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http://www.sinnfein.ie
8ú Aibreáin 2009 – 8th April 2009
Commenting on today’s statement from OFM/dFM concerning the future of the Maze/Long Kesh site, confirming an end to the stadium element of the development, Sinn Féin Assembly member for Lagan Valley Paul Butler said:
“At a time of a deepening economic crisis the Maze/Long Kesh development, including the multi-sports stadium, had the potential to create between 8 and 10,000 jobs. This has been squandered entirely due to power struggles, personal ambition and petty politics inside the DUP. It is now up to that party to justify this to the wider public in these difficult economic times.
“What is required now is for the stadium needs of the three sporting bodies to be met and to press ahead with the development of the Long Kesh site. Sinn Fein is determined to ensure that the listed buildings and the Conflict Transformation Centre will become the hub of a new and positive development at the Long Kesh site.
“There has been much good work done by the Maze/Long Kesh Consultative panel over the course of recent years. This work provides the foundation for the future development of the site.
“The fact is the listed prison buildings and the transformation centre will be a central part of the future development of the Long Kesh site and the DUP and others need to recognise that reality.
“The Barossa Task Force recognised the contribution which the north can make towards peace building and conflict resolution. It should be noted that the executive, have in their response to the Barossa Taskforce committed to developing a facility to share our experiences. Given the recognised historic and reconciliation potential of the site we believe that it would be fitting for such a facility should be located at Long Kesh” ENDS
http://www.sinnfein.ie
On 9 April, the Sinn Fein leadership gave the following statement, which we reproduce in full below.
On this the 93rd anniversary of the 1916 Rising the leadership of Sinn Féin extends its solidarity to the families of all our patriot dead.
- We remember with pride those comrades from every generation who gave their lives for the cause of Irish freedom.
- We extend solidarity to those Irish republicans in prison.
- We are immensely proud of our patriot dead and of their families.
Last year in the course of a series of meetings across the country the Sinn Féin leadership engaged with the families of our patriot dead. These engagements were very informative and helpful.
As a result Coiste Náisiúnta an Tírghrá (Patriot Dead National Committee) was established.
Anyone wishing to assist in this programme of work should make contact locally.
The ideals and principles of the Proclamation are as relevant today as they have ever been.
The realisation of those ideals and principles is among the many tasks that we must complete in the time ahead.
In the coming months our party will contest elections North and South and there will be a new referendum on the Lisbon Treaty later in the year.
Everyone has a role to play in the forthcoming elections. Get involved now.
The current economic crisis affects us all. While this is a global crisis it is has been exacerbated by flawed Irish government policies and mismanagement.
We must reach out to and join with those political parties, voluntary and community organisations and trade unions that want to see real political change across the island of Ireland .
Irish unity remains Sinn Féin’s primary objective. We have a strategy to achieve that objective. Others disagree. But they offer no alternative.
We are right to resist those who have attacked the Peace Process.
This includes those in the British establishment who would seek to use recent events as an excuse to rush back to the days of militarisation and the abuses that flow from that.
In Ireland today there is an alternative to armed struggle.
A small number of militarist factions oppose Sinn Féin’s peace strategy.
Many are involved in criminal actions. Moreover they have no political programmes or strategies.
There is no feasible alternative to Sinn Féin’s strategy for a United Ireland.
Our objective now must be to consolidate the Peace Process and maximize popular support for national and democratic objectives.
Our greatest challenge in the time ahead is advancing our republican goal of a free, independent United Ireland.
We need to build Sinn Féin everywhere. We need to make political alliances and to campaign on social and economic issues. We also need to build support internationally.
We need to build the politics of republicanism and to unite Protestant, Catholic and Dissenter.
We believe that Irish unity can deliver social, economic and cultural equality for all of our people.
As we celebrate the lives of our comrades and commemorate the sacrifices of our patriot dead let us re-commit ourselves to the achievement of our republican objectives.
Sinn Féin has also released details of it commemorations to mark the 1916 Easter Rising. Party President Gerry Adams will address the main commemoration in Belfast on Easter Sunday assembling at Beechmount Avenue at 1pm while Vice-President Mary Lou McDonald will address the main Dublin commemoration on Easter Sunday assembling at the Garden of Remembrance at 1:30pm.
