SAOIRSE32

Derry Journal

Fisher Family Move To End ‘Rumour And Speculation’

11 March 2005

The family of Bart Fisher, who was jailed for three years for manslaughter, have said that they feel obliged to try and quash the ‘rumour and speculation’ and the ‘ongoing campaign of character assassination’ directed at their brother.

The family said they were reluctant to speak out because of the sensitivities involved but because of the stories that have appeared in recent days they felt compelled to do so.

The family said they wanted to set out the facts of the case as accepted in the court of law that heard the case.

A family spokesperson said: “The jury at the trial accepted the following facts. Our brother was making his way home when he was accosted by Mr. Breslin and Mr. McGinley.

Despite making it clear he wanted nothing to do with them he was verbally abused and physically assaulted by Mr. Breslin.

“He went into the apartment block and attempted to close the door. However, the door was kicked open by both Mr. Breslin and Mr. McGinley.’

The family continued: “Inside the apartment block Bart went directly to his flat. Mr. Breslin shouted after him. Mr. Breslin and Mr. McGinley were both carrying objects, believed to be beer bottles.

“Bart told the court that it was his intention to make sure that the front door was locked as he was fearful that the two men would come into his flat after him.”

The Fisher family continued: “The video tape from inside the apartment block clearly shows Bart walking towards the front door when he is surprised by the two men beneath the stairwell.

“He is struck on the head by Mr. McGinley with the object in his hand, probably the beer bottle. This led to a head wound to Mr. Fisher which is clearly captured by police video footage when they arrest him in his own flat. “Mr. McGinley is then stabbed a split second later by Bart. It is clear that neither Bart nor Mr. Breslin are aware that Mr. McGinley had been stabbed. “The state pathologist accepted that the stabbing injury may have been caused as much by Mr. McGinley moving forward as by sticking the knife into him.

“Mr. McGinley immediately staggered out of the front door. Mr. Breslin continued to fight with Bart. Eventually, Bart got him out of the front door and closed the door and went back to his flat.

“It was only when he had spotted blood on the knife that he realised that somebody had been stabbed.”

The Fisher family also said that there had been ’severe intimidation’ from the initial court appearance and added that the court had to be cleared by riot police at the first appearance.

They also said that during the trial the intimidation continued and that the jury said they felt threatened.

The Fisher family also revealed that the PSNI had called at their father’s house to warn of threats allegedly emanating from the McGinley family circle.

The family also rejected any suggestion that their brother was involved in the killing of Mark Robinson.

They said: “In relation to the killing of Mousey Robinson this occurred in April 2001. Bart and three others were arrested in August 2001. He was questioned for about twenty minutes.

“He provided an alibi which is borne out by CCTV footage. He was released from custody immediately. No evidence has ever been forthcoming to connect him to this crime.”

In conclusion the family said: “We would ask that Bart be left to serve out his sentence and his family be left in peace.”

