SAOIRSE32

Belfast Telegraph
Wednesday 25, June 2008

Prime Minister Gordon Brown today said he had “no plans” to make the IRA legal amid calls for the status of some paramilitary groups to be reviewed.

He told MPs the Government was not going to change its proscribed listing.

His comments follow a report by Lord Carlisle on terrorism laws where he called for a review of some groups’ status but not the IRA’s.

There are 14 proscribed loyalist and republican groups in Northern Ireland.

At Commons question time Mr Brown told Democratic Unionist Iris Robinson (Strangford) that he wanted to see the end of the IRA’s ruling army council. And he praised the work of the DUP for its role in the peace process.

Ms Robinson asked: “Did you see reports this week suggesting the Government was going to legalise the IRA?

“Will you confirm the Government’s intention is not to make the IRA legal but to make it completely redundant by removing its army council?'’

Mr Brown said: “I hear what you say and I think you are referring to the report done by Lord Carlile. We have no plans to do that at all.

“We believe the Provisional Army Council should be brought to an end as soon as possible.

“We will work with all parties so that we can maintain the stability of the settlement and I praise your party and the other parties that have been involved in making the settlement work.'’

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

In April 2006 the Independent Monitoring Commission said the IRA was committed to following the political path and engaging with the police.

Derry Journal
25 June 2008

The Real IRA has denied any involvement in the murder of a 22-year-old Derry man in the Creggan Estate this week.

Emmett Sheils, from Tyrconnell Street in the Bogside, was shot in the Bligh’s Lane area at about 12.45 a.m. on Tuesday.

Police believe the Bogsider was driving a pizza delivery van when he was caught up in a confrontation with masked gunmen.

This morning, a spokesperson for the 32 County Sovereignty Movement - the political wing of the Real IRA - issued a statement extending its “deepest sympathies” to the family and friends of Mr. Sheils. The statement also “utterly condemned those who carried out this criminal act.”

The statement added: “Following discussions with the Republican Movement in the city, we can confirm that Óglaigh na hÉireann had no hand, act or part in this senseless killing of an innocent young republican.”

The statement also criticised those “establishment politicians” who “sought to attribute blame to republicans long before the facts had become clear and those who persisted with this lie long after the facts revealed themselves.”

It concluded: “That some would use this murder and the understandable community anger to score points over political opponents is reprehensible and that they would do so, knowing the potential for community division in the area, does both the community and the family of Emmet Sheils a disservice.”

Yesterday, the Derry Brigade of the INLA also denied any role in the murder of Emmett Sheils.

Belfast Telegraph
Wednesday 25, June 2008

Catholic and Protestant youths in the Northern Ireland are so cocooned from each other that they feel untouched by sectarianism, a new report says.

They live in a ghetto within their own neighbourhoods with little reason for meeting despite efforts to move on from 30 years of violence.

Riots and street fighting are marring relations, a report from Queen’s University in Belfast added.

Dr Rosellen Roche from Queen’s said: “Almost two-thirds of the young people we worked with were so isolated from the other community that they actually felt completely untouched by sectarianism.

“This is expressed in the findings as living in a type of cocoon.”

Dr Roche said her findings did not represent feelings in the North as a whole but claimed it illustrated how sectarianism could seep through generations to infect young people.

She added that one-third of more than 100 mainly unemployed or studying youths interviewed in nationalist/unionist flashpoints in Belfast and Derry had been involved in violent skirmishes.

The Facts, Fears and Feelings project involved young people from north Belfast’s New Lodge and Glenbryn housing estates and the Fountain and Creggan in Derry. Other findings included:

–Two-thirds hoped for a better, more integrated Northern Ireland.
–One-quarter maintained strong cross-community relationships.
–Three-quarters expressed fear of the other community or of entering areas where people from the other tradition lived.
–One-third said their parents and grandparents had negative views of the other community.

Dr Roche, of Queen’s School of History and Anthropology, added: “Friendships were almost exclusively maintained within their own areas.

“One-third of our participants were involved in violent skirmishes as a victim, perpetrator or both.”

