SAOIRSE32

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FRIDAY 09/06/2006 17:26:24

There is a security alert in the Clifton Street/York Road area of north Belfast.

British Army officers are attending the York Road alert and diversions are in place.

Army personnel have spent the day dealing with a series of bomb alerts in the city.

In the morning they examined a suspicious device that was found at the Boucher Road. It was later declared an elabroate hoax.

In a separate alert, part of the railway line at Dunmurry was also closed for a period. It too was declared a hoax.

In the afternoon there were alerts at Castle Court, the Hi-Park Centre and Broadway.

Irish Examiner

By Jimmy Woulfe
09 June 2006

THE brutal IRA killing of Detective Garda Jerry McCabe took a poignant twist yesterday when it was confirmed that his daughter-in-law gave birth to a baby girl on Wednesday, the 10th anniversary of his death.

Sheila McCabe give birth to her first baby at the Regional Maternity Hospital in Limerick.

She is married to John McCabe, the eldest of Jerry McCabe’s five children. John is a garda stationed in Sixmilebridge, Co Clare. Sheila went into Labour early on Wednesday.

Ann McCabe, widow of the slain detective, said yesterday the whole family were delighted with the arrival of the baby, her fifth grandchild.

“It is a very strange irony, the date, June 7, on which Jerry died and the day his grandaughter is born into the world. We are all thrilled for John and Sheila,” she said.

Sheila McCabe comes from Newmarket, Co Cork, and met her husband when she too served in the Garda Síochána.

The new baby girl will join other members of the McCabe family next Sunday when an anniversary Mass is celebrated at the Holy Rosary Church, Ennis Road.

The other members of the McCabe family, Mark, aged 35, Ian, 33, Stacey, 26, and Ross, 25, all live and work in the Limerick area.

Special Branch colleagues of Jerry McCabe laid flowers at his grave in Mount St Oliver cemetery on Wednesday and there was also a commemorative ceremony at the bust of Det Garda McCabe which was erected in Henry Street garda headquarters.

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Daily Ireland

Anger at PSNI decision to arm 700 prison wardens with high-powered Glock pistols

Ciarán Barnes

A PSNI decision to arm almost 700 prison wardens with high-powered pistols was called into question last night.
Responding to a written parliamentary question earlier in the week, direct-rule minister Paul Goggins confirmed 867 people in the North are in possession of PSNI loaned personal protection weapons. He said that as of May 12 there were 688 guns on loan to prison officers and 217 to British army personnel.
There are currently 1,668 wardens employed by the Prison Service meaning more than a third of its staff currently have a loaned PSNI Glock pistol at home.
Sinn Féin MLA Fra McCann accused the PSNI of arming those with an “anti-republican and anti-nationalist agenda”.
He said: “Serious questions need to be asked about why these weapons have been loaned out to British forces, many of whom have abused the human rights of nationalists over many years.
“This shows the PSNI and their predecessors in the RUC are hell-bent on arming those with an anti-republican and anti-nationalist agenda.”
SDLP assembly member Alban Maginness said that while the on-loan gun figure seems high there is a rationale for prison wardens keeping weapons.
“The biggest current threat to prison officers is from loyalist paramilitaries, who they are vulnerable to attack from because of the communities in which they live,” said Mr Maginness.
“I know that each individual application for a personal protection weapon is scrutinised to see if there is a real risk to the applicant.
“In the current circumstances, it is not unreasonable for prison officers to be in possession of these weapons.”
Last month Daily Ireland revealed the PSNI had lost nine weapons during the last six years.
A spokesman refused to say if these guns were loaned out for personal protection.
He would not comment on how the weapons went missing, whether disciplinary action was taken against the officers in possession of the guns and if the firearms had been used for crime.
The spokesman also refused to comment on whether the lost weapons were reported to the Police Ombudsman.

