SAOIRSE32

News Letter
10 July 2009

A LEADING Orangeman has hit out at an extreme loyalist paramilitary group which has threatened attacks on Catholic property.

In a statement to the News Letter, the Orange Volunteers said they will be “monitoring attacks on Orange halls and other buildings”.

A male caller, who gave a codeword, claiming to represent the North and South East Antrim Orange Volunteers, said: “Attacks (on Catholic property) will increase if they (attacks) are not stopped on Protestant buildings.”

No admission of responsibility was made for a string of attacks on Wednesday night which saw five Catholic churches paint-bombed and a car burnt out on GAA grounds in the north Antrim area.

Last night Orange Order Grand Secretary Drew Nelson said the Orange Volunteers “besmirch the name of Orangeism”.

Mr Nelson said his organisation does not condone the actions or statements of the Orange Volunteers.

“We do not know who they are and have never had any contact with them,” he said.

“We feel that by using the word ‘Orange’ in the name of their organisation they are undermining the good name of the Orange Order which they know full well is opposed to what they are doing.

“We want to state clearly that we are totally opposed to any threat or actual attack, to property belonging to any representative group or individual.

“Clearly there are a small number of people in both communities who wish to heighten tensions in the run-up to the parading season.

“I call on all law-abiding citizens in both communities to let the police deal with attacks on property and to give any information they have about these attacks or the people behind them to the police.”

The Orange Volunteers first emerged during the 1998 Drumcree conflict when Portadown Orange Order and their supporters were prevented from returning to the town centre down the Garvaghy Road.

It is believed they are made up of former UVF members who disapprove of the peace process.

They have been behind previous attacks on Catholic property in the Province, while pipe bomb attacks have also been attributed to them.

Last night, a police spokesman said: “In recent days we have had a series of attacks on Orange halls and also on buildings which are also culturally important to the Catholic community.

“This is a time for everyone to show restraint and civic responsibility, to support their neighbours and to demonstrate to those few who would seek to disrupt the lives of the many that they will not succeed.

“Those who own premises which they think might be vulnerable need to be talking to the police and to take measures to protect their property.

“Anyone who has information about who is behind any attack should come to us. We need evidence which can bring those responsible to court and secure a conviction.

“Police can be contacted on 0845 600 800 or anonymous information can be passed to the Crimestoppers charity on 0800 555 111.”

Belfast Media.com
10th of July 2009

The son of a Glengormley man brutally murdered by the UVF 16 years ago has branded the erection of the paramilitary group’s flag just yard from his former home as an “insult to his family”.

Pensioner and father of four Seán Fox was shot dead by the UVF in his Harmin Park home in October 1993.

This week a UVF flag was raised at the entrance to the Harmin estate on the Hightown Road just yards from where the quiet widower lived when he was murdered.

His son Dermot Fox hit out the paramilitary flag flying on the Hightown Road which is close to a number of Catholic schools and St Enda’s GAC.

“It just shows they (the UVF) haven’t changed at all,” said Dermot.

“The flag was put up for one reason and one reason only and that is to intimidate Catholics living in the area. It is a calculated insult to our family. The UVF are supposed to have decommissioned their weapons. Why put the flag up and insult people?”

The honorary president of St Enda’s GAA had lost an eye when he was caught up in an explosion at a pub in the 1970s. He was an avid Gaelic football fan and highly-respected Antrim Gael who taught Irish classes at the Glengormley GAA club.

The 72-year old was abused by his captors for more than an hour before his murder.

I included the video on Bruce, thinking that it was most likely just a bit of fluff to add to the story about the family pet being taken away, but at the end of the video, you can see the disgraceful treatment this poor dog has been given in his 2 years of impound and is still being given at the hands of his captors. He is injured and in poor shape. It breaks my heart to look at it. You just want to scream at the injustice.

Please watch the video and sign the petition. If I can find some email addresses to send letters to, I will post them. I am hoping all the many thousands of people who have signed the petition and written in protest will help BRING BRUCE HOME.