:::u.tv:::
24 June 2008

The trial of a man accused of the Northern Bank robbery is on course to start this September.

Chris Ward denies robbery and two charges of false imprisonment connected to the £26.5 million heist in 2004.

The 26-year-old bank official from Colinmill in Poleglass, Belfast, appeared before Belfast Crown Court judge Lord Justice Girvan for a pre-trial hearing on Tuesday.

He is also accused of assaulting and imprisoning Kevin and Kyran McMullan as well as the robbery.

By Bronagh Murphy
Irish Independent
Wednesday June 25 2008

Former IRA leader Brendan ‘Bik’ McFarlane yesterday claimed that gardai falsified records of an interview taken during his detention in Dundalk Garda station in January 1998.

McFarlane denied telling gardai during the interview that he was in Derrada Wood, near Ballinamore, Co Leitrim. He also denied that he told them he had been “prepared for the worst”.

The Special Criminal Court earlier ruled that the statements allegedly made by McFarlane under interview were admissible as evidence, as the court was satisfied they were made voluntarily and under fair conditions.

The statements were allegedly made as McFarlane was being interviewed in relation to the 1983 kidnapping of supermarket executive Don Tidey. He had been told by gardai that his fingerprints were found on items in Derrada Wood, where Mr Tidey was rescued.

McFarlane told his counsel, Hugh Harnett, that he had been informed by his solicitor and gardai that he was liable to serve six months in prison if he did not give an account of his movements.

He said he was told he was legally compelled to answer questions on two or three occasions. McFarlane, however, said he did not answer any questions under interview, save to ask for legal advice.

Interviews

He agreed with Edward Comyn, prosecuting, that the memos of questioning were read to him at the end of each interview.

“Are you saying words were put into the memo during interview and they just didn’t read them over to you?” asked Mr Comyn.

“Are you saying gardai inserted words into the memo as they were interviewing you or . . . afterwards?”

McFarlane responded: “That’s precisely what I’m saying”.

It was the eighth day of the trial of Maze prison escapee McFarlane, who pleaded not guilty to falsely imprisoning Donald James Tidey between November 24 and December 16, 1983. He also denies possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life at Derrada Wood, Drumcroman, Ballinamore, Co Leitrim between the same dates.

Brendan McFarlane was the OC (officer commanding) of the Provisional IRA prisoners at the Maze prison at the time of the hunger strike in 1981 and escaped in the mass break out by 38 prisoners from the jail in September 1983.

He was arrested in Amsterdam in January 1986, extradited to Northern Ireland and released on parole in 1997.

McFarlane (56), a father of three, of Jamaica St in Belfast, was arrested outside Dundalk in January 1998 as he travelled back to Belfast from Dublin following a trip to Copenhagen.

Mr Tidey was kidnapped by an IRA gang in 1983 and rescued after 23 days in captivity.

A trainee garda, Gary Sheehan, (20) of Carrickmacross, Co Monaghan and a member of the Defence Forces, Private Patrick Kelly,(35), from Moate, Co Westmeath were killed in a shoot-out with the kidnap gang as Mr Tidey was rescued.

The trial continues today.

- Bronagh Murphy

By Michael McHugh and Ian Graham
Itish Examiner
25 June 2008

DISSIDENT republicans are suspected to be behind the murder of a pizza delivery man shot dead by a gunman who earlier opened fire on his friends.

Emmett Shiels, 22, whose teenage partner was due to have their first baby, was hit in the stomach in Derry in the early hours yesterday morning.

Republicans belonging to the Irish National Liberation Army (INLA) are among the chief suspects in the attack.

Detective chief inspector Frankie Taylor said: “We believe someone was being targeted for an attack but it was not Emmett Shiels, he has purely got caught up and has ended up dead.”

A gang of up to five masked men were involved in an earlier altercation with Mr Shiels’ friends, during which a shot was fired at their car at Abbot’s Walk in Derry.

The victims met Mr Shiels by chance a short distance away, at Lonemoor Road, driving his van. When he drove on and saw the masked men about a mile away in the city’s Creggan estate, he stopped and got out of his van, and was shot.

He died in Altnagelvin Hospital a few miles away.

