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Daily Ireland

Sinn Féin holds northwest launch of party’s vision of united Ireland

Eamonn Houston
27/04/2006

The partition of Ireland has left border communities struggling under a lack of services both North and South, a Sinn Féin conference was told yesterday.
Party president Gerry Adams, vice-president Pat Doherty and chief negotiator Martin McGuinness were in Derry to oversee the northwest launch of Sinn Féin’s vision of a united Ireland.
Mr Adams told delegates that partition had had “a disastrous impact” on border areas.
He said communities living along the border corridor had fewer “life opportunities”. He said the regions were burdened by high unemployment, low educational achievement and substandard health provision.
“The northwest is the poorest area of the poorest regions.
“We would argue that we cannot understand these problems or seek to solve them unless we view them in the context of partition,” he said.
Mr Adams called on the Irish government to to produce a green paper aimed at achieving Irish unity.
“The Irish government has a responsibility to take the lead and develop a strategy for Irish self-determination. The British government should act as persuaders for Irish unity and there should be an ongoing engagement with unionist opinion,” he said.
The Sinn Féin president said the existence of the border had resulted in inefficiencies in essential services. Mr Adams called for a regional cross-border strategy for health, agriculture and education.
“All of this makes sense. The IRA has fulfilled its commitments. The army has addressed unionist concerns, and the onus now lies with the DUP,” Mr Adams said.
Closing the conference, Sinn Féin Buncrana mayor Pádraig Mac Lochlainn said partition had created serious economic and social problems in border areas.
“Partition has failed. There can be no prosperity in the border corridor area while partition remains.
“Sinn Féin, working with the people of Ireland, wants to change this reality.
“The reality of Sinn Féin in government at all levels throughout the island of Ireland will herald social justice, economic stability and growth through the all-Ireland economy and planned reintegration.
“We must work with the people of Ireland to ensure the continuing process of reintegration is an inclusive one that facilitates social equality.
“The adverse effects of partition are felt most acutely here, in the border corridor area itself,” he said.

Daily Ireland

H-block project takes its toll on sculptor

By Connla Young
27/04/2006

A County Cork man who crafted a life-like sculpture of a blanket man has spoken of the emotional toll the project took on him.
Brendan Byrne spent several months handcrafting a bronze blanket man designed to mark the 25th anniversary of the 1981 hunger strike.
The former bank manager turned artist even wore a blanket in his own home in a bid to make his bronze creation as realistic as possible.
At a recent mass to remember the hunger strikers, family members were presented with one of the 16-inch high bronze figures.
Mr Byrne says he was touched by the reaction of hunger-strike families to his work.
“It really was an emotional thing for me. Normally I sell a piece in retail and never see where it ends up. I never see how people react to the work. I didn’t realise the impact it would have on the families. Young people were there and older family members were able to explain what the blanket protest was like using the figure.
“It was difficult to make. I had to make the figure look as thin as possible. Most of the lads were down to eight and a half stone and reflecting that in the piece was difficult. Another difficulty was trying to express both the strength of the men and the physical weakness at the same time. It was a learning experience for me.
“This was recent history and people remember it so it was important to keep my eye on the detail. We wanted it to be authentic as possible. The style of the writing on the sculpture was taken from communications sent from the prison.”
Produced by Tyrone company Créumha Loch nEacha, the bronze figures are available from the Art Shop on Belfast’s Falls Road.

Belfast Telegraph

NIO denies trying to stall court case

By Chris Thornton
28 April 2006

Garvaghy Road residents have accused Secretary of State Peter Hain of trying to delay their court action against his Parades Commission line-up until their Drumcree decision has been reached.

The group, which is opposed to the annual Orange parade in Portadown, said the NIO has been seeking to have their High Court hearing re-scheduled for June.

John Duffy, a resident, is taking a judicial review of Mr Hain’s decision to appoint Portadown Orangemen David Burrows and Donald MacKay to the Commission.