**Sign the petition to BRING-BRUCE-HOME at Care 2

**Watch the video

12,000 join global campaign to save dog court ruled is illegal pit-bull

By Diana Rusk
Irish News
08/07/2009

**Sign the petition to BRING-BRUCE-HOME at Care 2

**Watch the video

DOGGED DEBATE: Shannon Brown’s dog Bruce who a court has ordered should be destroyed after determining the dog is a pit-bull, an illegal breed. Ms Brown maintains her dog is a Staffordshire-Bull terrier, inset

DOG lovers across the world have backed a Co Down woman’s two-year legal battle to stop her pet ‘pit-bull’ from being destroyed.

Shannon Brown’s dog Bruce was seized from its home in Bangor by North Down Borough Council wardens in September 2007 and has been in kennels ever since.

A district judge last year determined the animal was a pit-bull – an illegal breed under the Dangerous Dogs Act – and ordered the animal be put down.

Despite the dog’s owner lodging an appeal in the case, the original ruling was upheld in Belfast Magistrate’s Court last Monday and it was ordered that the dog be destroyed within a week.

Ms Brown (20) then applied for a judicial review, which was dismissed but she has been given until Monday to appeal the decision in a last ditch attempt to save the animal.

It is understood the court has ruled that the animal does not pose a risk to the public.

Almost 12,000 people from all over the globe have signed an online petition to ‘Bring Bruce Home’ and protests have been organised in America with news channel CNN covering the case.

Northern Ireland is unique in Britain and Ireland because all animals a court decides are pit-bull types must be destroyed.

Ms Brown last night insisted her pet was not dangerous. “He has never harmed anyone,” she said.

“We found Bruce as a puppy in a cardboard box on Albert Street in Bangor and he was just over two years old when he was seized.

“I have always maintained that he is not a pit-bull but that he is a Staffordshire-Bull Terrier.

“He lived with me and my partner’s child, who was three years old, and a Labrador and never caused any harm to either of them.

“I understand pit-bulls being used for fighting would be a danger but this was a family pet who was never abused in any way.”

She said a dog sanctuary in the Republic of Ireland where pit-bulls are a legal breed, has offered to provide a home to Bruce.

Ms Brown said she would be “heartbroken” if her pet is destroyed and hopes international support for her case can add pressure.

“The response has been brilliant and crazy and completely unexpected,” she said.

“There are signatures from all over the world – Italy, South Africa, China, everywhere – protests have been held in America over Bruce and CNN has covered it.”

David Brown from North Down Borough Council said wardens were carrying out their duty when they seized the dog on 19 September 2007 after reports that the animal was an illegal breed.

However, he agreed the legislation around dangerous dogs in Northern Ireland is “not fit for purpose”.

“The judges don’t like it. We don’t like it and we hope the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development will soon clarify the legislation,” he said.

“We have been inundated with hundreds of emails and telephone calls from around the world in this case.”

Dangerous dog legislation

–Northern Ireland is the only place in Britain and Ireland where dogs found to be of the pit-bull type must be destroyed under legislation

–Pit-bulls are one of four dogs banned under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991

–In 1997 an amendment to the Act was accepted in England, Scotland and Wales removing the mandatory destruction order for illegal breeds if the court accepts the animal does not pose a risk to the public

–These dogs are entered on to the Index of Exempted Dogs instead of being destroyed

–However, the amendment was never extended to Northern Ireland

–The case is even more clear cut in the Republic where no breeds are banned and some dog sanctuaries operating there give homes to pit-bulls from the north

–Legislation is being reviewed by the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development

–On November 20 2007, agriculture minister Michelle Gildernew announced a review of the Dangerous Dogs Act and dog fighting legislation

–She has held meetings with the PSNI and representatives of District Councils to consider what action should be taken but no decisions have yet been made

–In March she said she would present a bill to the assembly after the summer recess

–It is the responsibility of district councils to enforce the act even though many dog wardens have been calling for amendments to be made to the legislation

–The maximum penalty for owning a banned dog type is six months imprisonment or a £5,000 fine

News Letter
09 July 2009

POLICE Special Branch in Northern Ireland were aware of intelligence information on the Omagh bomb soon after the atrocity, the former ombudsman claimed yesterday.

But information was not immediately passed on to investigating officers who spent months combing mobile phone records in the hunt for the Real IRA bombers, ex-police complaints head Nuala O’Loan added.

