SAOIRSE32

Derry Journal

RIRA Expel Strabane Men

By Bernie Mullen

Friday 11th February 2005

The real IRA have ordered two Strabane men to leave Ireland - for good.

The dissident republican group claims to have expelled the men, both in their 20s, earlier this week for alleged “criminal activity.”

In a statement telephoned to the ‘Journal’ using a recognised codeword, the Tyrone Brigade of Oglaigh na h-Eireann accused the men of bringing the organisation “into disrepute.”

The statement followed the Real IRA’s recent admission that it carried out an incendiary attack at a hardware and agricultural business in Strabane which caused in excess of £1 million damage.

The Linton and Robinson Ltd outlet at Dock Street was completely gutted in the huge blaze and will have to be rebuilt.

It emerged yesterday that 20 staff employed at the firebombed store have had their worst fears confirmed after being told their jobs have also gone.

The Real IRA claimed they targeted the familyrun business because it was allegedly supplying materials to the police.

The group claims to have exiled the two local men in the wake of a subsequent attempted firebombing attack at the Safeway supermarket in the town. The Real IRA was also suspected of having targeting Safeway but the organisation issued a public denial through this newspaper.

The group this week again sought to distance itself from the incident at the Branch Road supermarket which employs around 200 people.

The Real IRA also disassociated itself from a recent spate of arson attacks at Orange Halls in the Castlederg, Douglas Bridge and Strabane areas.

The caller said: “We will not tolerate people using our name for criminal activity and those who bring ‘the army’ into disrepute will be seriously dealt with.”

RIRA’s Tyrone Brigade claimed that on Monday two Strabane men “were arrested by members of Oglaigh na h-Eireann while under investigation and [they] confessed.” It is believed the men who were threatened left immediately and that they were ordered not to return in the foreseeable future.

Off-Duty Police On Alert Over Dissident Threats

Friday 11th February 2005

Police officers living in the Derry area have been placed on high alert amid a growing threat from dissident republicans, the Journal has learned.

PSNI personnel in the Waterside and areas around Eglinton were warned this week to remain vigilant after a massive security operation aimed at thwarting attacks on offduty members.

The force yesterday officiallly refused to give more details on their reasons for an increase in security in Derry earlier this week with checkpoints at border crossings, on main roads within the city and on the Foyle Bridge.

A spokesman did say however that there was a serious dissident threat and the force was responding to the threat.

On Tuesday night motorists reported British Army checkpoints at the Culmore Road border crossing and at Coshquin.

On both occasions the British Army seemed to be acting in support of the PSNI who were actually stopping the cars.

Later the same evening there were reports of a major joint PSNI/British Army checkpoint on the Limavady Road.

On Wednesday morning many motorists noticed a British Army/PSNI checkpoint on the Foyle Bridge which led to some delays.

There were also reports of helicopter activity in the Waterside area, again on Tuesday night.

The Journal can reveal however that the main alert centred on the village of Eglinton where British Army helicopters hovered well into the early hours of Wednesday morning.

Police personnel living in the area were also contacted and told to step up their personal security at home by reverting to Troubles-style checks on their property and family vehicles.

There is also a real fear that dissident republicans may also have plans for a bomb attack on the village’s part-time police station and patrols were stepped up there during the week.

Yesterday the PSNI claimed the heightened security was not in response to a specific incident but was part of a strategy to disrupt dissident republican activity in the area.

A spokesman however confirmed: “The public will be aware that a serious terrorist threat from dissident republicans exists in the North and West of Northern Ireland.

“Vehicle checks using army support is part of the PSNI strategy to prevent these attacks, which have caused thousands of pounds worth of damage and cost people their jobs over the last few weeks.”

The police also said that the increased security activity was not ‘directly linked’ to reports they received of two men acting suspiciously in the Eglinton area in the early hours of Wednesday morning

A police spokesman said yesterday they had received reports but that this was not the reason behind the heightened security measures which they claIimed were part of a wider strategy to thwart dissident republicans.

In recent weeks there has been an upsurge in dissident republican activity with firebomb attacks in Derry and Strabane as well as other parts of the North.

There is a fear now however that tactics could change to include bombings and/or gun attacks on security force personnel.

