Below is an e-mail response by Alan Shatter to an invitation to speak at the Anti-War Conference on Saturday 13 October. Alan claims that "Al-Manar TV regularly broadcasts anti-semitic material" however he has not cited one example of this.
Below is an e-mail response by Alan Shatter to an invitation to speak at the Anti-War Conference on Saturday 13 October. Alan claims that "Al-Manar TV regularly broadcasts anti-semitic material" however he has not cited one example of this.
From: Alan Shatter
To: Michale Youlton
Sent: Tuesday, October 9, 2007 3:20:01 PM
Subject: 13th October
Dear Mr Youlton
I note with some amusement your communication to me. For someone who alleges he is interested in ³informed debate² it is obvious that with regard to the various difficulties and conflicts within the Middle East both you and the self styled IAWM have adopted a mixture of ideological and prejudiced views that will never actually be affected by what you describe to be "the real facts prevailing on the ground". One of these facts happens to be that Al-Manar TV regularly broadcasts anti-semitic material and is funded by the Hizbollah organisation which defended and supported Syrian occupation of Lebanon and has been implicated in various terrorist acts including the assassination of democratically elected politicians in the Lebanon. Hizbollah is also inextricably tied into the current dictatorial fundamentalist regime in Iran and the Assad dictatorship in Syria. To elevate an employee of Al-Manar to a platform in Ireland to talk about democratic values is both farcical and indefensible.
If your organisation was truly an anti war movement it would not offer a platform to a member of an organisation that has been opposed to every attempted peace initiative to resolve the Israeli Palestinian conflict and which is committed to perpetuating conflict in the Middle East. I do not take your invitation to speak at your meeting seriously nor do I have any wish to share a platform with some of those invited to be present.
Yours sincerely
Alan Shatter TD
