothing to do with ENOLA GAY right?
Because that makes me think you approve the actions of the B-29 bomber (enola gay) that dropped the first nuclear bomb on Japan by the US just as the 2nd world war was coming to an end anyway..
I think most people here are NOT anti-American, just very aware of their foreign policy & actions of the last few decades!
In reference to snowdon endangering the western world, the guy is brave to speak the truth!
I think your forgetting George bush invading Iraq in 2003 with nothing but proven lies as an excuse for almost half a million dead already..
Jaysus Royston you’re as sharp as a tack! That only dawn on you now?! As I said fcuk him. Regarding the A-Bombs that saved thousands upon thousands of Western lives so I don’t have. Problem with it actually.
Ha ha ha ha! Your good for a laugh anyways.
At least he applied before getting here.
That’s actually why his application has been automatically rejected – only people in Ireland are eligible to apply for asylum here. So it’s not really the refugees’ fault that they arrive here without asylum status, it is the fault of our application system.
4th sentence..”wilileaks”..brilliant
Better get that looked at !
Hope he changed his underpants after that ;)
I want to hear our official answer to this request. I want to know where this government stand on this situation.
Does Kenny and Co think its cool to let the mighty America gather all our private data behind our backs and just ignore it without comment? Do they think its cool to have EU offices bugged? Well I don’t, I think it’s disgusting. Bet you it will just be another nail in the coffin for this loser we have as Taoiseach. Hasn’t made a tough decision decisively since he slipped into power.
One for the road, ENDA… You’re a loser.
Sure his grandparents were from Kilkenny…
If he was any good at soccer we’d have him no bother :)
Ah ya never know, he could be better than the current lot we have playing for us!
A genuine application for asylum, we should but our government won’t. we are not the 51st state and so should not bow to America, sure he’d probably get a job with twitter here!
His feet would barely touch Irish soil before he’d be handed over. Ireland would come under enormous US and EU pressure, the government would buckle like a coke can within hours.
Not the first time we’ve been asked for asylum, I think Trotsky applied to Ireland after Stalin went for him.
In the 1970s they used to hand back (genuine) asylum seekers at Shannon on a fairly regular basis to the Russians (from flights between Moscow and Cuba) Funny there was never a peace camp there then!!!!
Remember when scientists, analysts, researchers and technicians used to defect from the USSR? It was understood as a sign that there was something rotten at the core of that system. Well; this is just the same thing.
They defected in droves. This guy was working in a sensitive area. What the fcuk does he expect? Seriously??
They defected in droves because they had somewhere to defect to. Much more difficult for these whistle blowers. I’m sure if he wasn’t working in a “sensitive” (a nice way of putting it, to say the least) area he’d have nothing to say.
They defected in drives because life behind the Iron curtain was a horror story. At least get your facts straight.
*droves
Just reading through the comments it shows what a sad state of affairs we’re in when none of us trust our government to be able to look his case and stand up for whats right. The US has been caught spying on all of Europe, Japan, South Korea, China , Japan, Russia ,South Africa and they are trying to play the victim. I don’t think so.
The US didn’t have time to set him up with a honey trap or a car crash but he is believed to be carrying weapons of mass destruction in his hand luggage.
He can move in with me and fix my laptop..I bet he’s lethal at candy crush saga.
There’s one application that went straight on the bin. Sure it would mean poor ole Enda having to grow a pair and tell the Yanks to mosey on when they came banging on the door looking for him.
Poor guy….I wonder does he now wish he had kept his head down at his keyboard and said nothing? His life is totally screwed.
exposing a sinister act from his countries government on its people, I say he’d do it again in a heartbeat.
Maybe Kevin….but at a huge personal cost. Unfortunately no one will remember his name a few years from now and the media will certainly have lost interest in his plight.
And its that kind of thinking that keeps us in quiet in our houses instead of taking to the streets
I disagree Sean. Just like Bradley Manning, this gentleman will be remember for years to come.
@ Sean – I for one won’t be forgetting his name any time soon and I’ll do what I can to ensure others don’t either.
“poor Guy” my arse
the dude is a living Legend ,he has done nothing wrong , all he done was reporting on something that is totally illegal.
Bradley who?
Disclosing classified information to the public is illegal. Prism – which I am completely opposed to, by the way – is not illegal in the US and is authorised by Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. It’s unconstitutional but it’s not illegal.
I’ll obviously be red-thumbed for this comment but it’s important that people aren’t entitled to their own ‘facts’ on what is or isn’t illegal in this case.
“It’s unconstitutional but it’s not illegal” – if something is unconstitutional it is by definition illegal. It really doesn’t matter what laws or legislation are passed by the legislature, and even if the Supreme Court has previously ruled such laws safe, if it runs counter to the constitution it is illegal. Maybe he should have petitioned the Supreme Court with his concerns, but then he probably didn’t have the few hundred grand required to do so and at the end of the day, the courts are only really there to protect the concerns of the rich, right?
