IRISH REPUBLICAN INFORMATION SERVICE (no. 24)
Teach Dáithí Ó Conaill, 223 Parnell Street, Dublin 1, Ireland
Phone: +353-1-872 9747; FAX: +353-1-872 9757;
e-mail: saoirse@iol.ie
Date: 4 July 2005
Internet resources maintained by SAOIRSE-Irish Freedom
http://saoirse.rr.nu
In this issue:
1. RSF Take Part In Edinburgh Alternative G8 Events
2. Anger as five men are jailed in Shell pipeline case
3. Sellafield leak went undetected for nine months
4. Rossiters welcome inquiry into son’s death
5. Murder fuels marching season gang war fears
6. Fears over loyalist parade
7. Faul attack on ‘inhuman’ jails
8. McBride mother fails in legal bid
1. RSF TAKE PART IN EDINBURGH ALTERNATIVE G8 EVENTS
OVER the weekend Republican Sinn Féin’s two Vice Presidents, Des Dalton and Josephine Hayden joined with RSF members in Scotland to participate in events in Edinburgh including the alternative G8 summit IN Edinburgh University on Sunday. Both of them addressed workshops and outlined the political situation in Ireland, placing the ongoing British occupation of Ireland in an international context. On Saturday they took part in the mass demonstration in Edinburgh under the banner of the Glasgow Francis Hughes cumann. Afterwards they both addressed a seminar organised by the Scottish Republican Socialist Movement entitled “Make Britain History’ ( see July SAOIRSE for full report).
2. ANGER AS FIVE MEN ARE JAILED IN SHELL PIPELINE CASE
THE jailing of five men by the Dublin High Court has caused great anger not only with the men’s families but also within their communities and the general public.
The five men were jailed on June 29 for breaching a court order to stop obstructing work on the Shell Corrib gas pipeline, which is crossing their lands, and which they believe poses a serious risk to their homes and families. Despite agreeing to comply with the order on July 1 the men remain imprisoned due to failure to comply with a separate court order.
The five North Mayo men, James Brendan Philbin, brothers Phillip and Vincent McGrath, Willie Corduff and Michael Ó Seighin, who has just recovered from a heart bypass, spent two nights in Mountjoy prison.
A number of other local people were also facing for breaching the same order, which was granted on April 4. One of those Brid McGarry told the court she believed she had no alternative but to go to jail as the pipeline placed the community at “unprecedented risk”.
Supporters of the five men held a protest outside of the prison on the night of June 29. “We’re 100 per cent behind them-if there was a per centage higher than we’d be there,” said Terry Clancy, spokesman for environmental group Shell to Sea which is campaigning against the pipeline.
Mary Corduff, wife of farmer Willie Corduff said she was “devastated”. Caitlin Ni Sheighin said she was very proud of her husband for “standing up for what he believes is right”.
The jailings came because Shell E&P Ireland, developer of the gas field sought orders of committal against the five men. The five explained to Judge John McMenamin why they felt unable to give undertakings not to engage in further breaches of the court order.
Philip McGrath said he was just seeking to protect his lands. The pipeline was just 70 metres from his house and he was “living in fear” for his safety. If the pipe were laid, he would have to leave the area and the house he had built just for Shell.
The pipeline had a bar pressure of 345 and such a pipeline had never before been constructed in a residential area. “I don’t want to be a guinea pig for Shell.”
Willie Corduff, a father of six, said he was afraid to leave his home, was stressed, was not sleeping at night and was begging the court for “justice” which he had not got. He said Shell was using the courts “to bully us”. “I am prepared to go to jail like McBrearty”, he said.
James Philbin told the court that they had only heard from Shell a “one sided version” of events and “lot of untruths”. He had reason to believe a quantifiable risk assessment on the pipeline had not been independently carried out, but despite this a multinational oil company had been given the right to build the pipeline in front of his and other houses for their own gain.
He believed there was no valid ministerial consent for this development. He also said a road servicing the development was inadequate and denied he had blocked that road. Ireland would not gain one cent from this development and Shell was seeking to “make criminals out of us”, he said. It was “a poor state of affairs if the judiciary was working hand in hand to facilitate a private company over the rights of Irish men and women”. Shell had caused unquantifiable disruption to the local community in the past five years.
Vincent McGrath said his house was only 20 metres from this unprecedented pipeline. His main concern was that no state body was taking responsibility for his safety and he was left with Shell, a private company.
Michael Ó Seighin said what Shell was proposing was technically and materially wrong, in breach of EU regulations and of Shell’s normal standards regarding pipelines. It was also not under the control of the energy regulator or the health and safety authority.
