SAOIRSE32

Irelandclick.com

Damian McCarney meets up for a cup of tea and chat with Clara Reilly

Clara Reilly has spent much of the past 35 years at the forefront of the community in helping people affected by the conflict. In her role as the chairperson of both Relatives for Justice and the United Campaign Against Plastic Bullets, she has supported many families in their fight for justice and to come to terms with the loss of their loved ones.

Clara’s full and fascinating life has been touched by violence, even before she became aware of it, as she was born during the Second World War, and recalls playing in the air shelters in St James’. Growing up in Rodney Drive as one of 12 Burns children, money was scarce, but love and warmth were to be found in abundance.

“We had a three-bedroom house with no bathroom, just an indoor toilet, but we had an absolutely brilliant childhood. We had wonderful parents who devoted all their time to our upbringing,” says Clara, who can appreciate her parents’ commitment more now that she has reared six children of her own.

Clara was brought up in a republican family which she says has helped shape her life.

“My father was interned in the 1940s and was in Crumlin Road prison when Tom Williams was hanged, and my mother was one of the women who would have been outside the prison saying prayers. So I came from quite a republican background – my brothers were all named after Irish patriots, and we grew up hearing stories about Kevin Barry and Tom Williams and the fight for independence in Ireland.”

Despite doing well during her time at St Kevin’s primary school, family commitments resulted in her leaving school at 14.

“I remember the head teacher of my school encouraging my mother to keep me on for further education but there was very little money and because of our large family the thing to do was to go out to earn wages and bring them home unopened to help feed the rest of the kids,” said Clara.

In her first job she made Irish table cloths and napkins for a textile firm near where the Park Centre is now. She remained there until she was 20, marrying in 1960 and moving to Turf Lodge. It was in Turf Lodge that her involvement in human rights began. Clara’s father, James Burns, then in his 60s, was arrested on internment morning in August 1971, but was released a few days later. Four of her brothers were not so lucky.

“We were one of the families who were visiting four brothers all at once, trying to support their wives and their families and visiting them – it was very difficult at the time. My brothers received very bad beatings in Girdwood barracks and in Holywood during interrogation. One of them was so badly beaten he was one of the few to be awarded compensation at the time,” said Clara who lost two brothers, Jim and Harry Burns, due to the conflict.

Living in Turf Lodge and witnessing the brutality of the British state against the community led to her becoming involved with the Association for Legal Justice.

“We were all very naïve about what was happening – we thought that all we had to do was to highlight the ill-treatment of the internees and what was happening in the holding centres and army barracks and that it would stop. For people who were lifted we organised legal representation and made sure that doctors got to examine them, which was a full-time job. We were dealing with families who were broken-hearted that their relatives had been lifted, and all we could offer them was tea and sympathy.”

In 1984, after John Downes was killed by a plastic bullet, Clara helped form the United Campaign Against Plastic Bullets. Through this group she has campaigned tirelessly to prevent more victims from being added to the 17 people who have been killed and the hundreds injured by the lethal weapon. One of the most striking memories of her time in Turf Lodge was the killing of Brian Stewart in October 1976 aged only 13. Brian died a few days later and was buried on his 14th birthday.

“That left a very deep impact on me. I worked with his mother Kathleen to campaign to clear her son’s name, because the soldiers at the time said that he was a ringleader of a rioting mob. That is why I am so involved in the plastic bullet issue. I heard the stories of the families, of people like Carol Anne Kelly, Julie Livingstone, Francis Rowntree, and the injustice of their killings is so hard to take. Despite all the killings and injuries no one was held to account,” said Clara.

Clara was also instrumental in forming Relatives For Justice (RFJ) in 1990 to run many activities for the affected families. These include counselling, complementary therapies, creative writing, and producing a Remembrance Quilt which has been displayed on a number of occasions in the US. “The families of those who have been killed by the state have been marginalised and forgotten, but we are determined that they will not be forgotten, that they will have a voice and an input in the peace building in our country. We will not allow a hierarchy of victims to prevail. Everyone who has lost a loved one in the conflict should be listened to, and the young ones should learn from it, so that the atrocities that happened in the past are never allowed to be repeated.”

