SAOIRSE32

Derry Journal

Tuesday 21st February 2006

Following the murder of 14 people on the streets of Derry in 1972, the US government was warned by its Dublin embassy staff that civil war was looming should the Americans fail to put pressure on the British Government to change its Ireland policy. White House and US State Department papers released this week from February 1972 state that the warning from embassy staff to the American administration argued US national interests could suffer if the conflict in Ireland evolved into all out warfare. Embassy staff feared Britain would be forced to withdraw troops from NATO duties and reassign them to Ireland. This opinion was formed when political relations between Ireland and England were at their lowest ebb. The English embassy had been burned by protestors following deaths of 13 of the Bloody Sunday victims.

“The sober view,” stated the American Embassy report as recorded in US State Department papers released this week, “of people in the government here and of most of the diplomatic corps - including ourselves and members of the British mission is that the present course of events on this island, if not modified by a change in British policy, runs a grave risk of leading to civil war, or at least further bloodshed…” The British were forced to react to the growing US unrest over the question of Ireland following the massacre in Derry. Britain, through National Foreign Secretary Alec Douglas-Home, informed the White House that: “If the majority of Northern Ireland wanted reunification then we should gladly accept but two thirds of the population remain absolutely opposed.”

Veteran journalist and civil rights campaigner Eamon McCann, after studying the recently declassified papers said: “It is interesting to note that after 30 years of conflict and over 3000 deaths that the British Government position in relation to Northern Ireland hasn’t changed. “I find it interesting,” said McCann that, “the response of the British Government was to reiterate the majority rule proposal. These papers in effect confirm the British were saying they had no commitment in principle to the union. So even after 30 years of troubles and the Good Friday Agreement, the basic British position remains the same.”

The report also noted that the US government had no basis to intervene in the domestic affairs of another country. However The American position on Northern Ireland Mr. McCann commented was one of pure self-interest, serving only their own national security issues. The report to Washington further stated: “If this present course is not altered and this island becomes convulsed, it is difficult to predict which sort of Dublin Government would emerge in the aftermath, with significant consequences for ourselves, the EEC and Western Europe. “Finally,” concluded the document, “we think that our government would wish to say it did not stand by unconcernedly as Ireland headed toward bloodshed.”

Derry Journal

Tuesday 21st February 2006

A Greysteel Sinn Féin councillor has said new claims in relation to loyalist killer, Torrens Knight have come as a “terrible blow” to the families of his victims. Councillor John McElhinney was reacting to allegations that Knight was a paid RUC Special Branch informer when he participated in two mass killings, at Castlerock, where five workmen died and at Greysteel, where seven people were gunned down in the Rising Sun bar.

It was also alleged recently that following his release from prison under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement, Knight, from Macosquin, had been put back on the police payroll. Colr. McElhinney said: “I am disgusted to learn of allegations that Torrens Knight had been paid to murder nationalists, however, I am not surprised as everyone knows of the collusion that has been going on for years between the so-called security forces and unionist paramilitaries. “My heart goes out to my neighbours in Greysteel and to the relatives of people murdered and injured in other attacks carried out by this gang.” Colr. McElhinney said that the families and those affected by the killings had been trying to come to terms with the atrocities for many years, and added: “To be told that one of the killers was paid by government forces is a hurtful and terrible blow.” He went on: “What bothers me most is the question, how many murders was this man involved in that we don’t know about?” Calling for a full investigation into the matter, Colr. McElhinney added: “Questions must be asked about the role of the PSNI Special Branch in this whole stinking business. “The families of the victims of collusion deserve to know the full facts of how their loved ones were murdered.”

Sinn Féin

Published: 23 February, 2006

Sinn Féin MP and former Education Minister Martin McGuinness this morning addressed a session of the Youth parliament in the City Hall in Belfast. Mr McGuinness spoke on the plans for post primary reform in a session also addressed by leading advocate of selection Ken Bloomfield.

In the course of a wide ranging address Mr McGuinness challenged head on the arguments being put forward by those supporting academic selection at 11. He used international examples of good practice to put forward his vision of an education system which delivers for all children.

