SAOIRSE32

Belfast Telegraph

PSNI join forces with MI5 and Gendarme to smash republican network

By Jonathan McCambridge
20 June 2006

Ten people were last night being questioned following a massive operation - involving MI5, the PSNI and French police - to smash a dissident republican terrorist conspiracy.

One of them is also being questioned in connection to the 1998 Omagh bomb following the huge operation in Counties Armagh and Fermanagh, which included 200 police officers backed up by the army.

Police confirmed that part of the operation was intended to disrupt a conspiracy by dissidents to procure a “significant quantity of arms”.

A PSNI spokesman said officers from Crime Operations branch in Northern Ireland were present in France to assist French police in conducting a related search.

“Enquiries in Europe are continuing,” he said.

Security sources have said recently they are concerned that dissident republicans are planning to stockpile weapons for a new terror campaign.

The intelligence-led operation was launched following a major investigation lasting several months led by the Crime Operations department of PSNI and MI5.

Police said the operation targeted dissident republican activity in the UK and Europe.

Eight premises were searched and 10 people arrested in connection with serious terrorist crime.

Detective Chief Superintendent Norman Baxter said: “This investigation has been ongoing for a number of months and has involved close liaison with colleagues in the Security Service and police services across Europe.

“The investigation has drawn on all branches of the PSNI’s Crime Operations Department and officers from that department have travelled to Europe to progress the investigation.

“We believe that this operation has disrupted a potential major terrorist conspiracy,” added Chief Supt Baxter.

Police said one of the 10 individuals arrested has also been arrested in connection with the 1998 Omagh bomb.

The Real IRA atrocity, the worst attack in Ulster during the Troubles, killed 29 people and unborn twins.

Sir Hugh Orde said: “This is a major operation against organised crime and dissident republican activity.”

Ian Paisley jnr, a member of the Northern Ireland Policing Board, said the authority had been given a preliminary briefing on the operation.

“I now want full details to be disclosed at the next public meeting of the Board,” the Democratic Unionist MLA added.

“I also want to congratulate police on these arrests and look forward to any convictions that follow.”

BN.ie

20/06/2006 - 08:14:22

DUP councillors in Co Armagh have been accused of bullying Ulster Unionist colleagues who backed the principle of power-sharing in Craigavon last night.

Dolores Kelly of the SDLP said the UUP councillors were confronted and verbally abused by five or six DUP councillors at the end of last night’s council meeting.

The UUP councillors had earlier supported an SDLP motion in favour of power-sharing on Craigavon Council or had abstained from the vote.

Ms Kelly said the DUP members were “shouting and roaring”, telling the UUP councillors to hang their heads and shame and asking how they would face victims of republican violence.

She also claimed a female UUP councillor was reduced to tears as a result of the outburst.

BBC

An east Belfast community centre which closed after alleged threats from a loyalist paramilitary group is due to re-open.

Castlereagh Borough Council closed Cregagh Youth and Community Centre on Friday because of staff safety.

It is due to open on Wednesday following a meeting on Monday night.

Alliance councillor Michael Long said it was “unacceptable” that staff had been “threatened” but he was glad that “sense has prevailed”.

“This incident in Cregagh has left staff and others in the local area shaken,” he said.

“It is essential that facilities designed to look after the local community, particularly the younger members of it, are accessible for all and it is intolerable that local people have lost use of this essential service over recent days.

“Staff must also know they can get on with the job without fear.

“It is unacceptable that our staff have been threatened in this way by loyalist paramilitaries.

“It is clear that the UUP in Castlereagh have questions to answer about whether they will continue to support a pact at Stormont which structurally links them to the paramilitary groups most likely to have been involved in these threats.”

A PSNI spokesperson said at the time that police were investigating the matter.

BBC

A decision to permit a limited Orange Order parade in a nationalist area of west Belfast has been described as “shameful” by residents.

The Parades Commission said it had to rule on Saturday’s Whiterock parade as agreement could not be reached.

Fifty Orangemen will be allowed through Workman Avenue whilst the rest of the parade will go to the Springfield Road through the old Mackies factory site.

The chairman of the local residents’ group said the ruling was “immoral”.

Sean Murray of the Springfield Residents’ Group said the decision “flies in the face of logic, set against the backdrop of what happened last September”.

“Our community was faced with a campaign, an organised campaign… of intimidation by both the Orange Order and the loyalist bands.”

