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http://www.nwipp-newspapers.com/UH/free/358485044592400.php
By Rosetta Donnelly
POLICE have rushed to defend their handling of security at Friday night's illegal Loyalist band parade at John Street in Omagh.
The True Blues parade took place in Omagh on Friday evening but, after it was over, three bands went to the Kevlin Road and marched up to John Street in the direction of the Courthouse.
They played 'The Sash' outside pubs in area which prompted immediate condemnation by local business people who said it could have led to a riotous clash with young revellers.
A spokesman for the police said the bands congregated as they usually did at Johnston Road carpark and then went to the bus depot where the parade started. They travelled along Drumragh and up Market Street and High Street.
At the Courthouse a police officer indicated that the bands were to turn and go back down the street again to the bus depot.
The PSNI spokesman said that around 11pm police received a call that the bands were marching along the Kevlin Road and John Street, which are forbidden areas for these parades.
"We have been told by those involved that the three bands were from Belfast and Portadown and that they mistakenly turned down at Scarffe's Entry and travelled to the Kevlin Road.
"One of the bands went home while the other two continued marching until John Street. They then turned right and went to the courthouse and down the hill again."
The spokesman added, "This has never happened before in Omagh and the matter has been referred to the Parades Commission."
The incident was on the agenda at yesterday's meeting of the Parade's Commission.
Spokesman Brendan Mulgrew said the incident had been reported to the Commission by the PSNI and that it was debated at the meeting.
He said the Commission will be in contact with the two offending bands to demand an explanation as to what had happened.
"The Commission will act once it receives an explanation as to what happened in John Street," said Mr Mulgrew.
"Breaking a Parades Commission ruling could lead to prosecution, and we will also monitor that parade more closely in the future. However, first we have to hear from the bands involved."
Sinn Féin's Sean Begley said Friday night's incident highlights the long standing concerns of traders in the John Street area.
"The incident on Friday night highlights the absolute need for an end to such parades, particularly through the John Street area.
"The nightlife economy, which has been achieved as a result of a lot of hard work, must not be made to suffer as a result of these marches.
"The fact that 'The Sash' was played outside commercial premises was of obvious concern."
He added, "People who come from outside the town, and indeed those within the town who aim to stir up sectarian tensions, are not welcome and should stay away in future."
Cllr Begley also said he would be contacting the Parades commission to reiterate the strong opposition to such parades through John Street, which is a Nationalist area of Omagh town.
The councillor also rejected the PSNI's claims that the parade was policed in a professional and proportionate manner.
"If this had been the case both bands wouldn't have been facilitated in their coat trailing exercise.
"We don't have objections to people parading but in the case of these particular marches there is absolutely no consideration given for nationalist people of this area." concluded Cllr Begley.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/7990390.stm
By Linda Pressly
The Report
"The big one shot me in the right leg, and cracked me in the back of the head with his gun. Then he held me down, and the other two took a shot each in my other leg."
Matthew and Silvia - not their real names - sit side by side in their living room as they describe the night three masked men burst in and targeted Matthew in a paramilitary-style shooting.
Silvia points to the wooden floor.
"You can see the bullet holes over there. And there's still a bullet in Matthew's leg.
"I thought they were going to shoot him dead. And anything could have gone wrong - my son could have got it, but they just didn't care. It's just a nightmare, something you wake up to every day."
The men were in and out of the house in two minutes.
Peak year
Matthew and Silvia believe dissident republicans ordered the attack after Matthew was accused of being a drug dealer, a charge he denies.
Punishment shootings by paramilitary groups have always been a feature of the conflict in Northern Ireland.
“ If you go to the police, you get a death threat ”
'Matthew', punishment shooting victim
In both loyalist and republican areas they have been used against alleged criminals, and as a way of controlling the community.
According to Police Service of Northern Ireland statistics, in the post-Good Friday era
In the year 2007/2008, that figure had fallen to just seven attacks, five of them by republicans.
But in the last year there have been 20 recorded attacks. Eighteen of those have been in republican areas. Last week alone there were three reported attacks.
Jim Auld, a former republican prisoner and one of the leading lights of Community Restorative Justice Ireland, an organisation founded in the 1990s in response to punishment shootings, is worried.