Daily Ireland

By Connla Young

Only one member of the Policing Board attended a seminar to examine possible use of potentially deadly Taser guns in the North.
Organised by the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission, the seminar attracted delegates from Amnesty International and the Committee on the Administration of Justice. It focused on potential danger posed by Tasers which fire an electrical charge into its victim.
The seminar was called after the PSNI asked the Policing Board to give the green light for the weapon’s use in the North. In March the Policing Board instructed the PSNI to carry out an equality impact assessment into the weapon’s use.
Despite deep concerns about the potential for loss of life and serious injury through use of the weapon, the SDLP’s representative, Alex Attwood, was the only member of the Policing Board to attend the seminar. A member of the board’s support staff also attended.
Paul O’Connor from the Pat Finucane Centre said he was surprised that so few Policing Board members attended.
“Tasers are dangerous and potentially lethal weapons. They would already have been introduced had human rights NGOs and others not raised their concerns earlier this year. Now we have a statutory body providing in-depth consultation and information on this new weapon and only one of those appointed to the Policing Board attended. And he is already on record as being opposed to the weapon. Of the other 19 board members none of the others bothered to attend. Those who support the introduction of Tasers had a duty to come along and listen to the arguments.
“No doubt had there been an invitation on the table for them to travel to New York for a Saint Patrick’s Day bash there would have been a few more of them signing up to attend. If the Policing Board shows as little concern for the effects of Tasers as it did regarding the CS gas and the new plastic bullets then we are in trouble.”
A spokesperson for the Policing Board said:
“The board was represented at the Taser seminar by a member of its team of Human Rights Advisors, and by board member Alex Attwood. The board has not yet taken an official position on the issue of Taser, but the board’s human rights representative will provide a report to the board on the key issues emerging from the seminar so that these may be factored into the board’s future discussions on the issue.”

BN.ie

09/06/2006 - 13:43:35

The Garvaghy Road Residents Group has said it may take a case to the House of Lords in Britain in relation to the appointment of two Orangemen to the Parades Commission.

Last month, the High Court in Belfast ruled that the appointments were unlawful because the Orangemen had been invited to apply for the jobs, while nationalist residents had not.

However, this ruling was overturned today following an appeal by Northern Secretary Peter Hain.

The Appeal Court ruled that Mr Hain was not obliged to seek nominations from nationalist residents in order to ensure the commission was fair and balanced.

It said the Orangemen had pledged to act impartially, but the Garvaghy Road Residents Group, which took the initial case, said today that this pledge was worthless.

Spokesman Brendan McCionnaith said the residents had no faith in the pledge given the fact that one of the Orangemen in question had pledged to use his job “to fight the Orangemen’s case inside the fence”.

Sinn Féin MLA John O’Dowd, meanwhile, said the ruling means Mr Hain cannot be held accountable through the courts or through the democratic institutions.

“In other parts of the world, they call that dictatorship,” he said. “In this part of the world, we call it direct rule.”

BBC

UUP leader Sir Reg Empey has refused to sever the party’s assembly team’s links with PUP leader David Ervine.

Sylvia Hermon, the party’s only MP, had called for the link to be severed because of ongoing activity by the UVF, to which the PUP is connected.

Lady Hermon warned the party had become “a hostage to fortune”.

Sir Reg said he “acknowledged and respected” Lady Hermon’s views, but added that he and others were “not prepared to walk away” from the deal.

Lady Hermon said in an interview with the News Letter that she was unhappy both about the UVF’s refusal to disarm before autumn and the shooting of loyalist Mark Haddock, blamed on the paramilitaries.

The Ulster Unionists have come under widespread pressure after allowing Mr Ervine to join their assembly group.

The move would give them an extra ministerial seat at Sinn Fein’s expense if a power-sharing executive is formed.

At the time of the deal, Lady Hermon said the move caused her “great distress”, but added that it could prove to be worthwhile if it helped to deliver UVF decommissioning.

However, she said in her interview published on Friday that rather than any progress being made towards decommissioning, the UVF has restated it will not make any arms move before the government’s 24 November deadline for the restoration of devolution.

In response, Sir Reg said in a statement on Friday that Lady Hermon’s views were “well-known throughout the party”.

“The problem of loyalist paramilitaries has evolved over 35 years and this exercise cannot be completed in the space of three weeks - there is progress to be made,” he said.

“Having said that, we will know relatively quickly whether those with whom we are engaged with are being disingenuous.

“If they are, then naturally the position will have to be re-assessed and I will not hesitate to do so. This is not an unconditional arrangement.”

IAIS

06/09/06 09:06 EST

The case against Ihab Shoukri, who was accused of membership of the loyalist paramilitary UDA/UFF, has been thrown out of court. Judge Thomas Burgess at Belfast Crown Court ruled that there was not enough evidence for Shoukri to go to trial.

