SAOIRSE32

Roy Garland
Irish News
**Via Newshound
23/06/08

THE evangelical Centre for Contemporary Christianity in Ireland (CCCI – formerly Evangelical Contribution on Northern Ireland) has launched a book by Philip Orr entitled New Loyalties: Christian Faith and the Protestant Working Class.

Orr examines how evangelicals related and continue to relate to the needs of loyalist working-class communities.

The CCCI study brought to mind an evangelical pastor from the Shankill whom I once encouraged to enter Bible college in the 1960s.

I had spent two years there myself – two of the most fulfilling years of my life – and others from the area had gone through college to become academics or to high clerical office.

Yet most of them initially lacked all formal qualification.

One student’s only qualification was that he had dismantled a motorcar and put it together again – a vital practical skill for a remote mission station in South America.

My friend entered college and ministered on the Shankill Road during the Troubles.

His young family at times survived in very poor conditions while he organised a youth club with 70 young people until a senior pastor complained the youths weren’t attending church.

He wanted ‘bums on seats’ so the club was abandoned and eventually the Church dispensed with the young pastor’s services.

They said they couldn’t afford his meagre wages and the family found themselves on the streets with nothing while their faith drained away.

The former pastor recalled seeing one of his proteges running towards a Catholic crowd with petrol bomb in hand before falling and setting himself alight. He was badly burned and taken to hospital.

The late Billy Mitchell was a loyalist and evangelical who inspired an incredible amount of constructive work in loyalist communities. By chance, while paying tribute to Billy, I met a loyalist ex-prisoner who, with other ex-prisoners, surprisingly turned out to have been among the 70 abandoned youths.

They had been caught up in the fear and excitement of 1969 but despite their experiences they were trying to ensure it would never happen again.

Billy Mitchell once said that Christianity was not only about “pie in the sky when you die” but about, “mate [meat] on the plate that you ate”.

He would applaud Philip Orr’s focus on practical work. His work revived memories of the Shankill Road mission where I once queued for a cup of cold milk on Sunday afternoons before singing “Down in the dumps I’ll never go”.

The mission served the needs of many poor families but I was shocked on being told by a city missionary that some mission halls were built for the poor who had no Sunday-best clothing – the bigger congregations might be upset at ragged adults and children in their congregation.

Churches were cold places for the poor and so my own parents deserted the church they were married in for the warmth of an evangelical wooden hut.

As the book recounts, solid work has been and is being done but some of this was initiated by loyalists themselves who wanted something better for their own communities.

I once suggested to a Church that they contact local loyalists but they were horrified.

Today, however, as the book recounts, that particular church has struck up a working relationship with local loyalists.

But bitterness remains among loyalists about politicians and fundamentalists who once gave succour to paramilitaries or presented the conflict in stark terms as one between “the forces of good and evil”.

They then deserted loyalists when things got difficult.

When they tried to resolve the conflict themselves, loyalists were derided as “hard men gone soft” or as traitors to “the cause”.

Another loyalist said he resented the way some of those now lionised as men of peace had hampered their every move towards peace.

Frustration and anger are palpable and I have wondered if perhaps Churches should apologise to paramilitaries who famously offered abject and true remorse to their victims.

We all know that paramilitaries are no saints but Billy Mitchell, who exhausted himself working for peace, told me that if middle-class unionists had provided genuine leadership to loyalists, much violence might have been avoided.

Given the mess we made of things perhaps it is time for Christians to demonstrate humility and courage by working alongside deprived and broken communities rather than wearing their faith on their sleeve – or lapel – as a source of pride.

The cross is, after all, an emblem of suffering and shame.

roy@irishnews.com

Breaking News.ie
24/06/2008

The Orange Order has reacted angrily to restrictions imposed on a contentious loyalist parade in Belfast this weekend.

The Parades Commission has ruled that just 50 people can march through the city’s main “peaceline” during Saturday’s annual Whiterock parade.

The Orange Order says the decision as unjust and shows the commission has no useful role.

In a statement last night, it said it would be consulting with the wider community and political leaders about the implications of the ruling for community relations and human rights.

BBC
24 June 2008

**Onsite video

The man shot dead in Derry’s Creggan area was an “innocent man” and “murdered in cold blood for no reason”, the police have said.