“The changes proposed in our education system will, with proper planning and effective implementation, have an immediate and positive effect. Of course one of the greatest obstacles to the delivery of a first class education system is the availability of adequate resources and money. That is a difficulty which every department and aspect of the public sector faces. But setting that aside for the minute, if we look at the inherent flaws in the system itself, rather than the impact of outside factors, we cannot but conclude that academic selection, its negative impact at every level of our education system and the consequent inequality and additional segregation it generates is the single greatest flaw in our current arrangements and I welcome its long over due demise.

“The mush disliked 11+ and academic selection are inextricably linked. The sole reason for the 11+ is to provide a means of academic selection for grammar schools. The reason why parents, teachers and pupils feel under such pressure and children feel failures has little to do with the 11+ and everything to do with getting a place in a grammar school. The issue is not simply about the injustice of the test thought in my view that is in itself a massive issue. Branding any child a failure at the age of 11 is an indictment of any modern society. Branding the majority of our children as failures at age 11 is entirely unacceptable as is the creation of an academic elite. The reality is that academic selection for the minority means academic rejection for the majority. Academic selection crates an education system based on academic apartheid.

“The supporters of the current system, or some less offensive version of it, have peddled three key myths to support their position. I want to tackle those myths directly. The cold facts do not support the myths that we have a world-class education system, or that academic selection is a ladder to success for working class children, or that grammar schools are an essential route for entry to higher education and university. The first myth is that we have a world-class education system. Yes we do have a high proportion of pupils achieving good examination results, but Scotland has as many pupils as we do achieving 5+ GCSEs at A*-C and markedly more young people entering higher education. England has more pupils achieving 5 GCSE passes and we still have the highest proportion of children with low qualifications in these islands.

“In the key areas of reading, maths and science we perform on a par with England and Scotland but we perform substantially worse than the top performers - Finland, Korea, New Zealand and Canada - all of which have non-selective education systems. And critically, the variation between our best and worst scores is among the widest in the world, highlighting again the recurring theme of an education system with high achievement and substantial low achievement - a system that does well for some and does not deliver for the rest.

“The second myth holds that academic selection provides a ladder for “more able” children - and I take issue with that very offensive term - from disadvantaged backgrounds. Recent statistic show that only 8% of pupils in grammar schools are from low-income families and the proportion has been falling over recent years. If this is a ladder it is an extremely narrow one!

“More advantaged pupils are over 4 times as likely to achieve a grade A in the 11+ as the most disadvantaged pupils. This hardly supports the case for academic selection as an escape route from poverty through education.

“The poorest results in the 11+ are seen in controlled schools with high levels of free school meals serving working class Protestant areas. In some working class Protestant areas a grammar school place is beyond the reach of almost all pupils - in the Shankill for example, less than 2% of pupils achieved a grammar school place.

“The system is not serving the working classes and it is certainly not serving children from working class Protestant families. It is hardly surprising that some community activists have questioned the position of

Unionist Assembly Members representing Protestant areas who appear to be content with a system of academic selection that denies educational opportunities to their own constituents. And I would ask the question - by taking this position are they really representing the best interests of the children in their constituencies?

“The third myth that we hear so often is that a grammar school education is necessary to get to university and get a good job. Traditionally grammar schools have indeed been the main providers of university entrants. More recently, however only about 50% of students at the University of Ulster have traditional A-levels and the rest come from a variety of routes. Significantly, the university found no difference in academic outcome irrespective of the route students have taken to reach university. Queen’s University has many students who do not come via the traditional A-level route and they include some of the universities best students.

“The reality is that academic segregation, like other forms of social segregation is not something any modern society should tolerate, much less encourage. The entire concept of academic selection is based on notions of intelligence measurement, which have been largely discounted and discredited. Indeed Cyril Burt, the primary architect of the Butler Education Act of 1944, which created the 11+, has recently been exposed as a fraud and a charlatan. The flaw in his attitude to children and their education should have been obvious in the title of his seminal work published in 1937 - “The Backward Child”. IN my view, the only thing backward in our education system is not the children but a system which brands the majority of 11 year olds as failures. That is wrong and the sooner we replace it the better.” ENDS

Irish Independent

Senan Molony
Political Correspondent

THERE are no plans to invite British soldiers to the military parade marking the 90th Anniversary of the 1916 Rising, sources closed to Defence Minister Willie O’Dea made clear yesterday.