Padhraig Campbell of SIPTU’s offshore gas and oil committee spokesman supported the a call by Independent Mayo TD Dr Jerry Cowley for an investigation made in the 1987 and 1992 Finance Acts which benefited exploration companies. These were made at a time when both Bertie Ahern and disgraced politician Ray Burke were 26 County Finance Ministers.
Pádraig Campbell, who is also chair of the Campaign for Protection of Resources, said this group was now calling for a boycott of all Shell products in Ireland. He had also contacted the Norwegian Ambassador in relation to Statoil’s role as a shareholder in the Corrib gas field.
In a statement the Vice-President of Republican Sinn Féin Des Dalton described the imprisonment of the men as a “disgrace”, ” Once again the Dublin government has shown that it is willing to go to any lengths including the jailing of its own citizens to protect the interests of multinationals, in this case Shell. The jailing of five men for simply protecting their homes, communities and livelihoods is a disgrace. Shell are set to reap huge profits from this exploitation of Ireland’s natural resources at the expense of Irish taxpayers as a result of an agreement with the Dublin government, under which it gains access to the Corrib gas field at a rate far lower than those being charged internationally. It is the circumstances surrounding the negotiation of that agreement which should be examined before the courts rather than local people with legitimate concerns about their environment. Indeed whilst this gas is being sourced off the west coast of Ireland and is being piped across the west it will not benefit the people living there as it is being piped to customers in the east.
The record of Shell particularly in the developing world is notorious. Its treatment of the Ogoni people in Nigeria and its destruction of their homeland amounted to environmental terrorism, this culminated in the execution of human rights activist Ken Saro-Wiwa in 1995, recognised by Amnesty International as a prisoner of conscience, who had led a peaceful campaign to protect the rights of the Ogoni people. Many believe that Shell brought influence to bear on the Nigerian government to arrest Ken Saro-Wiwa on a trumped up charge of murder because of his activism in highlighting their treatment of the Ogoni people and their homeland.
It would now appear that Bertie Ahern and his government are also willing to lock up their citizens whilst allowing Shell to dictate the energy and environmental policy of the 26 Counties.
3. SELLAFIELD LEAK WENT UNDETECTED FOR NINE MONTHS
AN internal report into a major leak at the British Nuclear Fuels Limited plant in Sellafield has raised major concerns about the operation of the facility after it found evidence that staff had failed to identify the rupture for nine months.
The report on the Thorp nuclear reprocessing facility found there was an “operational complacency” among staff who believed that major leaks at the plant were impossible because of its design, despite previous evidence to the contrary.
The report by a board of inquiry found that checks continuously failed to identify the leak in the plant in Cumbria on the north west coast of England which began last July but which was not found until April of this year.
It led to 83.000 litres of radioactive material, containing 20 tonnes of uranium and plutonium, spilling into a concrete containment tank. Staff initially dismissed evidence of a major leak as a calculation error because the volumes involved were so large, according to the report.
It also said the company failed to carry out a detailed inspection of the pipe work and containment tanks for a month after staff had evidence there was a major leak.
The seriousness of the incident was not notified to international authorities until the second week in May, even though the latest report indicates that Thorp staff were aware of the volumes of radioactive waste involved from April 18. As the leak was contained it posed no current safety threat to the public in Ireland or Britain.
According to the board of inquiry report, the rupture of the pipe was caused by a design fault, which meant it could not withstand the shaking motion of tanks or cells linked to the pipes.
The report found there was evidence of a leak dating back to July of 2004 in relation to the potential leak and further evidence that it became extremely serious on January 15, although the evidence from volume discrepancies would not have given rise to serious concerns.
However, there were samples carried out on the cells, which indicated the presence of radioactive waste in November 2004, and February of this year, but these failed to be acted on.
In March calculations were carried out which indicated a major leak, but these were dismissed for a number of days because staff believed they were calculation errors.
It took three weeks for staff to confirm the figures were correct and then there was a further delay of a week before they carried out a camera inspection of the tanks to confirm there had been a major leak, because it was not deemed by staff to be a priority.
The report, which has made 16 safety recommendations, found that there had been “universal incredulity” among staff that there could have been a major leak.
4. ROSSITERS WELCOME INQUIRY INTO SON’S DEATH
THE family of a 14-year-old boy found in a coma in a 26-County police station broadly welcomed the announcement by 26 County Justice Minister Michael McDowell on June 39 that he is to establish a statutory inquiry into the circumstances of their son’s death.
Pat and Siobhan Rossiter had been pressing Michael McDowell for an inquiry into the arrest and detention of their son, Brian who was found unconscious in a cell in Clonmel Garda station following his arrest in the town on September 2002.
Brian was discovered unconscious at around 9am on September 11 and was rushed by ambulance to St Joseph’s hospital Clonmel. He was later transferred to Cork University Hospital but he never regained consciousness and died on September 13 2002.
