SAOIRSE32

Sinn Féin

Thousands of Electors will not receive Polling Cards

Published: 18 April, 2005

Sinn Féin National Director of elections Pat Doherty says that party workers have discovered a major anomaly within the Electoral Office system which will mean that thousands of voters in East Antrim, North Down, Fermanagh South Tyrone and West Tyrone have not been allocated a polling station and will therefore not be given a polling card.

Mr Doherty said:

” Analysis by the Sinn Féin election team has exposed a major anomaly within the Electoral Office system for allocating electors polling stations and issuing polling cards. In the four constituencies East Antrim, North Down, Fermanagh South Tyrone and West Tyrone thousands of voters who are properly registered have not been allocated an polling station in which to vote and will therefore not receive a polling card.

“Sinn Féin have raised this issue with the Electoral Office and it is our belief that they do have enough time to rectify the problem. If any of these people turn up at the correct polling station, they will receive a vote. However, the fact that they will not receive a polling card may well give people the impression that they are not entitled to exercise their franchise, particularly given the appalling state of the electoral register in the six counties.” ENDS

BBC

Protesters target Irish minister

Irish Justice Minister Michael McDowell was targeted by protesters

Anti-racism protesters in Belfast have tried to shout down the Republic’s justice minister, Michael McDowell.

Mr McDowell was in the city at the invitation of SDLP deputy leader Alasdair McDonnell, the party’s election candidate in South Belfast.

At a function in a hotel members of the Anti-Racism Network vocally outlined their opposition to the deportation of asylum seekers in the Republic.

Sinn Fein have also said Mr McDowell should not visit during the election.

Party president Gerry Adams attacked the visit.

“His visit proves what we have been saying all along about Irish Government attacks on us: it is all about elections,” he said.

“I would like to think now that he has electioneered, he will accept the outcome of this election and he will accept the mandate given to our party.”

But the Progressive Democrat politician said republicans were being “partitionist” in objecting to visits by Irish ministers during the election campaign.

During his speech Mr McDonnell said a united Ireland would not come from demographic change.

“The only way it will be achieved any time soon is by persuasion,” he said.

“It is consensus politics - not census politics - that will deliver a united Ireland.”

Meanwhile, Irish Taioseach Bertie Ahern has said the IRA will need several months to decide whether it will cease violence.

The paramilitary organisation has been urged by Mr Adams to end its armed struggle and to embrace democratic politics.

“As I understand it, that is going to take some months,” Mr Ahern said.

“But the fact that it is taking place I welcome and the idea of trying to rush it in a week or two is not necessary.”

He also rejected Sinn Fein accusations that Mr McDowell and Foreign Affairs Minister Dermot Ahern were interfering in the General Election campaign in Northern Ireland by visiting candidates from the SDLP.

Mr Ahern said this was not a fair criticism because even though his own party has long-standing links with the SDLP, ministerial visits had always been even-handed.

BreakingNews.ie

IRA needs time to consider future, says Ahern

18/04/2005 - 19:01:58

The IRA will need several months to decide whether it will cease violence, Taoiseach Bertie Ahern said today.

The paramilitary organisation has been urged by Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams to end its armed struggle and to embrace democratic politics.

At the St Raphael’s Credit Union in north Dublin, Mr Ahern said the internal process of dialogue within the IRA had to take place.

“As I understand it, that is going to take some months. But the fact that it is taking place I welcome and the idea of trying to rush it in a week or two is not necessary.”

Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams indicated on Sunday that the IRA is unlikely to respond to the call to disband until after the Britain’s general election.

Mr Ahern said he hoped the peace process would then resume.

“I don’t see any progress until we see these issues dealt with and obviously the main one would be what the IRA sees as its future. If it’s positive, then we’ll be able to move on again, there’s no reason why we won’t.”

He rejected accusations from Sinn Féin that Foreign Affairs Minister Dermot Ahern and Justice Minister Michael McDowell were interfering in the North’s general election campaign in Northern Ireland by visiting candidates from the SDLP.

Mr Ahern said this was not a fair criticism because even though his own party has long-standing links with the SDLP, the ministerial visits had always been even-handed.

::: u.tv :::

**Via IRA2

New law for Northern Ireland

MONDAY 18/04/2005 17:46:38

A new law has come into force in Northern Ireland meaning people can be tried twice for the same crime, even if they have been acquitted.

It applies only in certain situations. There are also new rules relating to the type of evidence which can be introduced into a trial by the prosecution.

The new crimnal justice provisions have already come into force in England and Wales and were introduced to the Northern Ireland courts today. The biggest change concerns the law on retrials.