The 32-year-old, of Westland Drive, north Belfast, was also told that charges of professing membership of the UDA and UFF had also been dropped.

Lawyers for the Crown told the court they had no plans to appeal against the judge`s ruling.

It had been alleged that he was a member of the UDA and UFF between February and July 2003.

Shoukri had also faced two further charges of professing to be a member of both paramilitary organisations between May 14 and May 20, 2003.

After the brief hearing, Shoukri, who wore a white T-shirt and light blue jeans, shook hands with his legal team before leaving the courtroom with two associates.

Sinn Fein alleged charges against loyalists were dropped because they were being protected by the British state.

North Belfast assembly member Cathy Stanton said many nationalists were puzzled at the fact that cases like this one involving prominent loyalist figures seemed frequently to end up with the prosecution being dropped.

Ms Stanton said: “Time and again loyalists who openly flaunt their membership of unionist paramilitary organisations end up having charges dropped when the case finally reaches court. Many nationalists are puzzled by this and are quite rightly assuming that this occurs time and again because of the close links between the British state and the unionist paramilitary gangs.”

“It seems that the leaders of the loyalist gangs are being protected by the British state,” she said.

SDLP justice spokesman Alban Maginness said he was shocked the charges against Shoukri had been dropped.

The North Belfast MLA said: “This is a very surprising decision and one that will be a huge matter of public concern. It is not unreasonable to assume that there would have been enough evidence readily available to provide the basis for a prosecution.”

“It therefore comes as a great surprise that at this late stage the evidence which the prosecution relied upon is deemed to be unsuitable for proceeding. It is disappointing that this prosecution has not been pursued by the Public Prosecution Service.”

Mr Maginness claimed the decision cast doubt over the commitment of the authorities to pursue the defendant with vigour.

He added: “There will be alarm in the community that this man has now been released and given his past record, there is every reason for people to be deeply concerned.”

Daily Ireland

American FBI agent David Rupert is understood to be making travel arrangements this weekend to return to Ireland to give evidence against more dissident republicans.
The man responsible for putting Real IRA chief Michael McKevitt behind bars for 20 years for directing terrorism is believed to be setting his sights on the dissident Continuity IRA.
The American claimed in court that he was invited to Real IRA Army Council meetings by McKevitt and that he also met with leading members of the Continuity IRA during his time spying in Ireland for the FBI, MI5 and An Garda Síochána.
Rupert played a significant role in infiltrating the Real IRA and his return to Ireland is being viewed with some concern by a number of men linked to the Continuity IRA.
One dissident republican told Daily Ireland: “Rupert is supposed to be coming back over the weekend. It’s fair to say people are worried.”
The agent claims to have been asked to procure weapons by a senior figure in Republican Sinn Féin which is said to be the political front for the Continuity IRA.
It is understood a safe address for the delivery of the weapons was supplied to Rupert and conversations between senior paramilitary figures were also recorded on tape by the American.
A meeting of top dissident republicans was also monitored by Irish security forces after a tip off from Rupert, who was also noted attending an annual meeting of Republican Sinn Féin.
At a time when the Continuity IRA is recruiting heavily throughout Ireland, Rupert’s imminent return has serious implications for groups that are continuing to oppose the Good Friday Agreement and the peace process.

rsf.ie

“The bogus claim made by the Provos that the Stormont Agreement of 1998 was a logical succession to the hunger-strike deaths of 1981 was equivalent to the Free Staters’ assertion that the 26-County State arose out of the Easter Rising of 1916,” said the President of Republican Sinn Féin, at a 25th anniversary commemoration of the death of hunger-striker Raymond McCreesh at his grave in Camloch, south Armagh on Sunday, May 21.

Both claims were fraudulent, he said. The partitionist and collaborationist 26-County State came from England’s alternative to the All-Ireland Dáil of 1919-22, ie the Westminster parliament’s Government of Ireland Act of 1920. That state arose out of the defeat of the independence movement of 1916-23.

Likewise, the present Six-County Statelet, with or without Stormont, was an instrument of continued British rule in Ireland and a denial of all Raymond McCreesh, Bobby Sands and their comrades suffered and died for.

