SAOIRSE32

RTÉ

22 January 2006 20:58

**See also Who is Evo Morales?

Radical leftwinger Evo Morales has been sworn as the first indigenous leader of Bolivia and has vowed to end what he called the humiliation of the native population.

The former leader of poor coca leaf growers took an oath of office in front of 11 presidents and government leaders from Latin America and Europe, and Bolivian politicians.

While many countries and multinational oil firms are anxious over his policies, Morales concentrated his first speech on how he would bring justice to the indigenous population and ease crippling poverty.

Morales held a moment of silence for those who died in social campaigns in Bolivia in recent years, calling them ‘martyrs’.

‘We have been condemned, humiliated … and never recognized as human beings’, he said, stressing how Bolivian Indians made up 62% of the population.

‘Fifty years of campaigning and popular resistance by indigenous people has not been in vain. We are here and we say that we have achieved power to end the injustice, the inequality and oppression that we have lived under,’ he said.

His fiery speech also mentioned Latin American revolutionaries Che Guevara and Simon Bolivar.

Morales has said he will increase state control of valuable natural resources in a bid to ease the huge poverty divide in the country.

But the US is concerned over Morales’ promise to end restrictions on production of coca leaf — the core ingredient for cocaine. The US government has spent millions of dollars trying to eradicate coca.

Many governments are also anxious to see what impact his policies have in a region where leftist governments have increasing power.

Among those present at the ceremony were Venezuela’s socialist president Hugo Chavez, another virulent critic of the United States, and Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, a former union leader.

Sinn Féin

Published: 22 January, 2006

Sinn Féin councillor Billy Leonard has said that one of their party activists was the target of an attacker brandishing a gun in the Ballysally area of Coleraine on Saturday morning. The person concerned was due to play in a football match in the area and the attacker walked on to the pitch wearing a balaclava and pointing the firearm.

Councillor Leonard said:

“It is hard to say from initial reports if this was an elaborate scare tactic or if a real attack was avoided by the quick thinking of our activist who fled the scene. The attacker definitely asked for the person by name and was approaching him across the pitch pointing the weapon.

Whatever the motivation, there are guns in loyalist areas and are being targeted at one of our activists. The message has got to be given loud and clear. There is no place for this in Coleraine. Republicans are entitled to their political aspirations, entitled to work for them and entitled to live a normal life. Loyalism must become mature enough to accept all of this.

And I must challenge all brands of loyalist and unionist politicians. You knock each other over to get to the microphones and cameras to heap scorn on republicans coming up to the IMC report.

You must now take responsibility to address the reality of Saturday morning’s incident. It is sinister and worrisome and for all we know it could have been a serious gun attack. You must surely speak out and then work to remove this sinister element from your political community.”

Leonard confirmed that Sinn Féin activists in the area were totally committed to continuing their work in the largely unionist and loyalist area.

“This and previous incidents will not deter us. We have an absolute right to work politically and that will not be taken from us by attacks or threats of attacks.”ENDS

Sinn Féin

Published: 22 January, 2006

Sinn Féin MP for Newry and Armagh Conor Murphy today repeated his party’s demand for the British and Irish governments to act now to end the stalemate in the political process.

Speaking after a meeting of the Sinn Féin leadership in Dublin over the weekend Mr Murphy said:

“Our weekend discussion provided an opportunity for activists from across the island to come together and chart out a course for the coming 12 months. It is very clear that 2006 is the year that the two governments have to finally act and ensure the full implementation of the Good Friday Agreement. Continuing with a suspended Assembly and the farce of Direct Rule Ministers in the North is simply not sustainable.

“The Good Friday Agreement is the democratic option. The two governments have been mandated by the people of Ireland to implement it. This reality cannot be subverted by rejectionist unionism in the DUP or anti peace process securocrats in the PSNI or IMC.

“The initiatives taken last year by the IRA have cleared the decks of excuses not to move forward. What we need now is the speedy restoration of the political institutions and this has to be the focus of the discussions
in early February.

“We have been in contact with both governments at the highest levels and made it clear that the onus is now on them to advance the process and re-establish the political institutions.