Until now once a person had been found not guilty of a crime, they could not be re-tried under the rules of double jeopardy.

However now there is an exception, where there is a new and compelling evidence and where it is a serious crime which would carry a maximum sentence of life such as murder manslaughter or rape.

Prosecutors will now have the right to appeal a judicial ruling which ends their case, such as a situation where a judge rules there is no case to answer.

A prosecution team can also introduce evidence of bad character it its value is thought to outweigh the risk of an unfair trial and evidence relating to previous convicitons.

Irish American Information Service

IRISH JUSTICE MINISTER CAMPAIGNS FOR SDLP IN BELFAST

04/18/05 10:57 EST

Irish Justice Minister Michael McDowell tonight insisted he was campaigning for an SDLP General Election candidate in a personal capacity following criticism of his visit to Belfast by Sinn Fein.

Mr McDowell, who has been a trenchant critic of Sinn Fein, was campaigning tonight for the deputy leader of the nationalist SDLP, Dr Alasdair McDonnell in his bid to capture the south Belfast seat.

But his intervention in the campaign was criticised by Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams and the party`s MEP in Dublin Mary Lou McDonald while they were canvassing for votes in Derry.

Mr Adams, who also attacked a recent visit by Irish Foreign Minister Dermot Ahern to the SDLP`s MP Eddie McGrady in South Down, said: “It`s a pity he (Mr McDowell) did not come up when Short Strand was under siege, when Ardoyne was under siege and when Garvaghy Road was under siege. It is a pity that he did not take time to come up here in Derry to attend the Bloody Sunday Tribunal. His visit proves what we have been saying all along about Irish Government attacks on us: it is all about elections.”

“I would like to think now that he has electioneered, he will accept the outcome of this election and he will accept the mandate given to our party.”

Sinn Fein MEP Mary Lou McDonald said that while it was a matter for the minister where he went and for the SDLP who had invited him, she did not believe it was appropriate for Irish Government ministers to tie themselves into a campaign north of the Border.

“It puts them in a very partisan position when they have a very key role in the peace process,” she said.

“They are custodians of the Agreement and they have to keep themselves in a position where they can actually fulfil that role.”

A spokesperson for the minister said that he had gone to Belfast to support Dr McDonnell in a personal capacity.

“Alasdair is an old friend from college days,” she said.

The SDLP and Sinn Fein are currently engaged in a bitter battle for Nobel Peace Prize winner John Hume`s seat in Foyle.

Sinn Fein general secretary Mitchel McLaughlin believes that he can capture the seat from the SDLP`s leader Mark Durkan.

However today journalist and civil rights campaigner Eamonn McCann declared he was also running, further complicating the race.

The Socialist Environmental Alliance candidate secured 2,257 votes in the constituency in the November 2003 Assembly elections.

Mr Durkan today told Derry`s Chamber of Commerce that Sinn Fein and the DUP had failed to live up to election promises in recent negotiations.

In his latest attack, the Foyle Assembly member said: “Between them, Sinn Fein and the DUP and the Ulster Unionists before them promised so much but in the end they delivered so little. I believe people have seen enough of the failed deals and flawed deals that have blocked progress for far too long and can see right through those responsible for them.”

Democratic Unionist leader, the Rev Ian Paisley, today handed in nomination papers for his North Antrim constituency where he has served as MP since 1970.

Ulster Unionist MP David Burnside today formally launched his re-election bid in South Antrim in the face of a DUP challenge from former MP, the Reverend William McCrea.

BBC

UUP man complains over searches

Michael Copeland has met the Police Ombudsman

Ulster Unionist assemblyman Michael Copeland has complained to the Police Ombudsman following searches of his property in a money laundering probe.

Computer equipment, credit cards and bank statements were removed during Friday’s raids of his home and offices. Mr Copeland denies any wrong-doing.

He has met the ombudsman over concerns about the police handling of the case.

It is understood he has made repeated attempts to meet the officers involved, but they have refused to see him.

Party leader David Trimble said he did not believe Mr Copeland, a local government candidate, had been engaged in any corrupt activity.

The Ulster Unionist Party postponed the launch of its election manifesto due to the searches.

Strategists felt the party’s policies could be “overshadowed” by the money laundering investigation.

The party leadership opted to move the launch to Wednesday - a 48-hour delay.

Production order

Mr Copeland’s property was searched by detectives involved in an inquiry that has already led to charges against a leading estate agent and an ousted loyalist paramilitary boss.

Meanwhile, police have confirmed that North Down Borough Council offices were visited on Friday by officers investigating money laundering.

The council said they were served with a production order under the Proceeds of Crime Act.

