SAOIRSE32

BN.ie

31/08/2006 - 15:27:51

There was no delay in telling gardaí about new information about a suspect terrorist device planted in the Mansion House over 25 years ago, the Minister for Justice Michael McDowell insisted today.

Mr McDowell said his department first received the information 48 hours ago but an Army team only began a search of the Lord Mayor of Dublin’s official residence this morning.

Members of the loyalist Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) today claimed in a newspaper interview that a bomb was concealed in a fire extinguisher above the platform at the Sinn Féin Ard Fheis conference at the venue in 1981.

The Lord Mayor of Dublin, Cllr Vincent Jackson, his wife and the house steward were evacuated last night from one of the capital’s best known buildings.

Gardaí erected a police cordon around the building at 9am today and a specialist Army search team entered.

Mr McDowell today admitted he first learned of the information 48 hours ago but he passed it on immediately to the Garda.

“It was taken seriously immediately and steps were taken to find out exactly what the information amounted to.

“Specific information was then handed by me to the Garda Siochana and they were in a position to act on foot of it.

“There has been no delay, no delay in acting on foot of this information.

BBC

Police asked to appear at an inquiry into the murder of a County Armagh man fear their lives are at risk if they are identified, a court has heard.

The claim was made by a barrister representing 20 ex-officers called as witnesses at the inquiry into the 1987 killing of Robert Hamill in Portadown.

The officers began a legal challenge after the inquiry ruled they could not give their evidence anonymously.

The High Court challenge has led to the inquiry being indefinitely postponed.

The officers have requested to be screened and known only by an initial while giving their evidence.

Their barrister said to deny his client’s this level of anonymity was a breach of the European Convention of Human Rights.

Mr Hamill, a 25-year-old Catholic, died in hospital after being attacked by a loyalist mob in Portadown in 1997. No-one has been convicted over his death.

Police have denied eye witness claims that four RUC officers in a Land Rover saw what was happening and failed to intervene.

The inquiry into Mr Hamill’s death, chaired by retired judge Sir Edwin Jowitt, was recommended by ex-judge Peter Cory, who was tasked to probe alleged collusion.

It was set up to determine if police committed any wrongful act or omission.

Speaking outside the court, solicitor Barra McGrory, who is representing the Hamill family, said he was “mystified” as to why the police would want anonymity as none had been given at the original murder trial.

He was referring to the Crown Court case in 1999 when a man was acquitted of the murder but convicted of affray and jailed for four years.

The inquiry had originally been scheduled to begin hearings in Belfast on 5 September.

BBC

The Lord Mayor of Dublin’s official residence has been evacuated by police during a security alert.

It follows UVF claims to the Belfast Telegraph that they left a device at the Mansion House in 1981 during Sinn Fein’s annual conference.

Lord Mayor Vincent Jackson was told on Wednesday evening to leave because of the alert. Surrounding streets have not been cordoned off during the searches.

Army bomb disposal experts have been concentrating on the roof area.

Nothing has been found as yet.

Gardai would not officially confirm reports that the searches were linked to a UVF claim that 25 years ago, they planted a device in the Dawson Street building which failed to explode.

Sinn Fein Dublin MEP Mary-Lou McDonald said it was “somewhat bizarre”.

“If there is a device in the Mansion House, it’s not the first time that the UVF have planted bombs in the city,” she said.

Newshound

(Barry McCaffrey, Irish News)

The Orange Order on Tuesday denied that paramilitaries will be allowed to take part in a “monster rally” planned for Drumcree next month.

Portadown Orangemen have filed for a parade and rally at Drumcree Hill on Saturday September 23 to mark 3,000 days of protests against not being allowed to march along the mainly nationalist Garvaghy Road since 1998.

Portadown spokesman David Jones said he expected thousands of Orangemen and loyalists from across the north to attend the rally.

Nationalists last night questioned the potential damage that the rally would have on community relations in Portadown and highlighted a similar parade in west Belfast last September after which the security forces came under gun and blast bomb attack from loyalists.

