SAOIRSE32

BN.ie

02/02/2006 - 19:28:29

The introduction of Police Community Support Officers in Northern Ireland moved a step closer tonight.

The uniformed civilian support staff have already been introduced in England and Wales amid some controversy.

After extensive debate in Belfast the Northern Ireland Policing Board has agreed in principle to the recruitment of PCSOs in the North.

They said their agreement was subject to there being “no variation between the vetting criteria for membership of the PCSO and those which govern regular police officers”.

Board chairman, Professor Sir Desmond Rea, said they were guarding against “any potential for PCSOs to become a route into policing for paramilitaries”.

At the same time the Board agreed the rolling out of four new areas for the recruitment of more part time police officers following the evaluation of a pilot recruitment scheme of 159 officers on four other areas in 2003.

The Patten Report on the future of policing said the Part Time Police Reserve should be enlarged to 2,500 officers, with additional recruits to come from those areas in which there were few or no reservists at all.

Sir Desmond said that since the publication of Pattern there had been developments in the delivery of community policing, the deployment of part-time officers and the introduction in England and Wales of PCSOs.

He said PCSOs were a new initiative in policing and as part of the board’s discussions members had considered whether they would be suitable for the province.

Their decision to recruit more part-time officers went some way to giving police commanders an additional resource in the short term to meet community policing needs on the ground “while allowing the arrangements and legislation for the recruitment of PCSOs to be quickly progressed,” said Sir Desmond.

IAIS

02/02/06 09:25 EST

Sinn Fein moved in the Dail (Irish Parliament) today to have the Independent Monitoring Commission disbanded.

A Bill was brought calling for the highly contentious Independent Monitoring Commission to be repealed just one day after the body was at the center of furious row over IRA weapons.

Sinn Fein`s Aengus O`Snodaigh said the commission was not as independent as its title suggested.

“It is quite clear to even the most narrow-minded of observers of the peace process that the so-called Independent Monitoring Commission is nothing of the sort,” the Dublin South Central TD said.

“Its farcical report yesterday, which once again relies on anonymous and unsubstantiated allegations and innuendo from extremely suspect sources, is nothing more than a permit for prevarication, which the two governments foolishly handed rejectionist unionists and their fellow-travellers.”

The IMC, which said the IRA was making progress towards transforming itself into a totally peaceful organisation, alleged in a report yesterday some members were still engaged in spying, money laundering and smuggling.

However, while offering no hard evidence whatsoever, the commission also said it had “received reports” that the IRA still had access to a range of guns despite completing its disarmament programme last fall.

There was no indication given that the quantities alleged involved were substantial, or that the alleged retained arms were kept with the approval of the IRA leadership or as part of a wider strategy to return to violence.

General John de Chastelain`s Independent International Commission on Decommissioning confirmed it had received information from security sources in Northern Ireland - believed to be the PSNI- that a range of IRA weapons and ammunition were not handed over to be destroyed last September.

However after consulting the Irish Republic`s police and the IRA, the disarmament body said it remained convinced that the IRA had destroyed all the weapons under its control in the organisation`s final act of arms decommissioning last September.

Senior Garda officers also insisted there was no intelligence suggesting any weapons had been retained.

Sinn Fein chief negotiator Martin McGuinness yesterday was incensed by the claims in the new assessment, alleging police loyal to the DUP were responsible for the claims.

Mr O`Snodaigh said the party had pointed out at the time the legislation was being passed that it would give legal effect to a body which those intent on frustrating the development of the peace process could use.

“This latest report has, as was the case with all the previous reports of this discredited body, unfortunately proved us right,” he said, adding that more than ¬1.5 million (£1 million) per year had been spent by the Irish Government on the IMC since it was established in 2003.

Mr O`Snodaigh said it was in the interests of the peace process that the Irish Government adopt his Bill to repeal the legislation grounding the IMC.

Deputy Ó Snodaigh said, “It is quiet clear to even the most narrow-minded of observers of the peace process that the so-called Independent Monitoring Commission is nothing of the sort. Its farcical report yesterday, which once again relies on anonymous and unsubstantiated allegations and innuendo from extremely suspect sources, is nothing more than a permit for prevarication, which the two governments foolishly handed rejectionist unionists and their fellow- travellers.”