On Wednesday, Mr Justice Weatherup admitted new evidence to Mr Duffy’s case, which alleges that the Secretary of State was biased in favour of unionists and the loyal orders when he made the appointments last November. If the action is successful, Mr Hain could be forced to make new appointments.

The new evidence introduced this week includes affidavits from former Probation Board chief Breidge Gadd, who was turned down for a place on the Commission; SDLP MLA Dolores Kelly, who was used as a reference by Mr MacKay without her knowledge; and Residents’ Coalition leader Breandan MacCionnaith, who noted that his group was not consulted about the appointments while Orangemen were.

The Residents’ Group says that during the hearing, NIO lawyers sought to have the case - scheduled for May 12 - put back until June.

In a statement, the group said “most people” would assume that it was best to have the case “resolved as quickly as possible”.

“However, those acting on behalf of the Secretary of State, against whom the judicial review has been granted, appear to be resorting to delaying tactics in this case,” it said.

The residents said the NIO “requested a delay in any proceedings until mid-June, literally days before the ruling on the annual Drumcree Orange march will be made”.

The parade, which has been blocked in the past few years without the widespread violence that marked previous marches, is scheduled for July 9.

The Commission would be expected to issue its ruling in early July.

The residents said the appointment by Mr Hain of two Portadown Orangemen created “serious question marks over the appointments process”.

An NIO spokeswoman pointed out that the hearing is due to go ahead as scheduled on May 12, after an additional hearing on May 10. “The NIO wants to see this case resolved as soon as possible,” she added.

Guardian

Unionists are not about to kiss and make up with Sinn Féin, argues Henry McDonald

Friday April 28, 2006

Is the Democratic Unionist Party on the verge of doing a “David Trimble” and enter a power-sharing arrangement with their historic enemies in Sinn Féin?

Peter Hain, the Northern Ireland Secretary, and some more gullible sections of the Irish media seem to think so. Perhaps their confidence that the DUP is about to perform a Trimbleite 360-degree turn is bolstered by two events this week.

The first was the unprecedented visit to an Anglo-Irish joint parliamentary body, which was sitting in Killarney in the deep south of the Irish Republic.

At this gathering and at a previous speech in New York before Easter, DUP deputy leader Peter Robinson appeared to indicate the party was shifting ground.

Yes, the DUP wanted powersharing, Mr Robinson told his two diverse audiences, but only when it could be sure that the republican movement had ended all illegal activities, he added.

On Wednesday, the body established to oversee the IRA and loyalist ceasefires, the International Monitoring Commission, delivered its most positive report to date.

It found that the IRA was distancing itself further from all forms of paramilitary activity. However, the IMC report was not the “clean bill of health” some news organisations and the two governments claimed it was.

The committee found that IRA units still held on to arms even though the provisionals, according to General de Chastelain and two Irish clergymen, were meant to have decommissioned their entire arsenal last summer.

But in the round, as they say up in Stormont, there was now next to no excuse for the DUP not to share with Sinn Féin.

All of this positive spin ignores two critical factors that in reality will prevent the DUP entering government with Sinn Féin before Tony Blair’s final, final, absolutely final deadline at the end of November.

The first is the unionist electorate, which replaced David Trimble with the Reverend Ian Paisley as top dog in unionism last year.

Mr Robinson, the DUP’s key strategist, has stated that between now and the November deadline, his party will hold wide-ranging consultations with the unionist community in Northern Ireland.

In essence, the DUP will hold a series of local opinion polls to gauge support for a possible deal with Sinn Féin and others. This process will include meetings with church groups, local community associations, cross-sections of voters in key constituencies and so on.

The answer they are likely to receive is a resounding no.

Even if the next IMC report happens to be even more positive and if the issue of who killed IRA man turned British spy Denis Donaldson does not exercise this electorate, the prospect of a Sinn Féin minister (possibly an ex-IRA prisoner/leader) taking charge of policing or justice in Northern Ireland will horrify the average unionist voter.

Devolving policing or justice powers - a key republican precondition for ultimately supporting the Police Service of Northern Ireland - to a republican minister will be a deal breaker.