Minority support
"The dissident republican groups want to show they're invaluable to the community. In overall terms those groups have very minimal support," he says.
"But if they are seen to be dealing with persistent offenders who're engaging in anti-social activities, the community sees that and by and large will support it."
A dissident republican group calling itself Oglaigh na hEireann has claimed responsibility for 15 recent punishment-style shootings.
Father Gary Donegan, a priest at the Holy Cross Church in north Belfast is often called on to negotiate by phone to stop punishment attacks.
Callers have claimed to be from Continuity IRA, the Real IRA and Oglaigh na hEireann.
Kidnap mediation
If potential victims in his parish are issued with a warning, then there is a chance Father Gary can intervene. But he has to wait until the gunmen make contact.
"Sometimes that happens through a phone call made to the monastery here, and they tell me an individual's under critical threat," he says.
Fr Gary has mediated in around two dozen cases in the last six months.
Matthew had no warning of the brutal attack that may have left him permanently disabled. Now he walks with a pronounced limp, the bones in his legs below the knees held together with metal pins.
Matthew, Silvia and their son are on medication - anti-depressants and sleeping pills. Matthew says he came close to committing suicide at Christmas time, and that the attack has ruined the family.
“ These are the most difficult crimes to solve simply because of the nature of the crime, the brutality of it and indeed the fact that communities still sometimes don't feel confident in talking to the police service ”
Sir Hugh Orde, Chief Constable, Police Service of Northern Ireland
"It's turned the house upside down. I sleep with my wee boy every night. He won't go to bed till I go to bed," he adds.
Death threats
Although the police arrived quickly on the night of the shooting, no-one has been charged. But Matthew is also scared to talk to the police.
"If you go to the police, you get a death threat," he says.
Sir Hugh Orde, the Chief Constable of Northern Ireland, believes his force can deal with this threat.
"These are the most difficult crimes to solve simply because of the nature of the crime, the brutality of it and indeed the fact that communities still sometimes don't feel confident in talking to the police service. Our job is to dismantle those groups," he says.
"You may not catch them for a punishment shooting but you can take them out for drug dealing, for organised crime, smuggling, all the other issues. So I am confident we are very effective at disrupting and arresting people who are linked to and engaged in that sort of activity."
Matthew does not share the Chief Constable's confidence, "The dissident republican groups are here. My legs are proof of that. And I'm from a republican family, so now they are turning on their own."
The Report broadcasts on BBC Radio 4 on Thursday 9 April at 2000 BST. You can also listen via the BBC iPlayer or download the podcast.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/7990390.stm
Published: 2009/04/09 09:47:15 GMT
© BBC MMIX
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2009/0409/breaking26.htm
Thu, Apr 09, 2009
Hopes of a settlement for the protesting Visteon workers in Belfast rose today.
The staff are set to meet with union officials who have just returned from New York talks with management, with a spokesman for the union Unite saying he was optimistic.
Visteon was closed after making massive losses which were subsidised by its US parent company.
“It seems to be the only thing there left to me is to try and get the best financial settlement for people who have lost their jobs,” he said.
About 210 workers in Belfast have held a sit-in since managers announced the closure of the car components company’s operations 10 days ago. Protests had spread to plants in Enfield, north London, and Basildon, Essex.
The union spokesman added: “There seems to be no possibility at all of the plants remaining open, no possibility of them coming out of administration.”
Former owner Ford, which sold the operation in 2000, has come under pressure to intervene from workers who want their Ford contracts honoured. They are pressing for a better redundancy package.
Yesterday a few hundred workers turned out for a rally to the west Belfast factory.
PA
Belfast councillors are to debate a motion today calling on the Northern Ireland ministerial executive to intervene.
© 2009 irishtimes.com
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2009/0409/breaking29.htm
DAVID LABANYI
Thu, Apr 09, 2009
Consumer prices fell 2.6 per cent in the year to March to reach levels last seen in the 1930s, according to data released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) this morning.
Prices showed no change between February and March compared to an increase of 0.9 per cent in March 2008.
This brought the annual rate of inflation to -2.6 per cent compared with -1.7 per cent in February. The rate of consumer price inflation turned negative in January. The last time inflation was -2.6 per cent was in the third quarter of 1933.
