SAOIRSE32

Belfast Telegraph
Thursday 26, June 2008

The family of a murdered Derry man have appealed for no retaliation as police claimed they know who was responsible.

Emmett Shiels (22) was murdered early on Tuesday in the Creggan area of Derry in a confrontation with a group of six masked men — more than one was armed — who had chased another group up from the Bogside.

In an emotional plea from the victim’s foster father Patsy Moore, sister Maureen Wilkinson and brother Kevin Moore the family called on those responsible to hand themselves in.

Mr Moore said: “Today we are a family in mourning. This is a terrible tragedy that has been visited upon the family and we are finding it hard to come to terms with it.”

“We are heartened by the support shown by friends and neighbours. We want to thank the staff at the hospital who dealt with Emmett when he was brought in.

“We would like to thank the people of the Creggan who were with Emmett while they were waiting for the paramedics to arrive.

“This was not a case of mistaken identity but a deliberate act.

“We would appeal to anybody who was involved or who has information to come forward.”

Mr Moore went on to thank the people from across the community who had turned up to a vigil in memory of Emmett on Tuesday night at the scene of his murder.

He added: “We appeal to people in the Creggan to go to the police. If they feel they can’t go to a police station then go to a priest or community leader.”

Kevin Moore said: “We don’t want anybody else in Derry to go through what we went through. We are finding this very hard to go through. It was a stupid, senseless act.”

Maureen Wilkinson added: “We want those responsible brought to justice, we don’t want any retaliation.”

DCI Frankie Taylor confirmed that the police were looking to identify a gang of five or six masked men.

DCI Taylor said: “We have had an overwhelming response from the people in Derry but I would say that we need more information. We have a good idea of what happened but we need more information to fill in the gaps.”

“We have had substanitial help and as a result last night we searched a number of places. As a result two people made themselves amenable and were arrested.

“I would be fairly satisfied as to who would be involved.

“It wouldn’t be helpful at this time to speculate on any organisation’s involvement.”

Emmett is to be buried on Friday with the funeral cortege leaving from his sister’s house.

Derry Journal
26 June 2008

A mural honouring Nobel Laureate John Hume has been attacked by paint-bombers just days after it was unveiled in the Bogside.

The mural, which was painted by the internationally-acclaimed Bogside Artists, was unveiled last week by the retired Bishop of Derry, Dr Edward Daly.

It also features former South African president and ANC leader Nelson Mandela, American civil rights founder Martin Luther King, and Mother Teresa.

Condemning the attack on the mural, Bogside SDLP councillor John Tierney, who attended last week’s unveiling, said: “It is shameful for anyone to attack this mural in such an act of wanton vandalism.

“The small minority who are all too often responsible for carrying out this type of attack do not represent the wider community.”

At last week’s unveiling, John Hume said he was “deeply honoured” that the Bogside Artists chose to feature him in the mural alongside such famous international figures.

Derry Journal
26 June 2008

New research by Queen’s University has highlighted the prevalence of segregation and sectarianism among young people in some of Derry’s most deprived communities.

“The Facts, Fears and Feelings” project explores the impact of sectarianism in everyday life for more than 100 young people, aged 16-35, in both Derry and Belfast.

Through their involvement in the study, some of the young people went on to develop the Cut It Out! Stand Together Against Sectarianism campaign.

This unique initiative involved the distribution of more than 3,000 badges and ads on cross-town buses in Derry, asking people to take a stand against sectarianism.

Dr Rosellen Roche, a social anthropologist from Queen’s School of History and Anthropology, conducted the research and headed the project. She said: “This report discusses in detail the attitudes and experiences of young people living in deprived and segregated areas in Belfast and Derry/Londonderry.

“The young people involved, who are mostly out-of-school, seeking work and attempting to gain qualifications, represent a contingent that can often be ignored in research.

“This study does not claim to represent feelings in Northern Ireland as a whole, nor does it present a ‘cure’ for sectarianism and segregation. It does, however, illustrate how personalised sectarianism can be, how it can seep down through generations and how young people, like those involved in this project, are grappling with it in contemporary, post-Agreement Northern Ireland.”