Emmett Shiels was shot dead in Creggan

Emmett Shiels, from Tyrconnell Street in the Bogside, was shot in the Bligh’s Lane area at about 0045 BST on Tuesday.

Detective Chief Inspector Frankie Taylor said the 22-year-old had became involved in a row by chance, and had not participated in any violence.

Police have recovered two vehicles, one in Creggan and one in Pennyburn.

It is understood Mr Shiels was being chased by a group of masked men across a grassy area near St Mary’s Chapel and the city cemetery when he was shot.

He was taken to Altnagelvin Hospital, but died from his injuries.

DCI Taylor said police were following a “definite line of inquiry”.

He said a shot had been fired during an earlier incident in Abbot’s Walk in the Bogside, and Mr Shiels had encountered those responsible as he was driving along Lone Moor Road in his pizza delivery van.

Detective Chief Inspector Frankie Taylor said Mr Shiels was an innocent man

Mr Taylor said Mr Shiels was then confronted on Eastway by masked men wearing camouflage suits, and was shot shortly afterwards.

“He became involved purely because he was driving a vehicle along the Lone Moor Road,” said Mr Taylor.

“We believe that he knew some of the people involved, and that was why he stopped.

“It is also our belief that he was trying to defend others,” he said.

Mr Taylor paid tribute to Mr Shiels, and condemned the people who carried out the attack.

“He was a very highly regarded member of the Derry community, who lived here all his life.

“Those responsible are gangsters who came into the city to carry out a violent attack, and someone ended up dead,” he said.

Mr Shiels’ family have appealed for his killers to turn themselves into the police “for the family’s sake”.

His partner was expecting his son.

‘He was about to become a father himself and that baby’s never going to see his father.’
–Emmett Shiels’ sister, Maureen Wilkinson

His sister, Maureen Wilkinson, said the family could not bear to think of another family going through the same ordeal.

“I don’t know how they can sleep.

“Even out of the love of God or something, go and hand themselves in and give us peace of mind knowing that the perpetrators are behind bars,” she said.

Vigil

Mr Shiels’s adoptive father, Patsy Moore, said he had a “fair idea” who was responsible.

“People in the area are helping overwhelmingly,” he said.

“They’ve come out in big numbers and they’ve given information to the police, and we would appeal to anyone who has any information to hand it over.”

His sister said the family was devastated.

“He was a good young fella, he was about to become a father himself and that baby’s never going to see his father,” she said.

Community worker, Sean McMonagle, describes the scene

A community worker, Sean McMonagle, who assisted him into the ambulance, said the man had confronted a group of men earlier in the evening.

“This young man was shot at point-blank range, just in and around the chest area - in the torso.

“From what I’ve picked up from talking to young people who were witness to it, was that these people attempted to go for another individual for whatever reason.

“This individual then, along with a group of friends, began to engage with these people, and a consequence of that, the young fella was shot,” he said.

A vigil is to be held at the scene on Tuesday evening.

Click here for more stories from the BBC’s new Foyle and West service

Local people had raised concerns about the initial police response to the shooting, claiming it was nearly three hours after the attack that police cordoned off the area.

Police said they were at the scene “as soon as was practical” and that there had been no risk to the victim by police not attending immediately.

The first and deputy first ministers condemned the shooting, and sent their sympathies to the victim’s family.

By Brendan McDaid
Belfast Telegraph
Tuesday 24, June 2008

The pizza delivery man shot dead today by a masked gang was due to become a father within days, it has emerged.

Click for photos from the crime scene

Emmett Shiels (22) from the Bogside area of Londonderry, was due to welcome his first child into the world on Saturday past, but his girlfriend’s pregnancy has gone beyond her due date.

Mr Shiels was killed in a brutal slaying at around 1am in the Creggan area.

The death took place in the Bligh’s Lane area of Creggan near a church and several schools.

The area around the scene was sealed off while detectives investigated the death earlier today with forensic teams laying markers near St Mary’s Church.

Foyle MLA Martina Anderson said Mr Shield’s family circle were absolutely distraught.

She said: “I have been with the family this morning and they are distraught.

“The family’s grief is just palpable. They just want Emmett home and hopefully the post-mortem can be done quickly.

“This was a young man who should have been celebrating his 23rd birthday next month.

