SAOIRSE32

Teach Dáithí Ó Conaill, 223 Parnell Street, Dublin 1, Ireland
Phone: +353-1-872 9747; FAX: +353-1-872 9757; e-mail: saoirse@iol.ie
Date: 23 Iúil / July 2008

Internet resources maintained by SAOIRSE-Irish Freedom

http://saoirse.info

In this issue:

1. Resistance campaign commemorated in Swanlinbar
2. Protests at Sarkozy visit
3. Czech parliament to be asked to vote despite opposition
4. RSF condemn raids and arrests in Co Fermanagh
5. Condemnation of Goggins plans for jails
6. 26-County police in Rossiter case seek to halt disciplinary proceedings
7. 26-County Administration funds loyalist festival
8. Homeless subjected to ‘excessive’ questioning
9. Jobless group criticises changes to dole
10. Jobless group criticises changes to dole
11. Tara campaigners support a petition
12. Plaque unveiled for Captain James Kelly
13. Palestinians may suspend negotiations with Israel
14. Guantánamo trials begin with bin Laden’s driver

1. RESISTANCE CAMPAIGN COMMEMORATED IN SWANLINBAR

A CROWD of over 250 gathered in Swanlinbar on Saturday, July 19 to unveil a commemorative stone to three IRA Volunteers who died during the 1950’s Resistance Campaign against British Occupation.

Volunteers Patrick McManus and James Crossan died within six weeks of each other during the summer of 1958. Also remembered was Volunteer John Duffy (Derry City) who was fatally wounded in 1960 during training.

Led by a colour party of 14, seven of whom were in military dress, the parade marched from Swanlinbar to the Border where the commemorative stone was unveiled. The Pride of Erin Republican Flute Band, Portadown, provided music for those assembled as they marched the short distance. A piper from the Glens of Antrim also participated in the parade. Proceedings were chaired by Ben McHugh who was with Volunteer James Crossan the night he was shot dead by Crown Forces.

Wreaths were laid on behalf of the Leadership of the Republican Movement, the men’s families, Fermanagh/Cavan Republican Sinn Féin, the Kieran Doherty Cumann and the McManus/Crossan Cumann. Members of the dead men’s family were present including former nationalist MP Frank Mc Manus and Fr Seán Mc Manus of the Irish National Caucus, brothers of Vol Pat Mc Manus.

Prior to the main address a statement was read out by a masked man claiming to represent the South Fermanagh Command of the Continuity IRA. Paying tribute to their fallen comrades the man claimed that the cause that they had died for was alive and well and that resistance to British Occupation will continue.

The main address came from Republican Sinn Féin President, Ruairí Ó Brádaigh. He stated: “Men such as Mc Manus and Crossan had time to prove themselves on different levels of service. John Duffy was not spared to develop his full potential. Their true successors today are those who reject the British colonial statelet north of this line of the border and the collaborationist state south of it and who stand by the All-Ireland Republic of Tone, Pearse and Connolly. Those who deserted that Republic and turned quisling to destroy arms given for the freedom of Ireland and join the enemy forces should stay away from occasions such as today’s event. They are puppets of the English occupation enemy now.”

Following the oration the stone was unveiled by Ruairí Ó Brádaigh and Ben McHugh. Those assembled paraded back to Swanlinbar and enjoyed refreshments at a well attended function that evening.

2. PROTESTS AT SARKOZY VISIT

REPUBLICAN Sinn Féin, the Campaign Against the EU Constitution, which represents 15 anti-treaty groups and large number of groups and individuals opposed to the Lisbon Treaty/EU Constitution, protested outside the 26-County Government Buildings in Merrion Square.

In a statement the Vice President of Republican Sinn Féin Des Dalton said:
“The visit of French President Nicolas Sarkozy to Dublin on July 21 is part of the campaign of the EU political elite to steamroll the Irish people into voting again on the rejected Lisbon Treaty/EU Constitution. Since June 12 since June 12 the Franco/German governments as well as the heads of the various EU Institutions such as the President of the EU Parliament Hans-Gert Pöttering and the President of the EU Commission José Manuel Barroso have shown only contempt for the democratic decision of the Irish people.