“What this requires in real terms is an end to the suspension of the political institutions and the d’honte mechanism for electing the Executive should be triggered. This in itself has the potential to inject badly needed momentum into the political process.

“We are going into the next short period determined to make progress and determined to see the promise of the Good Friday Agreement delivered including on the other range of outstanding matters not directly linked to the restoration of power sharing. Others also must display the same political will” ENDS

Sinn Féin

Published: 22 January, 2006

Sinn Féin spokesperson on International Affairs Aengus Ó Snodaigh was in the Basque Country this weekend to participate in a major rally in Bilbao to protest at the decision of the Spanish High Court to prevent Basque political party Batasuna from holding its Congress in the city. Tens of thousands of people took to the streets of Bilbao to support calls for civil and political rights. Speaking from the Basque Country Deputy Ó Snodaigh said:

“This weekend tens of thousands of people took to the streets of Bilbao to support calls for civil and political rights. The decision of the Spanish High Court to prevent Batasuna from holding its Congress is in stark contrast to comments from senior political figures including Spanish Premier Jose Luis Zapatero who recently said that he was upbeat about the prospects for political progress in the Basque Country. If the Spanish government is serious about conflict resolution then dialogue and inclusion is the best way to move forward.

“My message to those in attendance at the rally was to not to be deterred by those who would pursue policies of criminalisation because such strategies will never succeed.

“There is a huge opportunity for political progress in the Basque Country and Sinn Féin will continue to do all that we can to help.”ENDS

Sinn Féin

Published: 22 January, 2006

Sinn Féin MEP Bairbre de Brún will tomorrow (Monday 23rd January) embark on a week long visit to Palestine.

Ms de Brún is travelling as part of a delegation from the European United Left/Nordic Green Left group in the European Parliament to observe the legislative elections in the country on Wednesday 25th January.

Speaking before the visit Ms de Brún said:

“My visit to Palestine comes at a time of instability and uncertainty in the Middle East. Part of my responsibility will be to observe the electoral process and to ascertain whether or not the election has been held in a free and fair manner, free from intimidation.

“It is crucial that the Palestinian people are given the opportunity to participate in the democratic electoral process. It is also essential that candidates and their election workers are not hindered in any way.

“I look forward to my forthcoming visit and being able to engage with the Palestinian people, and to find out at first hand the prospects for peace in Palestine and the region as a whole.” ENDS

BBC

Police said their presence prevented “serious disorder”

Only a heavy police presence prevented violent clashes at a Republican parade in Glasgow, a senior officer has said.

About 1,000 marchers took part in the Bloody Sunday commemoration as 400 protesters jeered and threw bottles at the procession.

Police said 11 people were arrested for offences including breach of the peace, assault and possession of a knife.

Strathclyde Police Assistant Chief Constable Kevin Smith said officers had managed to prevent “serious disorder”.

Parade organiser Jim Slaven said he was happy the rights of the Irish community in Scotland had been upheld.

Trouble had flared at the same event last year, when marchers and protesters were involved in violent clashes in the city’s George Square.

Many police officers kept the two sides apart in the same area on Saturday.

Mr Smith said there was racist and sectarian abuse at the event and that without the presence of so many officers the consequences would have been unimaginable.

“If we hadn’t been there in the numbers in which we were there would have been serious, serious disorder on the streets of Glasgow,” he said.

“We had to deploy a significant number of officers to ensure that a group of 300 or 400 did not attack a procession of 1,000 or more.

“You can only imagine what could have happened if that had occurred.”

‘Peaceful march’

He said officers dealt with incidents such as missile throwing but said there were no reported injuries.

He added: “Many of those taking part in the procession clearly antagonised the protesters.

“Unfortunately, but not unexpectedly, racist and sectarian abuse was present.”

The senior police officer also revealed the start of the parade was held up as some of those taking part were dressed in paramilitary-style clothing.

Protesters jeered and threw missiles at the marchers

He said: “Unfortunately the start of the march was delayed by almost 30 minutes as, contrary to permission conditions, there were groups dressed in paramilitary-style clothing.