“He was due to be a daddy. His girfriend was due on Saturday. The family is distraught.”

Ms Anderson said she believed that the murder was not a case of mistaken identity but an indiscriminate killing.

“They fired knowing they were firing into his chest and stomach,” she said.

“This was random, jungle-type behaviour and they would have done this to anyone.

“The community is appalled.

“They are not going to stand idly by without sending out the message that these people need to remove themselves from our community.”

Local priest Father Stephen McLaughlin branded the killing “disgusting and repulsive”.

Fr McLaughlin was called to the scene at 3am today — hours after the shooting, which is believed to have taken place at around 12.45am.

“Police indicated to me that he was targeted by a gang of people who pursued him and then shot him in a green area in the estate,” he said.

“It’s as if we have gone back to a place we thought we’d left behind. This is a disgusting and repulsive thing to have happened and the fact that it happened just yards from a school makes it even worse.”

The man’s body was removed from the scene early this morning. A large cordon today still surrounded a green area and steps at the mouth of Bligh’s Lane, stretching down to the Rath Mor centre.

The police this morning extended the crime scene to include the grounds of St Mary’s church, leaving “a sterile corridor” so that mass goers could get into the chapel.

Politicians were laying the blame for the murder at the door of dissident republicans. However, Chief Inspector Chris Yates said that this was just one line of inquiry into what he called “a cold-blooded murder”. The senior policeman added, however, that his officers had feared that they might be ambushed when they went to the scene.

SDLP MLA Pat Ramsey said the young man’s family, from the Bogside, were devastated and convinced the bullet which took their son’s life was not meant for him.

He said: “The family is in a state of shock. They are very emotional, very hurt and very angry.

“One of the family members said that this bullet was meant for somebody else.”

Mr Ramsey added: “It is obvious some republican organisation has carried out this attack. They have no mandate for this.

“There is a gang out of control and it needs to be stood down and needs to be stopped.”

Sinn Fein MLA Raymond McCartney also said there were suggestions dissident republicans were to blame.

He said that they had nothing to offer communities.

Creggan SDLP Councillor Jim Clifford today said local people were in a state of shock following the killing.

He said: “This is absolutely terrible. We are all shocked.

“The local people just can’t believe it. It is the last thing anybody wants to see in Creggan.”

He added: “We thought those days were all gone — boys running about out of control acting like Wyatt Earp in the Wild West.

“There are a lot of young children who are going on a holiday project gathering at the school and their parents are just shocked that this sort of thing could happen so close by.

“It is totally horrific.”

The Real IRA recently warned it had a list of targets in the city who could be killed.

It also threatened people who help the PSNI.

In a statement, the group, which has also been responsible for the appearance of masked men in a number of city areas recently, warned it had a list of targets who could be executed, and a similar fate could face anyone who helps the police.

BBC
24 June 2008

The family of a County Tyrone man shot dead 20 years ago has welcomed the findings of a report by the PSNI’s Historical Enquiries Team.

Aidan McAnespie was shot as he walked through a checkpoint

Aidan McAnespie was shot by a soldier as he walked through a border checkpoint at Aughnacloy in 1988.

The soldier claimed that his hands were wet, causing him to accidentally fire the machine-gun when he was moving inside a sanger.

The report called this the “least likely version” of what happened.

The 24-year-old Aughnacloy man had just passed through the border checkpoint in the village on his way to a Gaelic football match when he was hit by a bullet.

Forensic evidence suggested the fatal shot ricocheted off the road.

The soldier was charged with manslaughter, but this was later withdrawn.

Mr McAnespie’s niece, Una McCabe, said the family will continue to search for the truth.

“The search will continue to go on and continue,” she said.

“That involves asking the Irish government to release the information on the whole Crowley Report (an investigation by Deputy Garda Commissioner Crowley into the shooting) to the family and going back to the Ministry of Defence to ask what actually did happen.”

The MoD said it had co-operated with the HET inquiry and understands that this did not uncover any new evidence that would warrant further investigation.

Independent.ie
24 June 2008

THE suspected leader of the INLA in Dublin, Declan Duffy, was being questioned by gardai last night about alleged membership of an illegal organisation.

Duffy was arrested by armed detectives from the Garda Special Branch on a street in Tallaght on Sunday evening.

He was taken for questioning to Blackrock garda station where he was still being held last night under Section 30 of the Offences Against the State Act.