Daily Ireland

Repairing despair

North Belfast hit the headlines in February last year when it was revealed 13 young men had committed suicide in the area over a six-week period. Media reports at the time dubbed the district, which has long been subject of deprivation and division, the “suicide capital of the North”.
The statistics spoke for themselves, with 18-year-old Bernard Cairns taking his own life just hours after attending the funeral of another 18-year-old suicide victim, Anthony O’Neill.
The chilling chain of events that unfolded in north Belfast coincided with the news that suicides among males aged 25 to 34 had increased by 104 per cent in the North of Ireland and 30 per cent in the South between 1992 and 2002, giving Ireland one of the highest youth suicide rates in the European Union according to the Samaritans.
Twelve months later, north Belfast is still struggling to come to terms with last year’s tragedies.
“The suicides we saw last winter had a cumulative effect on the community,” says a spokesman for Survivors of Trauma, a Belfast-based organisation that deals with those affected by conflict and suicide.
“Since then, we have tried to meet the needs of local residents but the response from the relevant agencies has been poor. Suicide still comes under the banner of mental illness in the North, meaning that there is little or no money to sufficiently deal with the problem.”
There have been some positive steps, however, with a host of initiatives set up to lend support to anyone affected by suicide or those thinking about ending their lives.
One such organisation is Pips – Public Initiative for the Prevention of Suicide and Self-Harm. It was set up in April 2003 following the death of the local teenager Philip “Pip” McTaggart.
Jo Murphy, health and social wellbeing development officer with the North Belfast Partnership, says, “Pips was established in response to the number of suicides taking place at the time, particularly in north Belfast.
“We named ourselves after Philip McTaggart as a way of personalising suicide and to show that, behind every death, there is a victim.”
The group includes community workers, concerned families, and members of the North and West Belfast Health and Social Services Trust. It works closely with local residents to deliver information and guidance to those affected by suicide and depression.
Ms Murphy says, “Our aim is to encourage those in trouble to seek help, to act as a ‘listening ear’ and to signpost people towards the support they need.
“On a ground level, we carry out home visits, and some of our members are trained counsellors. We want to make our community more aware of suicidal behaviour by advising them of the warning signs to look out for in the people closest to them.”
North Belfast is battling to make sense of last year’s events but the reasons why so many of the district’s teenagers chose to end their lives are still unclear.
“There are lots of theories for why people commit suicide but no hard evidence to back them up,” says Paul Corcoran, deputy director of the Cork-based National Suicide Research Foundation.
“The move away from religion and the fact that suicide is no longer the taboo it once was could mean that it is now seen as an option for someone in distress.
“Alcohol and drug use have also increased but again there is no strong indication that this is directly linked to rising suicide levels.”
It has been suggested that, in the North of Ireland, the prospect of paramilitary violence has played a part in the recent spate of youth suicides.
A spokesman for Survivors of Trauma says, “We ourselves have negotiated with paramilitaries to see if there are alternative ways to solve issues without resorting to the punishment beating of youngsters.
“In some cases, it may be fair to say that the possibility of paramilitary attack has been the straw that broke the camel’s back but there are also other causes at work.”
North Belfast is not the only community striving to control levels of self-inflicted death among young men.
Provisional figures for 2003 released by the Central Statistics Office in the Republic suggest that suicide has now overtaken road traffic accidents as the leading cause of death among Irish males aged 15 to 34.
Overall suicide rates appear to have fallen, however, with 162 people taking their own lives in the North in 2002 and a further 444 in the South – slight decreases from previous years.
John Connolly, a consultant psychiatrist and honorary secretary of the Irish Association of Suicidology, says, “For many years, suicide rates in the South were low at around five deaths per 100,000 people.
“By the late 1960s and early 1970s, they began to steadily increase. The figures reached a peak in 1998 when we had 13 suicides per 100,000 people. They have since fallen back to around 11 deaths per 100,000 people.
“It is not yet clear whether this is a statistical dip or the beginning of a new trend but the rise in youth suicide continues to keep the issue in the forefront of peoples’ minds.”
The reasons why young men rather than young women are more likely to commit suicide has been the subject of much debate among experts. “In the South of Ireland, there are 4.7 male suicides for every one female death,” said Dr Connolly.
“This is due to a number of factors – for example, women talk about their feelings more, they drink less and take fewer drugs and they are more adaptable to the employment market.
“They are also more religious, they consult doctors regularly and they are less inclined to try# to take their own lives by violent means, giving them a higher chance of surviving suicide.”
The National Suicide Research Foundation’s Paul Corcoran, whose organisation researches the phenomena of suicide and self-harm (or parasuicide), says, “We have taken part in several studies with young men and, when asked what they do when they are stressed, most say they get angry or turn to drink and drugs rather than talk to friends or family.”
For those who are feeling depressed or suicidal or are worried about someone they know, there is help available from a range of specially trained organisations.
“If you are concerned about someone you know, approach them and ask them what’s going on,” said Barry McGale, a suicide-awareness co-ordinator with the Western Health and Social Services Board.
“Adopt a broken-record approach and keep on at that person until they tell you what’s happening.
“I would also encourage people to use the ‘three-step’ plan – show that you care, ask the person you are worried about what’s going on and encourage your loved one to seek help.”

For more information on suicide levels in Ireland, contact The National Suicide Research Foundation in Cork on (021) 427 7499 or online at www.nsrf.org.

Pips in Belfast can be found by calling (02890) 752 990 or www.pipsproject.com.

Anyone experiencing depression or worried about a loved one can contact the Samaritans in the North on 08457 90 90 90 and in the South on 1850 60 90 90.

ThePost.ie

**from 2002

`New Lodge Six’ killings to get independent inquiry

Sunday, November 03, 2002
By Kieron Wood

February 1973 was one of the bloodiest months of the Troubles in the North. In the first four days of the month, 14 people died and many more were injured in shootings across Belfast.

On Saturday February 3, the UDA had paraded from many parts of the city to Laddas Drive RUC station to demand the release of two of its men. This was the first time loyalists had been threatened with internment, and the first time the UDA, the Orange Volunteers, Vanguard and the Red Hand group had presented a united front at a public protest.

Later that night, in an incident still shrouded in controversy, six Catholics were shot dead in the New Lodge area of the city. The shooting began around 11pm when gunmen opened fire on IRA members James McCann (19) and James Sloan (18) who were standing outside Lynch’s bar at the junction of the New Lodge and Antrim Roads.

As local people gathered on the street, they came under a hail of gunfire from several positions.

British soldiers — using their new nightsights — were firing from Duncairn Gardens down Edlingham Street and from the top of the Templar and Alamein flats.

Within minutes, four more men were dead. Among the victims was IRA member Tony Campbell, who had been out celebrating his 19th birthday with friends.

Two of the dead — John Loughran (35) and Brendan Maguire (32) — were killed coming to the aid of Campbell. Ambrose Hardy (26), the last to be killed, was shot dead as he emerged from the doorway of the old Circle Club, waving a white cloth above his head.