“Sinn Féin pointed out at the time that the legislation was going through Leinster House to give legal effect to this body that it would be used and abused by those who are hell-bent on frustrating the development of the peace process. This latest report has, as was the case with all the previous reports of this discredited body, unfortunately proved us right.”

“Sinn Féin has put before the Dáil today a Bill which would repeal the legislation that brought the body in to being and which provided it with its substantial funding from the Irish taxpayer. I am calling on the Government to adopt this Bill and put it to the House so that the collection of spooks and anti-republican cranks that make up the IMC can be disbanded immediately. In the interests of the peace process and in the re-establishment of the institutions it is crucial that this happens sooner rather than later,” Deputy Ó Snodaigh said.

Also today, republican protesters disrupted a crucial meeting of the Northern Ireland Policing Board in Belfast.

As Chief Constable Sir Hugh Orde was about to give his assessment on the IMC report, half a dozen people stood up and demanded to know where the information came from.

Robert McClenaghan, of the group An Fhirinne, asked: “Who provided intelligence to the likes of the IMC? Is it the same Special Branch police, same military people and the same members of the NIO (Northern Ireland Office) who have been involved in collusion for the last 35 years?”

The protesters were escorted out of the public meeting by the PSNI, some of them shouting “political policing” as they left.

BBC

Mr Sandhu is a solicitor based in Limavady

The Law Society has demanded a meeting with Chief Constable Sir Hugh Orde over the arrest of a Limavady solicitor.

Manmohan Sandhu, 41, is being questioned at Antrim police station about serious terrorist activity.

His solicitor, Joe Rice, alleges police gathered evidence by covertly taping confidential conversations between Mr Sandhu and his clients.

Law Society chief executive John Bailie said it was an “intrusion into the solicitor-client relationship”.

“A client in these circumstances - who is arrested and in police custody, suspected of having committed a criminal offence - needs to be able to speak to his solicitor candidly,” he said.

“The administration of justice requires that should happen: he needs to be guaranteed that it is kept confidential.

“I think also the reason why we are taking this so seriously is that it is the first occasion I am aware of in Northern Ireland that there has been this kind of intrusion into the solicitor-client relationship.”

Mr Rice wrote to the Law Society, the body representing the legal profession, to complain about how, he claims, the police gathered evidence in the case.

Mr Rice alleges the conversations, allegedly taped at Antrim police station, led to Mr Sandhu being questioned about serious terrorist activity including membership of a loyalist paramilitary organisation.

The letter from Mr Rice to the Law Society’s chief executive also said: “It is a sad day for our criminal justice process that a solicitor cannot guarantee that his advices to his client in a police station may not be free from state interference.”

He also states: “I am sure you will share my concern that the right to confidentiality that must exist between solicitor and client has now been eradicated.

“This is a deliberate move by the authorities and no solicitor can at present guarantee his client that any pre-interview or indeed post-interview consultations at police stations in Northern Ireland are private and confidential.”

Police refused to confirm or deny the identity of Mr Sandhu on Thursday, but confirmed they have been granted another 48 hours to question a man at Antrim police station.

Belfast Telegraph

by Alf McCreary: Religion Correspondent
02 February 2006

A Catholic priest has revealed how his direct talks with loyalists has led to a promise to remove offensive graffiti from outside his church at Harryville in Ballymena.

Fr Paul Symonds told a large congregation in St Anne’s Cathedral in Belfast how he had decided not to retaliate with condemnatory language last summer when loyalists had daubed the Catholic church with paint and graffiti.

Speaking at the Day of Reflection in the cathedral at the weekend, he said: “I felt that if people do that kind of thing, they must be feeling some pain and that I needed to listen to them and to hear about that pain.”

Speaking later to the Belfast Telegraph, he said that he had been “overwhelmed” when local Presbyterians and members of other churches helped to clean up the mess after two separate attacks.

He also sent out feelers that he wanted to talk directly to loyalists who had perpetrated the attacks. He said: “It took some time, and at the start I did not really expect a response.