“There were further problems with aspects of the organisation of the parade that we will now take forward with the organisers and Glasgow City Council.”

Mr Smith added that officers would now begin studying CCTV footage from the march to see if there was evidence for more arrests.

Mr Slaven, organiser of the parade by Cairde na hEireann (Friends of Ireland), said he was happy marchers’ rights had been protected.

New legislation

“That’s what we would expect. People on the parade behaved with great dignity and respect. It was a peaceful march from our point of view,” he added.

BBC Scotland’s Gillian Sharpe said the atmosphere in George Square during the parade was “tense”.

She said the square was full of Unionist protesters who were waving placards and Union flags while shouting at the marchers.

Before the march, senior officers said troublemakers would be firmly dealt with, including anyone using offensive chants or expressing support for paramilitary organisations.

New legislation currently being drafted would give the police greater powers to block problem parades.

**Posted by Sean to IRA2

A Chara,

On December 9th a senior advisor to An Taoiseach met with the widow of the late Captain James Kelly, and two of her daughters at Government Buildings in Dublin. Although long-awaited this was a very positive development and another meeting is planned at which the family can provide adequate evidence in a bid to secure an official exoneration from the Irish government.

The late Captain Kelly struggled for more than thirty years to obtain that objective. At his death-bed his wife Sheila, daughters and sons promised to continue his fight for justice, no matter how long that might take.

Within hours of his death, in July 2003, An Taoiseach publicly stated, in reference to the events leading up to the 1970 Arms Trial, “He had acted on what he believed were proper orders. Personally I have no reason to doub this integrity”. This very welcome, if somewhat belated comment, prompted a number of civil rights veterans, mainly based in Derry, to launch the Captain Kelly Justice Campaign. Central to such efforts is an international petition which has already been endorsed by several prominent politicians, clergy, authors, journalists and people from many other fields of human endeavour, both at home and abroad. The campaign, which has the active backing of the Kelly family, has created a website which can be located at www.captainkelly.org. Paper petitions, car-bumper stickers, and other promotional items have also been produced, some as far away as the USA and Australia, to popularise this prolonged bid for basic justice from the Irish state.

Campaigners strongly feel that this unresolved issue is a national shame, which deserves, now, to be treated as a matter of urgency, not merely for the sake of his surviving widow and family members, but primarily in the interests of social justice, human compassion and basic decency, which we
all should expect to be essential ingredients to any collective sense of national pride.

Publication of this letter would be greatly appreciated in the hope that at least some who read it may take steps to learn more about how this soldier, writer, artist and human rights activist was scapegoated and thrown to the wolves by higher powers. Let us pray that the Dublin government in
2006 will posthumously vindicate Captain Kelly and that this cause attracts such a measure of public solidarity that all government ministers, local politicians, and the media in particular, will effectively sit up and take notice.

Fionnbarra O’Dochartaigh,
CKJCampaign Manager,
“Knockavoe”,
Derry City BT48 7HR
Oct5th_vets68@hotmail.com

Sunday Life

Lynda Gilby, straight talking
22 January 2006

I have sobbed my way through the last four days. I can’t sleep, can’t eat. I’m not worth a tap.

My beautiful rescue cat, Jasper is missing. I’ve always been owned by a cat and I’ve had my share of heartaches like any pet-lover, but to me, this one is really special.

He was my shadow, rarely out for more than 15 minutes at a time before bouncing back in.

And when 12lbs of wet cat launches himself on your lap demanding affection, it’s hard to say no!

I’d never had a used cat before (one careful owner) and from the moment I brought him home from the Assisi Shelter in Conlig three years ago, it was clear we were meant for each other.

He is the biggest, soppiest, most affectionate creature, brimming over with more personality than you could shake a stick at. His usual response to strangers is to collapse in a heap on his side proffering a blatant invitation to a belly-rub.

Regular Life readers will know of Jasper. When I’m stopped in the street, I’m as likely to be asked about him as I am about some issue I’ve raised in the paper.