Mr Taylor added: “He could be said to have been trying to defend his friends. It was a brutal murder… a 22-year-old man with a partner whose child is having a child, it is a very sad case.”

He said the victim and his family were well regarded in the community.

The victim’s foster sister Maureen Wilkinson appealed for help in locking up the killer.

“The person that done this should just hand themselves in for the family’s sake. We don’t want another family to go through what we are going through,” she said.

“He didn’t do anything wrong. I don’t know how they can sleep.”

She added the family was devastated ahead of the birth of his child.

“He will never see his wee baby, he was over the moon when he knew he had a baby,” she said.

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

Community worker Sean McMonagle helped Mr Shiels into an ambulance.

“The family is distraught,” he said.

Foyle SDLP Assembly member Pat Ramsey said he was shocked.

“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,” he said.

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. 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.”

Sinn Féin Assembly member Martina Anderson said there was uproar in the community.

“The family are absolutely gutted, the community is in uproar about this,” she said.

Belfast Telegraph
Wednesday 25, June 2008

Around 1,000 people attended a vigil in Derry last night for the 22-year-old man shot dead by suspected dissident republicans in the Creggan area of the city.

Emmett Shiels was gunned down in the early hours of yesterday morning after apparently intervening to defend another man from his attackers.

The police say he was an “innocent man murdered in cold blood for no reason”.

The incident comes after dissident republicans warned a number of alleged “anti-social elements” to leave Derry.

Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness was among those who attended last night’s vigil.

Belfast Telegraph
Wednesday 25, June 2008

The family of a County Tyrone man shot dead by the Army 20 years ago said last night the publication of a report into his killing marks the ” beginning and not the end” of their fight for justice.

Aidan McAnespie (24) was shot by a soldier as he walked through a border checkpoint at Aughnacloy in February 1988.

He had been on his way to a GAA match at Aghaloo and had previously complained of receiving death threats from soldiers.

The soldier said he had opened fire accidentally when moving a sub-machinegun with his wet hands and was fined for misuse of his weapon. A charge of manslaughter against the soldier was later withdrawn.

Yesterday a report by the Historical Enquiries Team (HET) was made public by the family who claimed this was “the least likely version” of what had happened.

The report concluded: “The HET is of the view that … it is unlikely that the GPMG (general purpose machine gun) was discharged in the circumstances or the manner” described.

After testing an identical gun the HET report said activating the trigger required a “firm grip on the pistol grip and squeezing the trigger until it activated”.

The report said “considerable force” was needed to activate the trigger if the hand was not firmly placed around the pistol grip.

The family claim the tests carried out by the HET contradict the soldier’s explanation.

Speaking last night, Mr McAnespie’s sister, Elish, welcomed the report and claimed the full truth may nevercome to light.

“We welcome the fact that the HET has highlighted the glaring inconsistencies in the official version of events,” she said.

“Reluctantly we have come to terms with the reality that the full truth may never be established. Only the soldier and others on duty that terrible Sunday know what really happened but at least we have an official report which rejects the accepted version of the incident.”

The Irish government appointed Garda Deputy Commissioner Gerry Crowley to investigate the killing after eye witnesses were reluctant to give evidence to the RUC. Earlier this year the family urged Bertie Ahern to release the findings of Mr Crowley’s report.

Ms McAnespie said the family were “disappointed and frustrated” by the Irish Department for Justice’s refusal to allow them access to the report.

Last night Mr McAnespie’s niece, Una McCabe, said the family intended to continue to seek the truth.

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

BBC

A man arrested by gardaí investigating gangland feuds in Dublin has been charged with membership of the INLA.

Declan Duffy,34, appeared at a special sitting of the Special Criminal Court in Dublin on Tuesday night.

After being cautioned, a Garda detective sergeant told the court Mr Duffy said: “I am not a member of any illegal organisation.”

The charge relates to 22 June. Mr Duffy was remanded in custody until Thursday when he is due in court again.

A major Garda investigation into long-running gangland feuding in Dublin in which explosives and pipe bombs have been used is ongoing.