In the immediate aftermath of the shootings, the British army issued a press statement claiming that the deaths were the result of a battle with the IRA, and six gunmen had been killed. Republicans acknowledged that three of those killed were IRA members, but insisted that they were unarmed at the time. In a statement, the IRA said: “We are adamant that none of those killed or wounded were in possession of firearms at any stage. The people of the New Lodge Road can bear witness to the veracity of our claim.”

Irish Times reporter Hugh McKeown reported that on the day after the shooting, the army informed the press that tests had proved that the six were armed.

But six months later, the Daily Mirror newspaper published a correction of this claim. It said: “In our report published in early February on the deaths by shooting of six men in the New Lodge area of Belfast, we included a statement that tests had been carried out to determine if the dead men had been carrying guns, and that all had proved positive. This statement came from an army source, the reliability of which at the time we had no reason to doubt. We are now informed that no tests had in fact been carried out when our report was published.”

McKeown reported that of the tests later carried out on the bodies five proved negative, while the sixth body had traces of lead particles which could have come from the bullet which killed him.

SDLP MP Gerry Fitt called for an inquiry at the time, as he said there were so many contradictions in the evidence. Now, almost 30 years after the shootings, an independent inquiry is to try and discover the truth behind the shooting of the so-called New Lodge Six.

The inquiry, which will sit in St Kevin’s Hall on November 22 and 23, will be headed by Don Mullan, author of Bloody Sunday: An Eyewitness Account. Other panellists include Gareth Peirce, the English human rights solicitor, Professor Colin Harvey, head of the human rights centre at Leeds University law school, and American lawyer Ed Lynch.

A spokesman for solicitors Madden and Finucane, who are organising the inquiry, said: “Three of the men killed were volunteers (but that) is not relevant, as none of the men was on active service.

“If these men had been on active service, or there had been a question about their innocence, then that aspect would have been focused on in the forthcoming inquiry. In this case though, all six men were proved innocent in forensics and their families awarded compensation from the government.”

The panellists will consider evidence presented by two counsel over the two days.

The evidence will consist of eyewitness testimony — with jurists allowed to question the witnesses — as well as available documentation about the incident. The jurists will express a preliminary view at the end of the inquiry and will issue a final report within a month.

Irish Democrat

**from 2003

Report damns response to New Lodge killings

It is 30 years since six unarmed men were shot dead by either loyalists or the British army during a 90 minute killing spree in the New Lodge district of Belfast. Since then, the case of the New Lodge Six has met with a wall of official silence. Moya St Leger reports on the outcome of a recent community inquiry into the killings

ON THE night of the 3-4 February 1973 a terrible event took place in the New Lodge district of Belfast. Six unarmed men were shot by the British army, possibly with the assistance of local loyalists.

Even more shocking is the fact that no proper inquiry into these killings took place until 30 years later, and even that had to be organised not by the responsible British authorities, but by the local community.

The New Lodge Six community inquiry into the killing of Jim McCann, Jim Sloane, Tony Campbell, Brendan Maguire, John Loughran and Ambrose Hardy was held on the 22 and 23 November 2002 in St. Kevin’s Hall, Belfast.

For two days an eminent panel of jurists chaired by Don Mullan heard moving testimonies from witnesses, many of whom were relatives of the dead.

The jurists, human-rights solicitor Gareth Peirce: professor Colin Harvey, head of the human rights centre at Leeds University law school: US civil litigator Ed Lynch: solicitor Kate Akester, chair of mental health tribunals, London, and Belfast solicitor Eamann McMenamin, have now published their final report. Their findings are devastating.

In his introduction to the report, Don Mullan comments: “The fact that almost thirty years later the community of the New Lodge found it necessary to establish a community inquiry into the shooting dead by British security forces (with possible loyalist paramilitary collusion) is a shameful indictment of he democratic state — a state that has demanded, and demands, high standards from its citizens, but which has failed to uphold and protect basic civil and human rights of some of those citizens”.

After thirty years the families of the six men killed are still waiting for justice. During the inquiry, jurists remarked on having heard nothing about these deaths at the time. In 1973 the New Lodge community had encountered so much contempt by the state and its allies in the British press that for thirty years no one there believed that they would ever see justice done.

Directly after the November hearings the panel issued an interim statement admitting its deep shock at “the state’s total failure to investigate the killings”. The panel also noted that there was “no evidence to indicate that any of the deceased and wounded were armed at the time of their shooting or acting in a manner which might have been interpreted as a potential threat to the security forces”.

The final report recommends further action to be taken by the British government to provide an effective investigation into the killings in compliance with its obligations under Article Two of the European Convention of Human Rights.

“We confirm that the official response to the killings including the investigation by the British Forces, the RUC and the inquests amounted to a breach by the British state of the Article Two rights of all deceased, ”the report concludes.

It goes on: “We further find the British state continues to breach the Article 2 rights of the deceased. Despite the passage of almost thirty years since the fatal killings in this case, we hold that it is neither impossible nor impracticable to hold such an investigation and accordingly the breach continues.”

Such an investigation should be carried out by “an outside police agency, totally independent of the RUC, PSNI and the Ministry of Defence, in a manner similar to the Stalker/Sampson inquiry”, it recommends.

The coroner’s inquest system in Northern Ireland is also severely criticised. However, the report concedes that the need for a “radical overhaul” of the system is now accepted by the British authorities.

The panel’s wide-ranging criticisms are all are aimed at creating complete transparency in cases of such breathtaking injustice as the case of the New Lodge Six. Among the panel’s suggestions is the creation of the post of army ombudsman in view of the failings of the internal investigations by the British army.

Regarding the need for changes to civil litigation, the panel recommends that “the British government take steps to legislatively introduce exemplary and/or punitive damages in cases where the deceased was the victim of arbitrary and unconstitutional actions by the state or its agencies.”