“However, I eventually was invited to meet a loyalists group and I was treated with respect, which I appreciated. I listened carefully to what they had to say. We talked to each other as human beings, and not as people with labels, and things developed from that.”

He added: “They undertook to remove a paramilitary mural which overlooks our church and to replace it with a cultural picture which they believe will not be offensive to Catholics.

“They also promised to keep me informed about their plans. The group also undertook to remove red, white and blue painting from kerbstones outside the church, and understand that they may need to use a sandblaster.”

Fr Symonds accepted an invitation earlier this month to attend the opening of the local advice centre of the Ulster Political Research Group, the political wing of the UDA.

He said: “I was again very well treated and I would be hopeful of a peaceful outcome this summer. I am not complacent, and there is a need for continued dialogue and for great sensitivity.”

Fr Symonds had also kept open his contacts with other church leaders in the area, including the Presbyterian Moderator Dr Harry Uprichard, from Ahoghill.

He said: “Dr Uprichard and I have different attitudes to such matters as shared worship, but I respect his views. We have a warm relationship, and I hope that when he ends his busy year of office we will have time to meet.”

Daily Ireland

SINN FÉIN CHIEF NEGOTIATOR CONDEMNS IMC REPORT AS ‘BULLSHIT OF THE HIGHEST ORDER’ IRA STATEMENT REFUTES IMC ALLEGATIONS ABOUT RETAINING WEAPONS AS ‘POLITICALLY MOTIVATED’ IMC REPORT AT ODDS WITH CONCLUSIONS REACHED BY GENERAL DE CHASTELAIN AND GARDA SÍOCHÁNA

By Jarlath Kearney
02/02/2006

Sinn Féin’s chief negotiator Martin McGuinness has angrily rubbished allegations in yesterday’s IMC report that the IRA withheld weapons from last September’s disarmament process.
In a statement last night, the IRA leadership rejected the IMC allegations as “politically motivated”.
A political row developed yesterday after the IMC report appeared to undermine the conclusions reached by the Independent International Commission on Decommissioning led by General John de Chastelain.
Following last September’s process of putting all IRA weapons beyond use, General de Chastelain expressed confidence that the IRA had completely discharged its commitments.
However, the IMC yesterday challenged the decommissioning body’s conclusions.
“We have since received reports that not all PIRA’s weapons and ammunition were handed over for decommissioning in September,” the IMC said.
“These reports are not able to indicate precisely what is the nature or volume of any remaining weapons but suggest two things — first, that there is a range of different kinds of weapons and ammunition; second, that the material goes beyond what might possibly have been expected to have missed decommissioning, such as a limited number of handguns kept for personal protection or some items the wherebouts of which were no longer known.
“We recognise that, if these reports were confirmed, the key question would be how much the PIRA leadership knew about these weapons,” the IMC said.
In a later statement yesterday, General John de Chastelain’s decommissioning body strongly contradicted the IMC’s allegations of IRA bad faith.
The decommissioning body attributed the source of recent questions about the IRA’s disarmament process to “security sources in Northern Ireland”.
“Last week, we were informed by security sources in Northern Ireland that they had intelligence to the effect that some individuals and groups within the IRA have retained a range of arms, including handguns,” it said.
“If substantiated, this assessment would be at variance with the statement we made last September that we believed all IRA arms had been decommissioned commensurate with our remit. Accordingly we undertook to examine whether, in light of the assessment, we were misinformed or had made a misjudgment in September.
“Over the past week, we have discussed the intelligence assessment with senior officers in the Garda Síochána… the Garda informed us that what they regard as reliable sources in relation to the IRA and its weaponry have produced no intelligence suggesting any arms have been retained.”
The decommissioning body said two meetings had taken place last week with the IRA representative who was responsible for overseeing the process of putting the organisation’s weapons beyond use.
“In our first meeting last week, the IRA representative… assured us that no IRA arms had been retained or placed in long -term hides,” the decommissioning body said.
“In a meeting later in the week, the representative told us that, following our earlier discussion, the IRA leadership questioned each of their commanders about the intelligence assessment. These have confirmed that all the arms under their control were decommissioned in September, as we stated.
“We conclude that, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, our 26 September assessment regarding IRA arms remains correct.”
At a later press conference, Sinn Féin chief negotiator Martin McGuinness was asked to give his view on the IMC allegations of IRA bad faith.
He said the IMC received its briefings from “people within the process who are hostile to it”.
“I think it is, with respect, bullshit of the highest order,” he added.
“Those who supply the information for the IMC reports include DUP supporters in Special Branch and are the same people who collapsed the political institutions and who ten years ago were controlling and directing a murder campaign against Sinn Féin members and the wider nationalist community.
“It is unacceptable that the entire political process is being held to ransom by these people. Sinn Féin have challenged the IMC and the two governments to produce evidence to back up allegations contained in other IMC reports. They have all failed to do so,” Mr McGuinness said.