Daily Ireland

Fond memories of the Kesh

13 March 2005

I’m looking forward to going back to Long Kesh. They’re going to build a sports stadium there as well as a centre for conflict transformation – maybe – although exactly what the centre is going to contain isn’t clear yet.
As someone who has paid countless visits to the place down through the years, Long Kesh holds a very special place in my heart, as do those fine servants of the Crown who kept the camp ticking over.
“Too lazy to work, too stupid to steal,” that was the unkind assessment of Long Kesh screws where I came from, and after a couple of minutes inside the place you quickly came to realise that it wasn’t far off the mark. Stepping off the bus in the car park, you’d make your way to the turnstiles under the gaze of British soldiers in the watchtowers.
Once through the gate, you handed your visiting card to a slack-jawed prison officer and then you were admitted to a room where you’d hand over the food parcel, newspapers, books, files and guns to another dullard who would painstakingly take everything out of the bag or box and write it down. Oranges were particularly popular and the screws were never sharp enough to catch on that it wasn’t because the prisoners were vitamin C junkies – it was that the fruit was full of vodka inserted by way of a syringe.
Then it was into a white Transit van with plywood panels where the windows should have been and wooden benches where the seats once were. Slowly the van would make its way through the sprawling grounds, stopping occasionally to pass through gates, at which point the back doors would open and a screw would count the people in the van, pointing exaggeratedly with his index finger at each head and calling out the number to the bloke in the gatehouse.
From the van it was a short walk to a waiting room where you were searched in a locked cubicle by two blokes who either lacked communication skills or didn’t like Catholics, and I know which one I believed.
In the waiting room everyone smoked like laboratory beagles and a couple of screws leaned against the walls with their caps pushed back on their heads. If leaning was an Olympic sport, this here wee province would have taken Munich, Montreal, Moscow and Los Angeles by storm.
The following is not a joke. The prison officers’ social club at Long Kesh was a country and western bar, with swinging doors and a piano player, who presumably stopped playing when a Catholic walked in. A portly barman wearing a waistcoat and an apron polished glasses and poured shots of red-eye and pints of Harp.
Once a week they’d hold a wild west night when the screws and their wives would come as cowboys and card sharps and their wives would tag along dressed as saloon tarts or Calamity Janes.
The six-guns on their hips were fake, but the personal issue Berettas under their armpits weren’t. There’s a rumour, which I haven’t been able to confirm, that the place was called The Lazy C.
Anyway, enough of that dang tomfoolery and back to them thar gates and fences…
One by one, the names would be called out, and the Prods would know the Taigs by their names and vice-versa. Except for me. Everbody kind of assumed I was a Prod when my name was called out, which didn’t faze me much because at my school any Christian Brother reading my class’s roll for the first time automatically assumed I was a spy or a plant.
When your name was eventually called, it was back into another van for a short hike across to the visiting blocks which lay behind another set of turnstiles. You’d take your place at a table surrounded by shoulder-high partitions and wait for your prisoner to arrive.
I imagine that someone with a bit of imagination could make some sort of interactive attraction from this to include in the new Maze/Long Kesh package – The Lazy C bit, you would think, has endless possibilities.

Daily Ireland

PSNI refuse intelligence policy request

13 March 2005

The PSNI has refused to divulge the force’s policy for the passage of intelligence from Special Branch to PSNI district commanders, quoting national security considerations and the role of MI5 among the reasons for its refusal.
And it has also snubbed a request for information about the role of regional assistant chief constables in relation to Special Branch operations on the same grounds.
The PSNI stated yesterday that it does not believe releasing the key policy document dealing with both issues would “benefit all of the community”.
The information was obtained in response to a request by Daily Ireland under the Freedom of Information Act. Controversy has surrounded the role of Special Branch and its failure to transparently share intelligence in relation to key incidents, such as the 1998 Omagh bomb.
In many cases, critics have argued that Special Branch’s interest has been focused on protecting its agents and informants, rather than prosecuting offenders.
A new policy protocol was drawn up within the PSNI for the dissemination of intelligence after a series of scathing reports and recommendations from agencies like the Police Ombudsman and the Stevens Inquiry.
In February, Daily Ireland requested a copy of the new policy, which is currently openly listed on the PSNI website policy index under the heading, ‘Collection, Dissemination and Review of Intelligence’.
Our request was refused yesterday and the PSNI listed a series of “exemptions” justifying the decision.
Among the exemptions were the following “public interest” considerations:
“Disclosure as to how intelligence is disseminated may hamper present and future investigations.
“Release would not benefit all of the community or a substantial amount of the community.
“Release of policy would affect the efficient conduct of the service locally and nationally.”
The PSNI also cited a number of other exemptions under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, relating to “the safeguarding of national security”.
These include the involvement of MI5 in the North, specifically in relation to its integral role on Special Branch’s controversial Tasking and Co-ordinating Group.
Despite having no remit to investigate the activities of MI5 in relation to policing in the North, a spokesperson for the Police Ombudsman, Nuala O’Loan, confirmed that her agency possesses a copy of the PSNI policy.
A Policing Board spokesperson told Daily Ireland that “the precise details of intelligence handling processes are, of course, naturally sensitive, and the Policing Board would not comment on or reveal operational details or police tactics if that might compromise the police’s ability to tackle serious crime.”
It is not known whether the Policing Board possesses a copy of the policy document.