BBC

The Police Ombudsman’s office has said it has received more than 50 complaints over recent street violence.

A spokesman said the complaints had come from both sides of the community.

Loyalists had made allegations of “police heavy-handedness,” while nationalists had complained about “inaction over roadblocks”.

The ombudsman is also investigating the discharge of several hundred baton rounds and six live rounds by police officers during the disturbances.

“All complaints will be dealt with in an independent and impartial manner,” the spokesman said.

BBC

A Catholic war hero has replaced a paramilitary death figure on the wall of a staunchly loyalist estate in east Belfast.

An Ulster Freedom Fighters mural depicting a soldier with a skull’s head, and a silhouette of the grim reaper in the background, stared out from a wall in Tullycarnet for many years.

James Magennis was recognised for his bravery in WWII

However, it has been replaced by a portrait of award winning World War II sailor James Magennis, to mark the 60th anniversary of VE Day.

Magennis, from the nationalist Falls Road in west Belfast, is the only Northern Ireland man to have been awarded the Victoria Cross for bravery during WWII.

The highest British decoration marked his courage in attaching limpet mines to the Japanese cruiser, Takao, in Singapore harbour in July 1945.

George Fleming, who has written a book about Magennis, said initially the hero was well received on his return to Northern Ireland.

“James Magennis was a Catholic and when he returned at the end of the war he was feted wonderfully, because people collected a lot of money for him,” said Mr Fleming.

“Unfortunately, the corporation at the time refused him the Freedom of the City. Magennis went back to sea again, they thought they would never see him again.

“He landed home in 1949 after his service was over and that’s really when the trouble began. At that time there was a split with Eire… Magennis really wasn’t wanted by both sides.”

‘Better understanding’

Frankie Gallagher of the Ulster Political Research Group, which provides political analysis for the Ulster Defence Association, said it was not particularly strange to have such a mural in a loyalist stronghold.

He said: “When you know local history, it is not such a strange thing to happen. One of the challenges of this mural is education, it’s about learning local history.

“We spend all our years learning about English Tudors and all the rest of it and we don’t actually know what happened to each other across the divides.

“With taking this type of approach we are going to end up with a better understanding of each others’ perspectives within each others’ communities.

“The surprising thing about this mural, as well, is that our friends in west Belfast were actually the first people to think of the whole idea about James Magennis up on the Springfield Road, the Highfield interface. It was about trying to create an understanding about a shared history.”

He said the mural ended up in Tullycarnet because of the recent trouble in north Belfast.

A six-foot high memorial to Magennis made from Portland stone and bronze stands at the front of Belfast City Hall.

click to view - Magennis Memorial, Belfast - photo from >>here

It was erected in 1999, 13 years after his death.

BBC

About 12 women staged a protest in Lisburn

The Northern Ireland secretary has denied the government is ignoring Protestants after facing a loyalist protest in County Antrim.

Women from the Woodvale area of Belfast confronted Peter Hain about the release of Shankill bomber Sean Kelly.

Mr Hain said there was a perception among unionists that the government was not listening to them but stressed it was “not a one-sided government”.

Mr Hain said the DUP and UUP had made proposals which he was taking forward.

About a dozen loyalist women protesters in Lisburn held banners declaring “British Citizens Demand British Rights” during a visit by Mr Hain to meet local political representatives.

Challenged about their grievances, he said: “There’s clearly a perception among unionists that the government has not been listening.

“What I am down here to do is show that I am and we are (listening) and we will continue to work together with a forward agenda for Northern Ireland.”

Mr Hain also visited the loyalist Old Warren estate in Lisburn.

