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The Irish Anti-War Movement

IAWM PRESS RELEASE 070515 – LET’S HEAR THE TRUTH ABOUT SINKING OF LUSITANIA

IAWM PRESS RELEASE 07 May 2015 – unpublished letter sent to Irish Times on 04 May 2015

LET’S HEAR THE TRUTH ABOUT SINKING OF LUSITANIA

SINKING WAS USED TO PROLONG THE MECHANISED SLAUGHTER OF WW1

Sir,

the sinking of the Lusitania should definitely be remembered as one of the most horrific attacks of World War 1 but only an honest transparent investigation of the ship’s contents, the obfuscation by political leaders after its sinking and how the event was used to escalate the war will bring some closure to the memory of the huge loss of civilian life.

American author David Swanson in his book War is a Lie, claims that the Lusitania was “packed with American-made war material, including ten-and-a-half-tons of rifle cartridges, 51 tons of shrapnel shells, and a large supply of gun cotton, not to mention 67 soldiers of the 6th Winnipeg Rifles”. There has been much reasonable speculation that the ship sank quicker than it would otherwise have done because of secondary explosions caused by the lethal cargo, which was carried in defiance of American laws.

Multiple lies were told about the true nature of the cargo after the sinking. In particular the fact that there were soldiers, armaments and ammunition on board was denied by US Government officials, including President Woodrow Wilson causing his secretary of state to resign. Prior to its sailing, the German Embassy had published a warning in New York newspapers that the ship would be subject to possible attack because it was carrying such war supplies and soldiers.

IAWM PRESS RELEASE 07 May 2015 – unpublished letter sent to Irish Times on 04 May 2015

LET’S HEAR THE TRUTH ABOUT SINKING OF LUSITANIA

SINKING WAS USED TO PROLONG THE MECHANISED SLAUGHTER OF WW1

Sir,

the sinking of the Lusitania should definitely be remembered as one of the most horrific attacks of World War 1 but only an honest transparent investigation of the ship’s contents, the obfuscation by political leaders after its sinking and how the event was used to escalate the war will bring some closure to the memory of the huge loss of civilian life.

American author David Swanson in his book War is a Lie, claims that the Lusitania was “packed with American-made war material, including ten-and-a-half-tons of rifle cartridges, 51 tons of shrapnel shells, and a large supply of gun cotton, not to mention 67 soldiers of the 6th Winnipeg Rifles”. There has been much reasonable speculation that the ship sank quicker than it would otherwise have done because of secondary explosions caused by the lethal cargo, which was carried in defiance of American laws.

Multiple lies were told about the true nature of the cargo after the sinking. In particular the fact that there were soldiers, armaments and ammunition on board was denied by US Government officials, including President Woodrow Wilson causing his secretary of state to resign. Prior to its sailing, the German Embassy had published a warning in New York newspapers that the ship would be subject to possible attack because it was carrying such war supplies and soldiers.

How the pro-war lobby in the Allied Powers manipulated the catastrophe in order to convince the US population of the necessity of joining the war effort in Europe should also be investigated. A photograph taken in Berlin of a crowd before the royal palace on 13 July 1914 (before the outbreak of war) was reproduced in Le Monde Illustré on 21 August 1915, with the heading: "ENTHOUSIASME ET JOIE DE BARBARES", with an explanation that it was a demonstration to celebrate the sinking of the Lusitania. War hungry media barons used such crude propaganda to create an illusion of barbarity, thus prolonging the mechanized slaughter of the Great War from which they, and the arms manufacturers, greatly profited.

Yours etc.

JIM ROCHE, PRO,
Irish Anti-War Movement,
PO Box 9260,
Dublin 1.

END


Contact:
Jim Roche, PRO, Steering Committee IAWM, Tel. 087 647 2737
John Molyneux, Secretary, Steering Committee IAWM, Tel. 085 735 6424
Glenda Cimino, Steering Committee IAWM, Tel. 086 124 9456

Website – www.irishantiwar.org

@IrishAntiWarMvt https://twitter.com/#!/IrishAntiWarMvt

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