But the British military attache is expected to be invited to a State reception to be held in Dublin Castle on the night of the parade in limited acknowledgment of the adversaries faced by the volunteers of Easter week.

The decision not to seek any visible British involvement beyond diplomatic protocol has been taken on the basis that the parade “will be about remembering and honouring the men and women of 1916″.

Last year, French dignitaries were invited to the 200th anniversary celebrations of the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805, with French warships joining a celebration fleet in The Solent and in recent years, German politicians have been formally invited to attend D-Day ceremonies.

Yesterday, Fianna Fail Senator Martin Mansergh clashed with Labour deputy leader, Liz McManus on the question of honouring all the dead of the Rising, including civilians and British casualties.

Senator Mansergh asked if it was being suggested that a statue should be erected of General Maxwell, the British officer commanding, who accepted Pearse’s surrender and imposed martial law on the city. He pointed out that the 50 civilian victims of the fighting had all been killed by British soldiers.

BN.ie

23/02/2006 - 13:05:42

A four-year-old Indonesian child abandoned by his adoptive parents is to receive monthly maintenance payments from them and compensation of €45,000, it emerged today.

Tristan Dowse was adopted in 2001 at the age of two months by Joe Dowse, an accountant from Wicklow, and his Azerbaijan-born wife. The couple returned the boy to an orphanage in Jakarta two years later on the grounds that the adoption was not working out.

At the High Court in Dublin, Judge John MacMenamin said the couple had failed in their duty under the Constitution to provide and care for their son, Tristan.

He ordered that Tristan’s adoption should be struck off the Register of Foreign Adoptions held by the Irish Adoption Board and that Suryani, his natural mother, should be appointed his sole legal guardian.

He ordered the Dowses to pay an immediate lump sum of €20,000 to Tristan and a further lump sum of €25,000 when he reached the age of 18.

The couple will also have to pay maintenance of €350 per month until he is 18 years of age. Judge MacMenamin ordered that Tristan be made a ward of court, should remain an Irish citizen and enjoy all the rights to the estate of the Dowses as if he had remained their lawful child.

In his judgement on the case, Judge MacMenamin recounted how Tristan only spoke English when he was placed back in the orphanage by the Dowses and cried constantly. The judge referred to a form signed by the Dowses at the time of the original adoption in which they wrote that they wished to raise Tristan as if he was their own flesh and blood.

“What occurred is difficult to reconcile with that statement. It is hard to conceive the effect which these traumatic changes must have had on the young child,” said Judge MacMenamin.

He said the facts in the case were largely undisputed. “The court found that there was clearly a breach of the constitutional duty owed to Tristan by his parents,” he said.

He presided over two judgements in relation to the adoption and abandonment of Tristan, one between the attorney general and the Dowses and the other between the Dowses and the adoption board.

The Dowses were not present in court for the judgement but their family solicitor, Gus Cullen, said they were satisfied with the decision. He added that the couple would comply with the court’s order to provide for their son.

BBC

Sinn Fein has claimed that a weather-beaten document in their possession is evidence of ongoing British army spying south Armagh.

The document was said to have been found by a farmer in two weeks ago.

The party claimed the paper was a guide to cameras based at Faughil mountain near the Carrickdale Hotel.

Sinn Fein’s Conor Murphy said the community was “outraged, particularly the Dromintee GAA club, as the document showed it was being monitored”.

‘Not used’

Mr Murphy said the document was titled “R21M Pathfinder Camera Reference Guide” and “may have been left by a foot patrol”.

He said that although the document said some cameras were not being used, it gave the names of a number of local people.

Mr Murphy said Sinn Fein would be challenging Prime Minister Tony Blair about “ongoing military activity” at a meeting next week.