The second factor in holding back the dealmakers within the DUP is the political situation on the other side of the Irish Sea.

The slow, seemingly inexorable disintegration of Tony Blair’s premiership is being watched carefully not only by Mr Robinson but other DUP luminaries including the Cambridge-educated North Belfast MP Nigel Dodds and the party’s hard-line MEP, Jim Allister.

They regard Tony Blair as having given, rightly or wrongly, too many concessions over the years to republicans to buy off the IRA and its armed campaign.

From their viewpoint they owe Mr Blair nothing and would happy to see him dispatched from Downing Street unable to wrap himself up in the glory of having achieved a real, final settlement in Northern Ireland. They are “waiting for Gordo”.

Blair’s woeful Black Wednesday is the DUP’s opportunity, or at least their space to consult, hesitate and hold on until someone else occupies Number Ten, whether that be Gordon Brown or someone else.

· Henry McDonald is Ireland Editor of The Observer

Derry Journal

28 April 2006

CURRYNIERIN COMMUNITY worker Mickey Carlin has said he fears there will be trouble this summer after the estate experienced at least 24 attacks in the last 6 weeks.
The PSNI recorded 24 incidents on the interface between March 13 and April 25 this year, including two involving petrol bombs and others involving damage to property and vehicles.
But Mr. Carlin told the ‘Journal’ that there were “about another ten to 15 incidents” that had not been reported to police.
“It’s mostly every night. Even on quiet nights the
residents are still sitting there waiting for something to happen.
“They’re worried every single night, and that’s no
way to live.”
Mr. Carlin said that he was worried the attacks would continue throughout the summer.
“The general feeling is that there is going to be
trouble this year.
“But the Currynierin Community Association is working very closely with the Tullyally Development Group to get out there and to try to get talking about it.”
Mr. Carlin explained that he, youth worker Brian Murphy and a
group of volunteers, were out almost every night talking to the young people in the area.
“We go out, and we talk to the young people in Currynierin, and to date they have responded great - they sit and listen
to us.
“Our volunteers, they don’t get paid at all, and they do a fantastic job under pressure and under threat of being attacked.
“We’re working very hard with Tullyally, and we will continue to do so.”
Brian Dougherty, Chairperson, Waterside Development Group and
Co-Ordinator of Tullyally Development Group, said that while the community was working hard to address the problem, he
believed the police should be doing more.
“Both sides are agreed that we’re disappointed in the police response.
“This is simply antisocial behaviour, which will turn sinister if it’s not nipped in the bud.
“Unfortunately a lot of kids are getting tied up in that, orchestrated by one or two main players, and it’s up to the authorities to deal with these ringleaders.
“ASBOs have been in force for nearly two years, and I think somebody has to be made an example of.
“Estates are sick and tired of young hoodlums engaging in anti-social behaviour.
“It’s not a sectarian thing, it’s indicative of anti-social behaviour, which is happening right across the city, and
unless the police make some effort, it’s going to spiral out of control.”

BN.ie

28/04/2006 - 15:04:46

The trial of the man charged with the Omagh bomb atrocity should go ahead in September, a judge ruled today.

Confirmation that Sean Hoey, aged 36, should stand trial came when a judge threw out an application by lawyers acting for the electrician that the charges should be dropped.

In a ruling at Belfast Crown Court Mr Justice Weir said he had carefully considered submissions made by both the defence and the Crown during a No Bills Application and had decided there was a case to answer and the charges should stand.

Hoey stood in the dock and formally pleaded not guilty to 29 charges of murdering the victims of the Real IRA car bomb attack in the Co Tyrone town in August 1998.

Hoey faces a total of 58 charges relating to the Omagh bomb massacre and a series of other terrorist strikes across the North at around the same period.

As well as murder he pleaded not guilty to a series of charges including conspiracy to murder, conspiracy to cause explosion, causing an explosion and possession of explosives with intent.

Hoey, who has been in custody for nearly three years, was again remanded in custody.