There has been speculation that the recent loyalist violence which has affected parts of Northern Ireland would delay IRA decommissioning.

However, on Monday this was dismissed by senior Sinn Fein member Pat Doherty.

He said he expected the IRA to keep its word and that it made sense for the arms commission to report on the subject before next month’s Independent Monitoring Commission (IMC) report on IRA activity.

The Sinn Fein MP also said Mr Hain “needed to be careful in how he handled the peace process” and had to “keep to the Good Friday Agreement in the face of a violent upsurge by loyalists”.

Meanwhile, five unionists who withdrew from the Belfast District Policing Partnership have discussed police handling of loyalist violence with the chief constable.

Robin Newton of the DUP described the meeting with Sir Hugh Orde on Monday as “robust and constructive”.

He said they would talk to their colleagues in the coming days to decide whether or not to rejoin the DPP.

Seven unionists withdrew from the DPP last week in protest at police handling of trouble after an Orange Order march.

They said the partnership had collapsed since trouble broke out after the Whiterock parade on 10 March.

The group said police had failed to engage with the unionist community.

Following Monday’s meeting, the chief constable issued a statement saying it had been a “very positive and constructive” discussion.

He added: “We as a police service have reiterated our commitment to playing our part in building positive policing relationships. I believe we have now moved forward.

“I and my officers are listening to communities in Belfast and across Northern Ireland.”

Several days of rioting erupted in the city after the Orange Order was prevented from marching down a nationalist section of the Springfield Road.

Police were attacked with petrol bombs, blast bombs and other missiles during the violence. Dozens of vehicles were also hijacked and set on fire.

More than 60 people were arrested by police in connection with the disturbances.

Last week, loyalists blockaded roads in Belfast causing severe traffic disruption during rush hour.

The city councillors and members of the DPP who put withdrew from the DPP were Robin Newton, Elaine McMillan and Ruth Patterson, DUP; Ulster Unionists David Brown and Jim Rodgers; Independent Unionist Frank McCoubrey and Hugh Smyth, Progressive Unionist Party.

District policing partnerships were set up across Northern Ireland under reforms initiated by a commission headed by former Hong Kong Governor Chris Patten and implemented by the government.

The partnerships are made up of councillors and members of the local community, who work alongside the Police Service of Northern Ireland’s 29 District Command Units in trying to meet local community policing needs.

Irish American Information Service

09/19/05 10:22 EST

Irish premier Bertie Ahern has says the sooner IRA decommissioning happens the better for the peace process in Northern Ireland.

Speaking in Dublin this afternoon, Mr Ahern said he could not give a date when the operation to put republican weapons out of action for good would start.

But he said he believed decommissioning would provide an `injection of confidence`, which would help alleviate some of the tensions, which led to last week`s loyalist riots.

Meanwhile, Sinn Fein said today that Ian Paisley’s Democratic Unionist Party must not be allowed to set the pace of political progress in the North.

Sinn Fein`s chief negotiator Martin McGuinness said the DUP must not be allowed to hold up progress after the expected final decommissioning of IRA weapons.

He said Sinn Fein wanted to see immediate political progress and wanted to see momentum maintained and increased.

“If the DUP is unwilling to break out of its negative cycle and begin to show the positive leadership which the political process and also their own community require and deserve, then the two governments need to push ahead with the full implementation of the [Good Friday] Agreement,” said Mr McGuinness.

In particular, he said, the governments must deliver on the equality agenda and begin at last to make a difference in deprived and disadvantaged areas.

Mr McGuinness spoke out after the DUP dismissed as “fantasy” any idea of it take part in early negotiations with Sinn Fein over the resumption of power sharing.

North Belfast MP Nigel Dodds said the government had entered into a private side deal with Sinn Fein and his party was not going to be bounced into responding.

“They will find short shrift from us if they think they can act in this way and then just expect us to meekly acquiesce in their plans to get Sinn Fein into government,” said Mr Dodds at the weekend.