A full list of commemorations taking place throughout the country can be found on the Sinn Fein website www.sinnfein.ie
http://www.sinnfein.ie
On 6 April, Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams travelled to the Middle East for a series of meetings. On 9 April he was in Gaza where, among other meetings, he met Ismail Haniya, the Prime Minister of Gaza.
Speaking after a day-long series of meetings with a wide section of the Gaza civic, political and business communities and an hour long meeting with Mr. Ismail Haniya, Gerry Adams said: `I welcome the opportunity to engage with so many people here today. I was pleased to speak directly with Mr. Haniya. I outlined to him Sinn Féin’s view that there should be a complete cessation of all hostilities and armed actions by all sides.’
He added `I emphasised our opinion that dialogue, including substantive and inclusive negotiations, and a genuine peace process, is the only way forward for Palestinians and Israeli’s.’
`The fact is that the people of Palestine and the people of Israel are destined to live side by side. I believe that most people want a peaceful accommodation.’
He went on to say `Following my meeting with Mr. Haniya I believe that progress is possible. Mr. Haniya told me that Hamas wants a peace agreement.
`As I have said consistently there needs to be a dialogue between the people of Palestine and their leadership and the people of Israel and their leadership.
That is what worked in Ireland.
`I believe that there is a duty on the international community to recognise the democratic outcome of the elections in Palestinian Territories.
`I believe that the people of Palestine and the people of Israel have the right to live free from the fear of threats, with human rights and in dignity and as equals.
`The citizens of Gaza are living in an open air prison. They are being denied their human and national rights. This has to be rectified’.
Mr. Adams continued his visit to Gaza with more political meetings planned for 10 April and a tour of the area devastated by the Israeli air and ground assault.
The visit to the area was part of a wider visit to Israel and the west Bank. Earlier in the week Mr. Adams spent his first day in the region visiting Sderot and Kfar Aza – a town and Kibbutz – in southern Israel that have been the targets for rocket attacks from Gaza.
Speaking first in Irish to a packed press conference in Gaza on 8 April, amid the rubble of buildings destroyed during the recent assault on Gaza by Israel Mr. Adams said: `The last time I visited this region was two and a half years ago. The conflict has been unrelenting since then. My purpose in travelling to this region is to meet as wide a range of Israeli and Palestinian opinion as practicable; to listen to what they have to say; to learn more about the situation and to answer any questions they may have about the Irish peace process.’
He said `The vast majority of Irish citizens who watched the Israeli assault unfold on Gaza before and after Christmas were shocked by what they saw. They believe that what happened was wrong.
`I too watched those scenes on TV but nothing prepares you for the reality of the destruction and the enormous impact this has had on people, on families and on children. Sinn Fein and the majority of citizens in Ireland want all of this to end.
`I believe there should be a complete cessation of all hostilities and freedom of movement for everyone.
`There needs to be a dialogue between the people of Palestine and their leadership; and the people of Israel and their leadership; leading to a peace settlement which must be urgently built.
`We believe that the people of Palestine and the people of Israel have the right to live free from the fear of threats, with human rights and in dignity and as equals. And in as much as Sinn Fein can help we will.’
He concluded: `The international community has a huge responsibility to use its influence to support a meaningful peace process that can deliver real change and hope for the people of Gaza. I am convinced following my conversations and from my knowledge of this situation that the overwhelming majority of Palestinians and Israelis want peace and stability and a better future.’
http://www.irishcentral.com/news/New-hope-for-undocumented-Irish-42744057.html
By CONN CORRIGAN
IrishCentral.Com Staff Writer
Published Thursday, April 9, 2009, 8:54 AM
Updated Thursday, April 9, 2009, 8:54 AM
Bart Murphy, the chairman of the Irish Lobby for Immigration Reform, has welcomed the news that the Obama administration is planning a new initiative on the U.S. immigration system later this year.
On Wednesday, Cecilia Muñoz, deputy assistant to the president and director of intergovernmental affairs in the White House, said that the President would begin examining ways in which undocumented workers could gain a path to citizenship.
What the President wants, Muñoz said, is a “policy reform that controls immigration and makes it an orderly system.”