The family later learned that another juvenile arrested with Brian at the same time on September 10 2002 alleged that he was assaulted by a named Garda, and that Brian had told him he had also been assaulted by Gardai after being arrested.
The family’s solicitor, Cian O’Carroll, had repeatedly written to the 26 County Justice Minister, Michael McDowell requesting an inquiry into Brian’s death. On June 29 Michael McDowell rang Cian O’Carroll to confirm he was ordering a statutory inquiry headed up by senior counsel Hugh Hartnett.
Brian’s father, Pat Rossiter welcomed the decision to establish an inquiry but stressed that it must be able to take statements from civilians as well as gardai if it was to answer the questions he wanted answered about what happened his son.
“We certainly welcome Minister McDowell’s decision to order an inquiry into the circumstances of Brian’s arrest and detention, albeit three years down the road,” said Pat Rossiter.
Cian O’Carroll said that the 26 County Justice Department had informed him that the statutory inquiry would be carried out under the terms of the Dublin Police Act 1924 which would allow Hugh Hartnett to take statements from civilians.
Initially, the Justice Department had indicated that it proposed to hold it under Section 12 of the new Garda Bill, but Cian O’Carroll said that this would have limited Hugh Hartnett to calling serving gardai and would not have allowed him compel retired gardai or civilians to testify.
The Rossiter family, together with their solicitor issued a list of questions which an inquiry must answer including:
* Why was Brian Rossiter arrested on the night of September 10, 2002?
* Was excessive force used against him in the course of that arrest and, if so, by whom?
* Why was Brian, a 14-year-old boy, detained overnight and held alone in an adult cell in breach of the 1984 Treatment of Persons in Custody Regulations?
* Was Brian beaten and/or kicked by gardai while in custody at Clonmel Garda station and, if so, by whom?
* Why did the Garda inform both of Brian’s parents that he had consumed quantities of alcohol and ecstasy on the night of his arrest?
* Why was a doctor not called to Clonmel Garda station to examine Brian, given the stated view of gardai that he had consumed quantities of alcohol and drugs?
* Given his apparent condition was Brian roused periodically to ascertain his condition in accordance with the Treatment of Persons in Custody Regulations?
* Why were ambulance staff and hospital staff informed that Brian had been on a drink-and-drugs binge for a number of days and may have overdosed on ecstasy?
* Was State Pathologist Dr Marie Cassidy informed by gardai that Brian had, as stated above, consumed alcohol and drugs and had complained of “worsening headaches” since an assault two nights prior to his arrest?
* Why was there no investigation of written complaints of violence in the course of Brian’s detention made to the now-retired superintendent at Clonmel Garda station?
* Why was another man charged with Brian’s manslaughter only to have that charge dropped?
* Why were the complaints of the Rossiter family not dealt with by the Minister for Justice when their solicitor wrote in January 2004 and on subsequent occasions?
* Why has it taken the involvement of the media in this case to elicit action from the Department of Justice?
5. MURDER FUELS MARCHING SEASON GANG WAR FEARS
FEARS of a new shooting war between rival loyalist gangs on the streets of Belfast at the height of the Orange marching season intensified on Junky 1after the murder of a man in the east of the city.
The victim, Jameson Lockhart, aged in his late twenties, was sitting in the cab of a red lorry outside a demolished bar on the lower Newtownards Road at around 10.15am when a gunman opened fire on the left hand side.
A colleague, who was sitting with him, escaped from the tip-up lorry, which rolled forward and struck a lamppost, knocking it towards a loyalist paramilitary mural near where the Avenue One bar once stood.
Jameson Lockhart, who was working in the area, was struck several times as the gunman continued to fire and he died at the scene.
Detective Chief Superintendent Phil Wright of the RUC\PSNI said at the scene of the shooting that they were looking at the possibility - as one line of inquiry - that he was the victim of a loyalist paramilitary feud.
Loyalist sources blamed the Ulster Volunteer Force for the killing and said the victim had been targeted before. Graffitti about him was also recently scrawled on walls in the loyalist Shankill Road in west Belfast.
Jailed loyalist Jim Gray formerly owned the Avenue One Bar. The former east Belfast brigadier of the Ulster Defence Association was forced out of the organisation in April. Just days later, he was arrested while trying to flee Northern Ireland. On Tuesday the 47-year-old was refused bail in the High Court and remains in custody on charges of possessing and concealing criminal property and money laundering. He denies the charges.
6. FEARS OVER LOYALIST PARADE
LOYALISTS in a quiet Co Antrim village are planning to march around a religiously mixed cul-de-sac despite opposition from local Catholics and Protestants.