“The big lie being put forward by the EU political establishment is that the EU can go ahead with the Lisbon Treaty despite or in defiance of its rejection in Ireland. In fact the 26-County administration could halt the ratification process by simply stating that the vote of the Irish people must be respected and cannot be overturned by a second referendum. Instead of defending the Irish people’s democratic decision the Dublin administration have lined up with the EU political establishment to try and create a 26/1 situation by the end of the year.

“On June 12 the Irish people made it clear that they rejected the further tightening of the EU’s grip. They are not prepared to give over more power to an institution which they do not elect and which is not accountable to them. Three times in three years the people of three states have now said no to a militarised and unaccountable EU superstate.

“This is the clear and unequivocal message which should be delivered to Nicolas Sarkozy on his visit to Dublin. In the past the Irish people welcomed the support of France in their struggle against British rule. Today we reject the efforts of Nicolas Sarkozy to subvert Irish democracy.”

The visit by French president Nicolas Sarkozy was a “sham” because of his failure to debate the Lisbon Treaty in an open forum and the exclusion of several No campaigners from the French embassy meeting, Socialist Party leader Joe Higgins said.

Joe Higgins was speaking at a meeting of the anti-Lisbon alliance, the Campaign Against the EU Constitution, held in the offices of trade union Unite in Dublin yesterday before Nicolas Sarkozy arrived in Ireland.

Unite and other high-profile No campaigners had been excluded from the meeting because the 26-County administration did not want to reveal that workers had been against the treaty, Joe Higgins said.

“It is quite clear that the Office of the Taoiseach is dictating what happens this afternoon. The fact that trade unions who opposed the treaty, the Socialist Party and myself have been deliberately excluded doesn’t give me any cause for confidence in the meaningfulness of this meeting.”

If Nicolas Sarkozy’s visit was to have had any credibility an open debate should have been held, such as in the Forum on Europe during the visit of German chancellor Angela Merkel, Joe Higgins said.

Joe Higgins said that he would have attended the French embassy had he been invited. Former Green Party MEP Patricia McKenna, who was invited to the embassy, said she had been in two minds whether to attend. “It’s a poisoned chalice because in going there you’re giving it the credibility it doesn’t deserve.”

However, she said she decided to go as a mark of respect to the French people who voted no to the EU constitution.

“The second reason is because people like myself have to go there and do the job of Brian Cowen, which he should have done in the beginning.”

Brendan Ogle of Unite said he would have “loved” an invitation to the embassy to tell Mr Sarkozy why the Irish people voted no, but he said there was no need for Mr Sarkozy to come to Ireland.

“He should reflect upon the history of his own county, reflect on what happened when the French elites became divorced from their own people . . . We don’t need a modern-day Marie Antoinette coming here to lecture us.”

3. CZECH PARLIAMENT TO BE ASKED TO VOTE DESPITE OPPOSITION

THE Czech government will ask parliament to vote on the European Union’s Lisbon Treaty this autumn, but the country’s president is still staunchly opposed to the treaty.

After meeting prime minister Mirek Topolánek and his deputy Alexander Vondra, foreign minister Karel Schwarzenberg said they would submit the treaty for ratification after elections from October 17 to 18 to local councils and part of the upper house of parliament.

“We agreed that some time after the election we will submit the Lisbon Treaty for ratification,” Czech newspapers quoted Karel Schwarzenberg as saying.

Foreign ministry spokeswoman Zuzana Opeletalova confirmed his remarks and said the minister had meant that the vote would take place “some time in the autumn, after the election… towards the end of the year”.

Alexander Vondra suggested that parliament would only vote on the treaty once the Czech constitutional court had ruled on its legality. A verdict is expected in October.

“It is not worthwhile to do anything now because it would be a pressure on the constitutional court,” he said.

Karel Schwarzenberg, a strong advocate of the treaty, reiterated his belief that the Czech Republic was obliged to ratify the document, because the government had already signed it.

But the three politicians, who held talks with the president, Václav Klaus, failed to soften his opposition to a treaty which he says will strip vital powers from national governments and hand them to unelected officials in Brussels.