Mr McGuinness responded saying the DUP must not be allowed to dictate the pace of progress.

The leaders of unionism and the Orange Order were harking back to the old days of unionist domination that were gone forever, he said.

“There will be no going back. The future must be built on equality for all and respect for all. Collectively we need to challenge the cancer of sectarianism that is eating away at our society,” said Mr McGuinness.

After the last general election, the DUP had spoken of there being a new confidence, he said.

But when one looked at the events of recent days and weeks and the summer of sectarian violence the opposite was seen, he added.

“Continuing negative leadership from unionist leaders serves only to further demoralise their own community. Unionist communities deserve better,” said Mr McGuinness.

Earlier today, Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Hain warned the IRA against any further delay in disarming.

With General John de Chastelain, the Canadian head of the international decommissioning body, believed to have returned to Ireland, speculation has grown that a move to get rid of IRA guns and explosives is imminent.

Mr Hain insisted he did not know what the timetable was for a move that could restore unionist confidence in the political process and allow a return of the power-sharing administration at Stormont.

But he stressed: “What is important is that it`s not done too late. What is most critical is that it`s real and credible, and people in Northern Ireland sceptical about decommissioning in the past are able to be satisfied that this is for real.”

Meanwhile, loyalist paramilitaries involved in ferocious violence on the streets of Belfast urged the British Government today to end its alleged “suppression” of Protestants in Northern Ireland. After a week of rioting that brought mayhem to the city of Belfast and surrounding towns, the Ulster Defence Association (UDA) and its military wing the Ulster Freedom Fighters issued a statement which also backed a campaign of peaceful roadblocks by women angered at how the authorities have dealt with their community.

It said: “We deplore the political use of the police and Army against the majority population in Northern Ireland. We understand how the loyalist community have reacted to severe provocation. We can also relate to the underlying issues that have brought the loyalist community on to the streets to protest.”

“We too cannot stand idly by and allow injustice and inequality to run rife through our community. We demand a clear and unequivocal announcement from the British Government that the Protestant community deserves the right to live in peace without the fear of suppression and containment.”

Along with the Ulster Volunteer Force, which has already had its ceasefire declared over by Secretary of State Peter Hain, the UDA has been blamed for orchestrating the trouble which flared over a re-routed Orange Order march in West Belfast nine days ago.

Loyalist paramilitary gunmen opened fire on police and soldiers as petrol and blast bombers went on the rampage throughout the city and on into County Antrim and County Down.

Business and tourism chiefs have warned that Northern Ireland`s economy could be dealt a major blow because of the severity of the violence.

But the UDA claimed unionists and Protestants were the victims of a black propaganda campaign.

The statement said: “Over the past week people have been arrested, charged, processed through the courts, remanded in custody, appeared for a bail hearing and have received bail without ever having been questioned about the alleged offence. How can this be?”

Even though the violence has been brought to a halt, main routes out of Belfast were blocked during rush hour over the past few days by crowds involving women and children wanting to bring attention to their grievances.

The UDA applauded these moves, saying: “We support the setting up of the Loyalist Women`s Network and would encourage them in their endeavours to highlight and lobby in a peaceful and non-violent way against the inequality and injustice for Protestants living in Northern Ireland.”

The statement added: “Could we appeal to all those who have come forward claiming to want to help and listen to the issues affecting our community and not to leave them hanging on waiting for unfulfilled promises. Do not give succour to the belief that the Protestant, unionist, loyalist community are poor or stupid as to the reasons for last week`s trouble.”

“Frustration and alienation would seem to be the main instigators of civil unrest. We will to the utmost of our power provide leadership and direction during the days ahead. But governments, politicians, officials and all pragmatists within Northern Ireland must do likewise.”

Mr Hain denied that the British Government had been ignoring Protestants.