It said the police inquiries did not concern any councillor or member of council staff, but detectives were interested in planning and building control applications by two firms which cannot be named under the terms of the order.

The raids came a fortnight after ousted Ulster Defence Association leader Jim Gray, 47, was arrested by police involved in the money laundering inquiry.

The loyalist has been charged with possessing and concealing property and his girlfriend has been accused of 16 counts of laundering cash.

Philip Johnston, who runs a chain of six estate agencies across Belfast, has also been charged in connection with the investigation.

Belfast Telegraph

Shankill project saved 50 youths from attack

By Deborah McAleese
18 April 2005

More than 50 youths in the Shankill area of Belfast were saved from paramilitary attack last year by a local community group, it was claimed today.

The Greater Shankill Alternatives claims to have successfully deflected punishment beatings or house evictions in the cases of 55 young people by mediating on their behalf with paramilitaries.

Two of those represented by the community group still became victim to paramilitary attack.

“We believe that the Alternatives model has had a dramatic impact on beatings for anti-social behaviour but that is not to say that there are not any attacks taking place,” said Billy Drummond from Greater Shankill Alternatives.

He said: “We believe that what we are developing helps support community change by developing non-violent restorative responses to socially harmful activities within the community.”

was set up in 1998 to combat anti-social behaviour such as car thefts, joyriding, burglary, graffiti and bullying and to reduce the use of violence to punish young offenders.

It aims to offer young people involved in crime and anti-social behaviour the opportunity to break their offending pattern through intensive training schemes.

Due to the success of the model Shankill Alternatives has recently received funding for an innovative new pilot project which also addresses the needs of the victims of crime.

Since August last year the Community Support Project has offered help and advice to almost 150 crime victims.

The project has also encouraged offenders to pay almost £3,700 restitution directly to their victims.

“The feedback has been extremely positive. We offer support to victims through home visits, provide home security measures, raise awareness of community safety issues and liaise with statutory agencies to improve services,” said Billy.

Through the project a number of community volunteers work tirelessly to offer victims of crime support, the possibility of restitution and an opportunity to regain control of the situation.

The Community Support Project can be contacted on 9031 1420.

Daily Ireland

New Tara campaign group formed

The protest against a proposed motorway near the Hill of Tara in Co Meath was stepped up last week as another campaign group brought the debate to the government’s doorstep.
Gaeil Óga campaigners took their campaign to the houses of power when they marched to the offices of Dick Roche, the minister for the environment, heritage and local government.
About 20 members of the group marched to the Custom House in Dublin carrying a banner and placards with campaign slogans.
The young people and students said it was the first in a planned series of protests regarding the destruction of Tara.
They have added their voices to a larger protest that has been gathering momentum.
The Save Tara/Skryne Valley Campaign has threatened legal action against the government if it goes ahead with the motorway. Archaeologists from around the world and the director of the National Museum of Ireland have all added their names to the list of experts opposed to the proposed motorway route.
They hope to influence Minister Roche, who is expected to make a decision soon on the final route of the new M3 motorway.
April Nic Eoin of Gaeil Óga said: “We would expect Minister Roche to do the right thing and reroute this road.
“As a guardian of Irish heritage and an Irish man, Minister Roche must look into his heart and see that these proposals for Tara are not right or indeed necessary.”
The Irish government plans to build the M3 on a stretch of road between Clonee and Kells in Co Meath to ease congestion problems in and out of Dublin.
The new motorway would pass the Hill of Tara and the Skryne Valley, which archaeologists and conservationists say will destroy a site of huge importance to Irelandís national heritage.
Experts say there are at least 140 archaeological sites in the path of the proposed route.
Tara was the ancient seat of the high kings of Ireland and is 1,000 years older than the Egyptian pyramids. Some have likened the idea of building a motorway through Tara to ‘running a knife through a Rembrandt’.
Stuart Townsend, the Hollywood actor and a native of Howth in Co Dublin, has joined the campaign to stop the governmentís road-building scheme. His Oscar-winning girlfriend Charlize Theron, former Pogues front man Shane MacGowan, former Dubliners singer Ronnie Drew and singer-songwriter David Kitt have also joined the campaign.
Gaeil Óga said the group’s focus was the restoration and promotion of the Irish language and Irish culture. The group said it was ‘unbelievable that, while so many seek to achieve this aim, there is a government agency which would have a motorway built through our national heritage’.
April Nic Eoin said: “We hope the minister heeds the calls of Gaeil Óga and those of academics worldwide and makes a decision future generations will be proud of.
“History should not remember the minister for environment as the butcher of the Boyne,” she said.