To accept partition and administer British rule here was a base betrayal of the hunger-strikers’ sacrifices and agonising deaths. Those who denied by their actions the noble ideals sought in the H- Blocks of Long Kesh in 1981 should have the honesty and decency to stay away from the hunger-strikers’ graves.

No man or woman could serve two masters. Those who now proposed that young Irishmen should don the uniform of the Black- and-Tans advocated something totally counter to the stand of men who died rather than wear the English convict garb. The former comrades of the hunger strikers who advocated joining the British police and persecuting their own people should remain silent in their shame.

Raymond McCreesh and his comrades in Long Kesh, on the other hand, were honoured around the world in every continent as fearless anti-colonial and anti-imperialist fighters who had reached the highest points in moral as well as physical courage. All honour to them today!

Now some of those who would not give even a cup of water to those struggling for Irish national independence down the years, were climbing on the bandwagon of material gain and self- aggrandisement. It was a far cry from the beds of pain of the hunger strikers in the H-Blocks to the comfort of ministerial seats under British rule in Stormont and the cosiness and luxury of heavily-subsidised English offices in Westminster.

It is not in accordance with the facts for establishment figures to allege that the hunger strike introduced the Republican Movement to electoral action. The Movement had been involved in elections in the ‘teens, the ’20s, the ’30s, the ’50s and the ’60s of the 20th century, often with great success.

Paddy McLogan was elected for South Armagh in 1933, and Phil Clarke and Tom Mitchell for Fermanagh-South Tyrone and Mid- Ulster in 1955. These successes did not lead to parliamentary involvement in Westminster, Stormont or Leinster House.

It was the change in leadership in the Movement in the 1980s that caused the re-direction into acceptance of the status quo by those who sought to capitalise on the sacrifices of the hunger strikers for ignoble purposes. They betray the hunger strikers while using the names of the hunger strikers.

Along the way they signed away political status - or “Special Category Status” - for Republican prisoners. The Stormont Agreement of 1998 marked the end of such status and the re- commencement of the prison struggle.

Today the rights won by the hunger strikers are denied to political prisoners. Those who opt for the Republican wing in Maghaberry prison are refused freedom of association. They are on 22-hour lock- up and 18-hour lock-up on alternate days.

They are forced to eat meals in cells containing toilets, that is, eating in the bathroom. Education is confined to one afternoon per week, so it is a choice between fresh air and education.

Some warders engage in sleep deprivation techniques at night. Embroidering handkerchiefs is the only handicraft allowed. Visitors, ranging from priests to pensioners have been denied visits because an alleged “drugs dogs” singled them out.

Visitors who wore Easter Lilies were denied entry to the jail and prisoners who wore them were sentenced to three days on the punishment block and not allowed out of their cells at Easter. Yet pro-British poppies were available from the prison shop in November.

Irish culture is not recognised and those who sit in Stormont are silent on prison conditions. Their silence damns them. They have turned their backs on what the hunger strikers stood for.

BBC

Sylvia Hermon is the Ulster Unionists’ only MP

The Ulster Unionists must sever formal assembly links with the Progressive Unionists, its only MP has said.

Sylvia Hermon told the News Letter the relationship was not sustainable because of ongoing activity by the UVF, to which the PUP is connected.

Lady Hermon warned the party had become “a hostage to fortune”.

She said she was unhappy both about the UVF’s refusal to disarm before autumn and the shooting of loyalist Mark Haddock, blamed on the paramilitaries.

The Ulster Unionists have come under widespread pressure after allowing Mr Ervine to join their assembly group.

Extra seat

The move would give them an extra ministerial seat at Sinn Fein’s expense if a power-sharing executive is formed.

At the time of the deal, Lady Hermon said the move caused her “great distress”, but added that it could prove to be worthwhile if it helped to deliver UVF decommissioning.

However, she said in her interview published on Friday that rather than any progress being made towards decommissioning, the UVF has restated it will not make any arms move before the government’s 24 November deadline for the restoration of devolution.

UUP leader Sir Reg Empey had insisted they had done the right thing, saying the long-term goal was to end loyalist paramilitarism.

An Phoblacht

BY SHANE Mac THOMÁIS

Photo: Michael Gaughan’s funeral makes its way through Dublin followed by tens of thousands of mourners (click to view)

Michael Gaughan

My name is Michael Gaughan, from Ballina I came.

I saw my people suffering and swore to break their chains.

