SAOIRSE32

BBC
8 Jan 09

Loyalist paramilitaries should not be given another year to decommission their weapons, the Police Federation has said.

Secretary of State Shaun Woodward has said he wanted to extend the NI Arms Decommissioning Act to 2010.

The Federation said it wanted MPs and Peers to resist the request and that loyalist paramilitaries had no intention of giving up their weapons.

The NIO said that it would be the last time the deadline would be extended.

In a letter sent to the Secretary of State the Federation’s Terry Spence, which represents the 9,000 Police Service of Northern Ireland officers, said the request was “misconceived and undisguised appeasement”.

“The fact is that loyalist paramilitaries have had 11 years to decommission,” he said.

“Rather than a further year they should be told that they have five more weeks to 9 February, the date of the legislation deadline.”

The legislation enables the body that monitors decommissioning to operate.

The Federation said it believed that there was no meaningful evidence that the UVF and particularly the UDA had any intention of surrendering their arms until forced to do so by the full weight of the law bearing down on them.

Mr Spence said that 29 officers had sought certificates from the chief constable because they were under threat and that five had been subjected to death threats by loyalists.

The Northern Ireland Office said that threats to police officers “from whatever source are completely unacceptable”.

“In terms of extending the decommissioning period, this was a difficult decision but we think it was the right one and the Secretary of State has already made it clear that it will not be renewed again after 2010,'’ a spokesman said.

RTÉ
Tuesday, 6 January 2009

Three people have appeared before the Special Criminal Court in Dublin following an ongoing Garda investigation into dissident Republican and criminal activity.

All three had been arrested in Dublin at the weekend.

66-year-old Barry Fitzpatrick of 169 Ashlawn park, Ballybrack, Dublin, was charged with membership of an unlawful organisation.
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21-year-old Stephen Verhoeven of Brookfield Terrace, Blackrock, Dublin, was charged with possession of two revolvers and 20 rounds of ammunition.

22-year-old Dean Byrne of Coolevin, Ballybrack, Dublin, was charged iwth possession of five handguns and 64 rounds of ammunition.

All were remanded in custody to appear in court again next week.

:::u.tv:::
**Via Newshound
7 Jan 09

Almost 30 police officers have applied to move home in the last 12 months because of threats from paramilitaries.

UTV can reveal that these threats have not only come from dissident republicans, but also from loyalist paramilitaries.

According to the Police Federation, which represents rank and file officers, 29 serving police officers and a `significant` number of retired officers have applied to be re-housed in the last 12 months.

So far 20 serving officers have been moved out of their homes.

Chairman of the Police Federation Terry Spence said: “Whilst of course the majority of those evacuations mainly originate from dissident republican activity, it would be fair to say there has been an increase in the number of evacuations as a result of loyalist paramilitaries and this is most unacceptable.”

Mr Spence would not put an exact figure on the loyalist numbers, only saying it was `several`.

“It would be fair to say most of the terrorist activity from the loyalist side directed at the police is coming from the UDA.”

But Frankie Gallagher of the Ulster Political Research group, whose party is linked to the UDA, denied this:

” Absolutely not. We`re meeting the police on a regular basis and we totally condemn any attacks on any members of the community in Northern Ireland. Those times are gone.

“We are building a new future for everyone and I am willing to meet the Police Federation to find out about these statistics are, where they are coming from and whose doing it and lets stand shoulder to shoulder to face those people down whoever is doing this.”

`Misconceived appeasement`

Last month the Northern Ireland Secretary of State Shaun Woodward announced plans to give the UDA and UVF another year to decommission their weapons.

The deadline to renew legislation for this process is next month and the police federation plans to stop this from happening.

They are sending a letter to the Secretary of State condemning the move and highlighting their belief that the UDA and UVF have no intention of surrendering their weapons, unless forced to do so.

The letter also brands Shaun Woodward`s move to extend the loyalist decommissioning deadline as “misconceived and undisguised appeasement.”