Legislation which would allow the next of kin of a deceased to “bring libel actions for damages against the media for deliberately of recklessly maligning a deceased person particularly when same is for the purpose of sensationalism and/or profit,” is also recommended.

It is to the great credit of the nationalist community in the north of Ireland that they learnt to organise themselves in their quest for justice. The New Lodge inquiry has been a prime example of this.

In summing up the aim of the inquiry, Paul O’Neill, chair of the New Lodge committee stated: “it our hope that ultimately the New Lodge Six community inquiry and report will play its part in moving us closer to the day when the British state will acknowledge its pivotal role in the conflict that destroyed the lives, the hopes and the dreams of so many”.

Irelandclick.com

End of an era for Antrim Road vet
Mother and daughter call it a day after 50 years of looking after pets

A mother and daughter team that have looked after the health of pets in Belfast for over 50 years from their surgery on the Antrim Road have finally called it a day.
It’s the end of an era for Muriel McClay (88) who started up the practice in 1953 and her daughter Gillian Alcroft after she decided to spend more time with her family.
Gillian, a mother-of-two also provides respite care for the families of special needs children as well as looking after the family’s tiny herd of Chihuahuas.
From their house across the Antrim Road famous for its palm tree, the two women recall their time in North Belfast and a lifetime healing pet mammals, rodents, reptiles, exotic birds and even lion cubs.
“We’ve always been known as the corner house with the palm tree,” said Gillian Alcroft who took over her mother’s reins at the surgery when she retired in 1981.
“My mother was born in Birkenhead in England but she was brought up in Bangor after her parents returned to Ireland,” she recalled.
“She got interested in being a vet because she loved horses and cats.
“She qualified in Dublin at a time when becoming a vet wasn’t considered a woman’s job, but she never saw it as a man’s job and neither did her parents.
“However, her headmistress in school did. Even when I went to veterinary school there were nine out of 50 that were women and that was considered a huge number in 1973. When my mother went that figure was three out of 60.”
One of the family’s favourite pets was a lioness’s cub that they reared after its mother in Bellevue Zoo rejected it. But the home of the two vets has seen its fair share of other well-loved pets.
“From my mother being a vet we would have had a lot of animals dumped at the clinic and it’s our responsibility to try and rehouse them.
“I remember a wee dog being dumped the day before Christmas Eve and my mum calling the USPCA to come and get the dog.
“The following day was Christmas Eve and my mother went to get the dog out because she couldn’t bear that she had given away a dog at Christmas. Her name was Hanna, she was a mongrel and we had her for 14 years.”
But it was the family’s adoption of a lion that got people talking and saw local journalists flocking to the McClay’s door way back in 1966.
“Yes my mother’s lion cub was delivered by caesarean in the zoo.
“The city vet at the time didn’t have a lot of surgical experience so he asked my mother to carry out the procedure and we looked after one of the three cubs.
“We had Lisa for seven months before she went back to the zoo.
“The other two cubs that were left in the zoo sadly died, but Lisa did very well. She had a great sense of humour and when a group of journalists came to the house she growled at them and played to the gallery, but she was harmless.
“We’ve had loads of wildlife to look after such as hedgehogs, foxes and badgers, but when I came to the surgery in the 1980s we started to see more exotic animals such as lizards and snakes and I went to get training for that.”
But being a vet has its serious side and it’s a profession where cruelty can reveal a lot about the possible abuse and trauma of children, says Gillian.
“You see more cruelty to animals through ignorance rather than active cruelty. But if you see cruelty it shows what’s happening in people’s lives.
“I remember seeing a cat that was very badly injured and I was concerned. I contacted the NSPCC because if animals are being treated cruelly that can be part of a bigger picture of cruelty where children are involved.
“The NSPCC phoned back and told me that house was already under observation. There is certainly a responsibility on vets to look out for cruelty, certainly to animals, but that can be linked to children being injured or mistreated.
“But most of the time with bad conditions of animals it’s people not asking the right questions at the right time.”
Now that McClays is shutting up, the vet is keen to stress that she will still be working part time out of the surgery on the Ormeau Road, and it’s expected that an animal charity will be taking over the Antrim Road building later this year.
“It’s a very good charity and I’m very flattered with the responses of the people I have told.
“Letters will be going out to all the people on our database, which is about 13,000, to tell them the new arrangements.
“I still get stories of me in the pram outside the clinic and we have a lot of adults who say they first came to the clinic as children with their pets.
“I have two children who are now in secondary school and I think they need me more and I can’t give them the time I think they need.
“I didn’t have them not to look after them so I’m looking forward to spending more time with the family and of course the children I give respite care to.
“It’ll be an emotional farewell, but I’ll have more free time and after working all these years, finally, a life.”

andrea@irelandclick.com

Journalist:: Andrea McKernon

Irelandclick.com

New Lodge six remembered

Relatives gathered to commemorate the anniversary of the murders of six New Lodge men by the British army 32 years ago this week.

