Northern Irish Nobel laureate Betty Williams has accused the Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, of "murdering people in Iraq" by refusing to end the use of Shannon Airport by the US military.
Mr Ahern earlier this week rejected suggestions that he would stop military flights from refuelling in Shannon Airport as a concession to possible coalition partners in the new government.
"I would like to respond by saying to Mr Ahern, 'you are murdering people in Iraq'," Ms Williams said.
She added that if the United States was to attack Iran she was "terrified" of the prospect of yet more military aircraft landing in Shannon Airport.
"I think it is time for the Taoiseach to rethink that policy because it is not the policy of the Irish people," she said.
Ms Williams, who won her Nobel Peace Prize in 1976 for her work to end the violence in Northern Ireland, was speaking in Dublin yesterday with three other women Nobel laureates, Mairéad Corrigan Maguire, Prof Jody Williams and Dr Shirin Ebadi.
The group was in Dublin to promote the Nobel Women's Initiative which has been established to combat violence against women and promote the role of women in securing peace around the world. The laureates will be making representations to governments and global institutions over the coming months in relation to these issues.
"Peace is not wimpy. It's about sitting down and negotiating with people you hate. Ultimately all occupation ends and you have to deal with the enemy," said Prof Williams, who won her Nobel prize in 1997 for her campaign to ban landmines.
Dr Ebadi, who has been threatened with prosecution in her native Iran for her human rights work, said threats to women in Iran demonstrated how they have been forcibly excluded from involvement in peace resolution.
"Our ability to confront such actions against women requires us to engage with governments and work as a strong global force with other women so we can strengthen our response strategies," she said.
Ms Corrigan Maguire, who also received the peace prize in 1976 for her work in Northern Ireland, said she hoped that the achievements of the women of Northern Ireland in bringing their communities together would inspire other women living in conflict situations.
"While significant credit has gone to the main power-brokers in securing this devolution, the role which women in Northern Ireland played at all levels cannot be underestimated," she said.