There were serious disturbances last September after a parade was prevented from marching through the Workman Avenue gates onto the Springfield Road.

Mr Murray said there were three options in relation to the parade.

“There is the West Circular route which we would see as a victory for the nationalists over the unionists; Workman gates which we would see as a victory for unionists over the nationalists. Now our position is and has been for the past six years that the parade should be put through the Mackies (site).

“We would see it as a win/win situation for both communities.”

‘Savage and shameful’

On Monday, Sinn Fein councillor Tom Hartley described the commission’s ruling as “immoral and unacceptable”.

The SDLP’s Alex Attwood said the ruling was “very different” from the course recommended by his party.

In a statement, the DUP said the ruling recognised that this section of the Springfield Road should be shared space, but said it was “bizarre” that the numbers allowed to walk along the road had been restricted.

Parades Commission chairman Roger Poole said the decision had been a difficult one, particularly after the “savage and shameful violence” of last year.

However, he said both sides had “shown courageous leadership and real commitment by taking part in meaningful dialogue”.

The cost of policing the Whiterock parade last year and subsequent rioting in a number of loyalist areas was estimated at £3m by the PSNI.

Police officers were attacked with petrol bombs and blast bombs, as well as live rounds during the trouble.

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

Sinn Féin

Published: 19 June, 2006

West Belfast Sinn Féín Councillor Tom Hartley has branded the decision of the Parades Commission to reward last summers orgy of unionist violence in Belfast with a parade along the Springfield Road as “immoral and unacceptable”.

Cllr. Hartley said:

“Last summer the people of Belfast were subjected to days of unionist violence much of it orchestrated by the UVF and UDA. The excuse given by the unionist political establishment for this violence was that for the first time the rights of the nationalist population on the Springfield Road were recognised.

“It will not be lost on the wider nationalist community the fact that in the first test for the new Parades Commission, which of course includes Orange Order members and sympathisers, they have decided to directly reward last years violence and intimidation with a parade along the Springfield Road. There can be no other explanation for this decision.

“Sinn Féin will continue to support the residents of the Springfield Road in the course of the coming days and we will be meeting with the community to discuss their next move as we try and move forward in the face of this immoral and unacceptable determination.” ENDS

BBC

**See 700 rampage in new wave of loyalist rioting

A limited Orange Order parade will be permitted to walk along a nationalist area of west Belfast on Saturday, the Parades Commission has said.

There were serious disturbances last September when a parade was prevented from marching through the Workman Avenue gates onto the Springfield Road.

A single lodge with district officers will be allowed through the gate.

The rest of the parade will go to the Springfield Road through the site of the old Mackies factory.

There are strict rules governing which flags and banners may be flown and what music the bands can play.

‘Violence’

Sinn Fein councillor Tom Hartley described the commission’s ruling as “immoral and unacceptable”.

“It will not be lost on the wider nationalist community that, in the first test for the new Parades Commission, which of course includes Orange Order members and sympathisers, they have decided to directly reward last year’s violence and intimidation with a parade along the Springfield Road,” he said.

The SDLP’s Alex Attwood said the commission’s decision was “very different” from the course recommended by his party.

“The party made it absolutely clear to the commission that the nature of this parade, the vicious rioting last year and the level of dialogue entered into, all meant that no parade should come down Workman Avenue,” he said.

In a statement, the DUP said the ruling recognised that this section of the Springfield Road should be shared space, but said it was “bizarre” that the numbers allowed to walk along the road had been restricted.

Parades Commission chairman Roger Poole said the decision had been a difficult one, particularly after the “savage and shameful violence” of last year.

However, he said both sides had “shown courageous leadership and real commitment by taking part in meaningful dialogue”.

The cost of policing the Whiterock parade last year and subsequent rioting in a number of loyalist areas was estimated at £3m by the PSNI.

Police officers were attacked with petrol bombs and blast bombs, as well as live rounds during the trouble.

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.