Families of the victims who were killed on Saturday and Sunday, February 3 and 4 1973, gathered at the Donore Court memorial garden in the New Lodge to remember those killed.
Jim McCann, Jim Sloan, Tony Campbell, Brendan Maguire, John Loughran and Ambrose Hardy were shot dead at the top of the New Lodge Road and at the corner of Edlingham Street. All the men were unarmed at the time of their murders.
Two years ago a community inquiry held in St Kevin’s Hall and chaired by an international panel of jurists dismissed British army claims that there was a gun battle going on the area at the time the men were killed.
This year’s commemoration was the first time it had been held in the new memorial garden at night.
Gerry Kelly, MLA said the memorial which honours the victims of the conflict in the New Lodge was a “credit to the community”.
“This memorial is used as a place a lot of people go to reflect on the loss of loved ones and victims of the conflict,” he said.
He said calls for sanctions against Sinn Féin, reflected the criminalisation of the nationalist community in the aftermath of the murders of the New Lodge Six.
“In the context of what had happened the memorial and the setting up of the inquiry was a fantastic effort by this community. But it is in the similar context of the current criminalisation of the nationalist community and the so-called IMC report.
“Reports at the time said the victims were killed in a shoot out, but what actually came out of the inquest was the unstinting bravery of the people on the New Lodge at the time in helping the dead and wounded.”

Journalist:: Staff Reporter

Irelandclick.com

Process of truth telling a success

Ardoyne chimneys - click on thumbnail

The truth telling process involved in the making of a book about Ardoyne and the people who died as a result of the conflict has been described as a substantial success by its authors.
The report compiled by Dr Patricia Lundy, lecturer at the University of Ulster and Dr Mark McGovern, lecturer at Edge Hill College in Lancaster, was launched on Tuesday detailing the impact the book Ardoyne: The Untold Truth had on the local and wider community.
The Untold Truth, produced by the Ardoyne Commemoration Project, told the story of the 99 people from Ardoyne killed as a result of the conflict.
For the report the researchers carried out interviews with relatives of the 99 victims, a cross-section of opinion within Ardoyne and representatives of other Nationalist and Unionist communities.
“We wanted to know what participants got out of engaging in such a process and what contribution it might make to conflict resolution,” Patricia Lundy said, speaking at the launch on Tuesday.
“And what most relatives told us was that this was about acknowledgement and recognition of what ordinary people had gone through.
“That was the most important impact the book had. It gave people the opportunity to tell their own story. The key to the project’s success was that it was carried out by local people.”
In the main, the findings of the report entitled Community, Truth-telling and Conflict Resolution showed that engaging in such a community ‘truth-telling’ process was an extremely positive experience for those who participated.
Supporting this the report states: “Clearly of importance was ‘giving voice’ and documenting previously excluded or marginalised voices. The value and symbolism in giving individuals the opportunity to ‘tell their story’ should not be underestimated.”
The report, which was funded by the Community Relations Council, also reveals that the groundbreaking work carried out in Ardoyne has been recognised internationally.
The book, which has travelled as far afield as Chile, South Africa and Sri Lanka, is also being seen as a model that could be used in other societies and communities.
Free copies of the report can be picked up at Intercomm, Holy Cross Church, Ardoyne Focus Group or by accessing cain.ulst.ac.uk website or by telephoning Patricia Lundy at the University of Ulster on 08700 400 700.

ainemcentee@irelandclick.com

Irelandclick.com

Bawnmore family is attacked by loyalists

Sinn Féin has blamed loyalists for an attack on the Mill Road at the weekend.

The house in a row of houses which fronts the Bawnmore estate was hit with breeze blocks in the early hours of Sunday morning. Homes on the road have been attacked numerous times before.
The attack happened around 6am while a woman was sleeping upstairs. The female victim and her husband, who wish to remain anonymous, said their house has been attacked at least half a dozen times over the past five years by paint bombs, petrol bombs and gunfire. The last time they said their house was attacked was November 2003.
“It’s an ongoing thing up here,” the woman said. “I think this is the sixth time we’ve been hit. This time round, we were lucky that they didn’t break the window. It’s toughened glass and God only knows what would have happened if they had got through.
“My neighbour heard them first. I was sleeping upstairs and I didn’t hear a thing. She said she got up when she heard the first bang she shouted out the window at them.
“She said she saw one guy in our front garden with his arms raised and about to hit our window again. She shouted at him to go away and he hit the window one more time. His mate was in a car, revving the engine with the door open. He hit the window again, made a move to run, slipped and fell and then jumped into the car.”
Speaking after the attack the homeowner said he thought the attack was very determined.
“This was quite a determined attack. They obviously came prepared, and seemed determined to break the glass,” the man said.
“It’s a sad thing, but we’re used to this kind of stuff. This house has been in the family for over 30 years and unfortunately these kind of attacks are starting to happen again.”
A spokesperson for the PSNI confirmed the attack and said inquiries were continuing. Newtownabbey councillor Briege Meehan said the attack was sectarian.
“Sinn Féin utterly condemns the attack on a house at Mill Road.
“These cowardly thugs have terrorised these families at the bottom of Mill Road and I call on the leadership of the UDA to call a halt to these despicable sectarian attacks on the nationalist people of Bawnmore.”

Journalist:: Staff Reporter

Irelandclick.com

SF slams report

North Belfast MLA Gerry Kelly has slammed the latest report from the Independent Monitoring Commission (IMC), which states that senior members of Sinn Féin sanctioned robberies, including the £26.5 million Northern Bank robbery.

The IMC’s fourth report into the Northern Bank Robbery was published today [Thursday].
In the report it states: “In our view Sinn Féin must bear its share of responsibility for all the incidents. Some of its senior members who are also senior members of the PIRA were involved in sanctioning the series of robberies.”
The report agrees with PSNI Chief Constable Hugh Orde who claimed the IRA was behind the robbery earlier this year.
“We have carefully scrutinising all the material… which leads us to conclude firmly that it was planned and undertaken by the PIRA”.
Speaking to the North Belfast News on Thursday afternoon Sinn Féin’s spokesperson on Justice and Policing said the credibility of the IMC was at stake.
“Let’s deal with the IMC as a body itself. It is not independent. Let’s use the words of IMC member Dick Kerr who said ‘the [British] government can use us, there’s no question’.
“He also said the IMC has no independent investigative methods.
“They deal in reportage, and they get their information from the same funnel of information, which is the PSNI, and which is not trusted by Nationalists.
“We now have this IMC report and we know that their information comes from the same PSNI funnel. We knew they were going to support Huge Orde.
“Bertie Ahern is against sanctions, but this is not good enough, we need to know if the Irish Government as an equal co-partner in this peace process, is going to block such sanctions.
“Sanctions have been used before, they do not work. Let’s deal with the peace process, let’s get it back on track. This type of confrontational approach doesn’t work.
“All they have done is add to the excuses the DUP use to walk way from power sharing and equality.”