But PUP leader Dawn Purvis, whose party is aligned to the UVF said:

“I think the Police Federation, in criticising the Secretary of State for extending the decommissioning legislation, are misguided in their views - because I think what we have to do is take every opportunity that is available in order to try and achieve decommissioning all illegal weapons.”

Londonderry Sentinel
**Via Newshound
7 Jan 09

A LEADING Derry loyalist says he has reviewed his personal security in the wake of a Real IRA statement.

David Malcolm of the Ulster Political Research Group (UPRG) spoke to the Sentinel after the dissident republican group issued a New Year statement saying: “In the coming year Oglaigh na hEireann will continue to resist the occupation of Ireland by any and all means including the force of arms.”
The UPRG man, a former soldier, said it was his belief the Real IRA was actively scanning for targets in Londonderry and these included himself.
“As the UPRG has links with the UDA, I have reviewed my own personal security. I believe I have been followed in the last 12 months. As a former soldier I have been trained to look out for this.
“I take my own security and that of my family very seriously and in view of the Real IRA statement I would urge all loyalists to do the same,” he said.
Whilst the Waterside loyalist said the UPRG were used to the “rhetoric” of dissident republican groups, Mr Malcolm said whilst the UPRG remained committed to the defence of loyalist and unionist ideologies, he recognised that there are ideologies opposed to them.
“However, I don’t see how these ideologies can be promoted through the use of weapons,” he said.
The UPRG representative said it was his understanding that the likelihood of UDA decommissioning was not a “feasible exercise” whilst statements such as these kept appearing from the Real IRA.
“I would imagine there would be a high level discussion within the UDA and at grassroots membership level on this. Different areas have different views on this, but for example the threat in Belfast is not at such a high level as it is in Londonderry.
“This statement is going to make people worried. We need an end to this. This type of targeting carried out by the Real IRA has not been as prevalent since the 1970’s, 80’s and 90’s,” he said.
David Malcolm said there had to be a realisation amongst dissidents that the entire political dispensation had changed.
Speaking to the Sentinel he said: ” There is an entire generation of children who have never heard an explosion or heard TV reports of people being killed.”
The UPRG man called on politicians and the PSNI to focus more resources in dealing with threat of dissident activists.
“It is ok for politicians and the police to say the threat is minimal and continue to paper over the cracks, but it’s a very dangerous ploy. Innocent civilians and police officers may be killed. Where we go from there, who knows?” said David Malcolm.
The UPRG man said that via an intermediary to the UDA it was his understanding that: “The UDA will stay prepared to defend their communities through whatever means necessary, but it would urge the PSNI to take the lead role in this.”

Houston Chronicle
chron.com
Jan. 7, 2009

A former Irish revolutionary who was ordered deported last month after being detained in South Texas has chosen to stay behind bars and fight his case in court.

An immigration judge in Harlingen last month told Pól Brennan, 55, that while he had made a good case to remain in the country, his past ties to the Irish Republican Army, a terrorist group in the eyes of the U.S. government, trumped all other factors and he had to be deported.

Brennan, who fears for his life if he is returned home, is appealing the judge’s decision to the Board of Immigration Appeals.

Meanwhile, three congressmen who had been pushing for his release persuaded U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials in San Antonio to transfer Brennan from the agency’s prison in Raymondville to another one in Los Fresnos, so he could be closer to his wife.

Irish News
07/01/09

THREE men arrested last weekend during a Garda investigation into alleged dissident republican activity in Dublin appeared at a special sitting of the Special Criminal Court last night.

Barry Fitzpatrick (66) of Ashlawn Park, Ballybrack, Co Dublin was charged with membership of an unlawful organisation styling itself the Irish Republican Army, otherwise Oglaigh na hEireann on January 4.

Stephen Verhoeven (22) of Brookfield Terrace, Blackrock, Co Dublin was charged with the unlawful possession of two revolvers and 20 rounds of ammunition at a Topaz garage on the Tallaght bypass on January 4.

Dean Byrne (22) of Coolevin, Ballybrack, Co Dublin was charged with unlawful possession of five revolvers and 64 rounds of ammunition at the Ramparts, Laughlinstown, Co Dublin on January 4.