Daily Ireland

An ex-leader of the Alliance Party, the Metropolitan police’s first director of intelligence, a former CIA deputy director, and a former secretary-general of the South’s justice department make up the IMC

by Jarlath Kearney
02/02/2006

The British and Irish governments formally set up the Independent Monitoring Commission in January 2004. Its four commissioners are each paid £625 (€917) per day for their professional services. The commission’s running costs are approximately £2 million (€2.9 million) per annum, paid from the public purse equally by the Irish and British governments.

John Alderdice

John Alderdice is currently the president of Liberal International. The London-based Liberal International describes itself as “a pre-eminent network for liberal parties” around the world. The Alliance Party in the North is a full member, having joined in 1991. Lord Alderdice is a former leader of the Alliance Party, a post he held between 1987 and 1998. The current Alliance Party leader, David Ford, is a vice-president of Liberal International. The Alliance Party is a staunch political supporter of the IMC and regularly meets the body.

The Progressive Democrats party in the Republic is an observer member of Liberal International. The president of the PDs is Irish justice minister Michael McDowell. Mr McDowell’s department — through both the Irish government and the Garda — is a key source for the IMC.
John Alderdice was given a peerage in 1996 and sits on the Liberal Democrat benches in the House of Lords. In 1998, Lord Alderdice was elected to the North’s new assembly following the Good Friday Agreement. He was appointed to the position of speaker. He resigned from this position in 2004 to “avoid a conflict of interest” upon his appointment as an IMC member.

John Grieve

Professor John Grieve is director of the John Grieve Centre for Policing and Community Safety at Buckingham Chilterns University College in southern England. The centre is billed as an “international policing centre of excellence”. Among the full board members of the centre is Her Majesty’s Inspector of Constabulary, Sir Ronnie Flanagan. Mr Flanagan is a former RUC/PSNI chief constable and ex-head of RUC Special Branch. PSNI members have attended the centre. Hugh Orde, the current PSNI chief constable, is described as a member of the centre’s “journal board”. Mr Orde is a former deputy assistant commissioner in the Metropolitan police.

Professor Grieve was the Metropolitan police’s first director of intelligence. A former head of the Met’s Special Branch, he served as “national co-ordinator” with the Anti-Terrorist Squad between 1996 and 1998. As well as holding a senior research fellowship at Portsmouth University, Professor Grieve serves as the independent chairman of the Greater London Authority’s Alcohol and Drugs Alliance.
In 1997, Professor Grieve was awarded the Queen’s Police Medal. In 2000, he was given a CBE after being named the millennium honours list.

Dick Kerr

Dick Kerr joined the Central Intelligence Agency in 1960. Mr Kerr is a former deputy director of the CIA. For a period, he served as acting director of Central Intelligence — the umbrella body for the United States’ leading intelligence agencies. After leaving the CIA in 1992, Mr Kerr served on the boards of several security and private-sector agencies. In June 2004, during an interview with west Belfast’s Andersonstown News, Mr Kerr openly accepted that the IMC was “outside” the Good Friday Agreement.

“I think that is true. I don’t think that is a criticism,” he said.

Mr Kerr confirmed that he had signed the Official Secrets Act, that the IMC received national security information and that the intelligence agencies largely provided “reported” rather than “raw” intelligence.
“We’re not going to sit and do our own research as such,” he said. Despite asserting the IMC’s sense of its own independence, Mr Kerr was also frank in admitting that the body could be used by the governments.