“The Irish Lobby for Immigration Reform (ILIR) welcomes the new Obama Administration initiative,” Murphy, who recently became chairman of the ILIR, told IrishCentral.
“It’s the start of a new debate. And we at the ILIR will be standing shoulder to shoulder with the various other immigration organizations, pushing for reform, as we have been in the past.”
Sheila Glesson, the executive director of Coalition of Irish Immigration Centers, also welcomed the news. “I’ve been working in this area for a long time,” Gleeson said. “So I am cautiously optimistic. But we have to have hope.”
When a bipartisan immigration bill supported by Bush was defeated in 2007, the Irish undocumented were hugely disappointed. But this new effort at immigration reform is likely to bring some hope to the estimated 50,000 undocumented Irish currently in the U.S.
During his election campaign, President Obama identified comprehensive immigration legislation as a priority during his first term in office.
According to a report in the New York Times, President Obama will speak publicly on the issue in May, and will then convene working groups, which will include lawmakers from both parties, as well as a range of immigration groups. Legislation could begin as early as this fall.
However, he acknowledged last month that this would be an extremely difficult problem to address."I know this is an emotional issue; I know it’s a controversial issue,” he told a town meeting in California. “I know that the people get real riled up politically about this."
He added that immigrants who are long time residents but who don’t have legal status “have to have some mechanism over time to get out of the shadows.”
Bart Murphy warned that Obama is certain to face serious opposition to his plans, particularly now that jobs have become scarcer and the unemployment rate is rising, as politicians try to exploit the immigration issue to further their own ends. “It will be a struggle,” Murphy said.
Sheila Gleeson said that the American public should know that it’s not simply the case that undocumented competing with Americans for jobs – often, in fact, undocumented are often employers themselves.
“I personally know hundreds of undocumented Irish who are employers, and who contribute to the local economy both by employment and by their contribution to the tax base. We have to also to realize that many booms in local economies around the U.S. were created off the back of immigrant labor.”
According to Bart Murphy, now is the time for the ILIR and other like-minded groups to start mobilizing. “It’s like saving hay – you make hay while the sun shines. And it wasn’t the time to save hay last year because of the election, when neither party wanted to debate the issue. Now is the right time,” Murphy, who was recently made chairman of the lobby group, said.
Meanwhile, the rest of the news for Irish immigrants has been mixed. Canada has relaxed immigration rules to enable international students to work in Canada for up to three years after graduating. But the Australian Government announced plans last month plans to restrict immigration by revising their “Critical Skills Lists” so that only immigrants with skills that are most needed come to the country.
http://www.irishcentral.com/news/ILIR-Meets-in-Boston-42686157.html
By April Drew
Published Wednesday, April 8, 2009, 11:15 AM
Updated Wednesday, April 8, 2009, 11:15 AM
A large crowd gathered at the Irish Cultural Center of New England in Canton, Massachusetts on Monday night to hear from the Irish Lobby for Immigration Reform (ILIR).
The meeting was organized by Irish immigrants Hugh Meehan and Jimmy Gallagher.
“Although there was a lot of frustration and anger in the room, people came prepared with some great questions and we explained as best we could the issues,” said Murphy.
Former Congressman Bruce Morrison, public affairs consultant to ILIR, was on hand to explain the details of a proposed E3 visa that he hopes to bring to the U.S. government’s attention in coming months.
The E3 visa (modeled on the deal the Australians have with the U.S) proposed by ILIR would essentially open the gateway for legal immigration for Irish citizens to the U.S.
ILIR is hoping to secure the visa deal with the U.S. government that would allow people to leave Ireland and come and work in the U.S. for two years. It is also their hope that the only qualifications needed would be a leaving certificate or a trade qualification.
Murphy said, “This is where we differ from the similar Australian visa as they require a degree.”
Although the proposed E3 visa would not directly help the undocumented currently living in the U.S., Murphy explained that certain waivers will be sought.
“We hope to get administrative waivers that some of the undocumented can avail of,” said Murphy.
Morrison said in one way or another an E3 visa will provide some benefits for the undocumented here as well as providing a future long term sustainable system of migration to the U.S.