Mr Justice Joseph Matthews, remanded the three in custody until next week when bail applications are heard.

Irish News
07/01/09

A Stormont review of the policing and justice issue has left no-one any the wiser as to when powers will be devolved, the SDLP claimed yesterday.

Fundamental questions regarding devolution remain unanswered six months after the first and deputy first ministers asked an assembly committee to examine unresolved matters, West Belfast assembly member Alex Attwood said.

He made his comments as the Assembly and Executive Review Committee finalised its first report on the transfer of security powers from

Westminster

Mr Attwood, pictured, who is a member of the committee, criticised the decision of his DUP and Sinn Fein counterparts to park certain contentious issues until a later date.

Matters such as the specific status and powers of any future justice minister were meant to be dealt with in the first phase of the committee’s work programme but DUP and Sinn Fein members yesterday voted to defer those decisions for their second report.

In November Peter Robinson and Martin McGuinness agreed a series of steps to bring about devolution – a deal that brought an end to the five-month stand-off in the executive.

It involved a public consultation to gauge opinion on devolution and a requirement for the new minister to be elected on the basis of cross-community support until at least 2012.

It is envisaged that the portfolio could be offered to the Alliance Party.

Mr Attwood said the report of the committee had not addressed major issues around devolution.

He also said there still had been no indication as to when devolution would take place.

“Ultimately no-one is any the wiser, two months after Martin McGuinness and Peter Robinson delivered their tablets of stone on justice devolution and a full six months after the first minister and deputy first minister had their first stab at agreeing a date,” Mr Attwood said.

“Devolution of justice should not be delayed a day longer.”

However, DUP committee chairman Jimmy Spratt said many of the main issues had been dealt with.

“This is our first report on this issue and work is ongoing,” the South Belfast MLA said.

“We will look again at the outstanding issues when we begin work on the second phase of our work next week.”

Derry Journal
07 January 2009

The DUP’s Gregory Campbell has called for a picture of him wearing a Nazi uniform to be removed immediately from a Sinn Fein website.
The article appears on the website of the Sinn Fein youth organisation, Ogra Shinn Fein, and shows a photograph altered to depict the head of the DUP man super-imposed on the body of Joseph Goebbels - one of history’s most reviled figures.
Mr Campbell, the North’s Minister for Culture, described the comparison between himself and Goebbels as “grotesque”.
“I think if a serious political party wishes to make an objective criticism of opponents, then this is not the way to go about it,” he said.
“To compare a democratic opponent to a Nazi, particularly a chief propagator like Goebbels, is wrong particularly when the republican movement has been steeped in fascism and would be considered by many to be not just grossly offensive but on the border of being totally unacceptable.”
Sinn Fein MLA Barry McElduff said his party would be discussing the issue later today (Wednesday).
“If he has sensitivities, if he has taken issue with something, out of respect I will convey that to other Sinn Féin people when I meet them today,” he said.
“Gregory has shown a lack of respect, and even intolerance, towards the Irish language and Irish culture, which is regrettable on the part of the Minister of Culture.”
Mr. McElduff said the issue also raised concerns over the use of people’s images on the internet.

News Letter
07 January 2009

DR Ian Paisley has had the first in a series of meetings with the Advertising Standards Authority in London about a ban on a church newspaper advert against homosexuality.

Just over a month ago the ASA ruled that an advert against homosexuality from Sandown Free Presbyterian Church in Belfast was indecent and should not be run again.

The church placed the advert in the News Letter in August 2008 to call for a peaceful counter protest to the Gay Pride Parade.

The advert cited several biblical texts against homosexuality and prompted seven complaints to the authority.

Minister of the church the Rev David McIlveen said that Dr Paisley’s meeting, which took place before Christmas, was a preliminary event and would be followed soon by a more substantial meeting.

“Dr Paisley met the ASA more in his role as a parliamentarian rather than as a former moderator of the church,” said Mr McIlveen.

“It was really a face-to-face opportunity for him to request a more in-depth meeting.