Daily Ireland

Collusion suspected in murder of activist killed for her political skills

Sheena Campbell was sitting with friends in the bar of the York Hotel in Belfast when a gunman walked in and shot her through the heart on October 16, 1992.
As she lay dying, her killer calmly stood over her and shot her in the head.
She was the seventeenth Sinn Féin member to have been murdered since the start of the Troubles. Immediately after her killing, her relatives and friends suspected state collusion.
Despite her political activism, the 29-year-old had never been arrested by the RUC and was little known outside republican circles.
Although widely credited with helping modernise the logistics of Sinn Féin’s electoral policy, her importance was not recognised by many outside Sinn Féin.
The killing was claimed by the Ulster Volunteer Force. In the aftermath of her murder, relatives asked if the UVF would have targeted her in such a risky assassination bid.
Just two weeks before the murder, Campbell was stopped at an Ulster Defence Regiment checkpoint and had her diary and university timetable taken from her.
The UDR, a force implicated in dozens of sectarian murders, brazenly made copies in front of Campbell before handing the documents back to her.
Brendan Curran, her partner of ten years, said he was instantly suspicious of the circumstances surrounding her killing.
“The RUC took Sheena’s car away immediately and didn’t give it back for a few days.
“When they did talk to witnesses who had been in the bar, they told them that myself and Sheena were terrorists and gun-runners and asked them if they knew that.
“They didn’t even make a cursory attempt to ask about the killers.
“It was a rant against Sheena.
“Of course, their wild allegations were utter nonsense and based upon their own deep-rooted sectarianism but it showed very clearly that they had no interest in catching the killers.”
In an odd postscript to the RUC investigation, Sheena Campbell’s mother learned at her daughter’s inquest that two men had been arrested with the murder weapon in the months following the murder.
However, the case still remains officially unsolved to this day and no one has ever been charged with Sheena Campbell’s murder.
Although Campbell went to the York Hotel bar every Friday after studying at Queen’s, she was running late that particular night and would normally have been en route to Craigavon in Co Armagh.
Brendan Curran said he believed this was why the RUC took away Campbell’s car within minutes of the murder.
Officially, the RUC told the Campbell family the car had been taken because the RUC feared it might be stolen.
Curran dismisses out of hand that explanation.
“The reason they took the car away is because she was meant to be shot as she got in it or else there was something planted in it to help her killers.
“When the gunman walked into the York bar, he used a handkerchief to cover his face. He had no balaclava with him.
“That would strongly suggest that the murder was not meant to have been carried out in such a public place.
“They wanted to get her in the car and that explains why the RUC swooped on it and took it to their barracks, where no prying eyes could see what they were up to.”
When she was murdered, Campbell left behind Caolán, an 11-year-old son from a previous relationship.
After her death, Curran brought up her son.
“Now he is 23 and he is obviously very sad that he never got to know Sheena as an adult.
“He remembers her but as his mummy not as an adult and just last year he graduated from university and it was sad that his mother wasn’t there.
“She was a brilliant person, very clever, very funny and she loved the craic.
“When she went up to Belfast to work for Sinn Féin, she knew nobody. By the next week, she was everybody’s friend.
“Sheena was really a fantastic person, very committed to people around her and to republicanism.
“It’s time the British government came clean about its war in Ireland and their role in murdering innocent people and their political opponents.
“Sheena had a sharp mind and her importance and contribution to Sinn Féin was a threat to the British state, was recognised by the agents of that state.
“She was a great organiser and had a natural flair for political work.
“That is the reason they made sure she would be killed.
“If it had have been loyalists, they could have killed her down round Craigavon.
“They killed plenty of Catholics there.
“Why would the UVF in Belfast kill her?
“Her murder was clearly ordered and carried out by people working for the British state.”

Brendan Curran is a member of An Fhírinne, a campaigning group for victims of state collusion.

Irelandclick.com

Taxi service receives loyalist death threat

The organisation behind plans to extend the black taxi service route into parts of the Antrim Road and Glengormley has received a death threat from Loyalists.
The West Belfast Taxi Association (WBTA) announced last week exclusively in the North Belfast News that fresh discussions had taken place around extending their current routes into parts of Glengormley.
However the WBTA was contacted several days later by the PSNI who said they had received information from an anonymous caller, purporting to represent the Loyalist Action Force, a cover name used in the past by the UDA, issuing a death threat against them. The WBTA was told it should review its personal security.
General Manager of the WBTA Stephen Long said it was a strong possibility that the threat was in connection to the new routes being discussed.
“I can confirm we received a death threat and I think it’s a strong possibility that we got it on the back of the new routes.
“The West Belfast Taxi Association lost eight of its members during the conflict and dozens of staff and passengers were injured. Despite these attacks and the sadness suffered we continued to provide a service for people who needed us across North and West Belfast
“We will continue to do so in light of this fresh attack.
Sinn Féin Newtownabbey councillor Briege Meehan and her husband Martin, who is running in the forthcoming local elections in the area, said they were appalled.
“For this threat to be issued against innocent people who only want to provide a service is reprehensible,” Martin Meehan said. “At the moment it costs £8 to £10 to get into the centre of Belfast, and the reception we’re getting on the doorstep is very positive
“If these plans take off, the taxi association will be employing around 20- 30 people and that’s good news for people.
“Black taxis already run from Jordanstown, Rathcoole and Monkstown and there’s never been any problem. We’re only responding to what the people want.”