At that time Chief Constable Sir Hugh Orde insisted that the Orange Order could not disassociate itself from the violence.

However, Mr Jones insisted no paramilitaries would be allowed to be involved in next month’s rally.

“We don’t anticipate any kind of trouble and will be appealing for calm,” he said.

“Paramilitaries will not be involved in any shape or form.

“The paramilitaries know they are not needed in Portadown.”

Mr Jones said he expected 800 Orangemen and at least three bands to take part in the parade from Carlton Street in Portadown town centre to the rally at Drumcree Hill.

He said that Orangemen and loyalists from across the north had been invited to attend, although there would be no attempt to parade back from Drumcree along the contentious Garvaghy Road route.

However, Garvaghy Road residents’ spokesman Brendan Mac Cionnaith questioned the effect the “monster rally” would have on community relations in Portadown.

“It is regrettable that the Orange Order has decided to recommence its street protests over Drumcree,” he said.

“It is slightly ominous that Orangemen from right across the six counties are being encouraged to attend this monster rally.

“We do not see how bringing thousands of loyalists out on to the streets will help to improve community relations in Portadown.

“Nationalists will simply view it as an act of intimidation.”

Mr Mac Cionnaith highlighted the fact that the main speaker at the rally will be the area’s MP, DUP assembly member David Simpson.

“Nationalists will question whether this rally is about marking 3,000 days of protests at Drumcree or is actually a DUP plan to increase political tensions ahead of attempts to restore devolution at Stormont in November,” he said.

Mr Mac Cionnaith said nationalists had concerns that the parade would pass St John’s Catholic Church as parishioners attended evening Mass.

August 31, 2006
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This article appeared first in the August 30, 2006 edition of the Irish News.

:::u.tv:::

The only outstanding issue facing Northern Ireland’s politicians is whether Ian Paisley’s Democratic Unionists will form a power sharing executive.

By:Press Association
30 August 2006

That is the view of Sinn Fein`s Alex Maskey who made the claim as speculation mounted that Prime Minister Tony Blair and Irish Taoiseach Bertie Ahern will host Leeds Castle-style hothouse talks with the parties in Scotland or England in October.

The Sinn Fein Assembly member Alex Maskey said his party was willing and ready to share power with the DUP.

He also stressed Sinn Fein`s difficulties over policing in Northern Ireland could only be resolved if there were fully functioning political institutions.

The South Belfast Assembly member said: “The only party opposed to the restoration of the political institutions is the DUP.

“That needs to be the focus of the two governments in the run up to their November 24 deadline (for devolution).

“Other outstanding matters such as policing can only be resolved in the context of functioning political institutions.

“The format and venue of any future engagement is a minor issue. The reality is that the political negotiations have already happened. The only remaining issue to be resolved is anti-Agreement stance of Ian Paisley and his party.

“The DUP has a stark choice. They can either come to terms with current political realities, or the process of change will move on without them.”

Mr Maskey was responding to Ulster Unionist leader Sir Reg Empey`s call on both governments not to waste public money on talks at an English or Scottish country estate with the parties.

Officials in London and Dublin have been looking at possible venues and are believed to be considering holding the talks on October 9 or 10 on the back of another IRA and loyalist paramilitary ceasefire assessment from the Independent Monitoring Commission.

The province`s politicians have until November 24 to decide whether they can form a power sharing executive.

However, there is not much optimism that the deadline will be met.

The DUP has warned Mr Blair and Mr Ahern it will not be bounced into government with Sinn Fein by the deadline.

It will instead base any decision on whether there is proof that the IRA has abandoned its criminality and paramilitarism for good.

Senior DUP figures have also insisted Sinn Fein must also publicly back the Police Service of Northern Ireland and urge its supporters to engage with the police if it is to be a credible partner in government.

News Letter

Thursday, August 31

THE DUP and Sinn Fein were last night locked in a row over law and order which suggests a devolution deal by November 24 is unlikely.