Mr Justice Weir told lawyers representing both Crown and defence that he wanted no slippage in plans for the trial to start in September.

He told them: “I expect anything that needs to be attended to be attended to in the next month or so.”

The case was lifted for a review on June 2 to ensure there are not any problems to prevent a September start.

BN.ie

28/04/2006 - 15:28:23

The country could be facing a National Taxi Strike on June 3.

Members of the Cork branch of the Taxi Drivers Federation have threatened a work stoppage unless the Taxi Regulator agrees to address their concerns.

Taxi drivers have said they have a series of problems with the proposed changes to their work practices.

Chairman of the Cork branch, Derry Coughlan has called on other branches to support the work stoppage.

Mr Coughlan said: “This is an option that all members have taken in Cork and we are, at the moment, looking for the backing of all other taxi and hackney vehicles in Ireland because this thing is going out of control.”

“Nobody will be able to exist under the Taxi Regulator’s policies and costs in particular. We just have to make the public aware of this.”

BBC

Mr Zaitschek was a chef at Castlereagh police station

A decision on prosecuting a New York chef over a raid on a Belfast police station could be made within six weeks.

Larry Zaitschek, 38, worked in the canteen at Castlereagh when Special Branch offices were broken into and files stolen on 17 March 2002.

The High Court was told on Friday the Public Prosecution Service had not yet reached a decision on prosecuting him.

Both sides agreed to adjourn for another six weeks, with the next hearing scheduled for 9 June.

A judicial review has challenged the failure by the PPS to reach a decision on whether to prosecute him.

Mr Zaitschek worked as a chef in Castlereagh police station for seven years.

He was questioned by police in Belfast and later in New York when he returned to the US five days after the raid.

Belfast Telegraph

By Claire Regan
28 April 2006

The devastated family of a 16-year-old Belfast girl brutally raped and murdered has launched a passionate campaign to ensure her killer is never freed.

Close relatives of Megan McAlorum have taken to the streets of Belfast to collect signatures and petitions of support which they intend to give to the judge who will be sentencing the teenager’s evil killer.

The family hope the initiative will highlight the family’s fears that 19-year-old Thomas Purcell may one day be freed to rape and kill again. The Belfast man pleaded guilty to murdering young Megan at Craigavon Crown Court earlier this week and will be sentenced on May 26.

The 16-year-old’s semi-naked body was found on a desolate stretch of land in a forested area close to the Glenside Road in Dunmurry on April 12 2004. She had been raped by Purcell and suffered head injuries so severe they were similar to what would be expected in someone who had fallen head-first from a four-storey building.

Megan’s parents, Frankie and Margaret McAlorum, have urged the judge responsible to give him a life sentence and ensure that “life means life”.

The youngster’s 27-year-old twin sisters, Lynn Sutcu and Paula McAlorum, began gathering petitions yesterday afternoon at two shopping centres in west Belfast.

They will bring the campaign to Belfast city centre on Saturday and urged any shoppers who spot them to sign a petition. The sisters are being helped by friend Siobhan Keenan and aunt Geraldine McGoran.

Speaking from the Westwood Centre yesterday afternoon, where they gathered petitions before going to the Park Centre, Mrs Sutcu said: “We’ve been getting loads of support from people. We’ve already got hundreds of signatures.

“We are hoping that the city centre will be bunged with people on Saturday and we want to gather as much support as possible.

“It’s very important to get a message out that Purcell should not be allowed to see freedom ever again.”

Megan’s mother also urged people to show their support for the petition campaign.

“We are terrified that the courts will show him leniency because he pleaded guilty. He didn’t do it to save us going through a trial; he did it to save his own skin,” she said.

“We are urging the judge to make sure Purcell is never free to walk the streets again.

“It’s important to us to send a message to the judge that life should mean life.”

Speaking earlier this week at their Glencolin Way home in west Belfast, Mr and Mrs McAlorum revealed the brutal death their much-loved child had suffered at the hands of Purcell.

They told about the desperate measures Purcell undertook to cover his crime, included bringing two young female relatives, thought to be aged 12 and 14, to the ditch where he had dumped the body and pretending to find it.