Journalist:: Áine McEntee

Belfast Telegraph

Dogs trained to fight in city parks

By Jonathan McCambridge
11 February 2005

Parents were today given a sinister warning that fighting dogs are being trained in children’s playgrounds in east Belfast.

A Belfast City Council sub-committee has confirmed that it is taking seriously the threat to children and that dogs had destroyed equipment at least three separate parks in the area.

There are known to be a number of dog-fighting rings in Northern Ireland where animals, such as pit bull terriers, are taught to attack each other.

A number of concerned parents complained to the council after they saw dogs being forced to attack park swing seats - believed to be a training method for fighting dogs.

A vandalism report given to the council’s parks and amenities sub-committee showed there had been six such incidents discovered.

Council officials carried out £1,300 of repairs in Clara Park, Avoniel Playground and the Ravenhill Road playground in Ormeau Park recently.

Alliance councillor Naomi Long said she was concerned that children could be attacked by the dogs.

She said: “Park facilities are often vandalised, but I have received a number of reports that people with vicious looking dogs are encouraging their animals to attack the seats on swings.

“Witnesses suspect there is a sinister motive in that the dogs are being trained to be more aggressive by fighting with the seats.

“What happens if a dog escapes and there is a child on the swings? If the dogs have taught to attack the swinging seats, there is a chance that a child could be in real danger.

“I raised this issue at the council’s park and amenities sub-committee meeting, and would like the public, park rangers, dog wardens and police to be aware of the situation.

“If reinforced seats can be eaten through, what chance would a child’s leg have?”

Margaret Walsh, chairman of the parks and amenities sub-committee said the council took seriously claims that children might be endangered.

She said: “People found abusing park property like this will be prosecuted. We are concerned for the safety of children and have asked our parks rangers and dog wardens to be on the lookout for such incidents.”

BBC

Stone ‘may have to repay money’

Loyalist killer Michael Stone was released from jail in 2000

A convicted loyalist killer may have to reimburse compensation paid by the government to one of his victims.

The High Court has given permission to the widow to challenge the Compensation Agency’s decision not to pursue Michael Stone for the money.

The ruling had been sought by Ann Marie McErlean, whose husband was one of three mourners killed by Stone at Milltown Cemetery in Belfast in 1988.

At an earlier hearing, it was claimed Stone had substantial assets.

These came from the sale of his paintings and his autobiography, it was claimed.

The Compensation Agency has said it cannot identify any assets which would justify an application for reimbursement.

However, the judge said that he could not accept that non disclosure of assets was a stopping point.

He gave the go-ahead on Friday for a judicial review of the Compensation Agency’s decision not to pursue Stone.

Throwing grenades

Stone murdered three men at the Belfast funerals of three IRA members killed by the SAS in Gibraltar in 1988.

About 60 people were injured as Stone ran through Milltown Cemetery, firing shots and throwing hand grenades.

Security forces caught him at the edge of the cemetery, and he was later sentenced to several life terms.

He was released early in June 2000, under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement.

His autobiography was published in 2003.

BBC

Dogs ’stolen for illegal fights’

Pets are being stolen in Northern Ireland to be used for “blooding” dogs in illegal fights involving massive sums of cash, says a charity.

The Ulster Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (USPCA) said the fighting dogs were openly walked in public despite being banned.

Bets of up to £10,000 are said to have been made on fights.

Pittbull Terriers bred for the illegal fights can change hands for thousands of pounds, said the USPCA.

One of the fights lasted for more than two hours, the society’s Stephen Philpott said.

He said pet owners, whose animals had gone missing, may be unaware they have ended up in a “dog training camp”.

Dozens of dogs were being stolen each year to supply the camps, said Mr Philpott.

“If a dog goes missing, it has to show up somewhere. How can all these dogs be disappearing off the face of the earth? There has to be some other reason for it… these are people’s pets, lying there chained up, waiting to be fed to trained killers.”

The USPCA has a catalogue of disturbing pictures showing animals which had been stolen and others which had been killed by dogs preparing for fights.

“Dog fighting has become more and more popular in certain parts of Belfast and other parts of Northern Ireland,” said Mr Philpott.

“It is something that is now taking up USPCA resources and time. We have a man working on this all the time now, trying to break into the dog-fighting community.”

He told BBC Northern Ireland’s Nolan Show that those involved had a “dog fighter’s manual”.

“This was obtained as part of a planned search with PSNI. You can see the level of organisation. There are codes in it, the dogs are named and the fights are described.

“This is a very highly organised underworld. These animals exist in Northern Ireland. They fall under the Dangerous Dog Act - which is the responsibility of local government and the dog warden service.

“These animals in the photographs are resigned to a life of complete misery. They are kept purely to fight and breed.”

One dog had nine fights within a three week period, according to the USPCA.

Some playgrounds in Belfast parks are now being used to train the dogs, said a city councillor.

In Ormeau Park in south Belfast, children’s swings have been ripped to shreds.