He can be held without charge under that legislation for a maximum of 72 hours.

The renegade republican group has become mainly a criminal outfit in the past few years and some of its members have been linked to the recent spate of pipe bombs and other incendiary devices found in various parts of Dublin. Duffy is suspected of being a key figure in a gang feud in Dublin’s south inner city. The feud has threatened to flare up in recent weeks and several members of the rival gangs have been wearing bullet proof vests for their protection.

As a result of a number of incidents in the area, senior garda officers have stepped up local patrols.

Duffy was previously jailed in 2001 for his part in a major confrontation between the INLA and another Dublin crime gang in an industrial estate in Ballymount on the southside of the city and was released from prison early last year.

Apart from the INLA gang, gardai in the south city are also keeping close watch on members of the rival gangs involved in the deadly Crumlin-Drimnagh feud and a fourth gang led by a former close associate of murdered gangland boss, Martin Cahill.

Meanwhile, in an unconnected incident a young man was shot in the left leg after he allegedly broke into a flat at Basin Street in the south inner-city early yesterday morning.

Samurai

The man also suffered wounds to his arms and head, possibly from a samurai sword.

He was found lying in a large pool of blood after gardai broke into the flat following reports of a shooting incident. Detectives later arrested a relative of one of the gang leaders in the area and he was being questioned last night about the shooting.

Derry Journal
24 June 2008

The INLA claim to have disbanded and disarmed a vigilante group which fired a shot through the front door of a house in Strabane at the weekend.

The claim came after a shot was fired at the house in the Carlton Drive area of the town in the early hours of Friday morning. No-one was injured in the attack.

The republican organisation said it gave the vigilante group an ultimatum; to disband or face “the consequences.”
Willie Gallagher, a spokesperson for the IRSP, the political wing of the INLA, said they had been asked to intervene shortly after the shooting.

“It appears that this shot was fired by a group of vigilantes who seem intent on using guns to solve petty disputes and personal greivances. The INLA got involved and have told us that, with the assistance of other republican groups, they investigated the matter and identified those responsible. The INLA then went to this group and gave them an ultimatum to disband and disarm or face the consequences. The INLA told us the vigilante group agreed to disband and have handed over their weapons to responsible people,” he said.

The IRSP representative also described the group as “potentially very dangerous. “Firing guns blindly into people’s houses could have devastating consequences. This action was reminiscent of the methods that loyalist death squads used during the conflict when shooting blindly into the homes of nationalists. At some future stage they could have killed someone. They are not republicans and were just out for their own ends. It is our understanding that some of those involved may now have left Strabane,” he added.

By Michael McMonagle
Derry Journal
24 June 2008

The family of Derry murder victim Emmett Sheils have appealed for his killers to hand themselves in to the police.

Mr Sheils, 22, was shot dead shortly before 1.00am on a green area between Eastway and Bligh’s Gardens and later died from his injuries in hospital. He was shot in the chest at close range.

It’s emerged that his girlfriend is due to have a baby soon.

It’s believed that two groups of youths had a confrontation in the Bogside area shortly before the shooting. It’s understood Mr Shiels, who was working as a pizza delivery man, was with one of the groups in a chase in Creggan when he was shot.

A local man said he heard three shots and another man saw Emmett Sheils fall.

“The young fella was lying on the ground moaning and he was bleeding from his mouth,” he said.

“We pulled up his T-shirt and there was a tiny hole where he’d been hit and not much blood. His eyes were open at the start but he got weaker as we waited for the ambulance.

“We kept talking to him but he went unconscious before the ambulance crew arrived and they started working on him.”

The adopted sister of the victim, Maureen Wilkinson, appealed for the killers to come forward.

“The people who did this should hand themselves in for the family’s sake. We don’t want another family to have to go through what we are going through.

“They should go and hand themselves in so we can have peace of mind knowing that the perpetrators are behind bars. Part of our family is now missing and we will never have the same life,” she said.

Mrs Wilkinson also appealed for anyone who witnesses the shooting to come forward.

“People have already been helping the police and giving them information,” she said.

Derry Journal
24 June 2008

The INLA have denied any involvement in the murder of 22 year-old Derry man Emmett Sheils who was shot dead in Creggan in the early hours of this morning.