Belfast Telegraph

By Elizabeth Nash in Madrid
28 April 2006

Arnaldo Otegi, the radical Basque politician and a key figure in the incipient peace process, has been jailed for 15 months for glorifying terrorism.

Spain’s High Court also banned Otegi, one of the most prominent and outspoken leaders of Basque nationalism, from standing for political office or voting for seven years at yesterday’s hearing. Otegi, 47, the leader of the outlawed pro-separatist Batasuna party, is thought to have played a decisive role in persuading ETA armed separatists to declare a permanent ceasefire last month.

He had long been in discreet contact with members of the ruling Socialist party to prepare for the ceasefire, and is considered Spain’s nearest equivalent to Sinn Fein’s leader, Gerry Adams, in his importance to the Basque peace process.

While Basque Socialists consider him a key interlocutor, Otegi is one of the few non-combatant radical Basques with clout among ETA’s military hotheads - because of his record as a former Eta hitman. He is likely to be a vital participant in future peace talks.

“I think the bases for the abandonment of violence are firm and will not be affected by these kind of events,” the Socialist parliamentary spokesman, Ramon Jauregui, said.

Otegi was sentenced for praising the ETA leader Jose Miguel Benaran Ordenana, known as Argala, at a memorial service in 2003. He denied at his trial this month his homage amounted to the glorification of terrorism or ETA. “My message was only an act of remembrance for a person murdered 25 years ago for political reasons,” he had said.

Argala was suspected of masterminding the assassination in 1973 of Franco’s right-hand man, Admiral Luis Carrero Blanco, whose death in an explosion shook the dictatorship’s foundations. Argala was amnestied in 1977 and murdered a year later, supposedly by extremists seeking vengeance for Blanco’s death.

Otegi is on bail in connection with a trial to establish Batasuna’s links with ETA. He was sentenced to a year in jail in November for insulting the king, whom he accused of being “responsible for torturers”, but the term was waived as “a first offence”. He can appeal to the Supreme Court, which has the last word on whether he should go to jail for the latest offence.

Before the court ruling yesterday, Otegi sought permission to travel to Dublin to take part in Sinn Fein events, invited by Gerry Adams. Mr Adams is said to have advised him on how to orchestrate ETA’s transition from armed action to peace talks, and has praised him publicly.

* Bob Dylan will perform a free concert for peace in the Basque resort of San Sebastian on 11 July, to celebrate the new climate of peace following ETA’s ceasefire, the organisers said.

Belfast Telegraph

Historic parades meeting with Irish government

By Chris Thornton
28 April 2006

Orange Order leaders have held a groundbreaking meeting with the Irish government as part of their campaign to get the Parades Commission replaced.

A delegation from the Order’s Grand Lodge and other marching organisations met officials from the Dublin government at Schomberg House, the Orange headquarters in east Belfast, just before Easter.

Leaders of the Orange Order, Royal Black Preceptory and Independent Orange Order briefed the Irish civil servants about their joint strategy for dealing with parades. They are also due to meet the SDLP next week.

Drew Nelson, the Order’s Grand Secretary, said: “This is probably the first time in our history that we’ve been talking to the nationalist community.”

In an interview with the Belfast Telegraph, Mr Nelson described the talks as an “amicable enough meeting”.

“We met civil servants from the Irish government, from the Department of Foreign Affairs,” he said.

“The main aim of that discussion was to explain to them why we thought the present legislation was flawed and to convince them that we were genuinely attempting to seek a long-term resolution and better system of regulating high impact public events.

“We made our position clear and we explained to them to the best of our ability why we thought the present system was flawed.

“They listened, they asked some questions and they put some points from the nationalist perspective which we answered.”

George Dawson, the DUP MLA who is Grand Master of the Independent Orange Institution, also took part in the meeting.

“Our feeling is that they are not without influence in the nationalist community,” Mr Dawson said. “We feel it’s important to get everyone on board.”