“We were created by the government. I mean, we were asked into existence [by the government], so there’s always this concern — ‘are we just an instrument of the government?’ The government can use us. There’s no question,” Mr Kerr said.

Joe Brosnan

Joe Brosnan is a former secretary-general of the Department of Justice in the South. A career civil servant, Mr Brosnan worked as part of the Anglo-Irish (Maryfield) secretariat from its establishment in 1986 until 1992. He is a qualified barrister. Mr Brosnan joined the civil service in 1967 and has worked for most of his career in the justice department. In 1988, he was appointed as the department’s assistant secretary in charge of the Garda and security division. Both the justice department and the Garda are key sources for the IMC. On his appointment as secretary-general at the department in 1992, Mr Brosnan played a senior role in the failed Brook talks initiative.

Mr Brosnan has extensive experience of European political affairs. He is currently vice-chairman of the Irish Institute of European Affairs, a private and independent entity based in Dublin that specialises in European affairs. The institute’s website describes it as a “self-governing body devoted to the study of Irish policy on European integration”. Garret FitzGerald, the former Taoiseach and ex-Fine Gael leader, is the president of the institute. Current Taoiseach and Fianna Fáil leader Bertie Ahern is listed as a member of the institute’s Comité d’Honneur.

Daily Ireland

02/02/2006

The Ulster Defence Association was formally accused yesterday of gunning down one of its former brigadiers, Jim Gray.
The accusation against the North’s largest loyalist paramilitary group was made in the latest report to the British and Irish governments by the four-member Independent Monitoring Commission.
UDA leaders signalled last November that they wanted to engage with the British government in talks about their organisation’s future.
However, the commission accused the UDA of involvement in murder, trying to procure weapons, drug dealing, extortion, money laundering, producing and selling counterfeit goods, and robbery.
The commission said: “The picture on the UDA over the three months under review is essentially the same.
“Members from east Belfast were, in our view, responsible for the murder on October 4 of their fellow member Jim Gray, who was on bail following his arrest.
“Members also undertook a sectarian attack in early September.
“The UDA and its members have continued to undertake targeting, shootings and assaults — some unreported.”
The report said the commission was unaware of any change in the broad pattern of UDA involvement in organised crime.
The commission alleged that the UDA and the Ulster Volunteer Force had orchestrated disturbances after restrictions were imposed on an Orange Order parade in the Whiterock area of west Belfast in September.
Senior members of both organisations were accused of orchestrating violence during the parade, hijacking vehicles and attacking the PSNI and British army with gunfire.
The commission acknowledged that there did appear to be some individuals in the UDA who were trying to steer the group away from violence and organised crime and into community development.
“We applaud constructive community work and activities such as the removal of flags and murals,” the commission said.
“Another important step would be for loyalist paramilitaries, including the UDA, to stop targeting nationalists and members of ethnic minorities.
“We hope the Ulster Political Research Group (which provides political analysis to the UDA) will give a clear and robust lead on this.”
In the commission’s view, the UVF and Red Hand Commando remained active, violent and ruthless, despite the ending of a feud with the rival Loyalist Volunteer Force in August.
The commission said UVF members had carried out shootings and assaults and also sectarian attacks between September and late November.
The organisation was involved in rioting on Belfast’s Shankill Road over the arrest of one of its commanders, said the report.
The commission said the UVF had tried to acquire weapons and, while it remained involved in organised crime, the leadership was making efforts to reduce criminality, especially drug dealing, within its ranks.
“We welcome this and will watch with interest to see what happens,” the commission said.
The commission said it hoped the UVF would end attacks on nationalists and ethnic minorities. The commission urged the Progressive Unionist Party to take the lead in achieving that goal.
The commission noted that the Loyalist Volunteer Force had declared in October that it would stand down its military units. The IMC said there was no evidence of this occurring as yet.
The LVF ended a feud with the UVF in August but, during the period under review, it remained heavily involved in organised crime, including drugs.

BN.ie

02/02/2006 - 14:30:09

A small group of republican protestors has disrupted a meeting of the Policing Board in Belfast today.