In a phonecall to the ‘Journal,’ a caller using a recognised codeword said the organisation was not responsible for the fatal shooting.

“Firstly we would like to send our condolences and sympathies to the family, from the Derry Brigade of the INLA. We were not involved in Emmett’s death in any way, shape or form.

“The INLA had absolutely nothing to do with the shooting. We were saddened by the death of young Emmett and want to dispel any rumours of INLA involvement which have circulated.

“We would be happy to meet with the family to discuss any matters they want,” the INLA spokesperson said.

The denial comes after widespread rumours that the INLA was behind the shooting, which happened on a green area between Eastway and Bligh’s Gardens shortly before 1.00am on Tuesday.

Telegraph.co.uk
Tuesday, 24 June 2008

A man was gunned down early today in what police branded a cold-blooded murder.

The victim was shot in the republican Creggan area of Derry shortly after 1.00am and died soon afterwards in hospital.

A local politician said the rumour on the streets was that the man was mistaken for someone else by the killers.

A priest who went to the scene said it appeared that the victim, understood to be 22, was chased and shot by a group of masked men, possibly while delivering pizza in the area.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland area commander, Chief Inspector Chris Yates, said: “This was a cold-blooded shooting.”

It was two hours before police attended the scene because of fears of an ambush.

Mr Yates insisted they had responded to the shooting within 10 minutes, knew the victim had been taken to hospital and that witnesses were at the hospital.

“The initial call was that masked men were lying in wait in the area, so under those circumstances and with the terrorist incident we have seen most recently in Fermanagh where two police officers were nearly killed, we were not going to go blindly rushing into an area until we were satisfied it was safe to do so,” he said.

Foyle SDLP Assembly member Pat Ramsey said strong rumours in area were that the murdered man was a victim of mistaken identity.

“The word on the ground is that it was mistaken identity. Taxi drivers in the city have a great reputation for getting it right and one said to me ‘They got the wrong fella’.”

The victim, he said, was a 22-year-old man from the Bogside area, close to the Creggan.

“He lived only a stone’s throw from where he died.”

Mr Ramsey said he had spoken to the victim’s father and the family was devastated.

“We all thought there was an end to the Troubles. For anyone, the worst nightmare is someone coming to the front door and saying your son has been shot dead.

“The family don’t know of any circumstance at all why their son would be taken out and shot. The father actually said to me ‘That bullet was meant for someone else’.”

The Foyle MLA accused dissident republicans of being responsible.

“The only people who have access to weaponry and guns of this nature are dissident republicans, the only people who have been on the war path in recent times are dissident republicans.

“There has been an increase in dissident republican paramilitary shootings and beatings in recent weeks - we have a gang who are emulating what the Provisional IRA did in the ’70s and ’80s with their kangaroo courts.”

He said people in the area did not want the violence and those responsible needed to be marginalised by the community.

Dissident republicans recently issued threats against drugs dealers in Derry and some 20 people had been told to get out of the city.

But he said there was no suggestion the victim of the shooting had been involved in anything or had any history of past involvement.

Sinn Fein Assembly member Martina Anderson said nothing could justify what had happened and called on the organisation responsible to disband.

She said: “This was a criminal act and anyone who attempts to attach any kind of political justification to it is deluding themselves and our community.”

The Foyle MLA added: “We are in a new era, we are creating a new society for the younger generation and there can be no place for this type of activity.”

Parish priest Father Stephen McLaughlin, who was called to the scene by police at around 3.30am, said the whole community would be shocked by what had happened.

He said: “This is quite brutal, quite horrific. The details I have is that a young man was pursued by a group, a few people possibly masked, who shot him dead in a grassy area on the approach to the Creggan.

“There was some mention that perhaps he had been delivering pizza.”

He added: “When I heard the news I just felt sick - you are being taken back to a place you thought you had left behind.

“It is going to be a nightmare for this young man’s immediate family and the local community will be shocked.”

International Herald Tribune
The Associated Press
June 24, 2008

DUBLIN, Ireland: Northern Ireland police say gunmen have killed a Catholic man in the city of Derry in an attack that locals blame on Irish Republican Army dissidents.

Residents of the Creggan district of Derry, a traditional IRA stronghold, say the 22-year-old victim got into an argument with a gang that was initially threatening another man. Witnesses say members of the gang chased him and shot him point-blank in the chest early Tuesday.