The three marching organisations have been preparing their joint strategy since last year and recently began a series of briefings - meetings so far have included Secretary of State Peter Hain, Irish officials, Protestant church leaders, and the Alliance Party.

However, the Orange Order’s Grand Lodge is maintaining an official ban on contact with the Parades Commission - in spite of two Orangemen joining the body - and Sinn Fein.

“We’re in the mode of explaining to as many people as possible, people of influence in Northern Ireland society, why we think the present legislation is flawed,” Mr Nelson said.

“Essentially at the minute we’re willing to discuss and talk to everybody except Sinn Fein.

“We’re not at the minute talking to Sinn Fein because of their history, because of their attitude towards violence, because we have hundreds - literally hundreds - of our members in their graves, murdered by the republican movement. So it is not on our agenda to talk to Sinn Fein.”

The loyal orders have revealed few details of their joint strategy, but Mr Nelson, a Dromore solicitor, said they do not envisage decisions on parades returning to police. The Parades Commission was created to cushion police from the blame for particular parades being blocked or going ahead.

“We see the Parades Commission being replaced by a more equitable body or bodies and working within a fairer legislative framework to handle the whole high impact public events problems,” he said.

“The police would be part of that, but we don’t foresee them being part of the decision making process.

“I want to say that the debate within the institution is much more mature than it has been as to how to tackle the problem of partial legislation, and that we’ve had a very long think about it over the past few months.”

Belfast Telegraph

David Gordon
28 April 2006

Two retired detectives have alleged that a multiple loyalist killer could have been put behind bars after his first murder.

The former officers said the paramilitary was allowed to evade justice while working as a paid Special Branch informer.

And they said he should have been charged with the brutal sectarian murder of Catholic woman Sharon McKenna as long ago as the early 1990s.

Their claims will add to the growing scandal over alleged security force collusion with a vicious UVF gang from north Belfast’s Mount Vernon estate.

A long-awaited report from Police Ombudsman Nuala O’Loan on the issue is due to be published shortly.

The retired detectives - Johnston Brown and Trevor McIlwrath - worked together in CID in north Belfast in the 1980s and 1990s.

Speaking to the Belfast Telegraph, Mr Brown elaborated on his previous claims about the activities of Special Branch agents.

His allegations have been backed up by Mr McIlwrath.

They centre on the same senior Mount Vernon UVF figure who has been at the heart of the Police Ombudsman’s investigations.

Mr McIlwrath said he had initially recruited this individual as a CID informer and tried unsuccessfully to stop him joining the UVF.

Special Branch subsequently took control of handling him because of his involvement in paramilitarism, he said.

Both Mr Brown and Mr McIlwrath said the loyalist should have been charged with the murder of a Catholic in the early 1990s - his first killing.

It is believed he committed the killing to “prove” to the UVF that he was not an informer.

“We could have brought charges within a week to 10 days,” Mr Brown said.

“We were denied clearance, denied assistance and not allowed to do our duty.”

Mr McIlwrath said: “He should have been brought to book for the murder. Senior police have questions to answer.”

He added: “Everything I know about him is down in the records of the police service.

“They have all the information they need about him.”

The two retired officers said the loyalist and his Mount Vernon associates were involved in a string of subsequent murders.

“A blind eye was turned. They acted with impunity and terrorised their own community,” Mr Brown said.

“They were involved in terrorism in other parts of Northern Ireland and as far away as the Republic.”

Mr McIlwrath said: “They were unlike any other UVF unit. They were a law onto themselves.”

The Mount Vernon loyalist and alleged informer has also been accused of ordering the murder of ex-RAF man Raymond McCord jnr in 1997.

Mr McCord’s father, Raymond snr, complained to the Police Ombudsman in 2002 about the case, prompting one of Mrs O’Loan’s biggest investigations to date.

Her report on her findings is currently being finalised.

A police spokeswoman said the force could not comment on matters that are the subject of ombudsman investigation.

“We would make the general point that significant changes have been made in recent years to the way informers are handled,” she added.