PSNI chief constable Hugh Orde was addressing the board when six protestors from the group An Fhirinne stood up holding placards reading “End political policing” and shouting about security force collusion.

The protestors were eventually removed from the room after angry exchanges with the DUP’s Sammy Wilson, who accused them of defending murderers.

The group had demanded to know who provided intelligence to the Independent Monitoring Commission claiming that he IRA had not decommissioned all its weapons.

The IMC said yesterday that it had received “credible” reports to that effect, but the decommissioning body said an investigation it carried out found no evidence to back up the claims.

BN.ie

02/02/2006 - 12:29:48

A top loyalist was heavily involved in handing over £40,000 (€59,000) worth of stolen industrial equipment to police, it emerged today.

Ihab Shoukri, brother of Ulster Defence Association boss Andre, was part of the team that alerted officers to equipment stashed in north Belfast.

“He was very influential in getting this stuff back,” a source said.

A generator, pipe benders, and hammer drill were found at an empty house in Ballysillan, an area blighted by paramilitary feuding and violence.

UDA men who claimed it had been stolen by a gang of ex-Loyalist Volunteer Force members took the equipment to a community centre in the nearby Westland estate.

Police were called to the premises, which are used by UDA advisers in the Ulster Political Research Group, on Tuesday.

Andre Shoukri, commander of the paramilitary organisation’s north Belfast unit, is on remand at the high security Maghaberry Prison near Lisburn, Co Antrim facing intimidation and extortion charges.
But Ihab has continued to play a prominent role in loyalist work in the area.

UPRG representatives refused to identify those involved in handing over the equipment, which is believed to have been stolen from the Mallusk industrial estate on the city’s northern outskirts.

North Belfast spokesman John Bunting claimed the move was part of an effort to stop criminality.

He said: “The entire (UDA) leadership in north Belfast was fully aware and supportive. Very senior people were involved in retrieving the stuff, along with the UPRG.

“Both the UDA and UPRG are working with residents in that community to try and put a bit of stability in that area.”

A PSNI spokeswoman confirmed grinders, a power welder, hammer drill and an engine generator were received by police.

She added: “Inquiries are ongoing regarding the ownership of these items.”

Belfast Telegraph

**Via Newshound

Courts call as terror cases halve

By Michael McHugh
01 February 2006

The number of court cases heard involving alleged paramilitaries has almost halved since the Good Friday Agreement was signed, prompting new demands for an end to the Diplock courts.

A total of 90 cases were dealt with in 2005, down from 177 in 1998 when the Belfast Agreement was signed.

The SDLP is now pressing for the non-jury system, set up in the 1970s, to be terminated by the end of the year. Security spokesman Alex Attwood said it has outlived its purpose.

“In the 1970s there were hundreds of people being put through the courts, so there’s been a dramatic shift from what we had 10 or 20 years ago,” he said.

“It is very positive and encouraging. The time has now come when the Diplock courts should be closed down and a date for that should now be set.

“In a lot of cases they have measures protecting witnesses and sometimes they are difficult to accept because they include people having their identity withheld or not appearing in court.”

A new court system to give protection to juries is being planned for when the non-jury Diplock courts are scrapped.

Non-jury courts will be extended to 2007, with an option on a continuation to 2008.

The Conservative Party has called for the powers to be extended to 2012, arguing that the Government is working to an unrealistic peace deadline.

The figures were obtained by House of Lords peer Lord Hylton, who said progress was encouraging.

“They seem to have been decreasing but not quickly enough, in an ideal world. Whenever possible, cases should be heard by a jury but it won’t be possible in all cases,” he said.

“I know they have the security services going after people who have made money out of a variety of criminal activities and perhaps this means the figures may also go up.”

Fred Cobain from the UUP believes ordinary courts are capable of dealing with criminality which some paramilitaries have engaged in.

“The reason why the cases are falling is that paramilitary activity is falling and the police are dealing with a lot of this through judge and jury courts,” he said.

“This involves money laundering and drugs and people now have more confidence in the police and the courts. Diplock courts need to go away as quickly as possible.”

Irelandclick

• West Belfast Talks Back
• The Party in the Park
• Carnival Parade
• Scribes at the Rock

by Ciara McGuigan

A dark cloud of uncertainty hangs over the future of Féile an Phobail today with the shock news that two government departments are to call a halt to funding of the long-running festival.