MLAs from the two parties clashed during a meeting of the Preparation for Government Committee which was discussing decommissioning and criminality and paramilitary activity.
The argument was sparked when Sinn Fein rejected a series of motions tabled by the DUP supporting the police and
renouncing crime.
Afterwards, DUP MLA Ian Paisley Jnr said: “These are the people that want to be in government tomorrow but won’t agree to the upholding of the law of the land.
“This is further proof that republicans remain totally unfit for office and have a lot to do to make themselves fit for ministerial positions.”
Sinn Fein responded by saying it was the DUP that had to come up to the mark – on power-sharing.
“They are the only remaining blockage to restoring the political institutions,” said Alex Maskey.
“Other outstanding matters such as policing can only be
resolved in the context of functioning political institutions.”
Sinn Fein:
* were unwilling to support the PSNI
* rejected the idea of naming and shaming individuals and organisations involved in drug dealing, and
* refused to support the call for an inventory of the material decommissioned by the IRA to be made public.
In a joint statement after the PFG meeting, MP Sammy
Wilson and MLAs Mr Paisley and Peter Weir said republicans were the real blockage to the return of devolution.
“Support for the police and the rule of law in Northern Ireland are clearly fundamental requirements for any democratic society,” they said.
“While Sinn Fein were prepared to spout the rhetoric of
opposition to criminality and the blight it is on society (during the PFG meeting], they were not prepared to take the steps necessary to eradicate it.
“Their so-called opposition to crime rings hollow when it is not combined with a call for people to report crime and support the police.
“Once again this demonstrates that Sinn Fein have still some distance to travel before they can be considered to be fit for government.
“Opposition to support for the rule of law is incompatible with the holding of ministerial office, and it is clear that Sinn Fein will have to address some serious issues before they can hope to take up a place in any future Executive.”
SDLP Policing spokesman Alex Attwood admitted “major differences” around issues of law, order and justice remained but insisted there had been some “surprising agreement”.
All parties on the committee welcomed the agreement that there would be a single justice ministry and agreed that the shape and model of the new ministry needed to be worked through by the parties “collectively”, he said.
“If this good work can be built on by the parties talking and negotiating together, more progress might be made.”

Belfast Telegraph

By Claire Regan
31 August 2006

Belfast singer Brian Kennedy last night threw his support behind plans to establish a museum to remember all those who died in Ulster during the Troubles.

The renowned singer-songwriter and author said he believed a ‘living memorial museum’ being planned by the Healing Through Remembering (HTR) community project would help encourage reconciliation.

Brian joined Alan McBride, who lost wife Sharon and father-in-law Desmond Frizzell in the 1993 IRA Shankill bombing, at HTR’s office on Ormeau Avenue in Belfast yesterday to call for people to come forward with ideas on the type of museum.

HTR launched in 2001 to look at ways of dealing with the past conflict, has been hosting workshops to gauge feeling on how best to develop a museum.

Suggestions gathered so far include a mobile tent museum which would travel around the country in spring and summer, a garden memorial and a conventional museum with travelling exhibitions.

Mr Kennedy urged people to “raise their voices” with ideas.

“Few people in Northern Ireland have not been affected in some way by the conflict. One of the only ways to move forward is to look backwards first,” he said.

“You cannot heal properly until you find out what the cause of the disease. Our message is about coexistence and respect. We want to look at what happened and put it in a calm existence, like a museum.”

Mr Kennedy, who grew up in the Falls area of west Belfast, said: “My voice is what rescued me from the world that I lived in. And now we want to hear your voice. We are open to every idea that comes in.”

He said his own personal choice would have to involve song and music “because that is my personal medium”.

Mr McBride, who chairs the HTR Living Memorial Museum sub-group, said there were many options to think about.

“Should a museum be in a new building or an existing one? Should it be in one building or should it tour a number of places and sites? It could maybe even have a virtual existence.

“There were around 3,500 people killed during the conflict, of which my wife was one.