In the space of one month at the end of last year, there were also similar incidents at Clara and Avoniel Parks.

Alliance Party councillor Naomi Long said: “These dogs are being trained to attack children’s equipment and swing seats.

“If they were to get loose in the park at a time when there were children present, the consequences could be devastating.

“I think people who get involved in dog fighting are extraordinarily cruel and brutal people.”

Sinn Féin

Bank ‘rip off’ culture must end

Published: 11 February, 2005

Sinn Fein Economy Spokesperson, Foyle MLA Mitchel McLaughlin has said the bank ‘rip off’ culture that exists not just in the north but throughout Ireland must end.

Mr McLaughlin said:

“This report from the Office of Fair Trading provides ample evidence that banks here are not delivering good value for money.

“In particularly evidence of parallel pricing would point a level of at least unofficial price fixing. Given the huge profits posted by almost all banking institutions it is time that there was an enforceable code of practice.

“Across Ireland banks are making huge profits at the expense of ordinary people. More and more benefits and pensions are paid through bank accounts so it is clear that excessive and unjustified charges will hit those least able to afford it hardest.

“If banks cannot come up with a commitment to provide banking services in an open, fair and transparent manner that in particular deals with the issue of the increasing dependency of people on the banking system then government must take action.

“The ‘rip off’ culture that exists throughout banking must end.” ENDS

Sinn Féin

Adams - Taoiseach should stop making these malicious and untrue allegations

Published: 11 February, 2005

Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams MP speaking in Belfast this afternoon said “I am prepared to sit down with the Taoiseach today, tomorrow at any time to try and sort these matters out. It is important that when we get to that point that genuine dialogue should be conducted in an atmosphere which makes success possible. That is one of the reasons why we are so vigorous in defending ourselves from these accusations.”

Mr. Adams said:

“Yesterday I asked the Irish government to act on foot of its allegations that Martin McGuinness and I had prior knowledge of the Northern Bank robbery. They have failed to do this. This morning the Taoiseach studiously avoided answering the question I put to him yesterday. The fact is that he has made a claim which he cannot corroborate or substantiate. In an Irish News interview this morning the PSNI Chief Constable Hugh Orde was asked if the Sinn Féin leadership know about the Northern Bank robbery? His reply was that he had ‘no idea.’

So, the Taoiseach should stop making these malicious and untrue allegations.

However, I fear his intention is to continue with this because the concentrated assault on Sinn Féin, the spurious and untrue accusation that this party sanctioned robberies, is about criminalising our party and our electorate.

It’s about electoralism.

It is about preventing the development of Sinn Féin’s radical political alternative to establishment politics on this island. But it seems to me that this torrent of abuse is likely to continue for a considerable time. I regret that. Not because Sinn Féin is not able to defend ourselves. We can. And we will.

But there is ongoing damage being done to the peace process and the reality is that when we come to deal with all of these matters in a constructive and genuine way all of the outstanding issues will have to be resolved. These relate to the responsibilities and obligations of the two governments, all of the equality and other elements of the Good Friday Agreement, and the issue of armed groups.

I am prepared to sit down with the Taoiseach today, tomorrow at any time to try and sort these matters out.

It is important that when we get to that point that genuine dialogue should be conducted in an atmosphere which makes success possible. That is one of the reasons why we are so vigorous in defending ourselves from these accusations.

The process cannot be suspended indefinitely, as it now is. Neither can it be advanced by the methods currently employed by the governments. The priority and focus of Sinn Fein in the time ahead is clear; to prevent any further damage to the peace process and to oppose any possibility of a return to violence.”ENDS

Guardian /a>

Abbas to confront militant leaders

David Crouch and agencies
Friday February 11, 2005

Mahmoud Abbas is to demand today that militant leaders stop their attacks on Israelis, after the Palestinian president’s Fatah movement declared a state of emergency for Palestinian security forces.

Mr Abbas is to confront militant leaders in the Gaza Strip in a bid to curb the violence. He will tell militant leaders that “there is only one Palestinian Authority and one leadership, and [he] will not accept any measures that can subject our national project to danger,” cabinet secretary Hassan Abu Libdeh said.

Late last night, Fatah’s central committee announced the state of emergency and accused the militant group Hamas of violating the fragile truce agreed on Tuesday between Mr Abbas and Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon.

The crackdown on militancy follows a sustained rocket and mortar barrage on Jewish settlements yesterday that threatened to unravel the ceasefire just days after it was announced.

“We are still committed to the language of dialogue, but at the same time, we warn against continuation of these irresponsible actions,” Fatah’s leadership said in a statement.

“The Palestinian Authority will not tolerate any actions that will sabotage the agreement reached with Israelis on a mutual ceasefire,” Mr Abu Libdeh said.

As part of his efforts to end the violence, Mr Abbas yesterday sacked the chief of public security in the occupied territories, the security commander in southern Gaza and the head of the Palestinian police force. In total, he dismissed about 20 senior security officers.

Israel praised Mr Abbas’s swift actions, but said it had limited patience before it would take matters into its own hands.

Israel’s deputy defence minister Zeev Boim called on the Palestinian leader to take tougher action against the militants, saying the “window of opportunity is closing”.

“We still have a policy of restraint and civil gestures in order to strengthen him [Abbas], but it must be remembered this won’t last forever. He has to take action,” Mr Boim told Israel Radio today.

Despite the renewed tension, Palestinian and Israeli officers met last night at a Gaza crossing point to discuss cooperation. Israel Radio reported that the Israelis had demanded a halt to the mortar and rocket fire, and the Palestinians had spelled out their security plans.