The Department of Social Development (DSD) and the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure (DCAL) provided over £140,000 worth of funding for the festival last year and had, until last month, made assurances that funding would be available for key posts.

Despite these assurances, however, decisions taken by government departments in recent days have resulted in five key job losses within the organisation.

This devastating blow to the already tightly-run ship threatens to jeopardise many of the festival’s biggest and most popular events which have been instrumental in the widespread success of the local event.

Amongst those events likely to be scrapped as a result of the funding crisis are Scribes at the Rock, the Féile Carnival Parade, Féile Party in the Park, West Belfast Talks Back and all the local street festivals.

“The posts which have been lost are key to the success of the organisation and deal with events that focus on our entire community programme,” said Féile an Phobail Director, Sean Paul O’Hare.

“As a result of this funding crisis, all the work undertaken by Féile an Phobail which deals with young people is now under threat. The creation of vibrant debates and discussions, Féile training – which provides the opportunity for so many to gain employment and experience in the workings of a successful festival – and many of our key literary events which have become renowned across Belfast and beyond look likely to be axed,” added Sean Paul.

Deeply angered by “misleading assurances” made by government ministers with responsibility for social and cultural development in the North of Ireland, the Féile Director added: “Féile an Phobail were given assurances by an official representing the minister responsible for these departments that adequate funding would be provided to ensure that these posts would be safe-guarded. This turnaround over funding, however, is a clear policy of discrimination against the people of West Belfast.

“As an organisation involved in the economic regeneration of West Belfast we feel that this is a massive injustice for the people of the area and for those who have worked so hard in developing this festival over the years.”

In 2000, an independent study revealed that £3.3m was spent in Belfast during Féile, proving that the festival is an asset to the city, generating employment and enhancing tourism for the city as a whole.

Féile an Phobail, now in its 19th year, has worked tirelessly in the field of conflict resolution and has been one of the leading organisations in creating positive relations for all within the city.

The Féile annual programme promotes Belfast through community arts as a vibrant, energetic and welcoming city.

“Féile an Phobail is one of the biggest festival in the North and is Ireland’s largest community festival, but continues to receive little or no recognition from the government departments responsible for supporting it,” added Sean Paul.

A spokesperson for both the DSD and DCAL said that, as yet, there has been no allocation of funds for the 2006 event before adding: “The new festival funding arrangements are being developed at present and the expected announcement will be made shortly. The new arrangements will apply from April 2006.”

Journalist:: Ciara McGuigan

Irelandclick

by Roisin McManus

A frightening arsenal of weapons including a ten-inch knife has been recovered by the Safer Neighbourhood Project in the Greater Lenadoon area.

Five knives, a hatchet, a baton and a catapult were recovered in the area in recent weeks.

The majority of the weapons were taken from males in their late teens.

There has been an increasing number of stabbings in the area recently and local Sinn Féin Councillor Gerard O’Neill warned local people to be vigilant.

“It will come as a relief to many that these weapons have been taken off the streets and no longer remain in the hands of people who are prepared to use them against members of the community,” said Councillor O’Neill.

“We are concerned about this and the reality is that these types of weapons are in circulation. There have been a number of stabbings recently and I am concerned that the message isn’t getting through, these weapons could end someone’s life.

“People need to be wary and if they have any information on people carrying these weapons they should get in touch with the Safer Neighborhood Project,” added Councillor O’Neill.

“Most of these knives are household knives and I think that parents need to be aware of this,” added Sean Lennon the Co-ordinator of the Safer Neighbourhood Project in the Lenadoon area.

Journalist:: Roisin McManus

Irelandclick

by Roisin McManus

A frightening arsenal of weapons including a ten-inch knife has been recovered by the Safer Neighbourhood Project in the Greater Lenadoon area.

Five knives, a hatchet, a baton and a catapult were recovered in the area in recent weeks.

The majority of the weapons were taken from males in their late teens.

There has been an increasing number of stabbings in the area recently and local Sinn Féin Councillor Gerard O’Neill warned local people to be vigilant.