Journalist:: Staff Reporter

BBC

Clean-up operation after flooding

Residents want long term measures to address the problem

Residents in County Down are facing a clean-up operation after flooding.

There had been fears on Sunday that water in the Mourneview area of Newcastle might reach their homes following torrential rain.

Homeowners had to use sandbags to protect their houses and water reached the doorsteps of a number of homes.

Several families took the precaution of moving furniture upstairs as the high tide approached. Residents said it was not the first time this had happened.

Local resident Judy Maguire said this was the worst flooding she had seen in 20 years of living in the area.

“I’ve had to stay in all day, standing at the door to wait for sandbags,” she said.

“It has just been a really distressing day.”

Long term measures

Teams from the Rivers Agency and the Roads and Water Services were at the scene to try to solve the problem.

Residents said measures must be taken to address the problem in the long term to prevent possible worse cases of flooding in the area.

Meanwhile, the Mourne Rescue team was called out on Sunday to bring a group of walkers to safety.

They were stranded after the Yellow Water River near Rostrevor became impassable in the heavy rain.

Irelandclick.com

Clean-up was a routine one

I would like to respond to the accusations of a forensic clean-up that the McCartney family claim took place in Magennis’s Bar on the night that Robert McCartney got stabbed.
A stabbing that did not take place in the bar, but at least a block away from the bar.
A member of my family was working in the bar on the night in question. As part of their paid employment one of the duties is to ensure a clean and hazard-free bar.
This young person cleaned up the broken glass and mess left after a row in the bar (in the same manner in which they would clean up any other night).
If the family have so much trust in the PSNI, then ask them why this person voluntarily sat for three hours of interrogation and answered all questions, freely admitting carrying out full duties in work that night.
This was not a made-up story or a cover-up, only facts from a frightened young bar employee.
My young relative is a hardworking honest young person, and not a forensic cleaner for anyone.
I demand that the McCartney family leave my young relative alone.

Irelandclick.com

McCartney family deny truth of IRA expulsion

The family of Robert McCartney said yesterday that they believe the expulsion of an IRA member in connection with the death of their brother is a farce.

Speaking at a prayer vigil for Mr. McCartney at the spot where he was murdered, the dead man’s sister Paula described as “not genuine” the expulsion of a well-known republican who, the family claim, gave the order to murder their brother.

Stating her belief that the lack of arrests over her brother’s murder indicated that those involved are being protected by the IRA, Paula said, “On high levels it has been said that they have expelled this man, but on the streets where it really matters, that’s not visible.

“What is visible is, he is still in the same position and holding the same authority that he had ten weeks ago.

“The family had it on good authority that the senior republican involved in Robert’s murder did in fact give the order for that murder,” continued Paula.
“When you live in Northern Ireland there’s certain things that you know, you know by this man’s behaviour and by who he is associating himself with, that the expulsion isn’t genuine.”

Adding her disappointment at what the family feel is a lack of support from Sinn Féin, Paula added that she believed the party had not done enough to bring Mr. McCartney’s murderers to justice.

Leading the vigil service, which saw around 200 people turn out to pray for the dead man despite appalling weather. Father Tom Leydon of St Malachy’s Church conducted a decade of the rosary at the spot where Robert McCartney was murdered in an alleyway adjacent to Magennis’s bar.

Joined by the McCartney sisters, but with Robert’s partner Bridgeen Hagan notably detached from the united front, Father Tom Leydon prayed for the soul of Mr. McCartney and for those he had left behind saying, “We gather here today to remember Robert and to ask that he would rest in the peace of the risen Lord, we pray for the consolation of his family and friends.” And adding a thought for the many who have died as a result of the Troubles, Father Leydon said a further prayer for all those who have died as a result of violence in the North of Ireland.

Describing the significance of the rosary, and telling of the strength that can be found through prayer and the Holy Spirit, Father Leydon spoke poignantly to all assembled saying, “Lord our God, you are always faithful and quick to show mercy, our brother Robert was suddenly and violently taken from us, come swiftly to his aid, take mercy on him and comfort his family and friends.”