Mr Brown and Mr McIlwrath did not name the senior north Belfast loyalist.

Sinn Féin

Published: 28 April, 2006

Sinn Féin MP for Newry & Armagh Conor Murphy has launched a strong attack on the former leader of the British Army militia the RIR, Tim Collins, after he made insulting remarks about the community in South Armagh during a lecture last night in Dublin.

Mr Murphy said:

“During the course of a lecture last night in Dublin Tim Collins, the former head of the discredited militia the RIR, and a man investigated for war crimes in Iraq, made insulting and disparaging remarks about the community in South Armagh. He accused the people of South Armagh of being involved in drug dealing, pornography and counterfeiting.

“I would suggest that Tim Collins should look closer to home to find those guilty of such crimes. Within the ranks of the British Army he will find individuals guilty of these and worse crimes. But unlike the community in South Armagh who repudiate crime, those guilty of offences such as murder are elevated and promoted within the ranks of the British Army.

“Irish Republicans will take no lectures from a former leading member of the RIR. The RIR is little more than a unionist militia, which is precisely why Sinn Féin argued for so long to see its Home Service Battalions disbanded.

“Collins also made disparaging remarks about the Republican plot in Crossmaglen graveyard. No doubt these remarks are motivated by a sense of embarrassment given the fact that the IRA in South Armagh proved to be such formidable and ultimately undefeatable opponents for the British Crown Forces despite all of their resources and firepower.” ENDS

BN.ie

28/04/2006 - 08:25:18

Opponents of the Corrib gas pipeline are claiming that drinking water from Carrowmore Lake in Co Mayo has been heavily contaminated as a result of the project.

The Shell to Sea campaign says the water has been polluted with aluminium as a result of the removal of peat from the site of the onshore gas terminal being built by Shell in Ballinaboy.

The group is due to present a sample of the water to the Environmental Protection Agency today in an effort to get the agency to investigate the concerns.

BBC

David Trimble said the Order’s standing had diminished

Former Ulster Unionist leader David Trimble has launched a strong attack on the leadership of the Orange Order.

Mr Trimble, an Orangeman, said some unionists had entered into a ‘Faustian pact’ with elements of the Order in 1998 to bring down the Agreement.

He was speaking at the launch of a book by a Presbyterian minister and Orangeman which is also highly critical of those at the top of Grand Lodge.

He said it was “disappointing” to see the way senior officials had behaved.

“It is disappointing for me as an Orangeman, which I have been and intend to continue to be,” he said.

He was speaking at the launch of The Orange Order - A Tradition Betrayed, written by Reverend Brian Kennaway.

Mr Trimble said: “There’s no doubt that the standing of the Order in the community has diminished and there’s no doubt that the Order is now in a much more difficult position than it was, say, a decade ago.”

He said that this was partly due to the events of 1998 in the aftermath of the Good Friday Agreement, when his enemies within unionism were lining up against him.

“They saw the Orange Order, Portadown District and the Drumcree issue as a battering ram that they would use to destroy the Agreement,” he said.

He said the Order had been manipulated “with the intention of creating massive public disorder and violence so that it would have a political impact”.

Mr Trimble criticised senior Orangemen

These comments were rejected by the DUP’s David Simpson, who ousted Mr Trimble in last year’s Westminster election.

The Upper Bann MP said the former UUP leader needed “to get a grasp of reality”.

“I think that if people go back to 1998, they will see that Mr Trimble manipulated the institution in many ways to get the leadership of the Ulster Unionist Party,” he said.

The Orange Order has also rejected criticism in the book The Orange Order: A Tradition Betrayed by Rev Brian Kennaway.

In a statement the Order said it “continues to have a constructive and positive role to play in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland into the future”.

“The Orange institution remains true to our foundation principles, and any suggestions otherwise are misleading,” the statement said.

The Protestant marching season is one of the fixed elements of Northern Ireland life, and in recent years some parades have led to disputes and street violence.

The government-appointed Parades Commission was set up in 1997 to make decisions on whether controversial parades should be restricted.