Presidential aide Jiri Weigl said the meeting did nothing to alter the position of Václav Klaus, who was quick to declare the treaty dead after Ireland’s No vote.

Legal experts say Václav Klaus would be expected to sign the treaty if the constitutional court clears it, and the lower and upper houses of parliament approve it, even though he would be extremely reluctant to do so.

While a majority of the lower house of parliament appears to support the treaty, a strong opposition in the Senate makes its passage far from certain.

4. RSF CONDEMN RAIDS AND ARRESTS IN CO FERMANAGH

THREE men were arrested on Thursday, July 17 during early morning raids in the Donagh, Newtownbutler and Aghadrumsee areas of County Fermanagh. These include an Ard-Chomhairle member of Republican Sinn Féin. They were taken to the Interrogation Centre at Antrim RUC Barracks.

Two of those arrested had previously been subjected to malicious prosecution, and the other has a case pending against the RUC for wrongful arrest and detention.

Mobile telephones and computers were taken from the properties, as well as compact discs and cassette tapes.

A daughter of one of the arrested men entered a house asking “Daddy, Daddy, where are you?” and was told he had been taken to Antrim. As she left the house, another RUC man mimicked her asking the question and said that had her father been an upstanding member of the community, they would not have been raiding the premises. The Brit then went on to claim that her father had been involved in the attempted execution of two RUC men near Roslea.

RSF Director of Publicity, Richard Walsh said: “Three Fermanagh Republicans were abducted from their homes this morning by the RUC. Evidently Provo cop Lynch as yet has failed to put manners on them. Again it is Hugh Orde’s men who are ‘lashing out like cornered animals’ despite his protestations.

“The men were members of the Fermanagh/Cavan Commemoration Committee responsible for organising the 50th Anniversary Commemoration for Volunteers James Crossan and Pat McManus in Swanlinbar, Co. Cavan this Saturday at 3p.m. We would encourage uncompromised Republicans in these counties and from further afield to attend this commemoration and show that they will not be intimidated from the path of true Republicanism. The actions of the RUC will not hinder the growth of the Republican Movement.

“We also condemn the outrageous comments made by RUC personnel to the daughter of one of those seized which were clearly designed to cause distress. Furthermore, they are prejudicial to any inquiries they claim to be conducting at this time.

“Republican Sinn Féin calls on the people of Ireland to join the Republican Movement and work to secure the expulsion of the British invader from our shores.”

The three were released without charge on the afternoon of Friday July 18.

That morning two relatives of one of the men were stopped by around twenty members of the RUC between Lisnaskea and Derrylin, backed up by Customs officials. One of the men was called a “murdering bastard”, a “w***ker” and a “p***k”. The other, who suffers from a disability, was called a “crippled bastard” and an RUC man spat upon his face.

They were also stopped that afternoon outside Donagh by the same personnel, who included RUC Constables Miller and Paddy McCullough and no fewer than three sergeants.

Michael Óg Lavelle, spokesperson for Republican Sinn Féin in Fermanagh said, “These remarks made by the RUC/PSNI were vile and disgusting and certainly reinforce our opinion that this police force is not fit for purpose. While they insulted the two men they stated that they had ‘moved on’ as had the Provos. Their actions clearly mirror that of the RUC and prove that there has been no change within their ranks. I welcome the release of the three men.

“These raids and arrests demonstrate that they were merely about punishing known Republicans for their steadfast stance against British rule in Ireland. It will be interesting to see what Provo Constables Lynch and Ó Cobhthaigh’s reaction is to this harassment and how they will ‘put manners’ on their new bedfellows. Cllr Ó Cobhthaigh had the audacity to refer to himself as a Republican following their collaboration in the Cornagrade area on the eleventh night. Republican Sinn Féin have been contacted by a number of residents in the area and will be working on the ground to assist them in the coming weeks.”

5. CONDEMNATION OF GOGGINS PLANS FOR JAILS

THE proposal that all prisoners must submit to drug testing is in effect yet another attempt to criminalise Republican prisoners, Richard Walsh, Director of Publicity for Republican Sinn Féin and PRO of the Republican Prisoners’ Action Group said on July 19.