In Lisburn, Co Antrim, today where around a dozen loyalist women protestors held banners declaring British Citizens Demand British Rights, the Secretary of State met local political representatives.

Challenged about their grievances he said: “There`s clearly a perception among unionists that the Government has not been listening. What I am down here to do is show that I am and we are (listening) and we will continue to work together with a forward agenda for Northern Ireland.”

Mr Hain confirmed he had received proposals from both Ian Paisley`s Democratic Unionists and the Ulster Unionist Party led by Sir Reg Empey, which he plans to assess.

Signalling that he may act on the proposals, Mr Hain added: “That will show this is not a one-sided government.”

Daily Ireland

Conor McMorrow

The PSNI came under attack from youths rioting in Antrim town for several hours on Saturday night in a second consecutive night of violence.
After a week of loyalist street violence and protest, this time it was nationalist youths who caused the trouble.
A mob of up to 60 hurled petrol bombs, bricks, stones and other missiles at police in the Rathenraw area of the town for up to four hours.
Two police vehicles were damaged but there were no reports of injuries.
Wheelie bins were dragged into the road and burned and roads were closed to the public for hours.
Three youths, aged 16, 17 and 18, were arrested for riotous behaviour and were released yesterday.
The violence has been condemned by the SDLP and Sinn Féin.
Local SDLP Assembly member, Thomas Burns said: “There can be no excuse or justification for the violence we have witnessed over the last couple of nights in Rathenraw.
“Those responsible for the rioting must realise that it is their own community they are destroying.”
Sinn Féin councillor Gerard Magee said: “In response to the information I have received from local residents in the Rathenraw area I have to say that the rioting was totally unnecessary, uncalled for and I completely condemn it.
“It is clear from events over the past week that there has been a concerted strategy among unionism/loyalism to draw young nationalists into conflict.”
Elsewhere, rival nationalist and loyalist youths clashed in Derry city centre over the weekend.
Four juveniles were arrested after missiles were hurled by both sides in the Market Street/Foyle Street area.
Two cars were damaged, windows in commercial premises broken and police vehicles sustained minor damage. However, there were no reports of injuries.
Meanwhile, two men have been charged with attempted murder following the recent violence.
A 32 year old man is due to appear in court in Belfast today charged with attempted murder following an incident during serious loyalist rioting in the Broadway area of the city last Sunday and Monday.
A 22 year old arrested on Saturday was also charged with attempted murder, arson, possession of a petrol bomb and throwing a petrol bomb in Mosside outside Ballymoney, Co Antrim. He was arrested following a petrol bomb attack on a house in the village.

Indymedia Ireland

by Tara SOS - M3 to the West
Monday, Sep 19 2005, 2:43pm
phone: 0863213755

Detail from mural photo by CRAZYFENIAN

“They shed tears of blood, and the men and women of Ulster knew that Cú Chulainn would never return.

Now that is where his head and arm both rest along with the whole panel of his gold shield, the greatest of Ireland’s heroes.”

How Cú Chulainn’s head, golden shield and arm came to be at Tara

**Many stories, links and a song to download.

BreakingNews.ie

19/09/2005 - 15:32:42

Minister for Foreign Affairs Dermot Ahern will meet his Colombian counterpart in New York this evening to discuss the case of the three Irishmen convicted in the South American state for training FARC rebels.

Colombia is requesting the extradition of the Colombia Three, who are now back in Ireland, so they can serve out their sentences there.

The ministers will be meeting on the fringes of the UN General Assembly.

The Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, said it is important to hear the Colombian point-of-view: “Dermot will obviously be outlining what we have said before, that we have to follow the legal process here – that it is a legal process.

“But we will certainly take into account their concerns and the position of the Colombian authorities. Remember, we went to them when there were difficulties with the safety of the prisoners, and so now I think it is important that we listen to them,” he said.