I raised the flag in England, prepared to fight or die.

Far away from Mayo beneath an Irish sky.

Take me home to Mayo across the Irish Sea,

Home to dear old Mayo where once I roamed so free.

Take me home to Mayo there let my body lie,

Home at last in Mayo beneath an Irish sky.

This well known republican ballad was penned in honour of a young man from Ballina, County Mayo who was one of the hundreds of republicans imprisoned in 1974, the most vulnerable of whom were in English jails.

Michael Gaughan, was the eldest of six children. After finishing his schooling, he left Ireland for England, in search of work. Whilst in England, he joined the IRA and became an active Volunteer in a London-based Active Service Unit. During a mission to gather funds for the IRA campaign, he was captured and ultimately convicted of arms possession and conspiracy to rob a London bank. Gaughan was sentenced to seven years imprisonment in the Old Bailey in December 1971

His first two years of imprisonment were in Wormwood Scrubs in London. He was then moved to Albany Prison on the Isle of Wight where his request for political status was refused and he was punished with solitary confinement for even daring to claim it. He was later moved to Parkhurst Prison.

In November 1973, the trial of 10 Irish people for bomb explosions in London saw four begin a hunger-strike immediately for political status and repatriation. Their demands were simple:

• A guarantee that they would not be returned to solitary confinement;
• The right to educational facilities and not to do prison work;
• The setting of a reasonable date for a transfer to an Irish prison.

Within days, the prison authorities began force-feeding Dolores and Marion Price, Hugh Feeney and Gerry Kelly. They were brutally force-fed for 206 days. On 31 March 1974, Frank Stagg, Paul Holmes, Hugh Feeney and Michael Gaughan joined the strike. Twenty-three days into his strike, Michael was force-fed for the first time. The method of force-feeding hadn’t changed from the days when Thomas Ashe died due to the brutality of it in 1917. The brutality of the force-feeding and resisting the doctors and the warders took its toll on the hunger-strikers. It left them battered and bruised, drained physically and mentally. The physiological torture of this barbaric assault on a person also had an effect as one of the hunger-strikers recounted to a relative at the time: “The mental agony of waiting to be force-fed is getting to the stage where it now outweighs the physical discomfort of having to go through with it.'’

During his hunger-strike Michael was force-fed 17 times, the last time on the evening of June 2. (click photo to view)

The physical toll on the hunger-strikers is borne out by Gaughan’s brother John’s statement of his condition when he last saw him. His throat had been badly cut by force feeding and his teeth loosened. His eyes were sunken, his cheeks hollow and his mouth was gaping open. He weighed about six stone.

Visitors to the hunger strikers were only allowed to see them through a glass screen, supervised by prison warders. In what must have been a very emotional visit Gaughan’s mother Delia saw him alive for the last time through this screen three days before his death.

On 3 June 1974, the prison authorities announced that Michael Gaughan had died. They later explained that he died from pneumonia, a result of the force-feeding tube having pierced his lung and food lodging in his lung. He was 24-years-old.

The manner of his death caused controversy in medical circles and the method of force-feeding was later abandoned by the British state.

Following Gaughan’s death, the remaining hunger strikers ended their fast after assurances from the prison authorities that they would be transferred to a prison in Ireland. The British however, pursued a policy of seeming to concede to prisoners’ demands when they were on hunger strike only to renege once the prisoner came off protest.

From the Isle of Wight, Michael’s remains were brought to London. On 7 and 8 June, thousands lined the streets of Kilburn and marched behind the coffin, which was flanked by an IRA guard of honour.

On Saturday, 8 June, Gaughan’s remains reached Dublin, where they were met by tens of thousands of mourners. Under another IRA guard of honour, Gaughan’s body was brought to the Adam and Eve’s Franciscan church on Merchant’s Quay, where thousands more filed past as it lay in state.

The following morning, Michael Gaughan began his final journey home. From Dublin to Ballina, his cortege was met by thousands paying their last respects in every town and village en route.

After mass in Ballina Cathedral, the IRA paid its respects to a loyal soldier of Ireland, firing a volley above his coffin before it was taken to Leigue Cemetery to be buried in the Republican Plot.