Very true, the American media have lost interest in what he exposed in favour of following the witch hunt that’s going on for the “traitor” that’s handing all their secrets over to the Russians and Chinese.
The act itself was not intended to override the Fourth Amendment but the NSA is pushing it to its absolute limits. The Amendment guarantees against unreasonable search and seizure and the NSA has operated under the required supervision of the FISA court. As such, their behavior is legal but they have disengenuously used recent amendments to further their own ends.
For example, in 2008 amendment 702 to the statute allowed the government to use electronic surveillance to collect foreign intelligence on non-US people it reasonably believes are abroad, without a court order for each target. Section 215 of the Patriot Act means that the government no longer has to prove telephony metadata scouring is in service of a target that is a foreign power, just that the records are sought as part of an investigation to protect against terrorism. Combine the two and hey presto, you’re legally spying on whoever you like.
Well then it’s not unconstitutional. My point was just that something cannot be, as you put it, “unconstitutional but… not illegal”. If amendments and articles are being pushed to their limit then they are not being violated. If any citizen feels that they have been pushed too far and have become unconstitutional they can petition the Supreme Court for review. However, as I mentioned, this is not a cheap process and is therefore, in practice, a supposedly universal right reserved for the rich.
Its not too bad living in an airport. I saw this film once where Tom Hanks has to live in an airport and it was both funny and heart warming so it can’t be all bad!
I saw this film called Superman and he was weally weally strong and he could fly and everything….that’d be nice too.
What is going to happen to this poor guy? Imagine he was your brother or son, how heart breaking. I feel so bad for him. Why can he not stay in Russia? Surely they don’t give a damn about American “requests”.
I hope the ignorant Irish now understand that people who claim asylum don’t ONLY emerge from the african continent.
They seem to be the only ones who look for asylum at Dublin airport though.
NWA think you have a cheek calling the ordinary Irish people ignorant…if you don’t like it here well get back to wherever you’ve come from
Lillian, you just proved his point.
No she didn’t. A typically stupid post about the scam that is “asylum”.
Turns out , you are one of the ignorant Irish i referred to. How can you tell that i’m not a native?’ …. and by the way, there’s around 50,000 ‘illegal ‘( not Asylum seekers) Irish immigrants living in the USA – god knows how many in Australia. Almost a thousand leaving the country for greener pastures every week.
Scam? Its a universal human right under the Geneva convention which we are signitories to! You don’t get to choose which rights apply to who.
Also, two thirds of last years claims were found to be genuine.
Gearoid. Of course they were! Lol!
Why’s that funny? Look around the world, there’s many millions of people in really horrible situations who deserve our sympathy and, if they can get here, asylum and our help. I just wish we’d a better system where we processed claims quickly and got genuine asylum seekers being productive as soon as possible and quickly deported the rest with a minimum of expense and fuss.
It is ignorant to refer to any group in such a generalising way.
I am Irish and I take offence to your ignorant comment.
Yeah Gearoid. Let’s just open the floodgates. As if things aren’t bad enough already. What planet are you on??
And I at yours Gillian :)
Floodgates?! What planet are YOU on?! 1,200 applicants last year, lowest in ten years. Two thirds genuine. Genuine, most likely meaning they’ve come from circumstances so horrific or threat so serious that they’ve been granted asylum. Escaping things you can’t possibly equate to the “hardship” facing this country. Floodgates, that term makes me laugh. At the current rate we get the same amount of asylum seekers a year as we have Irish people emmigrating every two weeks!
Ha ha! Even better from your perspective I suppose. Dump out some Irish and replace them with “asylum seekers”.
Tell me Gearoid – where’s the number we can ring to verify whether or not they are rapists, paedophiles, or criminals. Well??
Your first statement doesn’t even make sense.
As for your very loaded question, I’d guess those questions, amongst others, are asked by the Office of the Refugee Applications Commissioner and pressumably the people that are employed do deal with these applications have been doing this long enough to know how best to assess how genuine the case is. As much as is possible anyway.
Ah right. “Are you a paedophile” “No” “That’s grand then”.
Yeah sure, that’s it. The floodgates are open for the influx of paedophiles from across the globe. You figured it out, its not homosexuals from extremist Muslim countries, its not rape victims from Congo or political exiles or any of the other usual people that flee their homelands. Its an international pedo ring after Irish kids.
I’m starting to suspect you’re just taking the piss because that is some of the most arseways logic I’ve heard!
Gearoid – “arseways logic” would describe your outlook anyway. Accepting people in good faith without any proof. UK or France anyone? It’s people with your outlook that has things as they are.