ILIR vice chairman Ciaran Staunton told the energized crowded that "ILIR wants to make sure that this is the last generation of Irish in America that has to listen to a family member's funeral on the telephone. It is our goal that this is the last generation of Irish to be undocumented in America."
Murphy stated that the immigration system has been broken for 45 years and that prior fixes such as the Donnelly and Morrison visas, although very helpful, did not deal with the systemic problem that there is little or no pathway for long-term Irish immigration to the U.S.
Last week Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Brian Cowen said in Ireland that although it is necessary to “continue to put the case (of the undocumented) in the corridors of power in the U.S.,” it is not a good time to be making “demands in this regard.”
Commenting on this, Murphy said that although he agrees with Cowen on the issue of comprehensive immigration reform not getting passed any time soon because of the economy, he did say that ILIR are insistent in pursuing the E3 visa deal.
“This is the ILIR pushing this visa. We would like the Irish government to get behind us, but it’s more of a role for Irish people here to take ownership of the campaign,” he said.
ILIR leaders were in Washington on Tuesday meeting with Congressman Richie Neal, chairman of the Friends of Ireland, and Irish Ambassador to the U.S. Michael Collins.
ILIR plans to host a slew of meetings across the U.S. Next on the agenda is a meeting in New York in May. Details of the meeting have yet to be confirmed.
http://www.opendemocracy.net/blog/ourkingdom-theme/patrick-corrigan/2009/04/09/who-guards-the-guards
Patrick Corrigan, 9 - 04 - 2009
Cross-posted from Belfast and Beyond
A couple of weeks ago I blogged about an approaching SDLP seminar on the oversight of policing in times of threat.
With the events in London of recent days – rough-house public policing, followed by attempts to obfuscate; blundered security, followed by daylight counter-terrorism raids – it seems clear that it is not just in Northern Ireland where hard questions about policing oversight need to be answered.
I have reproduced the highlights from the Northern Ireland seminar in a series of blogs at Amnesty Blogs: Belfast and Beyond.
Hanging over the whole event was the dark shadow of Omagh. Ten years ago, 29 people and two unborn babies were killed in a Real IRA bomb, the biggest single atrocity of the Troubles. A decade on, those responsible have never been brought to justice. From bereaved father Michael Gallagher, to Panorama journalist John Ware, to former Police Ombdudsman Dame Nuala O'Loan, to security journalist Brian Rowan, we heard of a litany of police and intelligence service failures (or worse), including a lack of intelligence-sharing before and after the bomb itself.
"We have experienced nothing but failure and excuses. Monumental failures," Michael Gallagher declares.
He notes that when a terrorist bomb killed 19 US service personnel in Dhahran in Saudi Arabia in 1996, a prompt high-level inquiry found the senior US commander in charge of security to have been negligent and ordered that he be denied future promotion and not given any further role in personal security. By contrast, Gallagher reminds us, the senior police officer in Northern Ireland at the time of the bombing, Chief Constable Sir Ronnie Flanagan, "was promoted to the role of HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary, responsible for good, accountable policing in England and Wales."
Maybe this culture of impunity and reluctance to critically examine failure, goes some way to explaining the ever-diminishing levels of public confidence in the police. The latest figures show fewer than half the people surveyed in England and Wales now have confidence in the police. The Independent Police Complaints Commission doesn't seem up to the job of stopping the rot.
Michael Gallagher speaks with softness but steel in his voice. Chastened by bitter experience in Northern Ireland, he believes the "system is incapable of delivering justice". The Omagh families are now "calling for a judicial, cross-border inquiry into the Omagh bomb."
He doesn't want other families to suffer the same way as his own, but he leaves a chilling thought hanging in the air. If the Real IRA bombers who ordered and carried out the 1998 Omagh bomb had been caught, then perhaps Northern Ireland would not be experiencing further killings by the exact same group today. Instead, he believes, the failure to catch the Omagh bombers "sent a message that you can kill thirty-one people and get away with it."
Now that responsibility for national security in Northern Ireland has shifted from the police to MI5, the inadequate oversight of the security services is a problem common to the whole of the UK. John Ware and Nuala O'Loan are pretty clear that existing oversight mechanisms – the Intelligence Services Commissioner and Westminster's Intelligence and Security Committee – are simply not up to the job.