He welcomed the “beginning of movement” on the removal of “spy posts” but said people still “had frustrations”.

Irelandclick

**How can it possibly be legal for a company to NOT pay workers for time already worked? As this company is US owned, cannot pressure be applied in that direction as well?

76 people out of work as TriVirix announces devastating jobs cuts

Damian McCarney

Anger gripped the staff of a Springfield Road company yesterday as management made 76 employees redundant with immediate effect.

A further 37 jobs remain under threat as the future for the medical device supplier, US-owned firm TriVirix International, looks perilous.

On Monday it was announced that the firm had gone into administration and yesterday afternoon the court-appointed administrator from Deloitte & Touche told approximately three quarters of the staff that they were out of a job.

As the staff filtered out of the building for the last time, some tearfully embraced as others milled about, bitter and angry at the company’s refusal to pay their wages in full.

It is understood that staff will only receive wages from the time that the administrator took control of the company. This means that staff who receive weekly pay will lose out on three days’ pay, while monthly-paid staff will miss out on three weeks’ pay.

Frank Fitzsimmons, a senior team leader with Trivirix, was disgusted at the announcement.

“This is absolutely ridiculous to have got to this stage and wages will not be going into the bank. People are depending on them and have to pay their mortgages.

“We are not getting our lying week, the week we worked, and holiday pay.”
A Trivirix senior manager, Jonathan Lowry, said that he had participated in bringing a substantial payment from a customer in the belief that the payment would be used for payment of salaries.

“A customer paid £201,000 up front in a cash payment. We believed that this would be used to secure salaries for everybody.

“We have been treated very badly – we have been kept in the dark for the last month. I am extremely disappointed to have put so much into getting the payment in.”

Sinn Féin West Belfast MLA Michael Ferguson said that the British government had failed in its responsibilities to both staff and the public.

“The government should underwrite the salary entitlements of the workforce that have been made redundant today, and they should work with the administrator and workers to protect this skills base and find another purchaser,” urged Mr Ferguson.

Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams said he has spoken to the British Direct Rule Minister Angela Smith about the job losses and called on the British government and Invest NI to intervene.

“The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment along with Invest NI need to honour their responsibilities to the workforce, to West Belfast and indeed to the public at large.

“The British government and Invest NI need to work with the administrator and provide investment to sustain the plant and support the employees until a new owner can be found.

“If the direct rule administration is serious about regeneration in disadvantaged areas, then we must see a significant intervention now.”

Journalist:: Damien McCarney

Irelandclick

by Roisin McManus

Postal workers are seriously considering further industrial action, according to a member of the Communications Workers Union.

A report is being sent to the Communications Workers Union headquarters requesting that a ballot on industrial action takes place.

Eoin Davey, Branch Secretary of the Communications Workers Union (CWU), said that postal workers are still unhappy.

Postal workers began unofficial strike action at the end of January amid allegations of bullying. The action ended last weekend.

“Industrial action is under serious consideration,” said Mr Davey.
“I plan to send a report to the CWU headquarters requesting that a ballot be held on further industrial action.

“Workers are being treated in a degrading way and are being victimised.
“CWU members are irate and angry at this time,” he added.

Meanwhile a local postman has said he fears that it will take around six weeks to clear the backlog following the recent postal strike.

The West Belfast postman said that this is due to the fact that agency workers are being used to help with the backlog rather than giving those postal workers who went on strike overtime to clear the mail.

Those who went on strike are not allowed to claim unlimited overtime.

However those who did not take part are allowed to claim unlimited overtime.
“I can’t see this backlog being cleared in less than six weeks,” said the postman.

“If Royal Mail let the workers do overtime this could be cleared in a week and a half, instead they are getting agency workers to do the work and they don’t know the areas and are inexperienced.

“Not giving us the overtime is pettiness on the part of Royal Mail and means that the public are not getting their post,” he added.

A spokeswoman for Royal Mail said that the company have brought in additional resources including 150 temporary staff and 80 additional vans to help clear the backlog.

She said that temporary staff would receive training before taking on any work and it is estimated that the backlog will take three to four weeks to clear, adding that Royal Mail will do everything they can to complete this ahead of schedule.