BBC

Two men have been arrested by police investigating the fatal shooting of a 22-year-old man in the Creggan area of Derry.

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

The men, who are in their teens and early 20s, were arrested after they went to Strand Road police station.

The police said they were actively seeking a number of individuals, and urged them to come forward.

Emmet Shiels was driving a pizza delivery van when he was caught up in a confrontation with masked gunmen.

Up to 1,000 people attended a vigil in memory of Mr Shiels in the city on Tuesday night.

Among those who attended the vigil, near the scene of the shooting, were Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness of Sinn Féin and the Mayor of Derry, Gerard Diver of the SDLP.

South Belfast News
by Gemma Burns

The top policeman in South Belfast has confirmed to the South Belfast News that plans are underway for a major overhaul of policing in the area in order to combat crime and antisocial behaviour.

In a wide ranging interview with the SBN to be carried in next week’s edition, Chief Inspector Trevor O’Neill, who took up the area commander’s post in April this year, reveals the PSNI are working on plans to completely separate the South Belfast policing district from the city centre.

The overhaul follows years of calls for a distinct South Belfast policing district in order to stop resources being drained away from the area into controlling city centre crime.

“We are reviewing neighbourhood policing and what we want to try and do is have neighbourhood policing to reflect the electoral boundaries,” he said.

“I can’t go into too much detail at the moment because it will have its official launch but what could happen is that South Belfast would be rejigged so that, for example, Donegall Pass sector and University sector amalgamate and become Laganbank, Lisburn Road would become Balmoral and and Musgrave Street would become Central. Each of these will have their own resources.”

The policeman added that staff such as response officers who answer emergency calls and neighbourhood police officers will then be assigned to specific electoral areas to cut response times and gave officers a better understanding of the smaller areas they will cover.

Chief Inspector O’Neill, in his first in-depth interview since his promotion, also discusses his intentions for a major crackdown on burglaries in the area, explains how police officers could soon be out on single officer patrol, how he plans to tackle the upcoming marching season and his thoughts on policing student antisocial behaviour when the new university term begins.

By Scott Jamison
South Belfast News

A man shot in South Belfast during a loyalist feud nearly three years ago could have been the victim of mistaken identity, the inquest into his death found.

Michael ‘Mick’ Green (42), from Ballysillan Avenue, was shot in Sandy Row on August 15, 2005, as he arrived for work at Gilpin’s furniture shop.

As he approached the rear yard entrance to the shop at 8.15am, a gunman approached from Wellwood Street and shot him three or four times from close range. As the father-of-three crawled away, the gunman leaned over him and fired again.

The shooter then made his escape by running to a waiting motorcycle at the corner of Boyne Court. The bike, which had been stolen weeks earlier, was later found in an entry at Abingdon Drive.

DCI Raymond Ramsey, the chief investigating officer on the case, said the weapon had been used by loyalist paramilitaries in previous murders, but said it could not be linked to any specific group.

DCI Ramsey added that although he believed it was part of the UVF-LVF feud at the time, there was no evidence to suggest Mr Green was a member of any group.

Coroner John Leckey ruled Mr Green died of multiple gunshot wounds. He added the evidence pointed to a pre-meditated attack. However, unlike other deaths in the feud, no paramilitary group claimed responsibility for the shooting, so one theory was those responsible had realised their mistake.

Witnesses described the assailant as about 5ft 8” tall, with blond hair and a navy jacket. He also had a cloth pulled up around his face.

One person has been arrested in conjunction with the crime and a file sent to the Public Prosecution Service. However, the person was released due to lack of evidence.

Speaking after the inquest, Mr Green’s partner Anne Murray spoke of her anger that no-one had been caught for the murder.

“It just goes on and on. But I believe the police will find someone for it someday.”

Ms Murray added that she was still “clueless” regarding who was responsible for the shooting.

“There was absolutely no indication it was going to happen, it just came out of the blue.

“He was never involved in anything, he just worked all day and looked forward to coming back to me and the children at night.”

In his summing up, the coroner said he hoped Ms Murray received some consolation from the fact the case remained active, and he echoed the sentiments from DCI Ramsey that someone would be apprehended.