Daily Ireland

Seen as ‘positive sign’ for Orange parades later this summer

By Mick Hall

An agreement that allowed an Orange Order parade to pass off peacefully in north Belfast has been described as a “positive sign” that progress can be made to resolve the issue of contentious parades in the area this summer.
The Tour of the North parade took place without major incident on Friday evening. The controversial parade has usually resulted in serious violence between loyalist marchers and nationalist residents as it passes the Ardoyne shops on the Crumlin Road.
There were only minor instances of stone throwing on Friday evening as one Orange Order band made its way past the nationalist estate on the second leg of the parade. No music was played as the band passed and only representatives of constituent lodges followed. A small group of local residents held a protest. Only two PSNI vehicles and four officers policed Friday’s parade.
There were no major confrontations with the PSNI following the march largely because of the force significantly decreasing its presence in light of the agreement reached by the Ardoyne Parades Dialogue Group and loyal order representatives through the North Belfast Parades Forum.
Joe Marley, from the Ardoyne Parades Dialogue Group said the agreement had been the result of reciprocal compromise resulting from “substantive dialogue” between residents and representatives of the loyal orders.
He told Daily Ireland that Friday’s relatively peaceful parade was a sign that confidence and trust could be built over the coming weeks to resolve a number of difficult situations ahead this summer.
“The Tour of the North parade has been traditionally one of the most difficult in the North. It passed off with only minor incidents on Friday.
“The agreement shows the value of substantive dialogue between the local community and loyal orders. What we have here is only a beginning, a positive first step to resolving the marching issue in North Belfast. It can be seen as a genuine building of confidence between the two communities in the area,” said Mr Marley.
The residents’ spokesman also said talks would continue with the Parades Forum this week.
The decision to scale down both the number of loyalists involved in the march and the number of nationalist protesters was welcomed by Parades Commission chairman, Roger Poole, who said he hoped it would act as an example for the rest of the marching season.
Last July’s Tour of the North resulted in 18 PSNI members and 11 others being injured during trouble. Missiles were thrown by nationalist protesters and there were clashes between police and protesters. Several petrol bombs were thrown and residents were attacked by the PSNI with a pressure hose.

BBC

Mr Haddock was shot in Newtownabbey

The leading loyalist Mark Haddock was on his way to a meeting to secure his safety when he was shot last month, Belfast Crown Court has heard.

Haddock, 37, from Mount Vernon Park, north Belfast, is awaiting judgement on a charge of attempting to murder pub doorman Trevor Gowdy in 2002.

He was accused of several murders and UVF membership in the Irish Parliament.

Prosecution and defence lawyers both made bail applications at Monday’s hearing which was adjourned.

Mr Haddock was shot six times in Newtownabbey on 30 May.

BBC

A request to take a case involving the Parades Commission to the House of Lords has been rejected in the Court of Appeal.

The appeal was taken by Joseph Duffy, a resident from the Garvaghy Road.

He claimed the appointment of Orangemen David Burrows and Donald McKay to the commission would result in a conflict of interest on parades in Portadown.

Three Appeal Court judges turned down the application and awarded costs to the Northern Ireland Office.

Earlier this month, the Court of Appeal upheld NI Secretary Peter Hain’s decision to appoint the two Orangemen.

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

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.

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

BBC

Part of an operation targeting dissident republicans was aimed at foiling a plan to procure a significant quantity of arms, police have said.

Ten people were arrested in Monday’s raids which saw 200 officers, supported by soldiers, take part in searches in counties Armagh and Fermanagh.

PSNI detectives were also present in France to assist French police in conducting a related search.

One of those held is being questioned in connection with the 1998 Omagh bomb.

Eight premises were searched in Northern Ireland.

Earlier police said they believed they had disrupted a “potential major terrorist conspiracy” in the UK and Europe.

The searches were part of a joint investigation “between the PSNI Crime Operations Department and the British Security Service”, said the police.

Detective Chief Superintendent Norman Baxter said the investigation had been ongoing for a number of months and involved close liaison with members of “the Security Service and police services across Europe”.

“The investigation has drawn on all branches of the Police Service of Northern Ireland’s Crime Operations Department and officers from that department have travelled to Europe to progress the investigation.

“We believe that this operation has disrupted a potential major terrorist conspiracy,” Mr Baxter said.

BBC

The farm is linked to Thomas ‘Slab’ Murphy

Firefighters from Northern Ireland and the Republic have dealt with a fire on a farm connected to a leading republican.

Fire tenders from Dundalk and four appliances from Crossmaglen tackled the blaze on the property linked to Thomas ‘Slab’ Murphy.

Mr Murphy is widely believed to be one of the IRA’s leading figures.

The farm straddles the border between County Louth in the Repubic and County Armagh.

It is believed the fire started in a workshop at the back of the farm and spread to a hayshed.

There were no reports of anyone being injured and it is believed no animals were hurt.