“We have explained to employees who chose to take unofficial strike action that they can continue to claim whatever ordinary levels of overtime they would normally work, but they will not be allowed to claim unlimited levels of overtime,” said the spokeswoman.

“This is not the case for employees who worked through the strike.

“Royal Mail is asking people from across its operations to assist in getting the service back to normal. Our plans to clear the backlog are different to what some employees might have expected. Nevertheless, we expect everyone to be completely focused on this task as it is no less than our customers expect and deserve.”

Journalist:: Roisin McManus

Daily Ireland

Ciarán Barnes
23/02/2006

Former Real IRA leader Liam Campbell is recovering in hospital after being attacked in jail.
The Dundalk man was beaten up in the high-security Portlaoise prison by a fellow inmate.
The attack, which occurred on Tuesday, left Campbell with serious facial injuries. The 43-year-old is being kept under observation in the prison hospital.
Campbell, who is being sued by the relatives of those killed and injured in the 1998 Real IRA Omagh bomb, is normally segregated. He was assaulted as he was being led back from the prison clinic by guards.
The incident led to a large scale security alert in the jail and extra prison wardens were drafted in to prevent further disturbances.
Although contacted no one from the Irish prison service was available for comment.

Daily Ireland

by Ciarán Barnes
23/02/2006

Organisers of a loyalist march through Dublin have said they cannot guarantee that images of a man accused of murdering 26 people in the city will not not be displayed during the demonstration.
Speaking to Daily Ireland yesterday, Love Ulster organiser Willie Frazer said: “I can’t give a guarantee a photograph of Robert McConnell will not be carried because I wouldn’t be against anyone carrying Robert’s photograph.”

Robert McConnell was a dual member of the Ulster Defence Regiment and Ulster Volunteer Force. He murdered scores of Catholics in the 1970s.
He played a part in the 1974 Dublin and Monaghan bombings in which 33 people died. Twenty-six died in the Dublin attack.
Speaking in 1999, John Weir, a former member of the RUC with whom Robert McConnell went on murder missions, implicated him in a further eight killings.
The mass murderer was shot dead by the IRA in 1976. Images of him have been carried at previous rallies organised by Mr Frazer’s victims group Families Acting for Innocent Relatives.
Despite the weight of evidence linking McConnell to at least 41 sectarian murders, Mr Frazer defended the killer’s reputation. “Anybody I know who knew Robert would say there is no way he was involved in anything. He was involved with the security forces and he helped the SAS and stuff like that but a lot of people would say that was just part of his job,” said Mr Frazer.
Relatives of those murdered in the Dublin and Monaghan bombings criticised Mr Frazer. Margaret Irwin of the Justice for the Forgotten group said his defence of McConnell was “very insensitive”.
She said: “We have very good information that McConnell was involved with the gang who we are convinced carried out the Dublin and Monaghan bombings.
“We believe McConnell was involved in up to 55 murders. There can be no doubt he was heavily involved with loyalist paramilitaries.”
Up to 1,000 loyalists and six bands are expected to take part in Saturday’s Love Ulster parade along O’Connell Street. The march is to start at 12.30pm and is expected to last one hour.
Orange Order members will take part but will not wear sashes or collarettes.
Yesterday morning, Republican Sinn Féin held a press conference in Dublin at which the party unveiled plans to protest against the march. The Continuity IRA has also vowed to disrupt the parade.
Love Ulster held a victims rally in Belfast last October. The event was widely criticised because it failed to give any mention to those who had suffered at the hands of loyalists and the state.
Loyalists paramilitaries such as Ulster Defence Association leader Jackie McDonald helped launch the Love Ulster campaign last September.

Belfast Telegraph

SDLP and SF slam remarks

By Noel McAdam
23 February 2006

Sinn Fein and the SDLP last night bitterly attacked DUP leader Ian Paisley as the issue of IRA arms continued to dog the political process.

Senior Sinn Fein negotiator Martin McGuinness told Mr Paisley to halt the DUP search for “excuses” to refuse to negotiate with republicans.