The perpetrators are believed to have used phones to communicate on their way to Omagh with the device.

Dame Nuala gave evidence to a committee of MPs at Westminster.

“I am satisfied that material was passed to Special Branch,” she said.

She talked about the reaction of secret service monitors.

“It triggered, and I am speculating, that the security services would be alarmed and distressed by the explosion and would immediately decide to search to see if they had anything which would be relevant, anything that had come in in the past hour or so.”

Ms O’Loan told the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee investigation opportunities could have been availed of.

She said there was a five-month delay in some cases as detectives combed through all the phone records in the area.

News Letter
09 July 2009

The Culture Minister has defended his religious conviction not to attend events in Catholic churches.

“I have personal views regarding worship and I would not attend a service in a Roman Catholic church,” said Mr McCausland.

“That has always been my position and remains such. That doesn’t mean that I do not have good relationships with Roman Catholic people.

“I wouldn’t want to offend them and I am sure they wouldn’t want to offend me.”

He said he would not attend any event on a Sunday, unless it was an Orange Order parade that included a church service, but denied that his role as a minister might see him have to visit a Catholic church or other venues he might not ordinarily choose to attend.

“There are places that I am sure I will go that I would not otherwise have gone, but when it is a matter of religious principle then I would have to abide by that,” he said.

All-Ireland Gaelic football champions Tyrone were hosted at the Stormont Assembly, but Mr McCausland said he did not to know who held the title.

SDLP Declan O’Loan said: “Nobody can expect a minister to be fully conversant with all aspects of language, culture and sport that we have here.

“It is important, however, that he shows himself respectful to all. He seems to ignore his duty in that regard.”

Mr McCausland yesterday launched the Orange Order’s July 12 events as one of his first actions as minister and faced accusations of not showing the same interest in events linked to the Catholic and nationalist community.

Sinn Fein Assembly member for North Antrim Daithi McKay said: “Since he came into office less than a week ago, Nelson McCausland has engaged in a media campaign attacking the GAA, the Irish language and now the Catholic Church.”

BBC
9 July 09

SDLP leader Mark Durkan has led a party delegation to meet Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen in Dublin.

The meeting focused on a range of issues, including the devolution of policing and justice.

He said the SDLP wanted to “maximise the potential of the devolution project and the north-south bodies”.

“The SDLP once again reiterated our position that a North-South approach remains the road-map for a better future for all the people of Ireland.”

Mr Durkan said “North-South business should not be closed down and or pared back to suit different parties”.

“We noted our deep concern that the whole North-South project has been frustrated in number of areas since the restoration of political institutions. The DUP has been culpable while Sinn Fein has been compliant,” he said.

Mr Durkan said they emphasised “that the devolution of justice and policing powers must take sooner rather than later”.

“There is no room for any political party to take its eye off the ball. It is critically important to the devolution project that we get over the line on this issue,” he said.

The delegation also met Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny and Labour Party leader Eamon Gilmore.

News Letter
09 July 2009

ONE of the men found liable for the Omagh bombing should face extradition proceedings to Lithuania – where he is wanted on arms smuggling charges – in Northern Ireland and not the Republic, a judge ruled in Belfast yesterday.

Extradition proceedings were already under way in Dublin when Liam Campbell, 46, crossed the border into Northern Ireland where he was arrested by police.

Belfast Recorder Tom Burgess was asked to rule whether Campbell should be returned to Dublin where proceedings were well advanced or whether fresh extradition proceedings should be started in Northern Ireland.

He ruled yesterday that he should not be returned to Dublin and that the Lithuanian authorities wanted the matter to be proceeded with in the Province.

Campbell, of Upper Faughart, Dundalk, Co Louth, was one of four men held responsible last month for the Omagh bomb atrocity.

A landmark judgment in a civil action brought by relatives of some of the 29 people killed in the 1998 explosion found “cogent evidence” that Campbell was a member of the Real IRA’s army council.

The judge awarded relatives £1.6 million in damages against Campbell and three other alleged bombers.

Campbell is being sought in Lithuania over an alleged operation to acquire and ship guns and ammunition, explosives, detonators and timers from the eastern European state to Ireland.