“Today’s announcement by Paul Goggins will not be welcomed by Republican POWs in Maghaberry,” said.

“No Republican prisoner has ever been found to be in possession of illicit substances, nor have any of their visitors. Furthermore, drugs have never been found in the segregated regime in Maghaberry within which Republican prisoners are held.

“The suggestion that the use of the sniffer dogs will be increased is also unwelcome, as these have long been abused to create false ‘indications’ for the purpose of preventing open visits,” he said.

6. 26-COUNTY POLICE IN ROSSITER CASE SEEK TO HALT DISCIPLINARY PROCEEDINGS

TWO members of the 26-County police involved in the detention of teenager Brian Rossiter at Clonmel Garda station in 2002 have taken a High Court challenge aimed at preventing disciplinary proceedings being brought, under new Garda regulations, over an alleged failure to keep accurate custody records on the night in question.

The gardaí claim the Garda Commissioner is not entitled to hold an inquiry under new Garda regulations introduced in 2007 in relation to events of 2002.

They say the new regulations alter the burden of proof to one of the balance of probabilities, while earlier regulations set a standard of beyond reasonable doubt.
If their action is successful, their counsel said, it will be up to the commissioner whether to go ahead with an investigation under earlier regulations.

The court was told the disciplinary action was initiated after publication earlier this year of the findings of the Hartnett inquiry into the teenager’s detention.

Brian Rossiter (14) was discovered unconscious in a cell at Clonmel Garda station on September 11th, 2002, after he had been arrested for an alleged public order offence at 9.30pm the previous evening.

He died on September 13th at Cork University Hospital.

An inquest into his death remains adjourned pending the outcome of separate High Court proceedings by the teenager’s parents aimed at having a UK forensic pathologist, who compiled a report for the parents on the cause of death, called to give evidence at the inquest.

The hearing of the action by Patrick and Siobhán Rossiter against Cork city coroner Dr Myra Cullinane began on July 22.

In separate proceedings, Mr Justice Paul Gilligan granted Garda Anne Marie Coogan and Garda Gerard Canty leave to bring judicial review proceedings against the Garda Commissioner challenging his decision to proceed under 2007 regulations with an investigation into alleged breaches of Garda discipline arising out of the detention of the teenager.

Among the allegations being inquired into is that there was a failure to maintain accurate custody records at Clonmel Garda station on September 10th/11th, 2002.
Fechin McDonagh SC, for both gardaí, said they were facing disciplinary hearings over the allegations.

Counsel said an inquiry into the circumstances of Brian’s arrest and detention was ordered in 2004 by the then 26-County Justice minister Michael McDowell.

That inquiry was conducted by Hugh Hartnett SC, who published his findings earlier this year.

Following the Hartnett report, the two gardaí were told disciplinary proceedings would be taken against them.

Counsel contended the inquiry could not go ahead under the 2007 regulations as it would be retrospective in nature.

He said there was a “substantial change” introduced to Garda disciplinary regulations in 2007, compared to those between 1989 and 2007.

The burden of proof required to make a finding under the 2007 regulations was on the balance of probabilities, whereas before that it was reasonable doubt, counsel added.
The decision to proceed under the 2007 regulations breached the constitutional rights and entitlement to fair procedures of the gardaí, counsel argued.

The issue of delay in bringing the disciplinary inquiry was also a factor to be taken into account.

In granting leave, Mr Justice Gilligan said it would act as a stay on the disciplinary proceedings pending the outcome of the case. He returned the case for mention in October next.

Earlier this year the Hartnett inquiry found that Brian’s arrest was lawful and that it was not satisfied he was assaulted in the course of arrest or when in custody.

It also found there was a failure by the 26-County police to investigate all the circumstances surrounding Brian’s death and to accurately record times in the custody record, including times at which Brian was given information about the reason for his arrest and his right to consult a solicitor.

It also found his detention at Clonmel Garda station was unlawful.

7. 26-COUNTY ADMINISTRATION FUNDS LOYALIST FESTIVAL

THE 26-County Department of Foreign Affairs is the largest sponsor of this year’s loyalist Apprentice Boys of Derry Maiden City Festival.