Let him come here,we need him here,he could let the Irish People know what the Government and Bankers are up to.i
Doesn’t really matter where he ends up if he goes back to america he will be locked up for life, if he finds a country to shelter him he will some how find himself in a most horrible sky diving accident or something along those lines. Cards are marked no matter what
I think we should let him come live here!
If he comes here they can bring him into Shannon and he can wave at the American troops on their way to slaughter anything that moves in the Middle East.. Democratically, lawfully, slaughter of course, cos that’s obviously fine… The US Gov have some brass neck!!
As the man himself said in so many words ” Its not me that Obama is afraid of, its the American people”
I have to agree with people who suggest we’d just hand him over. We would, and all for a pat on the head from the Americans. Poor guy, I hope he doesn’t spend his life behind bars. Surely he prepared for this.
Asylum? Give me a break.. This guy is cheapening the plight of genuine asylum seekers
Yea…like all the genuine ones we already have here!!
This exactly the type of person the asylum laws exist to protect, this is the very definition of political asylum, I don’t know enough about the mans intentions or motives to say he was right to do what he did but if he was motivated by a genuine political view that what his government was doing was wrong then he should qualify for asylum under our system.
Luckily for him we need to suck Yankee di*k so there won’t be any welcome in the parlour for him. I will swop if he wants. The transit lounge of Moscow airport offers more potential than the rest of my life in this ass wipe kip
Ireland would be a terrible bet. If Russia and China can be pressured we haven’t got a hope. He probably wouldn’t even hit the tarmac, we’d just redirect the flight straight to Washington.
Snowden, We’ d have ya if it were up to me, but you’re better off somewhere else. The weather here is shite.
He bears an uncanny resemblance to a young James Joyce, let him in ,he’s one of ours.
Ha ha. Have you ever read Joyce’s letters to Nora Barnacle? He loved the kinky loving.
He can live with me.
He just heard about our dole for foreigners
Doesn’t matter what anyone thinks should happen. Or why he did what he did. It’s still a crime and the punishment should stand. Everyone always gives out about “the rich and famous” getting off. Why should this guy get off? I’m sure he was aware of the risks so let him stand and take a punishment like a man. Otherwise he’s nothing more than another glorified keyboard warrior.
Is your ivory tower warm in the summer?
@John Quinn – actually it does matter, one cannot sue for breach of contract of one is already in breach and by the same standard a government cannot commit a crime and then accuse the whistle blower of committing a crime by reporting and disclosing that crime
governments don’t have Carte Blanche rights to commit crimes against its people
whistleblowers have and should continue to have protection especially if Governments are committing serious crimes
the original crime was worse than the whistle blowing
and the ad nausea statements that only those that are committing crimes should be concerned by illegal intrusions into our lives and records that the innocent have nothing to fear goes against all good governance, due process and the rule of law
exactly what crime did he commit John ?
That’s it John. Where did he think he was working? A summer camp? Gas though to see all the Che/Victor apologists chanting ‘down with that sort of thing’.
@Enola Straight – don’t confuse my use of a well used graphic image with my politics, legal principles or observance of the rule of law – the principles of which protect Snowden
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whistleblower_Protection_Act
so again I stand by the rule of law that exists – and in this case it could be easily argued that he was in breach of his employment contract but is entitled to whistleblower protection
Tommi – not aimed directly at you (only noticed your avatar now) but in all fairness what did he expect? Seriously? Spying goes in. It has done for decades. And will continue to do so.
He worked for the NSA. He knew what was expected. And what would happen if he acted the bollix. No sympathy.
Enola – to a point, ur right, but the NSA still qualifies as a GOV Agency that entities employees to report serious crimes
spying, whether on other countries or not is still unacceptable – we just turn a blind eye when it’s to our advantage
but too often we hear the USA complain that China or Russia has spied on them and how terrible and low and despicable it all is
goose gander pot kettle – call it what you like
they were caught with their hand in the Cookie jar and as always want a scale goat
all will have a exemption or get out clause except Snowden
that’s how it is I agree – but doesn’t make it right
but I accept ur principle argument albeit I don’t agree with the position
@ tommii – you right he does have protection IF he makes an offical complaint and then because of that is “persecuted” etc. –
But thats not what he did or at least whats been reported he did. He seems to have made no attempt to make a complaint via the correcet channels in america what he did was run away and pubish sensitive or secret information or the other way around i aint sure.