And SDLP leader Mark Durkan branded Mr Paisley a disgrace for implying the Provisionals could return to violence on the basis of the Independent Monitoring Commission (IMC) report which concluded they have eschewed terrorism.

Both parties accused the DUP leader of a complete failure of leadership and warned the Government would have to reconsider its approach in the devolution negotiations.

And the SDLP insisted the DUP figures associated with Ulster Resistance come clean about arms imported into Ulster in the 1970s.

The criticism came after Mr Paisley and senior colleagues met decommissioning body head General John de Chastelain following the row over the IMC report of police and intelligence claims that the IRA has retained some weaponry.

After the meeting, Mr Paisley said the police or MI5 should release any information they have indicating a failure of the IRA to destroy the ‘totality’ of its arms.

But Mr McGuinness said: “This meeting has little to do with IRA weapons. The IRA have dealt decisively with that issue and the DUP know this. What today’s meeting is about is part of the DUP search for excuses not to engage.

“It’s time the DUP began showing the sort of political leadership they promised to deliver. The time for excuses is over and the two governments need to make this clear to the DUP.”

Mr Durkan said Mr Paisley’s remarks were disgraceful, reckless and inflammatory.

He said: “On the one hand Paisley says that he raised loyalist decommissioning with the IICD. Then in the next breath he predicts sectarian warfare and gives them the excuse they need to hold on to their weapons.

“The IMC was totally clear that the IRA leadership have eschewed terrorism. Ian Paisley deliberately makes out that they are about to resume it.

“These remarks show a complete failure of leadership by Ian Paisley. They must be withdrawn by him and condemned in the strongest terms by the two Governments.”

SDLP Assembly member John Dallat added: “The DUP should come clean and tell what they know about the quantity and location of these and other weapons and if they passed on information either to the RUC or more recently the PSNI or the IICD.”

Belfast Telegraph

Where are Ulster Resistance arms?

By Noel McAdam
23 February 2006

The SDLP has urged the DUP to “come clean” with any knowledge over imported arms linked to Ulster Resistance.

Assembly member John Dallat asked if senior party figures had passed on any details about the quantity or location of any weapons to the police.

“We need to find these guns and the fact that the DUP has met with the International Monitoring Commission about IRA decommissioning presents an opportunity to call upon the leaders of that party to co-operate in the discovery of other weapons imported by Ulster Resistance,” the East Derry MLA said.

“The fact that these political leaders prided themselves in wearing the beret and badge of this lethal organisation surely places an onus on them to tell what they know.”

His accusations came as DUP leader Ian Paisley accused the Government of a cover-up after his meeting yesterday with General John de Chastelain.

“We have a cover-up by the Government who actually are in the controlling seat and they have agreed evidently with the IRA that decommissioning is finished.” he said.

“So I would indict the Government of double standards. I would indict the (disarmament) commission for not saying truthfully if we can’t do this job right, we are not going to stay any longer.”

SDLP leader Mark Durkan also launched a strong broadside against Mr Paisley over his assertion that any weaponry retained by the IRA would be used against “the Protestant people”.

The former Deputy First Minister branded Mr Paisley a “disgrace” for implying the Provisionals could return to violence on the basis of the Independent Monitoring Commission (IMC) report which concluded they have eschewed terrorism.

Mr Durkan said Mr Paisley’s remarks were disgraceful, reckless and inflammatory.

He said: “On the one hand Paisley says that he raised loyalist decommissioning with the International Independent Commission for Decommissioning (IICD). Then in the next breath he predicts sectarian warfare and gives them the excuse they need to hold on to their weapons.

“The IMC was totally clear that the IRA leadership have eschewed terrorism. Ian Paisley deliberately makes out that they are about to resume it.

“These remarks show a complete failure of leadership by Ian Paisley. They must be withdrawn by him and condemned in the strongest terms by the two Governments.”

Both the SDLP and Sinn Fein also warned the Government would have to reconsider its approach to the DUP in the devolution negotiations.

Sinn Fein MP Martin McGuinness said: “It is time that the DUP began to live up to their political responsibilities and began showing the sort of political leadership they promised to deliver.”