The research involved young people in the Fountain and Creggan areas of Derry.

The Northern Ireland Commissioner for Children and Young People, Patricia Lewsley, said: “It is widely recognised that more than a generation of our young people have been directly and indirectly exposed to sectarianism, violence, conflict and hostility. I hope this study goes a long way to identifying how we, as a society, can address these issues.”

BBC

Orangemen will not be permitted to march down the Garvaghy Road in Portadown next month, the Parades Commission has ruled.

The ruling follows the revelation that Orange Order members held a meeting with Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams.

Orangemen have been banned from parading down the mainly nationalist Garvaghy Road since 1998.

The commission said the lodge’s willingness to “engage in direct discussions was a significant advance”.

The Orange Order’s talks with Mr Adams took place last week at an undisclosed location.

Portadown district master Daryl Hewitt said there “had been a full and frank discussion”.

The Grand Lodge of Ireland said they heard about the meeting through the media and while they understood the frustration of members in Portadown, they “did not believe clandestine meetings were in the best interests of the institution”.

BBC

A High Court judge has refused to throw out a challenge to the appointment of four victims commissioners.

Mr Justice Gillen rejected arguments from counsel acting for former First Minister, Ian Paisley and Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness.

The judge said there were issues of public interest at stake.

The judicial review case is being taken by Michelle Williamson, whose parents were murdered in an IRA bomb attack on the Shankill Road in 1993.

The lawyer for Mr Paisley and Mr McGuinness had argued the case be dismissed, as legislation was now in place allowing for the four-member commission rather than a single commissioner.

The four members of the Commission for Victims and Survivors are Brendan McAllister, Patricia McBride, Bertha McDougall and Michael Nesbitt.

The commission was created under legislation passed by the assembly last month with the aim of promoting the interests of victims and survivors.

It will work to a three-year corporate plan with programmes for each year.

Breaking News.ie
26/06/2008 - 13:31:10

Sinn Féin is to press the Government for more Catholics to be recruited into the Police Service of Northern Ireland than the targeted 30%, it was revealed today.

The Patten Report on reforming policing in the North set a target 30% Catholics to make the PSNI more reflective of the community it serves and for the target to be achieved by 2010.

Chief Constable Hugh Orde revealed in his annual report published today that positive discrimination in recruitment had so far pushed Catholic representation up to 24%.

In 2001 Catholics made up just 8% of the service and a legally-enforced system of ensuring 50% of all recruits are Catholics has been used to push up numbers.

Applications to join the PSNI are hugely oversubscribed, he said, saying there had been over 80,000 applicants to join since 2001 from people seeking to fill around 400 posts a year.

Orde said they were “well on the way to the target of 30% set by Patten for 2010.”

He added: “We have a service which is increasingly representative of the community in terms of religion and gender.”

The number of women in the PSNI has also increased from 14% to 22% and is still rising, he said. Positive steps were also being taken to recruit more officers from ethnic minority groups.

However, Sinn Féin Policing Board member Alex Maskey MLA said his party wanted more than 30% representation.

“We would not be satisfied with that, we have always said Patten was a bottom line – there is still a long way to go to get the PSNI fully representative of the community”.

For Sinn Féin, he said, it was not just simply about Catholics and Protestants, but making the service fully representative of the community.

“We are going to continue working on that, whether there is new legislation or pro-active measures, we need it to be fully representative.”

And he said republicans wanted civilian PSNI staff to be much more representative as well, adding: “Not a damn thing has been done about that”.

The report, detailing already published policing performance figures - including a 10.5% drop in recorded crime in the year to April – is to be delivered to every home in the North as part the PSNI’s commitment to openness, transparency and accessibility.

To that end it is also being made available in Braille, large print, audio cassette or in ethnic minority languages.

BBC

>>CCTV footage

CCTV footage of the moments before Derry man Emmett Shiels was shot dead has been released by police.

Emmett Shiels was shot in the Bligh’s Lane area of Creggan

The video shows the gang suspected of involvement in killing the 22-year-old pizza delivery driver making their way up Bligh’s Lane in the Creggan area.

Some members of the gang, filmed in the early hours of Tuesday, were masked while one had his coat over his head.