Speaking after laying flowers at the spot where Robert died, Paula McCartney said she was moved by the number of people who had turned out to the vigil on such a bad day and added, “it just proves that the majority of people know right from wrong, and these people here today are obviously not afraid to stand on the side of right.”

Adding her disgust at the recent alleged intimidation suffered by the family, Paula said she was disappointed by the actions of those involved but added that nothing would hinder the family’s campaign to find justice for their brother. “There was an incident during the week that we believe was designed in some way to damage the campaign but as you can see it has not worked and will not work.”

When asked if the family would meet with Irish Minister for Justice Michael McDowell during his visit to the north tomorrow, Paula McCartney reiterated her earlier comments, claiming that she had had no idea that the minister would be visiting and added that the family had no plans to meet with the TD.

Attending the vigil, SDLP Councilor Alisdair McDonnell shared his sympathy with the McCartney sisters, but when asked by the Andersonstown News for his thoughts on the turn-out he said he had no comment to make.

A similar vigil is planned for Dublin in the next few weeks, as well as meetings with the Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, and US Special Envoy Mitchell Reiss.

Journalist:: Ciara McGuigan

Belfast Telegraph

Swept to his death
Man (34) drowns as he tries to save dog

By Michael McHugh
18 April 2005

A family was left distraught today after a man died when he was swept away in a swollen river while trying to save the life of a dog.

The 34-year-old, named locally as Martin Quinn from Drumquin, went into the Bannagh River near Drummoney Falls in Co Fermanagh at around 6pm yesterday.

His body was found at approximately 8.30 this morning by a member of the public following an intensive search by police and coastguards.

The police sergeant who was in charge of the operation, Alan Laird, confirmed the discovery today and said a team was on its way to recover the body.

“He was found some way down the river, about a mile from where he went in,” he said.

“Obviously the family are very upset and we are presuming that he drowned at this time although investigations are at an early stage.”

He added that the family, who had been in the area to assist the hunt, were distraught at the news.

Mr Quinn is believed to have got into difficulties trying to rescue a dog from a walkway into the river, where it runs through a remote forested area.

A helicopter was deployed last night in an effort to find the victim and a lifeboat was also nearby.

Workers searched a three-mile stretch of the river between the falls and lower Lough Erne, and the Coastguard’s Watch Manager, Ian Murdock, said the service did everything it could to assist the police.

“There is a lot of water going down the river because of the amount of rain which we have had in previous days,” he said.

“I know the incident happened near the waterfall and that he went in after a dog and didn’t come out again.

“We had a helicopter searching last night and there was a lifeboat in the area but they couldn’t get near the incident.”

The operation was co-ordinated by Enniskillen police.

North Fermanagh UUP councillor, Tom Elliott, said his thoughts were with the man’s family.

Councillor John O’Kane said he felt compassion for Mr Quinn’s relatives.

“The family must be shellshocked, there is little anyone can say that will ease their grief,” he said.

“This is not the first time this type of incident has happened and it is a natural reaction to try to help an animal or a family pet if it falls into a river.

“It is difficult to see how anyone could prevent that from happening in the future.

“We had the tragedy of the boy who died in the road accident and now this. It is a sad time for the area and hopefully something like this won’t happen again.”

Cllr O’Kane said the man’s death was a result of the extremely heavy rain at the weekend and the swollen river, and added that his thanks went out to the rescue services and the volunteers who helped to look for the victim.

Belfast Telegraph

SDLP refuses to exclude Sinn Fein

By Noel McAdam
18 April 2005

The two main unionist parties last night attempted to woo the SDLP to consider setting up a Stormont administration without Sinn Fein - but earned a firm rebuff.

The DUP also made clear its ‘fallback’ position will be to democratise Direct Rule if attempts to agree a renewed Executive on the far side of the elections fail.

DUP deputy leader Peter Robinson has already indicated a meeting with the SDLP on the issue of a possible voluntary coalition has been agreed for after May 5.

Ulster Unionist leader David Trimble said he believed a cross-community administration between his party and he SDLP could work with the reinvigoration of the “moderate” centrist parties.

Speaking on the BBC’s Breakfast with Frost programme, he argued: “I think that trying to have a cross-community administration that brings in every party isn’t going to work in the present circumstances.

“What we want to see in this election is whether people are prepared to vote for that or are they going to, as it were, endorse the extremes and reinforce stalemate.”

Mr Robinson said earlier however, the SDLP have agreed to meet his party. “I just hope that the SDLP will recognise that our best interests is in having devolved Government. Why should that not be allowed to happen?” he asked.