So I’m quite shamelessly using this column to ask you to keep an eye out for him.

Last seen Wednesday teatime in the Cregagh Road area, Jasper is a big cat. He is white with a series of black patches either side of his backbone, black tail, black cap and a small black patch above one eye.

He was wearing a blue collar with a medallion. He is micro-chipped so can be taken to the nearest vet or animal shelter where they will scan him and re-unite us. Or please leave a message on 90 452852.

Those of you who have been in a similar situation will have experienced the agony of not knowing and of bursting into tears afresh every time it’s cold and raining.

Sunday Life

Lynda Gilby, straight talking
22 January 2006

Whine, whine, whine! That’s all you hear in this country. People with a political profile stamping their foot and crying to the heavens: “It’s not fair”.

The latest in a long line of whingers who does not appear to have thought the subject through, is Lord Laird, who complains that roughly twice as many Catholics as Protestants are employed working for cross-border bodies in Northern Ireland.

He is quoted as saying: “I, and many other Unionists, did not sign up to the Belfast Agreement for full-scale discrimination against my community.

“This is all part of a grand Republican agenda - a pro-Irish agenda.

“Republicans and nationalists would have the world believe they are non-sectarian guardians of equality.

“Well, here is the evidence in black and white of the real, cloak and dagger nationalist agenda.”

I have quoted the good lord at length because I want you to get the full measure of the amount of steam that must have been pouring from his ears when he said these words in the House of Lords last week.

He had been provided with the employment figures by the Government in answer to a Parliamentary question.

So let’s just examine the cause of his ire.

Who, do you think, in our community, are most opposed to the North-South bodies?

Why, I hear you cry, Protestants, of course.

So who, then, do you reckon, are the most unlikely people on earth to apply for jobs working for the North-South bodies? Correct!

So if Lord Laird really wants equality of numbers in the workforce of these bodies, should he not be ardently encouraging Protestants to overcome their abhorrence and go and work for them rather than bemoan the fact that they are not already there?

Silence is deafening

Pardon me while I pause to look at that herd of porkers flying across the horizon.

Last week, the Drumcree Orange march was once again banned by the Parades Commission and there hasn’t been so much as a peep of protest from the Orange Order or from Unionist politicians connected with them.

Just pinch me. Even stranger, when you consider that the Commission now contains two members who are prominent Orangemen - Donald McKay and David Burrows.

Even Portadown spokesman, David Jones remarked mildly that he was disappointed but not surprised by the ruling. “We are looking towards developing trust to achieve a just and lasting solution, not a quick fix,” he added.

Make of that what you may. What I make of it is to wonder just what secret deal has been struck behind the scenes.

Could it be, do you think, that the Orange contingent have been told that if they keep the noise down and bide their time, Orange feet will tramp the road to Drumcree next year or the year after?

The other possibility, of course, is that Orangeism is finally acquiring a large measure of political nous?

Go figure.

IAIS

01/22/06 08:57 EST

A recent allegation of continued criminal activity by the IRA, made by a senior PSNI officer to the Northern Ireland Policing Board, was cortradicted by the PSNI Chief Constable himself, according tho Irish premier Bertie Ahern.

During a trade mission to India, Ahern claimed the chief constable had given him a different view from that of his Assistant Chief Constable Sam Kincaid, who told the north’s Policing Board last week the IRA was still involved.

The Taoiseach, speaking in New Delhi, rejected Kincaid’s analysis, alleging that Orde, ‘the most senior police officer’, had given him a different view.

But asked if Ahern’s account of his meeting with the chief constable before Christmas was correct, a spokesperson for Orde said the Taoiseach ‘is mistaken to say that the Chief Constable gave a different view’.

It is understood Orde stands behind Kincaid ’s analysis that all paramilitary groups, including the IRA, are still involved in crime. His spokesperson stressed that Orde would not say anything to pre-empt the next International Monitoring Commission (IMC) report later this month.

Kincaid’s assessment also contradicted the views of the Northern Ireland Security Minister, Sean Woodward, who claimed all IRA activities were over. The chairman, Des Rea, has admitted the minister and the police remained ‘clearly at odds’.