BreakingNews.ie

19/09/2005 - 12:12:37

The unionists who withdrew from the local District Policing Partnership in Belfast last week are considering rejoining the body following talks this morning with PSNI chief constable Hugh Orde.

Seven unionists withdrew from the body last week in protest at the PSNI’s handling of recent loyalist violence throughout the city.

They accused the police of acting with aggression and failing to engage with the unionist community.

However, they said they were considering rejoining after what they called a “robust” meeting with Mr Orde this morning.

Daily Ireland

Zoe Tunney

A man stabbed seven times yesterday compared the attack on him to those carried out by the notorious Shankill Butchers gang in the 1970s.
The 29-year-old Belfast man claimed his attackers targeted him simply because he was a Catholic.
The weekend stabbing took place just yards from where another young Catholic man recently lost two fingers in a machete attack which was also blamed on loyalists.
Speaking to Daily Ireland yesterday, the victim of the latest attack, who did not wish to be named, said he feared he was going to die.
“It’s like the Shankill Butchers all over again,” he said.
“It’s always been bad for Catholics but this was a case of any Catholic will do. I am lucky to be alive.”
The Shankill Butchers were a gang of loyalists responsible for a large number of brutal sectarian murders in Belfast.
The gang, which operated out of a number of Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) drinking dens in the Shankill Road area, got their name as a result of the horrific way in which they tortured their victims before killing them.
The Belfast man was attacked in the Brompton Park area of Ardoyne on Friday night. Brompton Park runs off the Crumlin Road near the Protestant Woodvale and Shankill areas.
He said a car with darkened windows pulled up beside him. The car had been crawling along with its lights turned off.
As the man walked closer to the silver-coloured Vauxhall Vectra a girl, described as being no older than 20 years of age, called to him from the passenger seat.
She asked the man for directions to a pub which they were parked just across the street from. He told the girl this but she stepped out of the car to clarify the directions.
A friend of the Catholic man’s was walking slightly behind him and saw the violent attack which followed.
“The next thing I knew she had pulled my hooded top over my head and I didn’t know what was going on. I thought she was messing about,” the victim said.
The man was stabbed five times in the shoulder and twice on his right arm.
The frenzied and unprovoked ordeal only stopped after the knife attacker lost the baseball cap he was wearing and he ran back to his car to hide his identity.
“It was all over in a few seconds but I remember them saying things like they would be back to burn me out and they would finish me off,” he said.

Irelandclick.com

Weak leadership is to blame for street disturbances, claims party

Sinn Féin have hit out at what they have described as the “weak excuses” from leaders of the Orange Order and the Unionist parties in light of last week’s violence surrounding the re-routed Whiterock Parade.

Sinn Féin’s criticism comes in the wake of Wednesday’s controversial press conference by the Orange Order in which they failed to accept responsibility for the recent violence.

Lower Falls councillor Marie Moore said that Orange and Unionist leaders have been inconsistent in their reasoning of what caused the loyalist violence.

“They cannot even decide whether the frustration they describe is because a sectarian march didn’t go through a nationalist area or because of poverty and educational under-achievement. If there was no deprivation in some of these communities would they have accepted the Parades Commission decision?

“Whatever excuses they put forward the fact is that their poor leadership and their continued failure to engage in the political process is hurting everyone.
“The leaderships of unionism, represented by the DUP and the UUP, claim that their communities have no voice. Is this not their responsibility?

“Is this not the result of their failure, as politicians, to provide that voice, their failure to show positive leadership and their failure to engage on behalf of those they represent?”

Cllr Moore said that all parties should combine to work together on the issue of poverty which was mooted as a reason for the recent violence, and affects both communities.

“The truth is that direct rule ministers have been let off the hook because political parties have not worked together to put them under pressure to ensure that tackling poverty is a priority. Only last week the DUP lambasted Sinn Féin women for arranging a protest highlighting educational cuts. How serious are these people about tackling educational under-achievement?”