The stakes are high. There is no doubt that the UK faces an ongoing threat of terrorism, homegrown and imported. Oversight isn't about binding the hands of those charged with protecting us. It is about ensuring that they make the right decisions to help keep us safe in our beds at night and on our buses, streets and tube trains in the morning.
Forget the conspiracies. Whether in Omagh a decade ago, or London in the last week, we all should have enough c*ck-ups by now to point to the same conclusion: more effective measures for the oversight of policing and intelligence are well overdue.
http://irishnationalcaucus.blogspot.com/2009/04/mccord-loyalist-betrayed-by-brits.html
Thursday, April 09, 2009
Raymond Mc Cord Sr. - Protestant Loyalist Betrayed by British State; Befriended by Irish Priest on Capitol Hill
CAPITOL HILL. April 14, 2009 --- There was a time it would have been impossible for Raymond Mc Cord Sr. to have believed it: that a veteran campaigner on Capitol Hill for the rights of mistreated Catholics in Northern Ireland would become his best ally in seeking justice for his own murdered Protestant son.
But from May 4 to May 14, 2009 Fr. Sean Mc Manus, president of the Capitol Hill-based Irish National Caucus, and Raymond Mc Cord Sr. of Belfast will be pounding the halls of Congress and singing from the same hymn-sheet – a human rights sheet that is neither Protestant nor Catholic.
“Despite the tragic divisions in Northern Ireland, there is still a strong Ulster bond, which asserts itself when the Protestant and the Catholic each experiences British injustice”, explains Fr. Mc Manus. “Raymond’s son, Raymond Jr., was brutally murdered by a Loyalist Protestant paramilitary group in 1997 (the first betrayal) and the leader of the gang was protected in a sinister cover-up because he was a British Government agent and police informer (the second betrayal)”.
Raymond, Sr. adds: “ All my life I have been a staunch Loyalist Protestant who believes in the Union between Great Britain and Northern Ireland. I used to dismiss claims of Catholic mistreatment as mere Republican propaganda. I could not believe that MY British Government and MY police could be guilty of political assassinations, brutality and deadly cover-ups. Until it all happened to my own beloved son. Since Raymond Jr. was murdered, I have encountered stonewalling and obstruction from the British Government and Northern Ireland police. I can only turn for justice to Fr. Mc Manus and his many friends in Congress. He has assured me that the US Congress will fight for my rights as hard as they have fought for the rights of Catholics in Northern Ireland”.
Fr. Mc Manus added: “ I have been touched by Raymond’s profound love for his son and deeply impressed by his bravery and fearless integrity. I can pay him no higher respect when I call him, “ The Protestant Pat Finucane of Northern Ireland”. END.PS. Below is a letter that Fr. Mc Manus is sending to key Members of Congress, plus a Fact Sheet on Mc Cord Case.
************
The Honorable Richie Neal
2208 RHOB
US House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515
April 14, 2009
Dear Richie,
From May 4 to May 14, 2009 the Irish National Caucus is sponsoring a visit to Capitol Hill by Raymond Mc Cord, Sr. –- the intrepid Protestant Loyalist from Belfast.
He is most anxious to meet with you to bring you up to date on his heroic campaign to bring to justice those who killed his 22-year-old son, Raymond, Jr., in 1997.
The leader of the Protestant Loyalist gang that killed his son has been protected by a sinister cover-up because he was a British Government agent and police informer. (That is something which Catholics have more usually complained about). For more details please see attached Fact Sheet and News Release.
In the past critics of your involvement, and mine, in the Irish issue tried to claim our concern was only for the rights Catholics in Northern Ireland.
We always knew that was not true: that our concern is for human rights and equality for all the people on the island of Ireland, irrespective of class or creed.
And our solidarity with the remarkably brave Protestant Raymond Mc Cord, Sr. clearly testifies to that.
We will be in contact with your office to arrange a meeting, which hopefully you can schedule.
Thank you so very much.
God bless America and God save Ireland.
Shalom.
Fr. Sean Mc Manus
President.