Back after an absence of two years, the carnival costs approximately £50,000 to run. This year £27,000 is being paid for by the 26-County Department of Foreign Affairs.

Brochures for the loyalist festival, bearing the logo of sponsors including “Department of Foreign Affairs, An Roinn Gothic Eachtracha” were issued this week. A number of other organisations, including Derry city council and the Stormont Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure are also funding the event.

Established in 1998, the Maiden City Festival was one of a series of events organised to explain the ethos of the Apprentice Boys to Derry’s nationalist majority.

8. HOMELESS SUBJECTED TO ‘EXCESSIVE’ QUESTIONING

THE OFFICE of the 26-County Data Protection Commissioner has expressed serious concern at the way sensitive personal information on homeless people is being shared by local authorities and homeless service providers.

The office has deemed that personal questions which homeless people are asked before accessing 26-County state services - such as whether they have been involved in offending behaviour - are excessive and not relevant.

It also found that the Homeless Agency - a body responsible for co-ordinating homeless services in Dublin - has no “legal personality”. As a result, it has cast doubt as to whether any personal information relating to homeless people should be processed by the agency other than where services are provided directly by Dublin City Council.

Furthermore, the office has expressed “serious reservations” about the widespread sharing of homeless people’s Personal Public Service Numbers (PPSN) within the homeless sector. It found that the legitimate use of such data only exists where services are being provided by the city council.

The office said it was hopeful that its investigation will lead to a revised data collection model which “fully respects the rights of a vulnerable segment of our population”. It said it was satisfied that the Homeless Agency was working towards that goal also.

The Office of the Data Protection Commissioner’s investigation follows a complaint by the homeless charity Trust.

It claimed that invasive personal questions were adding to the isolation of homeless people.

Alice Leahy, the co-founder of Trust and a commissioner in the Irish Human Rights Commission, welcomed the office’s findings.

“This validates what we have been saying for some time. I’m looking at this from a human rights perspective. And it’s a fundamental aspect of human rights to be treated with dignity and respect,” she said.

“It’s very important to understand that these are poor, vulnerable people. If the rest of the population is aware of the importance of protecting the privacy of their personal information, think of how it must feel for people with little if any voice.”

Alice Leahy added that highly sensitive and personal details could prove very damaging if elicited in an insensitive and unprofessional way by relatively unskilled staff, especially where homeless people suffer from mental health problems.

The 26-County Office of the Data Protection Commissioner expressed concern that information recorded on the “holistic needs assessment” form was not being collected on a “need to know basis”. It also said some of the questions on previous offences and details regarding probation were “excessive” and that it could not find any legitimate reason why these were needed.

The Homeless Agency has argued that the form is a “vital element” in its strategy of eliminating long-term homelessness in Dublin by 2010, and that the process of filling it out is voluntary. It has also stressed that homeless people are not being treated less favourably if they do not complete it.

9. JOBLESS GROUP CRITICISES CHANGES TO DOLE

THE 26-County Administration’s efforts to curb social welfare fraud by making individuals receiving unemployment benefit sign on at the post office every week are similar “to using a sledgehammer to crack a nut”, Bríd O’Brien of the Irish National Organisation of the Unemployed said on July 21.

She said to move would force people to change the way they managed their finances.

“This decision will affect everyone who signs on,” she said. According to the department’s survey, only 10 per cent of people were either not resident in the country or not entitled to the payment they were receiving.

“So why should the choices available to everyone be limited because a few people were paid when they shouldn’t have been?”

Minister for Social and Family Affairs in the 26 Counties Mary Hanafin announced on July 21 that dole payments now have to be collected by recipients at their local post office on a weekly basis, instead of being transferred directly into their bank accounts.

Ms O’Brien said becoming unemployed was a dramatic change in someone’s life and it was important that the systems they were used to while working were maintained as far as possible.

“We feel it is really important that people who were used to their wage being paid into their bank accounts are offered this option,” she said.

“Having to sign on will make their unemployment more visible, which might be difficult for some people to deal with. This adds to the sense of stigmatisation people may encounter when they become unemployed.”