“Sinn Féin genuinely want to tackle deprivation, poverty and disadvantage, no matter where it occurs and unionists will find a ready ally in Sinn Féin in bringing forward effective solutions and demanding action from the British and Irish governments.

“Unionists whether in the DUP, the UUP or the Orange Order should sit down and talk with Sinn Féin, their fellow citizens. That is the best way to tackle the very real social and economic issues which affect all of us in this society.”

Journalist:: Damien McCarney

Irelandclick.com

Fears of new butcher gang after second attack in a month

A Sinn Féin councillor says she believes a loyalist gang intent on taking Catholic lives is roaming the streets of Ardoyne.

This man, pictured right, narrowly escaped death as a gang of men and a woman stabbed him repeatedly in his back as he walked home along Brompton Park on Friday night.

Councillor Margaret McClenaghan said this was the second time in a month that a young man had been attacked with knives in the same street by a knife-wielding gang cruising in a car. The first victim, aged 28, sustained horrific injuries, losing two fingers in the attack which took place at the beginning of August. The latest victim was stabbed seven times in a frenzied attack.

“This is the second sectarian attack in the middle of Ardoyne. People need to be so careful,” Margaret McClenaghan said. “He’s a lucky man to be able to tell his story because, looking at his wounds, they were very determined to kill him.

“I think after the week we’ve had, we definitely have a loyalist murder gang roaming the streets looking for a victim.”

Friday night’s victim spoke to the Andersonstown News from his home in Ardoyne yesterday about his ordeal. He is too frightened to be named.
It was the first anniversary of his mother’s death and he explained that before the attack he had just left a bar where he had gone for a drink and a chat with a friend. Around midnight the pair were walking down Brompton Park when they noticed a car with blacked-out windows parked in the street.

A young blonde-haired woman got out of the car and asked him for directions to a local club, when suddenly the man’s hooded top was pulled over his eyes and he was brought crashing to the ground.

“While my back was turned the passenger got out, he pulled the hood over my head, and the next thing I knew I was on the ground being stabbed,” the 29-year-old said.

“The girl was saying ‘cut the Fenian bastard’ in this really evil voice. She wasn’t shouting, just talking really calmly. Then the driver got out. My mate has cystic fibrosis so he couldn’t help me, he wasn’t able, but he saw the driver get out. But his cap fell off. He had a machete but when the cap fell off he jumped back in.

“I don’t know when I managed to break free but I punched one of them in the nose. Then the fella and girl jumped into the car. They didn’t speed off, they drove away really slow.”

The young man was taken to hospital by ambulance and was treated for seven stab wounds to his back and shoulder. He received 21 stitches. The victim said he would be talking to his solicitor about the way the PSNI handled his incident. He said that they didn’t take his blood-soaked top for examination or take swabs of blood from his hands which had the blood of his attacker on them.

“I was taken away by an ambulance, and when the police came down to hospital for five minutes and took a brief statement, they asked me if I could identify the people that did it. I said yes. And they said, if we do catch them, it’ll be your word against theirs.”

The PSNI came back to the victim’s house the next day for a further statement and also took his car.

“They said the tax and insurance was up. It was – by about three weeks, and I hadn’t managed to get it sorted.”

The PSNI had not provided us with a comment as we went to press.

Journalist:: Áine McEntee

Irelandclick.com

Peter Hain’s coming to Lisburn today where unionists will tell him about loyalist deprivation – even though Twinbrook and Poleglass are in the TOP TEN list of most deprived areas in the North

A Sinn Féin delegation from Lisburn City Council will today present British Secretary of State Peter Hain with two damning reports detailing ongoing nationalist deprivation in the Colin area and sectarian discrimination nationalist councillors suffer at the hands of unionist politicians sitting on Lisburn City Council.

The latest report published by Northern Ireland Statistical Research Agency measuring social deprivation includes the nationalist areas of Twinbrook and Poleglass in a list of the top ten most deprived areas in the North.