“A second meeting was scheduled to take place next week but will be postponed until an independent appeal of the ASA decision is completed.”

Mr McIlveen said the ruling that his church’s advert was indecent illustrated “double standards” from the ASA.

“We are amazed the ASA accepts sexually explicit adverts in daily national newspapers as decent and yet at the same time rules that an advert with Bible texts in it is indecent,” he said.

“These double standards underline the fact that their ruling was flawed with prejudice and formed in presumption.”

He highlighted newspaper adverts for adult chat lines which include sexually suggestive photographs and text as one example of concern.

A spokeswoman for the ASA said they do not get many complaints about sexually explicit advertising in newspapers but that they were willing to consider any complaints the church wished to make.

She said it might be expected that newspapers aimed at adults would carry a certain level of such advertising and that a different standard was to be expected in tabloid newspapers as compared to broadsheets.

“You could say that if adverts are more decent than the editorial then they are acceptable, but that is not the only standard,” she said.

The authority does not have an objective standard of decency but its council considers each individual complaint depending on factors such as context and likely audience, she said.

News Letter
07 January 2009

TOP loyalist Mark Haddock appeared in court on Thursday charged with the murder of UDA man Tommy English.

Belfast Magistrates Court was told the case against Haddock was based on the statements made by two brothers linked to the crime.

Last month, two brothers – 38-year-old David Stewart and Robert Stewart, 34 – from Newtownabbey, pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting Mr English’s murder.

English, who had been involved in a loyalist delegation which took part in talks at Stormont prior to the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, was gunned down at his home in 2000.

His killing was part of a shooting war between rival UDA and UVF factions which claimed seven lives.

Haddock, 40, appeared in court amid heavy security after he was charged in prison by officers from the Historical Enquiries Team - a specialist police unit set up to prove unsolved killings from the Northern Ireland Troubles.

He is also accused of membership of the Ulster Volunteer Force between 1996 and 2000.

Bearded and waving to friends in the public gallery, he listened as defence barrister Mark Farrell cross examined a detective sergeant who connected the accused on behalf of the HET.

Mr Farrell claimed the case against his client was based solely on evidence from the Stewart brothers.

He said: “These two witnesses… have made lengthy statements implicating Mr Haddock and eight to ten others in involvement in this murder.”

After the detective replied that it was Haddock and others, Mr Farrell pointed out that David and Robert Stewart were originally charged with murdering Mr English.

He asked: “Have these two brothers been offered any incentive, either financially or otherwise, under the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005?”

The officer answered: “I wouldn’t describe it as an incentive, but they are being dealt with under that legislation.”

Continuing his cross examination, the lawyer suggested there was no forensic evidence linking Haddock to the murder.

He was told none had been gathered at this stage, although forensic analysis was ongoing.

“There’s an awful lot of work to to in this case. This case could take a long time to come to trial,” the detective said.

Mr Farrell was also told the decision to charge Haddock had nothing to do with the fact he is due to be released next week after completing his sentence for attacking Trevor Gowdy outside a social club near north Belfast in December 2002.

Haddock, formerly from Mount Vernon in north Belfast, survived an assassination attempt before being sent to jail.

He is currently locked in a High Court battle to win a ban against the media reporting his whereabouts and planned name change once he is freed.

He was remanded in custody to appear again via video link next Monday.

07 January 2009
SINN Fein members have been branded “sick” as it emerged they plan to pay a visit this weekend to Narrow Water – scene of the IRA murder of 18 British Army Paratroopers in 1979.
Ógra Shinn Féin, the youth wing of the party, are due to host a historical tour which will include holding an event and debate at the site of the atrocity.

The DUP has accused republicans of causing hurt and offence and revelling in the heinous crime.

South Down DUP Jim Wells said: “How would Sinn Fein react if the DUP held a commemoration at Loughgall police station to gloat over the killing of eight IRA terrorists by the SAS?”

On the same day that the Narrow Water visit sparked outrage Sinn Fein Youth was also causing controversy over a posting on its website of a picture of Culture Minister Gregory Campbell as a Nazi.