10. COUNCIL WORKERS STRIKE OVER PAY OFFER

LOCAL government workers in the Six-Counties, England and Wales staged a two-day public service strike on July 16 and 17 in pursuit of a 6 per cent pay award.

The strike forced the closure of Derry city airport. In the Six Counties the strike also affected bin collections, road cleaning, leisure and community centres and libraries, while many children’s summer schemes were postponed over the two days.

However, the strike enjoyed limited success as it was not universal across the Six Counties. In quite a number of the 26 council areas, many or most of these services were available.

Union leaders say strike action will be escalated in the coming months if their demands are not met. Employers, however, say they are not in a position to increase the current 2.45 per cent pay offer.

Brian Campfield of the Nipsa union said the offer was completely “unacceptable” and had been rightly rejected. General secretary of the union John Corey said the offer failed “miserably” to meet the recent price spike. The increasing costs of food and fuel must be matched by realistic pay increases, he said.

“With inflation now hitting 4.6 per cent, it is unfair and unacceptable that public-sector workers should be facing a real cut in their pay,” he added.

11. TARA CAMPAIGNERS SUPPORT A PETITION

IT was reported on July 21 that Tara campaigners worldwide are supporting a petition to the 26-County Administration calling on them to re-inter the remains of individuals whose graves have been desecrated by the ongoing construction of the M3 Motorway in the Gabhra Valley near the historic Hill of Tara in Co. Meath. The petition went live on July 19.

Campaigners demand that the ancient remains be reburied in a dignified manner and as closely as possible to the ceremonial layout of the original graveyards. It is estimated that over 60 bodies were disturbed and removed from the Collierstown site and over 27 from Ardsallagh to make way for the double-tolled M3 Motorway. Over the last 15 years of the Celtic Tiger, thousands of bodies have been removed from the earth and stored in warehouses.

The Gabhra Valley is the putative site of the last battle of the Fianna in 284 A.D. and they were said to be buried where they fell along with Cairpre Lifechair king of Tara son of Cormac mac Airt.

The current campaign to have the bodies reburied has been given added impetus by the backing received from the recent World Archaeological Congress held
in Dublin who said as part of their press release (July 11th 08):

“Recognising that the reburial of ancient remains in Ireland is subject to the provisions of the National Monuments Act and the agreement of the National Museum of Ireland, the World Archaeological Congress also draws attention to the Vermillion Accord on human remains and suggests that any human remains excavated from the cultural landscape of Tara should be re-interred with due respect as close as possible to their original locations, as this is where these people would have wished to be buried.”

This was the first World Archaeological Congress to be held in Ireland. It was attended by over 1,800 archaeologists, native peoples and international scholars from 74 nations.

The organisers of the petition, Tomás Mac Cormaic and Carmel Diviney said:

“We hope that this petition is the beginning of a debate on the ethics of this archaeological ‘resolution’ of our ancestors, the indigenous people of Ireland. This debate and respect for our own indigenous people, ourselves, is long overdue and that this puts added pressure on the Irish Govt to re-inter the bodies.”

12. PLAQUE UNVEILED FOR CAPTAIN JAMES KELLY

A PLAQUE was unveiled on July 19 in honour of 26-County army Captain James Kelly who was acquitted of gun-running in 1970 at the outbreak of the Six-County ‘Troubles’.

The 1916-21 Club, erected the memorial in the library in Capt Kelly’s birthplace, Bailieboro, Co Cavan.

The former 26-County Army intelligence officer was at the centre of the arms crisis in the 1970s, which saw Capt Kelly charged, and later cleared by a jury, of illegally importing guns from Germany, allegedly destined for Six-County nationalists.

His daughter Suzanne, one of Capt Kelly’s 10 children, said the memorial would offer hope to underdogs.

“I hope that the people of Bailieboro go to the library and see the plaque,” she said.
“For people who are underdogs or people who are wrongly treated, they are able to see this and maybe get some hope.”

The late Charles Haughey (former head of the 26-County administration) and TD Neil Blaney were sacked from the 26-County administration after the story broke in 1970. 26-County state papers released under the 30-year rule revealed statements used in the gun-running trial had been doctored to omit references about informing the 26-County Defence Minister of the plot.