The reductions mean prices have returned to August 2007 levels.
In his Budget speech on Tuesday the Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan said the Government was expecting inflation to average -4 per cent this year and that this decline would help offset the impact of the tax increases.
Falling mortgage bills following a series interest rate cuts by the European Central Bank rates has been one of the most significant contributors to easing of consumer prices.
Last month mortgage repayment costs declined 3.2 per cent to bring the annual fall to 29.1 per cent.
Rental accommodation costs increased marginally last month, rising by 0.4 per cent but remain 13.8 per cent lower than in March 2008.
While much of the deflation rate can be attributed to the ECB interest rate cuts other sectors of the economy are still recording rising prices.
Over the year alcohol prices have risen almost 6 per cent, health prices are 4.7 per cent higher while education prices gained 5.5 per cent.
A basket of miscellaneous goods, including car insurance, home insurance and toiletries has risen 9.1 per cent over the last year.
The small and medium enterprises' representative body Isme said falling costs need to be passed on to businesses.
Jim Curran. Isme head of research said small businesses “have yet to witness any benefit from the reduction in inflation due to the high level of business costs.”
“This is completely unacceptable as many of the costs militating against business are state controlled, including local charges and energy. If anything, the Minister scored an ‘own goal’ in the recent budget, exacerbating the problem, with ludicrous increases in diesel and the insurance levy”.
© 2009 irishtimes.com
http://www.lisburntoday.co.uk/news/CORPORATION-TO-REDRAW-PLAN-FOR.5157701.jp
Published Date: 09 April 2009
A DEVELOPMENT Corporation is being set up to produce new plans for the regeneration of the former Maze Prison site.
The future of the site was left in limbo after Sports Minister Gregory Campbell ruled out a National Stadium, which was to form the centrepiece of the scheme.
And it was revealed this week that the original masterplan for the Maze will now not proceed and that the current procurement process has now ended.
Lagan Valley MP Jeffrey Donaldson said future development on the site would be of regional significance and while it was disappointing the National Stadium will not proceed, he was confident the potential of the site could be exploited.
He also said he believed that key aspects of the original masterplan could be included in the new development proposals for the site.
"This means that in the light of the current economic conditions we can re-prioritise the development of the site to maximise the opportunities for the construction industry and local employment," continued Mr Donaldson.
"The Development Corporation will take responsibility for redrawing the masterplan, bringing forward proposals for the regeneration of the site.
"They will also examine the potential for the significant expansion of the site," he continued. "We are looking at the prospect of enlarging the site up to an area of a thousand acres or more."
Former sports minister Edwin Poots said while disappointed a multi-sports stadium will not be developed at the Maze at this time, he welcomed the fact 'focus is now being applied to delivering an alternative project of regional significance'
"There are a number of opportunities with considerable interest still being shown by the RUAS and other developers with international connections and expertise, such opportunities must be exploited to the full at the earliest point" he said.
The Mayor, Councillor Ronnie Crawford said: "I welcome the Maze Development Corporation which I have been asking for quite some time.
"This has already cost ratepayers millions of pounds in lost rates and hopefully every effort will be made to ensure that developments proceed apace."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2009/apr/09/gaza-sinn-fein-gerry-adams
Visiting the Middle East, Northern Irish republican leader urges peace on Hamas leadership
* Staff and agencies
* guardian.co.uk, Thursday 9 April 2009 12.10 BST
Gaza is still an open-air prison, Sinn Féin's Gerry Adams said today during a visit to the Middle East.
The West Belfast MP called for an end to the Israeli blockade on building materials and urged the state to enter into negotiations with Hamas, which rules Gaza.
Adams held talks in the region with Ismail Haniyeh, the Hamas prime minister, and is due to travel to the West Bank to meet the Palestinian Authority.
"This is a total denial of the rights of the people of Palestine. This is an open-air prison," the Sinn Féin president said. "People can't travel out of here, they can't travel in."
Israel said it launched the offensive at the end of last year because Hamas was firing rockets daily at Israeli towns. The Palestinians say 1,417 residents were killed in the three-week war, mostly civilians. Israel says 1,166 Palestinians were killed, mostly armed fighters.