British Ministers, including Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Hain, are pinning hopes of restoring devolution on the new IMC report in the hope it will confirm all IRA activities have ceased.

Hain said that the north’s politicians should take a lesson from Nelson Mandela and forgive their enemies. South Africa had five times as many people killed as died in the Troubles yet Mandela still shook hands with his jailers. The minister asked why the North’s politicians could not do the same.

Hain said he was encouraged by the prospects for key talks on 6 February aimed at reviving the deadlocked devolution process. Proposals from the Democratic Unionist Party to revive a highly limited form of devolution could, he suggested, provided a starting point for negotiations.

Hain expected that a report from the Independent Monitoring Commission, due shortly, would indicate the IRA’s momentus step to end all activities was ‘for real’. But he admitted the IMC must decide how many of its individual members were still involved in crime.

“At some point, Northern Ireland has got to get to the South Africa moment of forgiving but not forgetting,” he said. “If you have lost a husband or a child or other loved ones it’s not for me to say that you can ever forget the past, and you can’t ever have closure. But I think Northern Ireland has to look forward.”

“If Nelson Mandela can - having spent 10,000 days of his adult life in prison can say ‘I can shake the hand of my former jailer, I can extend my hand to the people who were killing my people’, why can’t Northern Ireland’s politicians?”

The DUP will submit proposals to Downing Street this week for a resumption of the assembly, but without restoring the power-sharing executive. Hain did not favor this but if other parties did ‘that could lead to a good result’. He warned: “Years more limbo is not an option.”

Hain admitted leaks last week of a police report on alleged IRA criminal activity had been a ’spanner in the works’ but said the report from the IMC should help restore confidence.

“They will never in the end be able to provide an absolute 100 per cent cast-iron picture because most of what their assessment is based on intelligence, which is fragmentary.”

Republicans have denied the recent claims made by Assistant Chief Constable Sam Kincaid and said that members of the British security forces are attempting to damage the political process through malicious briefings against the IRA.

Ahern and Blair plan to make a joint keynote speech in the days after the report’s publication, while Ireland’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, Dermot Ahern, will join Northern secretary Peter Hain in hosting exploratory talks with the parties.

Ian Paisley’s DUP has seized on Kincaid’s remarks as justification for keeping Sinn Fein out of the political process.

Republicans have rejected the allegations, saying his briefing was a deliberate attempt by the PSNI to scupper political progress.

Sunday Life

Alan McBride, at the heart of the matter
22 January 2006

Who thinks it would be a good idea to turn part of the Maze prison into a museum?

I first heard this question posed not long after the last prisoner was released in July, 2000.

I have to say, at first I was horrified at the prospect. Imagine, people going to see the cell that once housed Gerry Kelly, Michael Stone or other infamous terrorists, maybe even glorifying them by buying loyalist or republican merchandise. Any takers for a pack of Bik McFarlane playing cards, or what about a Johnny Adair book mark?

Okay, so I am stretching it a bit, but in my mind at the time I just couldn’t see any other reason for turning the jail into a museum, other than to use it to glorify those that under no circumstances should be glorified.

I mean, unlike the Crumlin Road Jail, the Maze could hardly be described as having any architectural significance, so what other reason could there be?

I guess time can change a person or at least allow them to see things from another perspective.

This week I had the opportunity to address the issue of a museum at the Maze in a meeting in Belfast, but rather than attack the proposals I found myself giving them a guarded welcome.

Whether one likes it or not the Maze is synonymous with one of the darkest periods in Northern Irish history, and as such it should be retained in order for the story to be told with some meaning.

For me this is no longer about the personalities that were incarcerated there, but more about the period of history that the jail was very much a part of.

For example, internment, detention without trial, blanket and no wash protests, hunger strikes, the ceasefires and Mo Mowlam’s controversial visit to loyalist inmates, to mention a few.

Of course these stories would be told even if the Maze was bulldozed to the ground, but there is something extra special about standing in the actual location where so much of what we read and heard took place.