“For me, I see this project as keeping the memories of the past alive and helping to ensure lessons are learned for the future. The educational element helps future generations to understand the conflict as they remember those killed, injured and bereaved.”

For information on submitting look up healingthroughremembering.org on the internet or telephone 02890 238844.

There will be a workshop at the Waterfront Hall in Belfast from 2-5pm on September 7.

Belfast Telegraph

Belfast Telegraph Crime Correspondent Jonathan McCambridge assesses the impact of the Johnston affair

31 August 2006

The probe into alleged money laundering threatened to embrace the worlds of business, politics and paramilitaries.

In April last year police carried out an array of high-profile raids - creating the impression that a house of cards was about to fall.

The first arrest was ex-UDA godfather Jim Gray. Just days after he was ousted as a “brigadier”, he was arrested and charged with possessing and concealing criminal property.

While there was little shock in Gray’s, arrest days later came the bombshell arrest of a businessman. Philip Johnston, who ran a chain of estate agents employing 40 staff, was charged with money laundering and spent several days in custody.

Police opposed his first bail application because, they claimed, he “may obstruct the course of justice”. The probe widened further when detectives searched the premises of UUP MLA Michael Copeland. No charges followed this operation.

The raids were linked to a probe into alleged money laundering. Any trial based on charges against a UDA boss and a respected estate agent would have been one of the most spectacular in Ulster’s legal history - had it ever happened.

Gray was murdered in east Belfast. The case against Johnston continued. Then yesterday, all charges were dropped.

Police last night refused to comment but the decision is a blow to its prestige.

Significant resources were deployed, and if there is to be no end product, senior officers can expect uncomfortable questions from the Policing Board.

Belfast Telegraph

Bomb would have killed republican leadership

By Brian Rowan
31 August 2006

The UVF planned to “wipe out” the republican leadership in a Dublin bomb attack just weeks after the ending of the 1981 hunger strike.

That remarkable claim - 25 years after the event - comes in an exclusive interview with the Belfast Telegraph, in which the loyalist group said it had passed details on the planned bombing to the Irish government in recent days.

The UVF also warned it could not rule out that remnants of the bomb could still be in place in one of Dublin’s best-known buildings.

According to the UVF’s most senior leaders, a bomb was concealed close to the platform at the 1981 Sinn Fein Ard Fheis at the Mansion House in Dublin, but the device “malfunctioned”.

The party conference is remembered for Danny Morrison’s Armalite and ballot box speech.

“The UVF saw the hunger strike at that time as an extension of the IRA’s campaign - its war against the State,” one of the loyalist leaders told this newspaper.

“The IRA probably thought it was going to be their finest hour . . . it was almost our finest hour,” he claimed.

He said a UVF unit was “dispatched to wipe out the whole leadership” of the republican movement.

“At the time, unfortunately, that device failed to go (explode). It was placed very near the platform party and timed to go off as keynote speeches were about to be delivered,” he added.

In the interview in Belfast, the UVF claimed the bomb was in a fire extinguisher and was concealed in a ceiling above the Ard Fheis platform.

And it further claimed to have passed details on the planned attack to the Irish government “through the usual conduit” within the past week.

On what happened to the bomb, one of the UVF leaders present yesterday offered the following explanation.

“There are several theories on what may or may not have happened.

“First of all, it could have been discovered and not announced.

“Secondly, it could have been removed (but) not in the knowledge of what it was. And, thirdly, as pointed out, it could still be there.”

He continued: “There are people still within the realms of the UVF that know that that bomb was constructed and it was taken to Dublin and it was left there.

“I suppose if push came to shove it could certainly be almost proved that the event did take place.”

There is speculation, yet to be confirmed, that the reason for the passing of information to the Irish government was to try to get an assurance that if anything is found there will be no follow-up action against the UVF.

That organisation and the closely linked Red Hand Commando will make a declaration on future intentions if a devolved government is achieved by the November 24 political deadline.

The loyalist leadership says it believes that the “Provo war is finished”, and it says there is no threat from the UVF to Raymond McCord or any journalist.