Belfast Telegraph

By David Gordon
23 February 2006

The Alliance Party today pressed for the publication of a long-awaited Police Ombudsman report on alleged collusion between the security forces and a UVF murder gang.

Alliance leader David Ford made the call after a meeting with Raymond McCord, whose son Raymond Jnr was beaten to death in 1997 by UVF terrorists from Mount Vernon in north Belfast.

Mr McCord made a complaint to Police Ombudsman Nuala O’Loan in 2002 about the police investigation of his son’s murder. He believes the killing was carried out on the orders of a high-level Special Branch informer in the UVF.

The Ombudsman’s work on the case is believed to be effectively concluded, but publication has been held up while advice is obtained from the Public Prosecution Service (PPS).

Mr Ford today said: “Clearly the allegations of collusion which Mr McCord has made are extremely serious and are of grave concern to us all.

“I share Mr McCord’s confidence that the Police Ombudsman’s investigations will be thorough and robust, and I will be contacting her office on his behalf to press for publication of her report at the earliest opportunity.”

Alliance colleague Naomi Long MLA, who also attended the meeting, said: “The Government must realise, and realise quickly, just how important it is that people have confidence that the rule of law is being applied fairly. The security forces are subject to the law just like anyone else.”

The fact that the Police Ombudsman has sought advice from the PPS has raised speculation that her report could recommend the prosecution of past or present members of the security forces.

Mr McCord is planning discussions with a number of party leaders and is also due to meet Taioseach Bertie Ahern shortly.

Belfast Telegraph

By Michael McHugh
23 February 2006

There were appeals for calm today after it emerged that hardline republicans are to hold a protest against a loyalist parade through Dublin this weekend.

The counter demonstration, organised by pro-dissident Republican Sinn Fein, coincides with Saturday’s parade and rally by loyalist Love Ulster campaigners.

While gardai and event organisers say that they are not expecting any trouble, the presence of organised republicans and loyalists in the city centre has raised concerns.

Willie Frazer from victims’ group FAIR is organising the Love Ulster demonstration, which features speakers Jeffrey Donaldson, Arlene Foster and Danny Kennedy, and he said he expected it to be peaceful.

“The parade leaves Parnell Square at 12.30pm and will make its way along O’Connell Street to Leinster House and we will be holding a rally there,” he said.

“We don’t believe that there will be any bother from the people of Dublin.”

His group is also due to meet with Irish Justice Minister Michael McDowell and Dublin and Monaghan bombings victims’ group Relatives for Justice has sent a letter of protest to the minister.

An Phoblacht

UDA kills again

“Unionist politicians are ignoring the daily violence being carried out unionist paramilitaries,” says Sinn Féin’s South Belfast Assembly member Alex Maskey.

Maskey, himself the target of a UDA death squad, was speaking to An Phoblacht in the aftermath of the latest UDA killing of 49-year-old Thomas Hollran who was beaten to death in Carrickfergus last weekend.

And just last week, 14 February, the body of 30-year-old Ronald Todd was recovered from the River Lagan. Todd an alleged drug dealer was missing since late December and was also thought to have suffered from severe head injuries which caused his death. The UDA is also being accused of his killing.

Thomas Hollran was bludgeoned to death on Saturday night 18 February as he walked to his sister’s house in the loyalist Woodburn Estate in Carrickfergus, County Antrim. He had been forced to leave his home in the town a number of months earlier after the UDA accused him of indecent exposure.

Hollran’s sisters were advised against viewing his body such was the ferociousness of his injuries.

Meanwhile 30-year-old Ronald Todd’s body was discovered in the River Lagan on Tuesday 14 February almost a month after he was abducted from a pub in Maghaberry, County Antrim.

Speaking to An Phoblacht Alex Maskey said unionist politicians and some sections of the media had a history of ignoring the activities of unionist paramilitaries.

“This is the second killing in which unionist paramilitaries have been involved in recent weeks and as usual unionist politicians bury their heads in the sand in the hope that people don’t realise what is going on within unionism.”