No doubt, the significance of each event will be interpreted differently by those who take the time to visit - but that’s okay, there are after all various understandings of history in this society.

That said, one challenge that confronts us all is to hear the “other’s” history. Perhaps the “Maze Museum” could be utilised to play a part in this regard.

Imagine, visits by school children, community groups, church groups, historical societies and the like, all with their own particular political and cultural baggage, passed on to them through generations of mistrust and fear, but coming nonetheless to engage in fresh learning and dialogue.

Surely, this could be one contribution to the development of a shared understanding of the past. However, whether this is realised or not depends on a number of factors, one of which is the way that the idea is put into practice.

The process must be inclusive; it must facilitate numerous stories, of course from the prisoners and their families but also from the prison staff, families of victims, Governor of the jail, etc.

Any attempt at a glorification of the conflict from any side must be resisted.

The overarching aim of the museum should be simply to tell the story of the Maze prison in all its various dimensions.

I know there are many who will find it difficult to visit, and perhaps never will. While I understand and have some sympathy with those who would oppose the idea, I feel it would be wrong to deprive this and future generations of this important historic site.

Sunday Life

Stephen Breen
22 January 2006

A mystery bird lover has paid the controversial fine imposed on a ‘have-a-go-hero’ for feeding pigeons in Belfast city centre.

Outraged Gerard Braiden had been refusing to pay the £50 litter penalty imposed by the city council last December - and had vowed to go to jail instead.

Defiant Mr Braiden said he was amazed and delighted when the council informed him someone had paid the fine - but he will go on feeding the birds.

Mr Braiden’s best pal, Norman Lowry, suffered serious head injuries after the pair had bravely tried to stop a notorious joyrider hi-jacking a vehicle in a city centre car park back in March 2004.

Fifty-one-year-old Mr Braiden was in the news again last month, hitting out angrily after he was fined for feeding pigeons.

Other bird lovers rallied to his cause, and Mr Braiden told last week how he had received over 100 letters of support.

“I was determined to take a stand against the council on this matter and I was prepared to go to prison,” he said.

” I love all kinds of animals - including pigeons.

“I received my fine in December and I couldn’t believe it when the council informed me the matter had been resolved and the fine paid just a few weeks later.

“The support I received was fantastic and I can’t thank the person who paid the fine enough, although I was looking forward to having my day in court.

“This is now the end of the matter regarding the fine but it won’t stop me and other people feeding pigeons.

“I’ve no doubt the council have come out of this in a bad light because of their strong stance on the issue.”

Jim Ferguson, operations manager for the council’s street cleansing department, defended the action.

He said: “The litter warden observed Mr Braiden on numerous occasions feeding pigeons with corn seed.

“He was warned, but continued to feed the pigeons - even though we told him it was an offence under the 1994 Litter Act.

“We stand by our original decision but the matter has now been resolved.”

Mr Braiden’s feud with the council started when he was involved in a heated row with a litter warden after he fed pigeons with seed at Hector Street.

The warden, who was accompanied by two police officers, told Mr Braiden that he was committing an offence by feeding the birds.

The bird-lover was feeding the pigeons just a few yards from where his pal was mown down and seriously injured by car thief Stephen O’Hagan.

sbreen@belfasttelegraph.co.uk

Sunday Life

Maybinned

Stephen Breen
22 January 2006

Confidential court documents have been found dumped on a Belfast street.

An investigation has been launched after the files - which contain the names of security staff at the Department of Public Prosecution (DPP) - were found by a concerned Sunday Life reader, who passed them to us.

The paperwork, which was found close to St George’s Market, belongs to Maybin Support Services, which has a £4.9m contract to provide court service security.

The files contains the names of security personnel employed at the department’s Belfast office, details of shift rotas, information on the amount of working hours and details on individual sick leave and holiday requests.

We handed the documents over to Maybin Support Services last week.

A probe is now under way to establish how the employment records were discovered close to a busy market.

A Maybin spokesman said the matter was being investigated.