A 19-year-old man remains in custody, while a 33-year-old was released without charge.

CCTV footage of the moments before Derry man Emmett Shiels was shot

Mr Shiels was driving a pizza delivery van when he was caught up in a confrontation with five or six masked gunmen.

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

On Wednesday, Mr Sheils’s family thanked the people of Derry for their support during their ordeal.

BBC

The trial of former IRA leader Brendan McFarlane has collapsed at the Special Criminal Court in Dublin.

Brendan McFarlane is a former IRA leader and Maze prison escapee

The Belfast man had faced charges in connection with the kidnapping of English supermarket executive Don Tidey almost 25 years ago.

The prosecution said it would offer no further evidence after a court ruling that garda evidence was inadmissible.

The court ruled that incriminating statements he allegedly made could not be used in evidence.

Mr McFarlane had denied charges of possession of firearms, intent to endanger life and unlawful imprisonment.

BBC

A plan to create a new district to connect west Belfast to the city centre’s main shopping area and central business district has been launched.

The plan aims to connect west Belfast to the city centre

The Westside plan will include a new street between Fountain Lane and Chapel Lane, linking Donegall Place with Castlecourt shopping centre.

A new city centre square, Fountain Square, is also in the plan launched by the social development minister.

The minister also announced a £5m commitment to redevelop Bank Square.

Public consultation on the plan closes on 30 September and the Department of Social Development plans to adopt the final plan by early next year.

The minister, Margaret Ritchie, said: “My proposals build on the area’s existing strengths - well established independent traders, a strong unique historic character and preservation of the historic street pattern.

“I am promoting new sustainable development, sensitive to the area, with active ground-level street frontages and an open network of streets and squares.”

She said 322 residential units will be included in the plan - 20% of which will be for affordable housing.

BBC

The Policing Board has announced the appointment of a new assistant chief constable for Northern Ireland.

David Jones is currently serving as a detective chief superintendent in Greater Manchester Police and has been a police officer for almost 22 years.

There are six PSNI assistant chief constables. The vacancy followed ACC Peter Sheridan leaving the force.

An ACC earns between £84,003 and £98,004, with allowances in the region of £12,000.

Professor Sir Desmond Rea said the appointment of senior officers was an important task for the Policing Board.

“The Policing Board is confident Mr Jones has the necessary ability and skills to join the chief constable and his senior officer team and build on the progress that has been made in policing to date,” he said.

“The board is responsible for securing the delivery of an effective, efficient, impartial and accountable police service which will secure the confidence of the whole community by reducing crime and the fear of crime.”

BBC

A 33-year-old man being questioned in relation to the murder of a Derry man has been released without charge, the police have said.

Emmett Shiels, 22, a pizza delivery man from Tyrconnell Street in the Bogside, was shot dead in the Creggan area on Tuesday.

Police are continuing to question a 17-year-old man.

A car which may be linked to the murder has been removed for forensic examination from the Ballyarnet area.

Mr Shiels was driving a pizza delivery van when he was caught up in a confrontation with five or six masked gunmen.

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

On Wednesday, Mr Sheils’s family thanked the people of Derry for their support during their ordeal.

Belfast Telegraph
Thursday 26, June 2008

Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams has met with Orange Order representatives in an attempt to resolve the long running Drumcree dispute, it emerged today.

The historic meeting took place last week and it is understood that discussions lasted around two hours, but ended without a resolution.

Mr Adams said: “It is and always has been the Sinn Fein position that the issue of parading can only be resolved through dialogue between the Loyal Orders and local communities.

“For a number of years I have written to the Orange Order offering dialogue around the issues of contentious parades.

“Recently, representatives of the Portadown Orange sought to meet with me. I met with the delegation last week. We had an informative and useful discussion about Orangeism and its place in modern Ireland.

“I also made it clear to them that it was our firm view that there is no rationale for an Orange parade along the Garvaghy Road community,” he told the News Letter.

John O’Dowd, a local Sinn Fein MLA , gave a cautious welcome to the meeting but the Grand Orange Lodge said it does not believe it was in the best interests of the organisation.