Daily Ireland

Family of man shot dead by PSNI ask for Ahern meeting

13 March 2005

The family of the only person shot dead by the PSNI is to seek a meeting with the Irish Foreign Minister, Dermot Ahern, to discuss their concerns surrounding the controversial shooting.
Neil McConville (21), from Bleary, Co Armagh was shot dead by the PSNI in April 2003 when a car he was driving was rammed by police outside Lisburn.
A passenger in the car was also shot and wounded. It later emerged the pair had been subject to a joint PSNI/British Army covert surveillance operation which involved several police vehicles and a helicopter.
The circumstances surrounding Mr McConville’s killing are currently being investigated by the Police Ombudsman.
Mr McConville’s family, who say they have become frustrated with the lack of progress in the case, are hoping that a meeting with Mr Ahern will be a first step in their quest to find out the truth behind their son’s killing.
“We’re disappointed that the Irish government hasn’t picked up and run with our case as they have done with other cases,” said his mother Colette. “But we believe that’s because the killing involves the PSNI. As a family we’ve experienced a great sense of frustration because Neil’s killing happened in a very public way but nobody is knocking on our door and offering us help.”
As the second anniversary of their son’s death approaches, Mrs McConville says the PSNI has never once made contact with the family.
“They have never called to my door. They killed my son and never came to my house to tell me. We had to find out for ourselves – that wouldn’t happen anywhere else. But the whole operation that night was disproportionate to the assumed threat. Who did they think they were dealing with?”
The family say they want answers regarding the PSNI’s activities on that night, including why the car couldn’t have been stopped; why an operation of such significance was put into operation; and what was the briefing given to the PSNI officers beforehand.
A PSNI spokesperson said they were unable to comment because the case is currently being investigated by the Ombudsman’s office.

Daily Ireland

House arrest laws extended to North

13 March 2005

From next Monday it becomes possible to electronically tag and put under house arrest anyone in the North of Ireland considered to be a security risk.
People from the Republic could also be banned from the North under the raft of new laws.
The legislation, largely based on South Africa’s draconian apartheid legislation, was forced through the British parliament’s House of Lords after 30 hours of wrangling.
Tony Blair has defended the measures as neccessary to guard against foreign terror suspects.
Critics view the new ‘control orders’ as detention without trial. The banning aspects include restrictions on freedom of movement, speech and association based on secret intelligence meetings the suspect is excluded from.
Direct rule minister Paul Murphy has refused to rule out the application of the new laws in the North, to the fury of Sinn Fein and other human rights groups.
Sinn Féin’s policing spokesperson Gerry Kelly reacted angrily yesterday to confirmation that the Northern Ireland Office is considering the application of controversial new banning laws against Irish citizens in the North of Ireland.
Secretary of State Paul Murphy this week refused to rule out using the draconian measures which are being enacted under the Prevention of Terrorism Bill.
The new legislation will permit unprecedented interference with the human rights of citizens targeted by British intelligence and Special Branch as subversive suspects.
The new laws are effectively borrowed from the South African apartheid-era banning laws and provide for bans on basic human rights like freedoms of movement, speech and association based on secret intelligence hearings from which the suspect is excluded.
Significantly, Mr Murphy is formally supporting the British Home Secretary Charles Clarke in promoting the legislation through the Westminster parliament.
On Wednesday, Mr Murphy refused to rule out applying the new laws against Irish citizens, including republicans. “We haven’t even finished putting the legislation through parliament yet,” he said.
“Obviously when that is done (I have) to talk to the Chief Constable and those who advise me on security in Northern Ireland to see how relevant those would be within a Northern Ireland context,” Mr Murphy said. Speaking to Daily Ireland last night, Gerry Kelly said the British government should re-think its decision.
“If Paul Murphy thinks he can return to the agenda of repression, he’s got another thing coming,” the North Belfast MLA said. “Republicans will not be cowered by emergency powers, with a return to internment without trial and other draconian laws.”
Last night the British government was still fighting to ensure that only minor amendments are made to the detail of the Bill, which is expected to become law on Monday.
The new measures are being introduced to the North just a fortnight after Mr Murphy announced that MI5 is assuming overall control of British intelligence gathering in Ireland, including overseeing the work of PSNI Special Branch.