“This was a one-off incident which should not have occurred. The information concerned was in fact out of date, not commercially or security sensitive, and was not directly related to the operation of the PPS.

“We have reviewed this incident and taken steps to ensure there is no re-occurrence.”

Senior Belfast councillor Jim Rodgers, who is chairman of the city’s District Policing Partnership, voiced concerns over the discovery of court security staff names.

“It’s just as well the names of court security staff didn’t fall into the hands of criminals or terrorists,” he said.

“I think the people whose names were on these employment records have every right to know how their personal details turned up in a street.

“I would also not want strangers knowing my personal business and I just hope something like this doesn’t happen again,” added the Ulster Unionist.

Sunday Life

22 January 2006

One of the starving dogs saved by the USPCA at Katesbridge belonged to a close aide of DUP MP Jeffrey Donaldson.

Sunday Life can reveal the eight-year-old Doberman - named ‘Trooper’ - was stolen from the home of top DUP man’s personal assistant, Paul Stewart, last September.

Mr Stewart’s family undertook a series of searches for the family pet, but believed it was dead as the weeks went by without any news.

It was only when the Dromara man watched events from the USPCA’s raid at Katesbridge unfold, did he believe his pet was alive.

He was convinced one of the dogs captured on camera, was his beloved pet.

Said Mr Stewart: “Let’s put it this way - the dog was in a lot better condition when it left here than it was when we found it again.

“We obviously thought the dog was dead because of the amount of time it was away from our home.

“You can’t really tell from the TV but I had a funny feeling it was Trooper, and I immediately contacted the USPCA.

“As soon as I saw the dog I knew it was Trooper. I couldn’t wait to get him home.

“I’m just so pleased my dog has been saved from living in such horrible conditions.”

“I just don’t know how anyone could steal a dog and let it live in such horrible conditions.”

The Lagan Valley MP praised the USPCA for rescuing the dogs.

Added Mr Donaldson: “These dogs were living in terrible conditions and I’m just so pleased they have been rescued.

“But I think this puppy farm in Katesbridge is only the tip of the iceberg and I think more needs to be done to combat the problem.”

Sunday Life

Stephen Breen
22 January 2006

Cocaine-snorting former loyalist gun-runner Lindsay Robb established close links with neo-Nazis in Glasgow shortly before his killing, it has emerged.

A senior security source told Sunday Life how Robb - murdered in a frenzied knife attack on New Year’s Eve - had formed an alliance with leading members of Combat 18 in the city.

Sources also revealed that leading up to his death, Robb was snorting a gram of cocaine every morning before starting his day’s work, as a building labourer.

It is understood he linked up with the group for protection after he was warned members of a well-known Glaswegian crime family were targeting him.

Robb had established the links with the right-wingers in the Coatbridge and Airdrie areas.

The source claimed the ex-UVF and LVF man, who was jailed in 1996 for importing weapons into Northern Ireland, was placed on a hit-list by gangsters because of his failure to pay debts.

Sunday Life knows the name of the well-known family but cannot publish it for legal reasons.

Said the source: “Robb was running about with the neo-Nazis because the various loyalist groupings in Glasgow didn’t want to know him.

“He thought that by befriending them they could offer him protection - how wrong was he? They don’t have the same support in Glasgow compared to other cities in the UK.

“Robb owed a lot of money to the crime family and he hated them because they were Catholics, but he had no other option but to deal with them.

“He thought he could get away with paying his debts back, but the family probably gave some heroin addict drugs and some cash to take him out.

“Robb was struggling to make money working as a labourer and that’s why he was borrowing cash all over the place.”

Added the source: “He was hooked on the cocaine. Every morning before going to work he would have taken at least a gram of coke.

“The boys he was working with couldn’t believe it and he was even at it during work. He turned to drugs because of his money problems.

“But he made a lot of enemies through the drugs and he became very paranoid, especially in the weeks before his death.

“He always maintained that he was a true loyalist but he would have taken drugs off anyone because that’s the only thing he was concerned about.”

This latest revelation about Robb’s lifestyle comes after we revealed earlier this month he was once a British Intelligence agent.