The delegation, headed by Sinn Féin councillor Paul Butler, will present the latest report detailing how Twinbrook and Poleglass suffer a staggering 16 per cent unemployment compared to four per cent in the rest of Lisburn and seven per cent in the rest of the North. Also in the delegation will be Sinn Féin Councillor for Lisburn Angela Nelson. She said of the shocking statistics: “In light of the perceived loyalist deprivation this report clearly shows how nationalist areas are in actual fact the most socially deprived.

“The British Secretary of State only needs to walk around Colin to see there is no park despite 53 per cent of the Poleglass population being aged under 25. We are taking this opportunity to put Peter Hain straight. He can see the facts and figures for himself,” she said.

Cllr Nelson will be joined by Sinn Féin councillors Michael Ferguson and Veronica Willis when Cllr Butler also presents Mr Hain with a detailed account of the sectarian discrimination nationalist councillors have endured over the years at the hands of unionist politicians.

Councillor Butler said: “This Council has a shameful record of treating nationalists as second class citizens and of attempting to deny any expression and recognition of the nationalist tradition in the city boundaries.”

Journalist:: Victoria McMahon

Sinn Féin

Published: 19 September, 2005

Sinn Féin Chief Negotiator, Mid Ulster MP Martin McGuinness has said that the two governments must not allow the DUP to set the pace of political progress.

Mr McGuinness said:

“The leaders of unionism and the Orange Order are harking back to the old days of unionist domination that are gone forever. There will be no going back. The future must be built on equality for all and respect for all. Collectively we need to challenge the cancer of sectarianism that is eating away at our society.

“The two governments must not allow the DUP to set the pace of political progress.

“After the Westminster election the DUP told us there was a new confident unionism. Yet when we look at the events of recent days and weeks and the summer of sectarian violence we see the opposite. Continuing negative leadership form unionist leaders serves only to further demoralise their own community. Unionist communities deserve better.

“Poverty and deprivation must of course be tackled right across society. We can best do this by working together. But this must be on the basis of delivering equality. This means genuinely targeting social need rather than perpetuating myths and misleading analysis about where and why deprivation exists.

“Sinn Féin want to see immediate political progress. We want to see the momentum maintained and increased.

“However, if the DUP is unwilling to break out of its negative cycle and begin to show the positive leadership which the political process and also their own community require and deserve, then the two government need to push ahead with the full implementation of the Agreement. In particular they must deliver on the equality agenda and begin at last to make a difference to deprived and disadvantaged communities.” ENDS

BreakingNews.ie

**Hell yes, Protest-ants (apt description) ought to be allowed to bomb and set fire to their own neighbourhoods whenever the mood strikes them without any impediment from anyone, don’t you think? I mean, it’s WAY too much to ask them to behave in a rational, thinking manner just because they can’t go marching up and down and up and down and up and down the road, pissing and puking anywhere they want to.

19/09/2005 - 11:10:46

The Ulster Defence Association has issued a statement demanding that the British government ends its “suppression” of Protestants in the North.

The UDA claimed last week’s loyalist riots in Belfast and surrounding areas were a response to “severe provocation” and the “political use” of the police and soldiers against Protestants.

“We demand a clear and unequivocal announcement from the British government that the Protestant community deserves the right to live in peace without the fear of suppression and containment,” it said.

Last week’s riots followed a contentious Orange Order march that was banned from the nationalist Springfield Road in Belfast.

Loyalist paramilitaries, including the UDA, were accused of orchestrating the violence, which saw petrol bombs, home-made grenades, fireworks and live ammunition fired at the police.

Dozens of PSNI officers were injured, but unionists and loyalists have accused them of causing the disturbances by acting with aggression and arrogance towards the Orange marchers and their supporters.

Unionist politicians have also claimed the violence was caused by a perception that loyalist culture is being eroded by the peace process, while nationalists are being rewarded.