BBC

Tebbit attacks Blair over terror

Lord Tebbit was badly hurt in the 1984 Brighton bombing

Former Tory chairman Lord Tebbit has attacked Tony Blair for suggesting the Tories are soft on terror while himself making “no move” against the IRA.

It comes after ministers accused Tory leader Michael Howard of risking UK security by opposing new terror laws.

Speaking to Scotland on Sunday, Lord Tebbit condemned the prime minister for freeing Brighton bomber Patrick Magee under the Good Friday Agreement.

Lord Tebbit was among 34 people wounded in the 1984 attack which killed five.

His criticism followed the granting of new anonymity orders concerning seven former terror detainees.

The High Court granted the orders late on Saturday to replace previous anonymity orders concerning the suspects, who were released under new anti-terror laws.

The original orders expired on Friday night when old anti-terror legislation was replaced by the new terrorism bill.

Lord Tebbit told Scotland on Sunday the Brighton bomber’s release undermined Mr Blair’s attempts to seem tougher than the Tories on terror.

Magee had been serving eight life sentences for the bombing of the Grand Hotel where Conservative delegates had gathered for their party conference when he was freed in 1999.

Lord Tebbit, whose wife Margaret was paralysed, told the newspaper the IRA had killed more British people than al-Qaeda killed Americans in the 11 September attacks.

He said: “Considering Blair is the man who let out of prison a whole battalion of murderers, including the man that crippled my wife, that nearly killed me and murdered my friends, I find it difficult to take his claims seriously.”

“I feel a sensation of nausea that a man so detached from reality and truth could be the prime minister of this country.”

Lord Tebbit’s attack is the latest in a war of words between the UK’s main political parties over the issue of terrorism.

Control orders signed

On Saturday, Leader of the Commons Peter Hain said Michael Howard had put security at risk by attacking legislation bringing in control orders for terror suspects without having a “coherent alternative”.

But Tory co-party chairman Liam Fox said Tony Blair’s handling of the matter had shown he was “arrogant and out of touch”.

Magee was released 15 years after carrying out the Brighton bombing

Meanwhile, Lib Dem president Simon Hughes said his party would continue to oppose the bill and would vote to repeal it in the next parliament.

The powers were finally approved on Friday after a marathon parliamentary debate.

The first control orders, imposed on 10 former terror detainees, were signed by Home Secretary Charles Clarke just hours later.

These impose conditions such as electronic tagging and curfews on the men, who are all foreign nationals.

The new anonymity orders granted on Saturday concern all but three of the men whose names have already been published.

The orders prohibit the publication of any details that could identify the suspects other than Abu Qatada, Djamel Ajouaou and Abu Rideh.

They also ban publication of the men’s addresses, names of family members and photographs, drawings or likenesses made of the detainees or any family living with them.

BBC

McCartneys appeal to SF ‘witness’

Robert McCartney, 33, was killed near Belfast city centre

A Sinn Fein assembly election candidate who was in a Belfast bar on the night of Robert McCartney’s killing must speak to police, his family says.

Mr McCartney, 33, was stabbed to death near Belfast city centre after a row in Magennis’s bar on 30 January.