Dissidents have grown increasingly active in Derry in recent months in a direct challenge to IRA commanders. The outlawed group remains in existence, but its members were ordered in 2005 to disarm and renounce violence.

Belfast Telegraph
Tuesday 24, June 2008

A police inquiry into the fatal shooting of a Co Tyrone man by the British Army 20 years ago has concluded that he is unlikely to have been killed by accident.

Aiden McAnespie was shot dead as he walked to a GAA match in the border village of Aughnacloy on February 21st, 1988.

The British Army said the shooting happened by accident when a soldier’s hand slipped.

The soldier was charged with manslaughter, but the charges were later dropped and he was medically discharged from the army.

The PSNI’s Historical Inquiries Team has now concluded that, out of all the possible options, the Army’s version of events is the least likely.

The McAnespie family say Aidan had been repeatedly harassed by the police and British soldiers.

By Kevin Sieff
The Brownsville Herald
**Via Newshound
June 22, 2008

Twenty-five years after taking part in the largest prison break in the United Kingdom’s history, Pol Brennan is back behind bars - this time at the Port Isabel Detention Center.

After his days with the Irish Republican Army - a group that espoused violence as a means of achieving Ireland’s independence from Britain - Brennan spent more than 15 years as a fugitive. Those days, he thought, were over.

But in January 2008, eight years after the British government withdrew an extradition request for Brennan, he was arrested at the Sarita checkpoint, 70 miles north of Brownsville. U.S. Border Patrol agents apprehended him after he presented an expired work permit.

Following his apprehension, Brennan was denied bail and spent four months in solitary confinement at the Port Isabel Detention Center. After much pleading, he was moved to the facility’s main holding area, where he currently remains.

In the last few weeks, Brennan’s case has attracted interest from American and Irish politicians who say, at the very least, the 55-year-old should be released on bail.

“My experience dealing with (Irish) republicans is that they don’t jump bail in this country. They honor their commitments,” U.S Rep. Peter King, R-NY, the top-ranking Republican on the Homeland Security Committee, told the Belfast Telegraph on June 19. “Based on my experience, and also the republican movement’s commitment to the peace process, I think he should get bail.”

King’s comments add fuel to an already-fiery case, which Brennan calls, “a purely political matter.”

“This seems a little ridiculous,” Brennan told the Brownsville Herald from the detention center. “I’ve been living here legally since 1996. I’ve been released on a $1 million bail before.”

In April, Texas news/” class=”autolink”>immigration judge Howard Achtsam rejected Brennan’s bail petition because he deemed Brennan a flight risk and a danger to society.

Brennan’s wife, who asked that her name not be printed, said it was “Irish luck” that Achtsam was assigned to the case. According to the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse, an independent research organization at Syracuse University, Achtsam denied 75 percent of asylum-seekers between 2001 and 2006. His rate of denial was 16 percent higher than the national average.

Those statistics don’t bode well for Brennan, who will be applying for a green card in August. Brennan’s wife is an American citizen.

For much of the 1980s and ‘90s, while being pursued by British authorities, Brennan lived quietly under the name Pol Morgan, and worked in the construction industry throughout the United States. He was arrested in 1994, and fought a lengthy battle against extradition. During the fight, he spent three years in Bay Area prisons.

But in 2000, the British government withdrew requests for Brennan and other participants of the 1983 Maze prison break as a part of the Belfast Agreement. The agreement normalized relations between Northern Ireland and the rest of the United Kingdom.

The Maze prison escape - known to many as the Great Escape - still lives on in Ireland’s historical memory. Thirty-eight men escaped from the maximum-security prison located outside of Belfast in Northern Ireland.

Most of the men were IRA members engaged in the armed struggle to free Ireland from British control. Brennan had been serving a 23-year sentence at the prison after being convicted of possessing a bomb and a firearm.

One prison officer died of a heart attack after being stabbed while attempting to stop the jailbreak.

In the subsequent 25 years, the IRA’s struggle adopted political, rather than militant means.

One of the Brennan’s fellow escapees, Gerry Kelly, went on to work with President Bill Clinton in the negotiation of the Belfast Agreement. For Brennan, what started as a political crusade in Ireland has become a personal one in the United States.