He said he was non-plused that he was annoying Sinn Fein enough for its younger members to be taking pops at him, but he said the Nazi tag was crossing the line of acceptability.

“The irony will not be lost on people that this is the youth wing of an organisation that has had fascist tendencies calling a democrat a fascist,” he said.

Republicans said the DUP man’s appointment as the Culture Minister was akin to making French National Front leader Jean Marie Le Pen head of race relations in France, because of Mr Campbell’s record of opposition to an Irish language act and “support for Glasgow Rangers”.

Sinn Fein Youth has been asked to remove the offending image, but it remained on its website yesterday afternoon.

And on the issue of Narrow Water, it reserved the right to hold a debate on the conflict at the site and discuss defining moments of the Troubles.

Mr Wells said: “Despite the green-tinted, ‘Wind that shakes the Barley’ interpretation of history that the Sinn Fein Youth may possess, the fact remains that they are attempting to glorify what was a cold-hearted and heinous act of murder carried out by wicked terrorists.”

He said that for some time now Sinn Fein Youth has engaged in insulting behaviour which he believed was deliberately designed to have a negative effect on community relations and cause hurt to the unionist community.

“It must be very easy for a bunch of foolhardy adolescents who weren’t actually alive during the Troubles to glorify past terrorist atrocities, but for those of us who lived through the terrorist campaign of murder such events evoke nothing but revulsion,” he said.

He called on the Sinn Fein leadership, “including Caitriona Ruane and Barry McIlduff, who are billed as headline speakers at this event”, to distance themselves from these actions.

“Everyone knows that the Sinn Fein youth wing is an embarrassment to their more senior colleagues – this after all is the group whose contribution to delivering a united Ireland has been to run around the countryside painting post boxes green.”

Newcastle Sinn Fein Youth spokesman Fra Cochrane responded that Mr Wells was guilty of attempting to generate controversy and cheap headlines.

“The weekend being organised by Ógra Shinn Féin will include debates on a diverse range of issues involving prominent guest speakers who are taking the time to engage with young people on political and social topics,” he said.

“There will also be a number of historical tours including a trip to Narrow Water Castle, which will allow for an explanation of some of the defining moments of the past conflict.

“Mr Wells needs to realise that republicans fought a justifiable war against the British war machine here in Ireland, just as the Palestinian people are currently doing in Gaza. The British Paratroop Regiment are notorious killers who, amongst a litany of other crimes in the six counties, murdered 13 innocent people in Derry on Bloody Sunday. The British soldiers killed at Narrow Water were combatants in a bloody conflict where all sides suffered.”

North Belfast loyalist Mark Haddock has appeared in court charged with the murder of a UDA member eight years ago.

Tommy English, 40, was shot dead during a loyalist feud in October 2000.

Mark Haddock is due to be released from prison later this month

Haddock, 40, from Mount Vernon, was arrested in Maghaberry prison on Wednesday. He is serving a 10-year sentence for attacking a club doorman.

Belfast Magistrates Court was told the case against Haddock was based on statements of two brothers who admitted having a role in the murder.

The pair from Newtownabbey were initially charged with murder but last month admitted a lesser charge.

Amid tight security on Thursday, the court heard claims that the brothers had made “lengthy statements” implicating between eight and 10 people in the case.

The murder of Tommy English was one of 10 killings linked by a Police Ombudsman’s report on alleged collusion to the accused, who was a CiD and Special Branch informant.

As well as the murder, he was also charged with UVF membership. A bail application is expected to be lodged shortly.

He is due to be released from prison later this month.

BBC
7 Jan 09

Two former IRA prisoners blackmailed two businessmen to get a share of £6m, Southwark Crown Court has heard.

Nick Mullen, 60, from Acton, west London, was once alleged to have been a “quartermaster” at an IRA bomb factory.

The jury heard details of the two men’s backgrounds

His co-accused Ronald McCartney, 55, from Belfast, was convicted of trying to kill three policeman in the 1970s.