He was arrested in south Armagh last month after crossing the border into the village of Bessbrook to take his wife to work.

Ruling that Campbell should face extradition proceedings from Northern Ireland to Lithuania, Judge Burgess said: “The judicial authority issuing this warrant sent it to Northern Ireland and to the Republic of Ireland at or about the same time, in circumstances where they would have had no control over, or knowledge of, within which jurisdiction it may be executed.”

In January, the warrant was executed in the Republic and matters would have rested there if Campbell had remained in that jurisdiction, said the judge.

The judge said he had chosen of his own free will to come into the northern jurisdiction and that the PSNI arrested him under the warrant which had been certified in January this year.

“I find no reason to impart to the PSNI any bad faith or abuse of their powers.

“They were arresting someone under an instrument duly issued by a judicial authority in a Part 1 Territory. That judicial authority has advised that it wishes the matter to proceed in this jurisdiction.”

The judge conceded that it was clearly an unusual set of circumstances but there was no reason why the process of extradition should not now take place in Northern Ireland following Campbell’s decision to enter that jurisdiction.

Campbell was remanded in continuing custody until tomorrow when his lawyers will make a bail application before Judge Burgess.

News Letter
09 July 2009

Police are investigating attacks on three Catholic churches in Ballymena early this morning.

And the incident has sparked calls for the north Antrim community to “keep a lid on tit for tat sectarian attacks”.

A bottle filled with paint was thrown at a church on Crebilly Road at around 4.47am today.

Paint bombs were also thrown at a church on the Larne Road, and at a church and on headstones on Portglenone Road.

Police have appealed for anyone with information to come forward.

North Antrim Sinn Fein MLA Daithi McKay condemned the sectarian paint bombing of the Catholic churches and said a GAA mural in the north Antrim village of Dunloy was also attacked.

“This was clearly a series of orchestrated attacks on Catholic Church and GAA property in the North Antrim area last night which needs to be condemned outright,” he said.

“Unfortunately, such incidents have occurred before in the lead-up to the 12th and there is an onus on everybody in this area, especially elected representatives, to use their influence to ensure that tensions do not rise further and that attacks on either side of the community are brought to an end.

“I would urge anyone with any information on these attacks to bring it forward to the authorities and ensure that those behind the attacks are prosecuted.”

The SDLP’s Declan O’Loan said he was saddened by the vandalism. He said it was a return to the kind of sectarian attack that had not been seen for some time in the area.

“Things have been very settled and very calm and certainly that has changed recently,” he said.

He said negative forces were filling a vacuum that he claimed was being created as a result of poor leadership from some unionist politicians.

DUP MLA for north Antrim Mervyn Storey said: “There are clearly those out there who feel there is a need for these tit for tat sectarian attacks.

“But if you attack an Orange Hall one night and a Roman Catholic church the next you are left with the situation that an eye for an eye leaves us both blind.

“The community must not let this spiral out of control.

“Whatever differences have arisen in north Antrim - with he UPRG and other groups - need to be worked through.”

Speaking on behalf of local Presbyterian Churches, Rev Joseph Andrews, Clerk of the Ballymena Presbytery said: “When any vandalism to Church property of any denomination takes place, it is very unsettling and distressing for the members of the congregation and embarrassing to the local community.”

He said he has spoken to the clergy at the different Catholic chapels and, “at a time when we would all agree that local relations are very good such attacks are disappointing”.

Rev Andrews called for recent tit for tat attacks to end, “Everyone has a duty to worship God and everyone¹s culture should be free from attack,” he said.

SDLP MLA Declan O’Loan said the attack was a “disgraceful episode for the Ballymena area”.

He said in recent weeks there has been a “state of nervousness and tension in the area, particularly about the flags disputes that has now manifested into these attacks.”

North Antrim Sinn Féin MLA Daithí McKay condemned the sectarian paint bombing of Catholic churches.

“Unfortunately such incidents have occurred before in the lead-up to the twelfth and there is an onus on everybody in this area, especially elected representatives to use their influence to ensure that tensions do not rise further and that attacks on either side of the community are brought to an end.”