Cora Groogan says she was there when the row began but saw nothing. She has given her solicitor a statement.

Sinn Fein says this was passed on to the police ombudsman, but the McCartneys say this is not enough.

The family has accused the IRA of shielding the killers.

Earlier, Ms Groogan, who stood in Mid Ulster in November 2003, said: “I got to the bar about 10pm that Sunday. I was there for a short while.

“There was a commotion in the bar but I witnessed nothing and left shortly after 11pm. I have given a full statement to my solicitor.”

Ms Groogan was among about 70 people in the bar.

McCartney sisters

One of Mr McCartney’s sisters, Catherine, said: “Sinn Fein says she [Ms Groogan] has given a statement to a solicitor to pass on to the police ombudsman.

“However, we believe she should give that statement directly to the police or the police ombudsman.

“Giving statements to solicitors is not really what is needed. A statement should be given to people with the proper investigative skills who can help to bring those responsible to court.”

Court justice

During the attack, Mr McCartney’s friend Brendan Devine also suffered serious stab wounds.

Since Mr McCartney’s death, a political campaign for justice by his family has forced the IRA to expel three people and embarrassed Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams into suspending seven party members, BBC correspondent John Thorne says.

The IRA offered to shoot those involved in Mr McCartney’s killing, but this was rejected by his family who said it was only in court that justice would be done.

The family claims as many as 12 IRA members were involved in the cover-up following the killing.

The row erupted in a city bar

They had a meeting with IRA leaders on 5 March but say the organisation could not give them any reason why Mr McCartney was killed.

On Friday, Sinn Fein’s Martin McGuinness said he “did not care” who was in the bar on the night of the killing as long as they helped the family’s bid for truth and justice.

The Mid Ulster MP said: “I’m not going to talk about any individual. It doesn’t matter who they are.

“People have a duty to help the McCartney family achieve the truth and justice that they deserve.”

The family, which will travel to Washington to meet President George W. Bush next week, is now considering whether to open a campaign office.

Last week, police officers posted fresh appeals in the Short Strand area - where Mr McCartney lived - for people with information to come forward.

In total, 11 people have been arrested over the murder but all have been released without charge.

Sunday Business Post

SF holds its support but public is uneasy

06 March 2005
By Pat Leahy

Support for Sinn Féin is holding firm, despite the Northern Bank robbery and the killing of Robert McCartney. However, attitudes among non-Sinn Féin voters are hardening against the party.

This is according to the findings of today’s Red C/Sunday Business Post opinion poll. Fianna Fail has staged a dramatic recovery since last June’s local and European elections. If a general election were held now, according to the results of the poll, it would be politically impossible to form a government without Fianna Fail. The national survey comes before two by-elections in Meath and Kildare North on Friday.

Fine Gael’s support has declined since June; the party has returned to the level of support it had at the time of the 2002 general election, although voters say a Fine Gael-Labour-Green Party coalition is their preferred choice for government, but there’s not enough support to bring them to power.

Sinn Féin’s support, at 9 per cent, is 1 point up on its local election result last year and 2 points up on the general election result of 2002. However, there is evidence to show that a majority of the party’s own supporters say they are concerned about reports of IRA activity, including money laundering in the Republic.

A Sinn Féin-Fianna Fail government is viewed as unacceptable by almost 70 per cent of all voters.

The poll is good news for Taoiseach Bertie Ahern.

Since last year’s catastrophic mid-term local and European elections, when Fianna Fail received less than 32 per cent of the vote, the party’s support has recovered and stands today at 37 per cent.

While this is still behind the 41.5 per cent the party won at the 2002 general election, it is a vital reversal of the downward trend and puts Ahern in the driving seat to win a third term.

Larkspirit

**Bobby’s diary - 13th day

Friday 13th

I’m not superstitious, and it was an uneventful day today. I feel all right, and my weight is 58.5 kgs.