A Grand Lodge spokesman said: “We have just become aware through the media that a meeting has taken place between some of Portadown District officers and Gerry Adams.

“While we understand the frustration that has built up among the officers and members of Portadown District over the continued refusal of their Drumcree parade, we do not believe that clandestine meetings are in the best interests of the institution.”

The Garvaghy Road dispute has been the site of some of the most violent scenes in Northern Ireland as both sides clash over the contentious march.

In recent years, the event has passed off without the violence which dominated the headlines previously — but the matter still remains unresolved.

DUP leader Peter Robinson, who met Portadown District at Stormont on Monday along with Nigel Dodds and David Simpson, has been informed of the talks.

Speaking after the meeting, Mr O’Dowd reiterated Sinn Fein’s view that there is no need for an Orange Order parade down the Garvaghey Road.

“We have met with the Parades Commission and outlined our view of the situation in Portadown and the Garvaghey Road,” he said.

“We reiterated our position that there is no need for a parade down the Garvaghey Road. There is no need to put the local community through the trauma of having an Orange Order parade through the area.

“The only long-term solution is through agreed dialogue.”

The historic meeting happened less than two weeks after a compromise over the contentious Tour of the North parades in north Belfast.

By Stephen Breen
Sunday Life
Wednesday 25, June 2008

A worried Co Down dad last night broke his silence to declare: “I’m no tout”.

Gary Carberry, from Killyleagh, spoke exclusively to Sunday Life after graffiti was daubed on a bridge outside Downpatrick labelling him as a police informer.

A sinister threat was also made against the 38-year-old after the letters ‘RIP’ were painted beside the graffiti.

The message read: ‘Gary Carberry — PNSI tout. RIP’.

Gary claims the graffiti was daubed to “intimidate” him after he made a statement to police about a savage attack which left his best pal blinded in one eye.

We revealed last week how Catholic man Terry McCarthy lost the sight in his left eye after a 10-strong gang battered him in a vicious sectarian attack.

The pair were assaulted after spending the night in the nearby Royal British Legion Club.

Gary, a Protestant, was also knocked unconscious before he escaped and raised the alarm. He vowed to stand over his decision to co-operate with police.

Said Gary: “This is a blatant form of intimidation and the only reason they did this is because they don’t want me giving evidence against the people who could have killed Terry.

“They are saying that I’m some sort of tout, but this is just nonsense. Just because I have come forward doesn’t make me an informer.

“They used the words ‘RIP’, but they’re just trying to scare me. They should know that nothing is going to stop me from giving evidence.

“They couldn’t even spell PSNI properly and yet they are painting slogans labelling people informers to justify their actions.”

DUP councillor William Walker praised Mr Carberry for coming forward. He said: “This man has to be commended for going to the police over a brutal attack.”

BBC
25 Junee 2008

Dissident republicans considered a plot to poison the water supply in London, the Omagh civil case has been told.

US undercover agent David Rupert also claimed he was told of plans to attack a train loaded with nuclear waste and to spread foot-and-mouth disease.

Mr Rupert’s statements and e-mails to his handlers were read out by lawyers at the High Court.

Five men are being sued by a number of Omagh families over the August 1998 bombing which claimed 29 lives.

All five defendants - Michael McKevitt, Liam Campbell, Seamus McKenna, Colm Murphy and Seamus Daly - deny liability for the bombing.

Mr Rupert, who infiltrated dissident ranks for the FBI, is currently on a witness protection programme after testifying at the trial of McKevitt, the convicted Real IRA leader.

Some of the statements read to the court referred to meetings Mr Rupert said he had with republicans opposed to the Northern Ireland peace process during the 1990s.

A prominent Continuity IRA man was said to have told him how valuable any strike on a British target was regarded.

“He said one bullet fired in England was worth more than five car bombs in the north (of Ireland),” Mr Rupert said.

Later in the proceedings, Michael O’Higgins SC, for McKevitt, made an application under the Hague Convention to have Mr Rupert cross-examined, and for FBI documents to be disclosed.

Mr Justice Morgan, the trial judge, indicated he was minded to ask the US authorities to make the agent be made available for cross-examination.

A ruling on whether to request the documents would be made by next month.

The trial continues