SAOIRSE32

RSF News
13 April 2008

A spokesperson for Republican Sinn Féin and the Republican Prisoners’ Action Group has condemned the vindictive actions of the prison authorities within the Six Occupied Counties for punishing Republican PoWs for wearing the Easter Lily.

‘Republican prisoners in Maghaberry, who sought to honour Ireland’s Patriot Dead by wearing an Easter Lily on Easter Sunday, are currently being kept in solitary confinement for a period of five days each,’ said Richard Walsh. ‘Two or three prisoners are being punished at any one time, and once they have been released back into the segregated population another group of prisoners are made to commence the same punishment.

‘It remains the case that prison staff and Loyalist prisoners are permitted to wear the British Imperial Poppy, which has been stained by the blood of countless people who sought their country’s freedom. And yet anyone who dares honour Ireland’s heroic martyrs is punished under Prison Rules. The Easter Lily was created in 1925 by Cumann na mBan to honour those who had died for Ireland, and to raise funds for Republican prisoners and other Republican purposes.’

ENDS

Irish News
**Via Newshound
By Barry McCaffrey
10/04/08

THE 10th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement will be marked today [10th] with the opening of the first cross-community facility to replace part of a notorious peaceline.

The £1.7 million development is to be opened at Duncairn Gardens in north Belfast replacing part of a 100ft peaceline wall which separated the nationalist New Lodge and loyalist Tigers Bay for more than 40 years.

More than a dozen people were killed at the interface during the Troubles, and there was also near-nightly rioting.

However, in a groundbreaking move last year part of the wall was removed to allow for the new development.

The new building includes four large ground-floor offices which have already been earmarked for use by statutory agencies.

Nine two-bedroomed apartments on the second and third floor of the developments are due to go on the open market next week.

The interface developmentwas built by the Ashton Community Trust and has been supported by nationalist and loyalist community leaders

It will include childcare, employment and health services.

“This development will house services which will directly benefit both communities,” Ashton Community Trust director Paul Roberts said.

“This will breathe life into the area and help develop it as a shared space.

“It illustrates in very graphic terms that things are changing and instils optimism for the future.”

Welcoming the opening of the peaceline development, loyalist community worker Billy Hutchinson said: “This is a great initiative which will benefit both communities.

“It shows that there are people in working-class communities actively working to break down sectarian barriers.

“It shows what can be achieved and should be an inspiration to other communities right across Belfast.”

Irish News
By Allison Morris
12/04/08

Former UDA ‘brigadier’ Ihab Shoukri, pictured, is expected to serve less than four months in jail after pleading guilty to membership of the paramilitary group in return for a reduced sentence.

A judge ordered all media and members of the public out of Belfast Crown Court on Tuesday during the trial of six men charged following a high-profile police raid on the Alexandra Bar in north Belfast.

The following day Shoukri (34), along with associate Gary ‘Jock’ McKenzie, in a dramatic turnaround pleaded guilty to UDA membership as well as supporting the organisation by arranging a meeting on behalf of it.

The north Belfast loyalists were arrested in March 2006 during a dress rehearsal for a paramilitary propaganda stunt due to take place the following evening.

Details of the legal arguments that took place while the court was in closed session are not available to the public.

However, The Irish News has learned that in return for a guilty plea Shoukri is expected to receive a prison sentence of just two years.

With 50 per cent remission and time previously served on remand awaiting trial he would have less than four months of a two-year term still to serve.

McKenzie (36), a close associate of Ihab Shoukri and his brother Andre, is also expected to receive a reduced sentence in return for his guilty plea.

On Monday, another of the six men facing charges in relation to the Alexandra raid, George McHenry (40), pleaded guilty to lesser charges of supporting the UDA.

The owner of the Alexandra Bar, John ‘Jackie’ Davis, also entered a guilty plea to aiding and abetting the support of a proscribed organisation.

The young-est member of the gang, Alan

McClean jnr (21), pleaded guilty to supporting the UDA and is expected to receive a suspended jail term.

Only one of the accused, Samuel ‘Robo’ Robinson (39), still denies membership charges.

When police raided the Alexandra Bar, Shoukri – who was on bail at the time on previous UDA membership charges – was discovered in a stairwell along with a number of men wearing paramilitary-style dress.

He was not charged until two months later when a speech in support of the UDA was revealed to have been in Shoukri’s handwriting.

In the meantime membership charges, which had arisen following his arrest for the feud-related murder of Alan McCullough in 2003, were dropped after a judge ruled it not in the public interest to proceed.

In March last year, Shoukri was arrested again while on bail suspected of handling stolen goods. Despite police objections he was released on continuing bail two weeks later.

Sentencing of the men is scheduled to take place in mid-May.

Sunday Mirror
Mark Austin
13/04/2008

Ten years ago, on a bright Saturday evening in summer, I flew to Belfast to cover Northern Ireland’s worst terrorist atrocity.

What I witnessed in Omagh was appalling. It’s been called the “massacre of the innocents” and that is exactly what it was.

Twenty-nine people and two unborn twins were slaughtered that day. Eleven of the dead were under 18.

So huge was the explosion, shrapnel injured people 250 metres from the car bomb.

On the Sunday morning I went with my cameraman to a community hall where relatives of the dead and seriously injured had gathered. No-one wanted to talk, and who could blame them. We decided to leave… But as I left a man rushed out to us. “I just want to say one thing,” he said.

“Who in God’s name would do such a thing? Who in God’s name could do this?”

Well, the police had an idea who did it, but so badly did they botch the investigation in the weeks after the bombing that no-one was brought to justice.

The only man ever charged with the Omagh murders was electrician Sean Hoey.

But he was acquitted last December.

The judge was frustrated and furious, describing the police investigation as “slapdash”.

And that, unbelievably, is where we are today .

And that is also why in Belfast High Court legal history is being made. A group of families are making one final attempt to win justice for the dead.

They have brought an unprecedented civil claim against the alleged Real IRA terrorists they’re convinced carried out the atrocity. The claim for financial damages is their last hope.

I know one of the bereaved relatives. Victor Barker lost his 12-year-old son James in the blast.

Victor is a solicitor who has taken it upon himself to gather the evidence, prepare files and help mount a case against five individuals he believes murdered his son.

He is unwavering in his determination to prove that Michael McKevitt, Campbell Daly, Seamus Daly, Colm Murphy and Seamus McKenna were involved in the crime.

All five men deny they had anything to do with the Omagh bomb.

If successful, the families will pursue the men and the Real IRA for damages amounting to £10million… but in reality they don’t expect to get much at all if they win.

And Victor says the damages claim is not about money, but about principle: “I just want to prove publicly that these were the men who did it.”

These are courageous families who deserve more. It is a disgrace that the initial investigation 10 years ago was so shambolic that nobody ever has or ever will pay the price for the Omagh atrocity.

The police let down the families and the people of Northern Ireland. They failed them.

They should never be forgiven and Omagh should never be forgotten.