“This sends a message to other (Irish) republicans here,” he said. “They might be living here legally with American-born children, but if they can do this to me, they can do it to anyone.”

Belfast Telegraph
Monday 23, June 2008

The IRA could be taken off the British Government’s list of banned organisations, it was disclosed today.

The group handed over weapons and stood down members in July 2005 after 30 years of violence.

The government’s terrorism expert Lord Carlile said some proscribed organisations connected with Northern Ireland had dwindled to almost or actually nothing.

“Given the level of intelligence probably available about such organisations ministers should consider carefully whether some should be removed from the list on the grounds of effective redundancy,'’ he said.

In April 2006 the British and Irish government-appointed Independent Monitoring Commission (IMC) said the IRA was committed to following the political path and engaging with the police.

An NIO spokesman said: “We have noted the requirement for the status of all paramilitary organisations to be reviewed and the Northern Ireland groups will be reviewed in the coming months.'’

The IRA’s renunciation of violence was a key factor in unionists’ decision to share political power with Sinn Fein at Stormont. It faces calls for an end to its ruling army council before policing powers can be handed down to the Northern Ireland Assembly.

IAIS
06/23/08

Ministers in Northern Ireland have been warned that 10,000 jobs could be at risk if they reject plans for development at the Maze prison site.

The warning is contained in a high level briefing paper prepared for the Office of the First and Deputy First Minister.

A document leaked last month prepared by officials within the Finance Department put the costs of a multi-sports stadium at the Maze at GBP £379m. (USD$760 million)

The latest paper outlines the potential consequences of doing nothing.

Last month’s US investment conference was designed to convince the American business community that the North is a good place to invest.

By video link, President Bush said it was clear Northern Ireland was “open to foreign investment”.

But this document warns that rejecting the Maze plan could send out the opposite signal.

Private sector companies were invited to bid for the lucrative contract to develop the Maze in December 2006.

Bids were evaluated in October, when a preferred developer was selected although they were not named - or informed of the result - as politicians decided whether to proceed with the project.

The document says that while bids were due to run out at the end of January 2008, they were extended until the end of last month.

It goes on to say that “ministers should be aware of the implications of allowing the procurement to lapse without a clear decision” or of “turning down without full consideration of more detailed information from the bidder a potentially viable deal” that might be viewed at a future date by the NI Audit Office or the Public Accounts Committee as “offering good value compared with doing nothing or developing other equally beneficial alternatives”.

At the same time the document says officials have a number of major concerns about issues arising from the negotiations with the bidders or requiring detailed clarification.

The Texas-based Hillwood Corporation chaired by the billionaire Ross Perot jr is understood to have won the competition to become the preferred bidder for the Maze development.

The document prepared for the First Minister and Deputy First Minister says the “most economically advantageous bid” is from “a major world-class developer” which offers a “conveyor belt” of employment opportunities from Fortune 500 companies” - those are America’s top corporations.

Significantly the document suggests the development “could result in 10,000 jobs”.

It adds “the risk in refusal is of sending the message that NI is not open for business, especially so soon after the investment conferen

BBC
23 June 2008

The government is to review the status of banned paramilitary groups in Northern Ireland, it has emerged.

There are 14 banned Northern Ireland paramilitary organisations

Lord Carlile, the independent reviewer of terror laws, said “some proscribed organisations may have dwindled to almost or actually nothing”.

The Northern Ireland Office said in a statement that a review would take place in the coming months.

It added: “Lord Carlile was referring in his report to groups he suggests no longer exist, not to the IRA.”

In his annual report, Lord Carlile said: “Given the good level of intelligence probably available about such organisations, ministers should consider carefully whether some should be removed from the list on the grounds of effective redundancy.”

At the moment, there are 14 banned Northern Ireland paramilitary organisations, according to the report:

• Continuity Army Council
• Cumann na mBan
• Fianna na hEireann
• Irish National Liberation Army
• Irish People’s Liberation Organisation
• Irish Republican Army
• Loyalist Volunteer Force
• Orange Volunteers
• Red Hand Commando
• Red Hand Defenders
• Saor Eire
• Ulster Defence Association
• Ulster Freedom Fighters
• Ulster Volunteer Force

Under the Terrorism Act 2000, 46 international terrorist organisations are outlawed in the UK.