The Pride of the Village Flute Band have filed an application with the Six-County Parades Commission to march around Stoneyford on July 11. The route they plan to take will see them parade around a new housing development that was the scene of sectarian violence last year.
Nationalists who publicly opposed a loyalist parade around the Beeches Manor cul-de-sac last summer were forced to flee the area after receiving death threats. There are fears that these threats could be repeated after next month’s march.
The late-night parade will culminate with around 60 loyalists and one band walking to a bonfire in the village and then setting fire to the bonfire.
There were reports last year of men taking part in the march wearing T-shirts bearing the emblem of the Orange Volunteers, a small loyalist paramilitary outfit.
Ed Nolan was one of the Stoneyford nationalists forced to flee the village after loyalist threats last summer. He said his home had been attacked eight times in three months before he moved back to Belfast.
He said: “When we moved in, there was a brand new lamppost at the end of the street which was painted red, white and blue.
“The next day, someone repainted it white but the day after that; it was painted red, white and blue again. It was afterwards that all the trouble started.”
Ed Nolan said that, as well as smashing the windows of his home, loyalists loosened the wheel bolts on his car.
“Perhaps the most sinister thing was that a car came in cruising around the area one night before sitting across the street from my house. When I went out into the darkened hall, I heard them shouting something about ‘fenians’ before speeding off.”
The Parades Commission will rule before the end of the week on whether the Stoneyford march can go ahead as planned. Several other controversial parades are planned for the village during the summer.
In 1999, Stoneyford featured heavily in the news when intelligence documents on 300 nationalists were found in the local Orange Hall.
It was claimed by nationalists that the documents were being used by the Orange Volunteers and had been leaked to the group by the RUC.
7. FAUL ATTACK ON ‘INHUMAN’ JAILS
A CLERIC who represents the families of Republican prisoners is to raise concerns about their “inhuman” treatment with the Six-County prisons’ Ombudsman.
Monsignor Denis Faul is compiling a critical report about the separated regime after receiving complaints from the Republican Prisoners’ Action Group.
The Fermanagh-based group say that unless the situation is addressed, the conditions leading up to the 1981 hunger strikes could develop again.
Msgr Faul is highlighting concerns about the use of a drug detection dog to deny visitors to Maghaberry access to prisoners, excessive searching of inmates and long hours spent in cells under the new system.
John Steele introduced the scheme after a report in 2003 into Republican prisoners’ long-standing demands for separation but Denis Faul says conditions are unacceptable. “This is inhuman, none of this applies in the rest of the prison.
“Because these people wanted separation they are determined to crucify them so they won’t want separation again,” he said. “Although in many cases the service is trying and is doing a good job there are a number of issues which need to be addressed including this drug dog which searches visitors.
“Whenever it sits down at somebody’s feet, the whole group is expelled and this is an abuse of their civil liberties and there is no tradition of drug use within republicanism anyway.
“They’re letting this dog crawl all over the prisoners’ beds during searches of their cells without changing their sheets, which is unhygienic and I want to know if any of the prison officers would sleep in a bed after a dog has crawled all over it.”
The new system began in 2004 - despite fears of paramilitaries re-gaining control of their wings - after prisoners complained about threats to their safety.
The Co Tyrone priest said he was alarmed at the number of prisoner searches, often several times daily, and said strip-searching was “degrading”.
“There seems to be a regime in place which is super-strict and they get away with it on the grounds of safety.”
A dossier which prisoners’ families have compiled warns that if action is not taken, tensions could develop in a repeat of the circumstances, which produced the hunger strikes.
8. McBRIDE MOTHER FAILS IN LEGAL BID
The mother of a man murdered by two British soldiers in Belfast 13 years ago has vowed to fight on until his killers are thrown out of the British Army.
Jean McBride’s 18-year-old son Peter was shot dead by two members of the Scots Guards Regiment of the British army in Belfast in 1992.
She was speaking at the Belfast High Court on June 29 after losing a third legal action to force the British Ministry of Defence to expel Mark Wright and James Fisher.
Jean McBride said she now intended to take her case to the European Court.
“I don’t think there is a judge in Northern Ireland with the bottle to stand up against the establishment, so it looks like we’ll have to take our case to Europe,” she said.
In June 2003, the Six County Court of Appeal ruled by a 2-1 majority that the British Army was wrong not to discharge the soldiers.
Instead, they made a legal declaration that the reasons adopted by the British Army Board were not so exceptional as to permit the retention of the two soldiers.
Wright and Fisher were sentenced to life for murder in 1995, but three years later were released from prison and allowed to rejoin their regiment.
'So venceremos, beidh bua againn eigin lá eigin. Sealadaigh abú.'
--Bobby Sands