The strength of the SDLP in the present suspended Assembly would not be affected by the party’s performance in the General and local councils elections, Mr Robinson added.

But if a voluntary coalition proved impossible, the DUP would seek to make Direct Rule as accountable as possible, the outgoing East Belfast MP said.

The SDLP, however, continues to oppose any move away from the principle of inclusivity involving Sinn Fein.

Mr Durkan said: “I think the way forward is actually back to the (Good Friday) Agreement. I think trying to do things without parties or against parties doesn’t work. We have to go forward on an inclusive basis.”

But he also warned: “We will not get to destination progress with a Sinn Fein-DUP ticket.”

Sinn Fein’s Conor Murphy said both the UUP and SDLP had failed to deliver a way forward during the decades they had been in the ascendancy.

“It was a negotiation process involving republicans which ultimately succeeded after years of failed talks processes headed by the UUP and SDLP.

“It should therefore come as no surprise that the UUP leader David Trimble is harking back to the days when the unionist establishment dictated the pace of political change and elements of the SDLP, blinded by party political interests, support this position. However, those days have gone.”

Belfast Telegraph

SDLP protest at DUP ‘unwillingness to share power’

By Noel McAdam
18 April 2005

SDLP activists were today due to take to the streets to protest against the DUP’s failure to share power with nationalists in a number of councils.

Westminster and local government candidates as well as party members were expected to take part in the three-pronged protest in Castlereagh, Lisburn and Ballymena.

After it launched its local government manifesto, the SDLP asked how it could trust the DUP to share power at Stormont, given its track record in some councils.

Leader Mark Durkan said warm words from the DUP that they would work with nationalists had so far turned out to be hot air.

“They say they want power sharing, but don’t practise it in the local councils,” he said.

“Where the SDLP is the largest party in councils - including Derry - we practise power sharing and uphold equality, while the DUP in their strongholds continue to practise exclusion and domination.”

Meanwhile, the party’s local government spokesman Tommy Gallagher yesterday indicated that the SDLP does not support the proposed shrinkage of the present 26 district councils to seven.

But he said the party had not yet given its backing to the two other options mentioned in the proposals of the review for public administration for 11 or 15 councils.

Fermanagh and South Tyrone Westminster candidate Mr Gallagher told the BBC’s Politics Show he wanted to hear a fuller debate and a proper consultation.

Alliance leader David Ford said on the programme the problem with the review is that it does not include the 11 Government departments set up by the former Assembly.

Irish Independent

Adams denies going back on total cessation appeal to IRA

SINN Fein leader, Gerry Adams was at the centre of another dispute with the Government last night when he reiterated a call for the IRA to cease all of its activities.

Mr Adams insisted that there was no question of him “going back” on his call to the IRA - but at the same time he cautioned that a decision would not be made by the IRA for several weeks.

He also made a fierce attack on Justice Minister Michael McDowell, whom he accused him of being a “racist” for deporting Nigerian mothers out of Ireland while their children remained here.

Mr Adams said a planned visit by Mr McDowell to an SDLP meeting in Belfast today would only spur on Sinn Fein voters.

In addition, he criticised Foreign Minister Dermot Ahern for visiting the SDLP’s Eddie McGrady earlier in the week.

Speaking about his call to the IRA, the Sinn Fein leader said: “The die is cast, this is a defining point for republicanism”.

Asked on RTE if he was saying that the IRA had to disband he remarked:

“I want them to take themselves out of the equation, exactly how that manifests itself is another matter.”

The IRA, he said, was being used as an excuse by those who do not want the process to succeed and he believed that when the peace process is “going down the tubes”, when the atmosphere is poisonous, there was a need for a bold initiative.

“I have pointed up that there is an alternative way forward - I believe very, very firmly that that’s the way to go.

“What I want to see are those volunteers who previously believed in armed action will listen to what I am saying and what I have said cannot be unsaid.

“The die is cast, this is a defining point for republicanism, I am not going back on what I said.

“I am trying to win support for what I said in as much as I can play a leadership role with others in bringing republicans in this direction.”

The Sinn Fein leader said he did not know for certain what the outcome of the IRA’s internal deliberations would be, but he would not have made the call if he did not believe the outcome would prove successful.

When he was pressed about whether this would mean an end to all criminal activities and punishment beatings, Mr Adams replied:

“When I say I want the IRA to be taken out of the equation, I mean that it ceases all activities; I don’t know what part of that you don’t understand.”

Stressing that he did not contemplate failure with his call to the IRA, he also maintained that he did not underestimate the difficulties involved.