Hamas claimed responsibility yesterday for salvos aimed at two settlements in southern Gaza. With 30 mortars and 26 rockets, it amounted to one of the biggest barrages in four years of violence. However, the military said there were no casualties.

Hamas said the barrage was retaliation for the death of two Palestinians on Wednesday. One blew himself up with a bomb he was apparently trying to plant, and the other was shot dead by soldiers as he approached a settlement.

Palestinian MP Ziad Abu Zayyad said Hamas was probably trying to strengthen its political position with the heavy bombardment. He said Israel must continue to show restraint.

“Israel has to refrain from any actions that could ignite the ground, that could be used as an excuse to torpedo the actions being taken by the Palestinian leadership,” Mr Abu Zayyad told Israel’s Army Radio.

In the wake of the barrages, Israel’s defence minister Shaul Mofaz warned: “If the Palestinians don’t know how to deal with it, we shall do it.”

Yesterday, armed Palestinians stormed the main Palestinian jail in Gaza, killing three prisoners, as part of a clan feud. Mr Abbas took that as another affront to his authority.

“These are very dangerous developments and they violate the legitimacy of the Palestinian Authority,” Mr Abu Libdeh said. “No one can continue with these violations.”

At Tuesday’s summit in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, Mr Sharon and Mr Abbas declared an end to all violence and military operations.

Mr Abbas said all Palestinian groups, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad, had signed up to the truce, although the leaders of these two groups deny this.

Up to now, Mr Abbas has insisted he will not confront the militant groups and disarm them, as Israel and the internationally backed ‘road map’ peace plan demand, preferring negotiations.

· An imam allied with the militant Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr today condemned this week’s Middle East summit in Egypt, urging Arab leaders not to walk “hand in hand” with Zionists.

“This is the message of the leader, al-Sadr,” imam Hashim Abu Ragheef told worshippers at a Shiite mosque in Kufa near the holy city of Najaf.

He said Mr Sadr’s movement “calls on the Arab people to stand up to these events and not walk hand in hand with Zionists who killed the Palestinian people”.

Mr Sadr’s movement launched two uprisings last year against US-led forces after they tried unsuccessfully to arrest him.

BreakingNews.ie

Ahern has ‘no power to have SF leaders arrested’

11/02/2005 - 12:47:44

The Taoiseach Bertie Ahern has said he has no power to have Sinn Féin leaders arrested for questioning in connection with the £26.5m (€38m) Belfast bank raid.

The Independent Monitoring Commission published a report yesterday accusing unnamed Sinn Féin members of sanctioning the robbery, which has been blamed on the Provisional IRA.

Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams subsequently challenged the Taoiseach to have him arrested if he believed the claims were true.

However, Mr Ahern said today: “Thankfully, the laws of this country doesn’t allow me arrest anybody.”

“The one thing we don’t do in our kind of politics is go around picking up people off the streets. Other political people do that, but we don’t,” he added.

Daily Ireland

11 February 05

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Traffic came to a complete standstill at the Ballygawley Roundabout, which is on the main Belfast-Enniskillen
road

Daily Ireland

Hundreds blockade Derry bridge artery

11 February 05

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More than 200 people blocked both decks of Craigavon Bridge in Derry yesterday in protest at the findings of the International Monitoring Commission.
The protest, which lasted for about 30 minutes, got underway after a meeting of republicans in the Brandywell area of the city.
Demonstrators brought traffic on the bridge to a halt at 5pm, where Sinn Féin MLA Raymond McCartney voiced the frustration of republicans at the IMC and the current crisis in the peace process.
The protesters bore placards which said, “We are protesting against the anti-democratic actions of the IMC”; “Irish republicans will not be criminalised”; “342,000 voters aren’t wrong”.
“We decided that we would take our anger about this report to the streets, just as the people of Derry did in 1968,” Mr McCartney said.
“We’ve come onto the street to demand democracy and our rights and the right of the people to elect who they choose.
“There is a degree of inconvenience for the people here today but we are sure that they understand that this is short-lived.
The people here thought that anything else might be perceived as going through the motions, but this is real anger.”
The PSNI arrived on the scene just minutes before the protestors dispersed peacefully.
Meanwhile in Dungiven, Co Derry another republican protest also severely disrupted traffic. Local Sinn Féin activists blocked Dungiven Main Street last night causing rush hour chaos on the main Derry to Belfast road.
Some 50 members of Sinn Féin blocked the road but supporters and sympathisers soon swelled their numbers.
Paddy Butcher, a spokesman for Sinn Féin in East Derry, said, “The action was part of a protest right across the six counties from Derry to Belfast in response to the anti-democratic statement of the IMC.
“Republicans will not be criminalised and the mandate of 342,000 Irish men and women will not be ignored.
The IMC has in our opinion committed libel. Where is their evidence? How could anyone expect to receive a fair trial and due process of law in the face of such malicious speculation.
Mind you, yesterday’s apology by Tony Blair to the Guildford Four and Maguire Seven was a timely reminder to all Irishmen of what a fair trial means under British jurisdiction.
Will Blair be facing cameras again in the future for destroying the peace process by allowing innocent people to be tried, judged and sentenced in the media without a shred of evidence?”

RTE News

US aviation body warned of attacks - report

11 February 2005 09:41

It has been revealed that the US Federal Aviation Administration received 52 intelligence reports ahead of 11 September 2001 that al-Qaeda intended to attack airlines in the United States.

The information is contained in a recently declassified report by the commission that was set up to investigate the 11 September attacks.

The commission found that the administration had been given the warnings between April and September 2001.

In its judgement, the commission said that the FAA had been lulled into a false sense of security.

A spokesman for the administration said intelligence was passed on to airlines and airports but none of it was specific enough to allow the attacks to be prevented.