In his last message to his republican comrades, Michael Gaughan had said: “I die proudly for my country and in the hope that my death will be sufficient to obtain the demands of my comrades. Let there be no bitterness on my behalf but a determination to achieve the new Ireland for which I gladly die. My loyalty and confidence is to the IRA and let those of you who are left carry on the work and finish the fight.'’

Michael Gaughan died on 3 June 1974, 32 years ago.

Belfast Telegraph
09 June 2006

A Nationalist councillor who vowed in the past not to be driven out of politics after his home in mainly unionist Larne was attacked several times by loyalists is set to become the first SDLP mayor of the Co Antrim town.

Danny O’Connor (40) is expected to take up the post next week as part of a power-sharing deal hammered out last year.

He said yesterday: “A week is a long time in politics but if it comes to pass on Monday night it will be a powerful symbol that Larne has come out of the dark ages. We have had our share of problems in the past.”

The SDLP has two councillors on the 15-member council.

Alderman O’Connor, an ex-Ulster Defence Regiment soldier, was also a former East Antrim Assembly member.

Two years ago he fired a legally held gun in the air when surrounded by a loyalist mob outside his home.

In 1999, his home was targeted by petrol bombers. After that incident, Alderman O’Connor said: “This sort of attack will not deter me from doing what I was elected to do.”

Though he is set to be the first SDLP councillor to hold Larne Council’s top office, Alderman O’Connor will not be the first Catholic in the post. Alderman Hugh McKay, an independent member, was mayor in the mid-1960s.

Mr O’Connor said that as a man born and brought up in Larne it will be an honour to accept the position of First Citizen.

He added: “I want to put Larne on the radar for all the right reasons and to be an ambassador for the town and to work for everyone. I have an empathy for the town and its people.

“I want to be as inclusive as possible in the post and do a job for the entire community. It is not about nationalism and unionism. I will have an Ulster Unionist deputy mayor and it is about working together as Larne men and women.”

BBC

Don MacKay (left) and David Burrows are prominent Orangemen

The Court of Appeal has upheld Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Hain’s decision to appoint two Orangemen to the Parades Commission.

The court’s majority verdict overruled a judicial review in May which said that the appointment of David Burrows and Don MacKay was unlawful.

The appeal was upheld by Lord Chief Justice Sir Brian Kerr and Lord Justice Campbell.

The third appeal judge, Lord Justice Nicholson, dismissed the appeal.

Reading out the majority decision on Friday, Lord Chief Justice Kerr said the conflict of interest the two Orangemen would face in making decisions was both inescapable and obvious.

But prior to their appointment, he said, they had given assurances that they would treat all parade applications in an objective manner.

In May’s judicial review, the High Court said Mr Hain had failed to ensure the commission make-up represented both sides of the community.

Appointments

Mr Hain had written to the main political parties, the four main churches and the loyal orders during the appointments process, but had not sought applications to the seven-member commission from any residents’ group.

However, Lord Chief Justice Kerr said “the officials responsible for advertising the post of commissioner and soliciting applications for appointment to the commission were not under an obligation to consider whether to target residents’ groups as a counterbalance to the letter sent to the loyal orders”.

“This was the single ground on which the judge had found that the decision of the secretary of state was invalid,” he added.

The case was brought to court by Joe Duffy, a resident of the nationalist Garvaghy Road in Portadown, who sought to overturn the appointment of Mr Burrows and Mr MacKay.

Speaking outside the court, Brendan Mac Cionnaith, spokesman for the Garvaghy Road residents’ group, said they would be consulting their legal representatives on whether to take the case to the House of Lords. “The whole question of equality has come into play in this judgment,” he said. “There has been a cloud cast over the equality provision we were promised under the Good Friday Agreement.

“The Lords is obviously the next stage and over the next day or two we will sit down and work out the options.”

Orange Order

Both Mr Burrows and Mr MacKay were members of the Portadown Lodge which has been at the centre of the decade-long dispute surrounding what has become known as the Drumcree parade.

Mr MacKay resigned from the commission earlier this month after it emerged he had listed DUP MP David Simpson and SDLP assembly member Dolores Kelly as referees on his application form without asking their permission.

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

BBC

Ihab Shoukri was charged with UDA/UFF membership

Charges against north Belfast loyalist Ihab Shoukri of UDA and UFF membership have been dropped.

Judge Thomas Burgess ruled at the city’s crown court that there was not enough evidence for him to go to trial.

