The Celtic Leagues campaign to improve regulations governing the operation of submarines in sea fishery areas was given renewed prominence at a commemorative ceremony in Japan earlier this year.

The League began its investigations into the suspicious loss of several fishing vessels in 1982 at the height of the Cold War and campaigned for both National and International action to address the issue over the next fifteen years.

Speaking at a memorial event for fishermen who died when the MFV Ehime Maru was sunk by the United States nuclear attack submarine, USS Greenville, in February 2001 Peter Erlinder, a lawyer who represents Japanese victims of the collision, said:

"Even the NTSB Report of the Ehime Maru/Greeneville incident noted several internal changes in US Navy operations that will reduce "distinguished visitors" cruises and improve the safety of submarine operations, more can be done. An example already exists in the United Kingdom.

Beginning in 1982, following the mysterious sinking of an Irish fishing vessel, the Celtic League began a campaign to require regulation of the operation of submarines near the "Celtic" countries. The Celtic League is an NGO that is made up Celtic people's organizations in the United Kingdom. [The "Celts" were the original inhabitants of these areas and their language still remains in some parts of Ireland, Scotland, Wales and England.]

This Campaign resulted in the International Maritime Organization [IMO] adopting new submarine regulations in addition to the Code for UK waters, and finally succeeded in getting compensation for victims from the UK Ministry of Defence, after the UK government had initially denied responsibility. In the 20 year campaign, the members of the Celtic League investigated and created files on more that 150 submarine incidents.

The citizen organization found many examples of government lying about the presence of submarines in the areas of these incidents. Eventually, together with the Fisherman organization and the assistance of the International Maritime Organization, the Submarine Operations and Fishing Vessels "Code of Practice" (For the conduct of submarine Operations in waters frequented by UK vessels engaged in fishing) was created by the Fishing Industry Safety Group in October 1993 and has been revised several times since it was first created."

The Celtic Leagues specific campaign over this issue ended ten years ago following a significant downturn in incidents when the US Navy withdrew from bases in Scotland (Holy Loch) and reduced its operations in British and Irish coastal waters. However, the recent loss of the Breton MFV, Bugaled Breizh, and the suspicions of the involvement of an unidentified submarine taking part in a NATO exercise indicates that the problem has not gone away and fishermen may still be vulnerable to carelessly coordinated military exercises.

Meanwhile, as part of his campaign work for relatives and victims of the Ehime Maru Peter Erlinder (together with his wife Masako Usui, a Japanese peace activist and journalist) hope to visit the Isle of Man next month. They are anxious to look at any information gathered by the Celtic League on this issue over the years. This material is deposited (together with other information on the Celtic Leagues twenty five year military monitoring campaign) with the Library of Manx National Heritage (see footnote).

This is not the first occasion on which the Celtic Leagues' work in the area has attracted attention from the other side of the World.

In 2002 As part of research project for the Japanese parliament on the impact of bases used by the United States globally, Tohru Aketagawa, a political science lecturer at Hosei University, visited the Isle of Man to learn about the Celtic League project to monitor military activity from the mid seventies until the end of the Cold War. Mr. Aketagawa was particularly interested in the period when US forces used the NATO sea-bombing range off the north west coast of the Isle of Man and the controls exercised. His study concentrated on the control and regulation over the operation of the range and the campaigns by the Celtic League and others against it.

See also Celtic News:

No. 732 MILITARY MONITORING - LEAGUE EXPERIENCE INCLUDED IN REPORT TO JAPANESE PARLIAMENT - May 28, 2002 No. 582 JAPAN RESEARCHES INTO MILITARY BASE ISSUE - Dec 18, 2001

Footnote:

Celtic League records are held on open access deposit at two location the Library of Manx National Heritage (Douglas, Isle of Man) and also the National Library of Wales (Aberystwyth). Main materials deposited at the Manx Library cover the Military Monitoring campaign from 1980-2000, Environmental campaigning and the nuclear industry. Manx National Heritage also has a complete set of CARN (the League journal) and also the comprehensive AGM annual dossier report for the League covering the period 1986-2006.

J B Moffatt Director of Information Celtic League

23/06/07

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