Mr Adams said he did not expect the IRA to respond before polling day in the Westminster elections on May 5 next.

“This is bigger than the election; if we succeed we’ll have succeeded in doing something that others could not in the past,” he added.

Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny last night branded as “disingenuous” Mr Adams’s claim that the timing of his statement on the IRA was not an election stunt and called on the Provisional movement to engage in action, not words.

“Statements alone from Gerry Adams will never convince the Irish people that the Provisional movement is serious about democratic politics, only action can do that,” Mr Kenny added.

Brian Dowling
Political Correspondent

BBC

Lords to decide over RIRA ruling

The government challenged the ruling

A judge’s controversial ruling that the Real IRA is not an illegal terrorist organisation is to be decided in the House of Lords.

Last May, Mr Justice Girvan declared the group - which carried out the Omagh bomb atrocity - was not illegal as it was not listed under the Terrorism Act.

His decision led to him clearing four Tyrone men of Real IRA membership.

The government challenged the ruling and the Attorney General persuaded three judges in Belfast to overturn it.

Law Lords were asked to decide if it is an illegal terrorist organisation.

The judge later acquitted the four men of the more serious charge of conspiring to murder police and soldiers.

In June, the Lord Chief Justice, Sir Brian Kerr, sitting with Lord Justices Nicholson and Campbell, said that when the Terrorism Act 2000 was passed, parliament was well aware of the existence and activities of the ‘Real’ IRA.

He said that quite apart from the notoriety of the Omagh bomb outrage, the organisation was specified under the NI (Sentences) Act 1998 before the passing of the Terrorism Act.

The question the Law Lords had to consider was: “Does a person commit an offence contrary to Section 11 (1) of the Terrorism Act 2000 if he belongs or professes to belong to the Real Irish Republican Army?”

Irish Independent

Intelligence unit set to join troops’ exodus from North

THE most secret British military unit serving in Northern Ireland is to be pulled out and posted to Iraq and to other operational missions overseas.

The Joint Support Group (JSG), which runs agents under the control of the Intelligence Corps, is one of a number of units expected to leave Belfast as part of the “normalisation process” under which the British government plans to cut troop levels by more than half to about 5,000 when security and political conditions are judged to be satisfactory.

Paul Murphy, the Northern Ireland Secretary, announced in February that MI5 will take over primacy for national security intelligence in Northern Ireland by 2007.

The JSG is the successor of the Force Research Unit (FRU), which acquired notoriety in the 1980s amid allegations that the unit of about 40 intelligence officers colluded with Special Branch officers of the Royal Ulster Constabulary and the loyalist terrorist Ulster Defence Association (UDA) in the murder of several republicans.

Brian Nelson, who was the UDA’s chief intelligence officer when he was recruited to become one of the FRU’s top agents, was jailed for ten years in 1992 after admitting to five counts of conspiracy to murder. He died of a brain haemorrhage in April 2003.

The JSG has continued the role performed by the FRU, although agent-handling rules were tightened after concerns were raised over the level of control of informers after Nelson’s confessions.

The government’s intention is to complete the withdrawals from the North within two years of a final peace settlement, but steps are being taken to exploit the unique experience gleaned in Northern Ireland in theatres of operation elsewhere in the world.

Michael Evans

Irish Independent

Shock at order for deportation of schoolgirls

DEPORTATION papers have been served on another Nigerian family who have been living in Athlone in Co Westmeath for a number of years.

The family members - who include a 15-year-old girl about to sit her Junior Cert and her 17-year-old sister, who is also in school - have been told they will be deported, even though they have lived in the town for a number of years and now consider it home.

The mother’s application for asylum on the grounds that she was fleeing an abusive tribal marriage failed, and she and her daughters have been told they will be returned to Lagos within weeks.

The news has been greeted with shock in the asylum community in Athlone.

Local campaigners claim that the 400 Africans living in the town - most of whom have been there for up to five years - now fear that they will be next.

The move follows the deportation from Athlone three weeks ago of two Nigerian mothers who left their children behind them in hiding.

Yesterday the leader of the Seanad Mary O’Rourke called for more “compassion” in such cases.

Mrs O’Rourke, who spoke at a rally in Athlone on Saturday against deporting families who had been in Ireland for years, said that she had contacted Justice Minister Michael McDowell to plead for the family to be allowed stay.

More than 1,000 people attended the anti-deportations rally in the town, which was organised by the Residents Against Racism group and the Athlone Friends Together.

“There has to be some other way of dealing with people who have been living in Ireland for a number of years - especially where children are in schools and families are integrated,” she said, adding that there must be “more imaginative” ways of dealing with the problem.

Tom Felle