The 32-year-old, of Westland Drive, was also told that charges of professing membership of the UDA and UFF had been dropped as well.

Mr Shoukri has been on bail for almost three years. A prosecution lawyer said there would be no appeal.

The accused had faced a total of four charges of membership of both the UVF and UDA between February and July 2003 and of professing to be a member of both outlawed organisations between 14 May and 28 May 2003.

‘A snapshot in time’

Judge Burgess said that it had be to remembered the charges were “a snapshot in time which is now historic.”

He added: “Any case can only be decided on the evidence before the court and evidence which is admissible.”

Judge Burgess also said that when deciding on what evidence to put forward, the prosecution “may have to consider wider issues than those before the court.”

The Belfast recorder had ordered a “No Bill” on Thursday, but the case was adjourned overnight to allow time for the prosecution to consider whether to appeal.

An Phoblacht

H-Block prisoners stand in General Election

Friday, 29 May 1981 saw the announcement by the National H Block/Armagh Committee that it was endorsing nine republican prisoners as candidates for the 26 County General Elections to be held that June.

The constituencies chosen, as well as giving the widest possible geographical spread, had several features which led to grounds for optimism that a vote for the single issue of support for the prisoner’s 5 Demands could be maximised.

Sligo/Leitrim

The Sligo/Leitrim constituency where Hunger Striker Joe McDonnell was to stand had a history of support for republican candidates. It had elected John Joe McGirl as a Sinn Féin TD in 1957. In 1981 John Joe was chairperson of Leitrim County Council.

Local feeling on the Hunger Strike had seen a number of motions of support passed by local councils, a reception for former H-Block Blanket Men by Sligo Corporation, adjournments by the councils in support of the deceased Hunger Strikers and major rallies, particularly in Sligo and North Leitrim. Local H-Block action groups had been particularly successful in attracting wide, cross-party support.

Cavan/Monaghan

Cavan/Monaghan was another constituency with a tradition of republican support demonstrated at the polls and had, at the time, four Sinn Féin councillors as well as a number of other representatives who broadly fell within an ‘independent republican’ category.

The chances of securing a successful result for Hunger Striker Kieran Doherty, the candidate chosen to stand there, were further enhanced by the fact that the constituency had been upgraded from a four to a five-seater.

Major turn outs for protest events in the constituency had shown the depth of feeling on the Hunger Strike. Taoiseach Charles Haughey had been greeted by huge protests when he paid a visit to Monaghan town and there had been pointed comment in the media of the very low turn out of Fianna Fáil supporters.

Louth

The third border constituency to be contested was Louth where Dundalk Blanket Man Paddy Agnew was the candidate.

The campaign there had a major obstacle to overcome by the fact that, although the constituency was a four seater, one seat had automatically gone to Fianna Fáil Ceann Comhairle Padráig Faulkner. Nevertheless the campaigners were confident of support.

The Labour Party in Louth had been decimated by the Hunger Strike campaign. Both their Drogheda and Dundalk chairpersons had resigned and joined Paddy Agnew’s campaign bringing with them several more Labour Party members.

There was also strong support for Sinn Féin’s Fra Browne, a poll topper in Dundalk for both the Urban District Council and Louth County Council in the local elections.

Major workplace and closures and rallies in Dundalk, backed by the local trades council, and similar successful actions in Drogheda gave rise to an expectation of widespread support.

Longford/Westmeath

Longford/WestMeath, where Hunger Striker Martin Hurson was to stand, was another constituency with a history of republican support having elected Ruairí Ó Bradáigh as a TD in 1957.

Longford County Council had two Sinn Féin councillors, one of whom Sean Lynch was Council Chairperson. Independent Fianna Fáil councillor Tony Carberry stood down as a candidate in support of Martin Hurson. The week previously Longford County Council had adjourned as a mark of respect for the Hunger Strikers who had already died.

The constituency had been somewhat thrown open by the retirement of long standing independent Joe Sheridan leaving his 7,500 first preference votes up for grabs.

Dublin West

Running in the large five-seat constituency of Dublin West, was H-Block Blanketman Tony O’Hara, brother of the late Hunger Striker Patsy O’Hara. An interesting dimension to the campaign was the large personal vote of Dr John O’Connell, up for grabs following a carve up of the old constituency and O’Connell’s subsequent decision to move to Dublin South Central.