***********
FACT SHEET
RAYMOND MC CORD’S STRUGGLE FOR JUSTICE
April 14, 2009
Raymond’s son, Raymond Jr., a 22-year-old Royal Air Force member, was brutally beatento death in a quarry near Belfast in November 1997 by members of the Protestant Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) based in the Mount Vernon area of that city.
The leader of the gang who ordered the murder was a government agent and police informer. He, therefore, has been protected by a sinister cover-up by the British government and the Northern Ireland police.
Raymond, Sr. has waged a heroic battle -- despite death threats and intimidation --- to bring the killers to justice. His fearless campaign led to a special investigation by the then Police Ombudsman, Nuala O’Loan. In a major 2007 Report she confirmed that the leader of the Mount Vernon gang, Mark Haddock was a “protected species”, despite being implicated in 16 murders, 10 attempted murders, 23 paramilitary-style shootings and beatings, drug-dealing, extortion, arson and intimidation.
The Ombudsman declared there was a “pattern of work by certain officers within Special Branch designed to ensure that [Haddock] and his associates were protected from the law”.
However, despite some progress, Raymond’s quest for justice has met with stonewalling, obstruction and cover-up. He looks to America for help.
http://www.tharsaile.org
For Immediate Release and Distribution:
April 9, 2009
Matt Morrison, spokesperson for "Thar Saile", a group representing a number of ex-Irish Republican Prisoners here in the United States, responded to the claim by the Irish Freedom Committee (a self-proclaimed "non-aligned" anti- Peace Process organization) that Pol Brennan is one of their POWs and by extension is opposed to the Good Friday Agreement:
"Thar Saile clearly does not share the political viewpoint of the Irish Freedom Committee. Our group has spoken out consistently in favor of the Peace Process.
"The Irish Freedom Committee is firmly set against the same process. We do take issue with their inclusion of Pol Brennan in their IPOW list and any suggestion that he is affiliated with their anti-Peace Process stance.
"Pol's membership of our group is predicated on support for the Good Friday Agreement. To avoid any confusion or misunderstanding, Pol needs to send a clear message to these opponents of the Peace Process that his campaign for justice will not be hijacked by people who offer no constructive way forward.
###
End
Contact People: Matt Morrison (314-712-9926) or Terry Kirby (925-818-3011)
http://www.serve.com/pfc/
The Pat Finucane Centre is moving premises. We are moving to Unit 8b Rath Mór shopping centre, Eastway, Creggan.
Our phone number and email address will remain the same. There may be a few days when there will be a distruption to our telephone and emails until BT hook us up.
Directions to new PFC office: At present the PFC is at 1 West End Park at the junction of Eastway. New office - Proceed up Eastway towards Creggan. Drive past the entrance to the Rathmór business units (Furniture Plus etc) and continue for another 200 m up Eastway to the Rathmór Shopping Centre entrance on the left. See two stone pillars. Park in the car park and enter through the main shopping centre. See double doors on the left signed Rathmór Business Centre. Take the lift or the stairs up one flight and follow the signs.
Unit 8B Rathmór Business Centre
The other way to find us-we are above Costcutters Supermarket
http://livechicagonews.com/suburb-decides-against-holding-irish-parade/330/
April 9th, 2009
Evergreen Park has bowed out as host of the next South Side Irish Parade.
Village officials considered taking over the St. Patrick’s Day tradition last month after the parade’s Chicago-based organizers said they could no longer support it. After surveying residents by e-mail, Evergreen Park Mayor James Sexton said the 1,200 respondents were about evenly split.
“Fifty percent is not a mandate,” Sexton said. “It doesn’t give us enough to go on. We have ended discussions.”
Organizers cancelled the South Side Irish Parade last month after the 2009 event drew more than 300,000 people, saying it had grown too large and too rowdy for Beverly and Morgan Park neighborhoods.
Sexton, who brought his grandchildren to the South Side celebration each year, offered to keep the tradition alive if his constituents approved. Without enough support for the St. Patty’s festivities, the Sexton said the village will stick to what it does best: hosting a beloved Independence Day parade that attracts about 100,000 people.
“We’re not giving up that tradition,” he said.
– Stacy St. Clair
Updated: 10/4/2009
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