“It will come as a relief to many that these weapons have been taken off the streets and no longer remain in the hands of people who are prepared to use them against members of the community,” said Councillor O’Neill.

“We are concerned about this and the reality is that these types of weapons are in circulation. There have been a number of stabbings recently and I am concerned that the message isn’t getting through, these weapons could end someone’s life.

“People need to be wary and if they have any information on people carrying these weapons they should get in touch with the Safer Neighborhood Project,” added Councillor O’Neill.

“Most of these knives are household knives and I think that parents need to be aware of this,” added Sean Lennon the Co-ordinator of the Safer Neighbourhood Project in the Lenadoon area.

Journalist:: Roisin McManus

Belfast Telegraph

By Jonathan McCambridge
02 February 2006

Up to 4,000 small businesses in Northern Ireland are paying out millions of pounds each year to paramilitary extortion rackets, a parliamentary committee was told last night.

There have been calls for urgent legislation to tackle endemic paramilitary extortion of local companies after the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) gave evidence to the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee, which is investigating organised crime.

The body told the committee there had never been a serious attempt by Government to understand or solve the level of extortion in our industries.

The Organised Crime Task Force has reported that such rackets earn millions of pounds for paramilitaries every year, particularly for loyalist groups.

Wilfred Mitchell, FSB Policy Chairman, said: “We recognise that the Organised Crime Task Force has had a measure of initial success. However, more can be done at a grassroots level.

“There has never been a serious attempt by Government to fully identify the core problem and find a solution to the extortion of the small and medium enterprise sector. Northern Ireland is dependent upon this sector and the FSB can demonstrate through research that illegal donations are a hidden cost of doing business.”

A recent FSB survey has found that 6% of firms are affected by perceived illegal donations. Mr Mitchell said: “Replicating this sample study, we would suggest that up to 4,000 businesses could be affected. As well as the economic impact, the fear and intimidation many businesses face is unacceptable. It is unrealistic for an individual business to report this type of crime as the consequences in terms of personal security and business sustainability are high.”

The FSB also said the problem of extortion is now spreading out of Greater Belfast across Ulster.

The FSB have called for:

research into the cost and impact of racketeering and extortion on small businesses and the wider economy in Ulster to be commissioned;

the Organised Crime Task Force to make racketeering and extortion against the business community a core priority;

an independent free phone line to encourage victims of extortion to seek help and advice.

Belfast Telegraph

By Michael McHugh
02 February 2006

The PSNI is to be asked to re-open the RUC investigation into four loyalists suspected of murdering a Co Louth forestry worker 30 years ago.

Garda Commissioner Noel Conroy is to ask PSNI chief Sir Hugh Orde to order a re-examination of police evidence on four men accused of the murder of Seamus Ludlow (47) near his Dundalk home in May 1976.

Police interviewed the north Down-based suspects - linked with the UVF - during a privileged court hearing last year, and forwarded a file to Northern Ireland’s Director of Public Prosecutions, who took special legal advice before deciding not to run a case.

Nobody has ever been charged with the murder despite two of the suspects making admissions over the killing in 1998 to the RUC. The other individuals deny all knowledge of the incident.

On asking the PSNI to review the case, Commissioner Conroy told a meeting of the Dail’s Justice Committee in Leinster House: “I’ll have no difficulty doing that if that will help the inquiry. They may not have the power. They may have exhausted their powers in assisting us in the investigation and unfortunately they didn’t get the evidence (in 1998).”

Mr Ludlow was picked up in Dundalk town, shot dead then dumped in a laneway. Commissioner Conroy’s commitment followed a grilling on the lack of success of the Garda investigation.

He said he had “absolutely no difficulty” in apologising to relatives of Mr Ludlow, who have been pressing for a public inquiry into concerns over the police investigation.

Mr Conroy said he was apologising for the failure of the police inquiry as well as the mishandling of the original inquest in 1976.

“I regret very much that we did not bring this investigation to a satisfactory conclusion,” he said.

Areas of concern include the fact that Garda didn’t interview the four suspects despite a tip-off from RUC Special Branch in January 1976 as well as the loss of a report on the investigation from Dundalk Garda station.