The London court was told that they demanded the men pay £150,000 each “or face the consequences”. Both deny two counts of conspiracy to blackmail.

A third man, Louis O’Hara, 43, from Loughton, Essex, also denies two counts of conspiracy to blackmail between 1 January and 16 April 2008.

All three are accused of “conspiring together and with others to make, with a view to gain for themselves or another, unwarranted demands for payment of monies in the sum of £150,000 with menaces”.

Nom de guerre

Mark Heyward, prosecuting, told the court that the two alleged victims raised £6m using the name of the IRA and the defendants felt these men “would have to contribute in the sums demanded or face the consequences”.

“In a nutshell, the prosecution case is that these three defendants, with others, entered into an unlawful agreement to extort money from each of the two victims by making these threatening and menacing calls, letters and visits,” he said.

“It is difficult to imagine a more concentrated kind of threat than the threat purported to have come from a paramilitary organisation, like the Irish Republican Army, notwithstanding the lessening of the Troubles and also the Good Friday Agreement in the late ’90s,” he said.

‘Fort Knox will not be safe for either you or your extended family.’
–Extract from a letter allegedly sent to one of the blackmail victims

Mr Heyward also said that letters to the alleged victims - who cannot be named for legal reasons - bore the Irish Gaelic for the IRA - Oglaigh na h-Eireann - and were signed with the organisation’s nom de guerre “P O’Neill”.

“You will hear that is an historical signature often used by the Provisional IRA in the course of the height of the Troubles to sign off official statements,” he said.

The court was told that the first threatening call was made on 26 March last year.

A man claiming to be from the IRA and using the name P O’Neill allegedly told one of the businessmen: “There has been an investigation. We know what you’ve been up to.”

Mr Heyward said the call came from Mr McCartney’s mobile phone and was “akin to downright extortion, the words pregnant with the threat of violence”.

Later, in a second call, the barrister said the caller warned: “You better make delivery.”

The barrister also read out a letter allegedly sent to the businessmen which said: “When you think of the volunteers who are in early graves as a result of [the Republican] struggle and the volunteers and families who have endured years of imprisonment you will understand our justifiable anger that the two of you have exploited this situation for your own personal gain.”

The letter added: “If you involve the police or anyone else then Fort Knox will not be safe for either you or your extended family.

“We want to resolve this issue, but if you fail to comply then appropriate action will be taken.”

Prosecutors say the letters were “intended to instil sufficient reaction, sufficient fear” to force them to hand over the money.

The court was told that Mr McCartney “accepted” he had known one of the alleged victims for more than 10 years, but “denied any involvement in sending any blackmail letter or writing it”.

Mr Mullen, meanwhile, also admitted knowing one of the businessmen and writing one of the letters, which included the words “their patience was limited”.

Ronald McCartney was convicted of attempted murder in 1976

He insisted he was simply “asking for a donation”.

“He stated he was just a middle man, an honest broker,” said Mr Heyward.

‘IRA membership’

Opening what was expected to be a three-week trial, the barrister told the jury that the nature of the case meant it was appropriate for them to know aspects of the defendants’ backgrounds.

Mr McCartney, the barrister said, was convicted at Winchester Crown Court in 1976 of “three counts of attempted murder of three different policemen”.

He said he was also found guilty of “a single count of conspiracy to cause explosions, possessing a firearm with intent to endanger life and using a firearm with intent to resist arrest… all of which related, says the prosecution, to his activities as a part of his membership of the IRA”.

Mr Mullen, meanwhile, was convicted of “significant terrorist offences and was sentenced at the Old Bailey to 30 years’ imprisonment in June 1990 for conspiracy to cause explosions”.

“He was alleged in that trial to have acted as quartermaster for an IRA active service unit in London in 1988,” he said.

“However, and you will also hear evidence of this, in 1999 the Court of Appeal Criminal Division… quashed his conviction on the principal ground that the process used to return him to the United Kingdom from Zimbabwe where he had gone after the events that had led to his arrest, was itself unlawful.”

The trial continues.