After his acquittal, Capt Kelly and his family fought for a public apology and an unequivocal vindication of his good name.

Following his death in 2003 aged 74, then-head of the 26-County administration Bertie Ahern declared that James Kelly was innocent. The family wants a formal admission that he was wrongly accused and insists their name has been tainted.

“He would go for a job, he’d be there for a couple of days when a message would come through and he’d be asked to leave,” Capt Kelly’s daughter said.

13. PALESTINIANS MAY SUSPEND NEGOTIATIONS WITH ISRAEL

THE Palestinians may suspend negotiations with Israel in protest at Israeli construction plans for East Jerusalem, Palestinian official Yasser Abed Rabbo said on July 11.

Palestinians contend Israeli colonisation activity is designed to pre-empt and prevent creation of a Palestinian state incorporating East Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza by creating Israeli colonies on land Palestinians need for their state. Since talks resumed in November, Israel has announced its intention of building more than 3,000 apartments in occupied East Jerusalem and the West Bank, where 480,000 Israeli settlers already live.
Yasser Abed Rabbo was responding to approval by Jerusalem’s Planning and Construction Committee on July 9 of the erection of 1,800 new units in Pisgat Ze’ev and Har Homa, known to the Palestinians as Jabal Abu Ghnaim, settlements north and south of Jerusalem.

Meanwhile, in a new form of protest over the settlements, the West Bank village of Bil’in, west of Ramallah, has launched a lawsuit in Montreal against two Canadian construction companies. Green Park International and Green Mount International are accused of illegally building 250 apartments in 30 buildings in an Israeli settlement located on land belonging to Bil’in.

The suit alleges that the firms are advertising and selling housing units to Israelis, “thereby creating a new dense-settlement neighbourhood on the lands of the village of Bil’in. In so doing, the defendants are aiding, abetting, assisting and conspiring with the State of Israel in carrying out an illegal purpose.”

This, argues Bil’in, constitutes a violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, both of which prohibit an occupying power from settling its citizens on occupied land.

Bil’in is relying on the Canadian Geneva Conventions Act and the Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Act which, Bil’in contends, “have jurisdiction over Canadians regardless of where in the world the offence has taken place”.

Bil’in’s lawyer Michael Sfard, an Israeli, said the suit “serves as a blinking red light to investors and companies and private individuals who are thinking of being involved in building settlements”. Bil’in seeks $2 million (€1.26 million) in punitive damages and restitution of its land.

For more than three years, Bil’in has been staging weekly protests against Israel’s expropriations and its wall-fence complex.

Demonstrations usually climax when Israeli troops fire rubber-coated steel balls and gas at Israeli, international and Palestinian protesters. Many have been beaten and arrested.

14. GUANTÁNAMO TRIALS BEGIN WITH BIN LADEN’S DRIVER

OSAMA bin Laden’s driver, Salim Ahmed Hamdan, went on trial at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba on July 21. Salim Ahmed Hamdan, a Yemeni allegedly admitted driving for the al-Qaeda leader, faces charges before the controversial US war court of ‘conspiracy and providing material support for terrorism’. He entered a “not guilty” plea.

Some prospective jurors were in the Pentagon or knew people there when a hijacked plane struck on September 11, 2001. The jury is selected from a pool of 13 US military officers. Judge Allred ordered that their identities be kept secret. They were questioned by military judge Keith Allred and lawyers about whether they could be impartial.

One prospective juror, a Navy captain and former policeman, said he knew the commander of the USS Cole, which was struck by a suicide attack in 2000 in a Yemeni port, killing 17 American sailors. “No one wants to see shipmates hurt and killed. It angered me,” he said.

“You must make your determination whether or not he is guilty based solely on the evidence . . . and the instructions I will give you,” said the judge, a Navy captain.

Prosecutors contend that Salim Ahmed Hamdan was close to al-Qaeda’s inner circle and was on the way to a battle zone with two surface-to-air missiles in his car when captured in 2001, shortly after the US-led invasion of Afghanistan.

His lawyers claim he is not a member of al-Qaeda, and was merely a driver and mechanic in Bin Laden’s motor pool.

ENDS