Whether you like it or not the NSA does not appear to have broken american law. also if the law they were using to collect information was on the statue book it could not have breached teh consitution as it would either have not been allowed to be signed in to law or would have been struck down by the courts neither of which has happened.
thanks Robert, I would disagree on the or basis that we are not just taking about US law, but even if it was just the USA, the constitution protects the liberties of its citizens from unnecessary intrusions from GOV such as this even though when scripted current information sources weren’t available
“The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized”
since no such subpoena or legal instruments are being issued all subsequent collections are illegal intrusive and in breach of the US 4th Amendment
additionally – the alien tort claims act allows a crime that was planned arranged organised or financed from US soil but actioned in another jurisdiction to be an actionable cause of retribution and is a crime when the information accessed was not permissible or the owners permission given
illegal surveillance is illegal – period
and if it’s illegal and unauthorised it’s a crime punishable by up to 15 years for embrace offence
additionally u can’t get a warrant or subpoena without lawful cause – wanting one isn’t a just reason to get one – the ppl must be shown to be committing serious crimes to even get a search warrant
We have plenty of anti-Irish Irish traitors so we can’t point finger.
He’s not exactly seen as a traitor by the US public though, just the intelligence service and Government.
Give it time and they’ll warp his image.
‘Wili-leaks’ not the best typo to make ;)
Just read the rest of the comments – and realise I look like a fool…
“Wilileaks has said”
Good job, TheJournal, good job.
No way give this guy asylum
Lets hope you never need to ask someone for help Lillian.
St Monica.
Wow! I’m no saint, but I didn’t realise being saintly is considered an insult now. Edward Snowden, I’m sure, is no saint either. But he has, for no personal gain, exposed a massive breach of trust and invasion of privacy on the part of his government. And all he is asking for is for a place to stay.
He himself is in breach of trust. That’s. double-edged sword.
Unfortunately, I can’t see it happening. The Department of Justice has said that such applications can only be made by the person within the State. It would be way too risky for him to chance his arm at asylum here in Ireland. He would be shipped off as soon as he landed. Would love for him to choose here.
Not only should the government grant his asylum here, he should be made an honorary citizen, for exposing what he has, the man is a hero.
Here is Obama’s statement on whistleblowers in his 2008 ‘Change’ election campaign:
Protect Whistleblowers: Often the best source of information about waste, fraud, and abuse in government is an existing government employee committed to public integrity and willing to speak out. Such acts of courage and patriotism, which can sometimes save lives and often save taxpayer dollars, should be encouraged rather than stifled. We need to empower federal employees as watchdogs of wrongdoing and partners in performance. Barack Obama will strengthen whistleblower laws to protect federal workers who expose waste, fraud, and abuse of authority in government. Obama will ensure that federal agencies expedite the process for reviewing whistleblower claims and whistleblowers have full access to courts and due process.
US will send Liberty statue to France back to France soon too.
I’d like to throw in my weight at this stage of the proceedings. Snowden can stay in my spare room, as long as he chips in with a few odd jobs around the gaff.
If he was allowed in I pretty sure we would get a lot more visitors from the states for one Reason or another
So the guy takes their money, commits a crime, tells everybody about it and expects to get away scott free. He is either naive or an Irish banker
I have to agree with Jfash9. Accepting Snowden’s asylum request would seriously damage our relationship with the US, which in difficult economic times like this, should be well maintained. Jobs and trade are far more important to this country right now.
Usa would have him lifted within a week
I do n’t believe that a bit- that he applied for asylum in Ireland
..you would think he would be granted asylum after all the thousands before him, however he will not be granted asylum.
We are one of the US lacky countries & Enda won’t rock the boat..
What a disgusting government we have!
It truly amazes me that we kick off when Banker’s and other’s keep secret’s and lie to us, then we hum,and end up doing sod all about it, Yet here is a young Man one of the younger Generation we all talk about and hope they are honest and care about the truth and doing the right thing, Yet low and behold where has it got him trying to do exactly that, ( we are like the tea advert…all talk )……
What’s the Government’s reaction to Snowden’s leaks?
Has the Taoiseach called in the US Ambassador first thing in the morning and demanded explanation?
Are members of the Government and the Oireachtas using devices using software by companies allegedly spying for NSA: Apple, Google or Microsoft? Is it possible they are being spied on through those devices?
Has anyone official demanded explanation from American companies located in Ireland (Google, Apple, Microsoft, others) who allegedly are spying on “non-Americans”? (hint: that’s us).
I don’t think anyone bothered to ask. We just gathered to wave to the Obamas like the village idiots while Germans protested against them.
We have to be pragmatic here. While it is easy to empathize with the man and support what he did, it is more crucial for Ireland to maintain solid relations with the U.S, particularly in the current global climate. The last thing we need is a diminished relationship with a major trade partner.
Taking the soup.
When’s the film coming out !
Let him in. We could do with a few more whistleblowers around here.
America has and is defending us and Europe so why have sympathy for a traitor.
I agree with you Tom
he’s more than welcome to move in with us.
Hmmm. I’d like the editors to tell me why they decided to remove my comment.
Oops. My bad. Apologies… Wrong article. :D
No.That wouldn’t be nice. That wouldn’t suit Paddys agenda. Making americans angry! No way! What if angry americans will start deporting all illegal irish migrants,millions of them.
have your say