I was not so tired today, but my back gets sore now and again sitting in the bed. I didn’t get the Irish News, which makes me think there is probably something in it that they don’t wish me to see, but who cares. Fr Murphy was in tonight for a few minutes.

The Screws had a quick look around my cell today when I was out getting water. They are always snooping. I heard reports of men beaten up during a wing shift …

Nothing changes here.

Sean McKenna (the former hunger-striker) is back in H-4, apparently still a bit shaky but alive and still recovering, and hopefully he will do so to the full.

Mhúscail mé leis an gealbháin ar maidin agus an t-aon smaointe amháin i mo cheann - seo chugat lá eile a Roibeard. Cuireann é sin amhran a scríobh mé; bhfad ó shin i ndúil domsa.

Seo é cib é ar bith.

D’ éirigh mé ar maidin mar a tháinig an coimheádóir,
Bhuail sé mo dhoras go trom’s gan labhairt.
Dhearc mé ar na ballai, ‘S shíl mé nach raibh mé beo,
Tchítear nach n-imeoidh an t-iffrean seo go deo.
D’oscail an doras ’s níor druideadh é go ciúin,
Ach ba chuma ar bith mar nach raibheamar inár suan.
Chuala mé éan ’s ni fhaca mé geal an lae,
Is mian mór liom go raibh me go doimhin foai,
Ca bhfuil mo smaointi ar laethe a chuaigh romhainn,
S cá bhfuil an tsaol a smaoin mé abhí sa domhain,
Ni chluintear mo bhéic, ’s ní fheictear mar a rith mo dheor,
Nuair a thigeann ar lá aithíocfaidh mé iad go mor.

Canaim é sin leis an phort Siun Ní Dhuibir.

Translated this reads as follows:

I awoke with the sparrows this morning and the only thought in my head was: here comes another day, Bobby — reminding me of a song I once wrote a long time ago.

This is it anyway:

I arose this morning as the Screw came,
He thumped my door heavily without speaking,
I stared at the walls, and thought I was dead,
It seems that this hell will never depart.
The door opened and it wasn’t closed gently,
But it didn’t really matter, we weren’t asleep.
I heard a bird and yet didn’t see the dawn of day,
Would that I were deep in the earth.
Where are my thoughts of days gone by,
And where is the life I once thought was in the world.
My cry is unheard and my tears flowing unseen,
When our day comes I shall repay them dearly.

I sing this to the tune Siun Ní Dhuibir.

Bhí na heiníní ag ceiliúracht inniú. Chaith ceann de na buachaillí arán amach as an fhuinneog, ar a leghad bhí duine éigin ag ithe. Uaigneach abhí mé ar feadh tamaill ar tráthnóna beag inniú ag éisteacht leis na préacháin ag screadáil agus ag teacht abhaile daobhtha. Dá gcluinfinn an fhuiseog álainn, brisfeadh sí mo chroí.

Anois mar a scríobhaim tá an corrcrothar ag caoineadh mar a théann siad tharam. Is maith liom na heiníní.

Bhuel caithfidh mé a dul mar má scríobhain níos mó ar na heiníní seo beidh mo dheora ag rith ’s rachaidh mo smaointi ar ais chuig, an t-am nuair abhí mé ógánach, b’iad na laennta agus iad imithe go deo anois, ach thaitin siad liom agus ar a laghad níl dearmad deánta agam orthu, ta siad i mo chroí — oíche mhaith anois.

(Translated, this reads as follows:)

The birds were singing today. One of the boys threw bread out of the window. At least somebody was eating!

I was lonely for a while this evening, listening to the crows caw as they returned home. Should I hear the beautiful lark, she would rent my heart. Now, as I write, the odd curlew mournfully calls as they fly over. I like the birds.

Well, I must leave off, for if I write more about the birds my tears will fall and my thoughts return to the days of my youth.

They were the days, and gone forever now. But I enjoyed them. They are in my heart — good night, now.