Waterford

Hunger Striker, Kevin Lynch was to stand in Waterford, one of the areas that produced strong trades council support for the prisoners five demands. In addition there had been major rallies in the area and workplace closures. The campaign was further strengthened by being able to draw on election workers from the strong adjoining areas of Wexford and South Tipperary.

Cork North Central

Mairéad Farrell, incarcerated in Armagh Jail, stood in the five seater of Cork North Central. The constituency embraced the old area of former Fianna Fáil leader Jack Lynch whose retirement had thrown the party into disarray locally. Cork had seen thousands of people participating in marches and demonstrations in support of the Hunger Strikers.

Kerry North

Blanket Man Sean McKenna was the chosen candidate for Kerry North which had a long republican tradition. Campaign hopes here had been significantly boosted by the decision of Labour Candidate Dan Spring not to run. He had always campaigned on a republican ticket and although his son, Dick, was to stand he did not have the profile or republican background of his father.

There were Sinn Féin councillors in the County Council and in Listowel and the party had narrowly missed taking two sets in Tralee in the 1979 local elections.

The impact of the H Block campaign in North Kerry had been underlined by the fact that a Fianna Fáil candidate had been a leading member of the Tralee action group.

Clare

Blanket Man Tom McAllister ran in this expanded four seat constituency. Optimism was fuelled by the fact that both Shannon and Ennis had been the scene of successful workplace shutdowns, particularly in the construction industry. In addition there was a strong presence of people from the Six Counties living in Shannon. In Clare the local Sinn Féin representative PJ Burke had consistently topped the poll in local elections.

Other candidates

Besides the nine prisoners endorsed by the campaign, there were three other candidates standing on a H-Block platform. These were National H Block/Armagh Committee member Vincent Doherty, standing in Haughey’s constituency of Dublin North Central on behalf of Peoples’ Democracy. Paddy Healy, a leading member of the committee’s trade union group stood as an independent under the banner Trade Unionists against the H-Blocks in Dublin North East and Sean Kelleher, the son of local Tan War commander Tom, stood in Cork South West on an anti H-Block ticket.

The National H Block/Armagh Committee had previously outlined the criteria on which candidates in other constituencies could be judged. These included support for the prisoners 5 Demands, endorsement of a call for the expulsion of the British Ambassador, the ending of collaboration and removal of 26 County soldiers from the border and full support for the campaign of the National H-Block/Armagh Committee.

Indymedia.ie

Posted Friday June 09, 2006 00:53 by Stoph

A blatant attempt to silence a campaign for justice

Larry Wheelock, brother of Terence Wheelock who died last year as a result of injuries suffered while in Garda custody, was arrested on Wednesday last, on the basis of an 18 year old bench warrant for the non-payment of a fine. To the astonishment of the defense, the judge ordered his detention and he spent most of Wednesday in Cloverhill prison. The judge rejected claims by the Wheelock’s solicitor that the actions of the court were unlawful. Their solicitor is now seeking to place the judge’s position under review. Larry Wheelock is the spokesperson for a peaceful campaign seeking an independent inquiry into the circumstances surrounding Terence’s death. The arrest comes just 3 days after a widely attended protest outside Store St Garda station where Terence suffered his fatal injuries just over a year ago.

The connection between Larry’s arrest and the growing strength of the ‘Justice for Terence’ campaign is deniable only by those whose interest is in impeding the course of justice. The family have been consistently taunted and terrorised by the Gardaí since Terence’s arrest; a campaign of harasment and intimidation which escalated dramatically in the build up to last weekends protest, when several Gardaí unlawfully entered the Wheelock home following the attempted arrest of Terence’s younger brother Gavin for distributing flyers notifying of the protest outside his own home. Since this incident (in which Terence’s mother was forced to witness one of same arresting Guards of Terence, place Gavin in a strangle hold) not a day has gone by when there is not a Garda presence outside the Wheelock’s front door.

How can this behaviour be tolerated in a civil society?

What can be done to reform a police force in which such oppression is so obviously calculated and coordinated and then sanctioned by supposedly separate powers?

http://www.indymedia.ie/article/76362

http://www.indymedia.ie/article/76427

http://www.indymedia.ie/article/76148

http://www.indymedia.ie/article/75034

http://www.indymedia.ie/article/76476