A number of European politicians and commentators have urged dialogue with Hamas. But Britain and the United States say that cannot happen until the group recognises Israel, renounces violence and accepts interim peace agreements.
Adams said the border crossing from Israel into Gaza "was distinctly like being back in prison ... You had to go through airlocked areas and so on".
"It is the human problem because when you speak to ordinary decent working people on the Israeli side hit by the rocket attacks ... the ordinary people of Israel didn't cause the problem."
The Northern Irish republican leader described a scene of devastation, ruined hospitals, schools and homes, and said he urged peace on the Hamas leadership.
"There should be a complete cessation of hostilities by all sides and I stressed our opinion that dialogue is central to what's required and that is the only way forward," he added.
"The refusal to recognise the outcome of the ballot box in the Palestinian territories is also bizarre, that they challenge people to go into elections and then when they go into elections they don't recognise it."
Hamas was elected in the Palestinian parliamentary elections of 2006.
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2009/0409/1224244282233.html
PATSY McGARRY Religious Affairs Correspondent
Thu, Apr 09, 2009
THE IMMINENT report of the Dublin Archdiocese Commission of Investigation into clerical sex abuse “will shock us all”, according to the Catholic Archbishop of Dublin Most Rev Diarmuid Martin.
In a homily to be delivered this morning at Mass in the Pro-Cathedral, he says: “It is likely that thousands of children or young people across Ireland were abused by priests in the period under investigation and the horror of that abuse was not recognised for what it is. The report will make each of us and the entire church in Dublin a humbler church.”
The report is due to be published this summer.
In his homily, which was released to the media last night, Dr Martin also says there are now 10 times more priests over 70 than there are priests under 40 in Dublin’s Catholic archdiocese.
“In just a few years we will only have a little over 200 diocesan priests to minister to our almost 200 parishes,” he says.
He will announce that the archdiocese, along with the Church of Ireland diocese of Dublin and Glendalough, hopes to begin a “Year of Evangelisation” next June. Where young people are concerned, he says, “we have no time to waste. There is a dramatic and growing rift between the church and our younger generations and the blame does not lie principally with young people”.
He says that “very often, as I begin to celebrate Mass here in the Pro-Cathedral, I am distracted by the words on the poster on that column towards my left: ‘Dublin needs priests’.
“It is an appeal to young men to look into their hearts and see where the Lord may be calling them in their lives, and perhaps to respond in a generous way if they feel that the Lord is calling them to follow him in the ministry of the diocesan priesthood at the service of the people of God in this archdiocese. The diocese of Dublin needs priests.”
He adds: “Parishes are growing rapidly and their needs are increasing. Fewer priests are being asked to respond to more calls on their time and their ministry. Inevitably the structures of priestly ministry will have to change . . .”
He says that “in the archdiocese of Dublin, in a way which we have not seen for generations, lay men and women are today bringing their own charisms to unite them with the charisms of the ministerial priesthood, working together for the building up of the Church and Christ’s kingdom”.
Following the tradition of the Chrism Mass on Holy Thursday clergy will come together as “a community of priests united in one ministry”. He will tell them that they must ensure “the love of God . . . dominates the way we interact with each other”.
Dr Martin also asks for the “forgiveness of anyone that I may have hurt or left feeling neglected. I know my own failings and limitations and I wish to renew sincerely today my respect and concern for each and every priest of this diocese or working in this diocese”.
Tomorrow at 12.30pm in the Phoenix Park, Archbishop Martin will lead a “Way of the Cross” procession from the Wellington monument to the papal cross.
© 2009 The Irish Times
http://www.herald.ie/entertainment/tv-radio/colin-tells-gay-about--drink-despair-and--the-meaning-of-life-1704210.html
By Lorna Nolan
Thursday April 09 2009
RTE veteran Gay Byrne is set to return to the small screen with a bang after lining up Hollywood heart throb Colin Farrell as the first interviewee for his new show.
The former Late Late host is to present a brand new religious series called The Meaning of Life.
And the first episode will see him question the film star about the events in his life which have shaped his beliefs about faith, spirituality and the bigger picture.
The interview will mark Farrell's most intimate sit-down chat since his infamous appearance on BBC's Friday Night with Jonathan Ross last October, in which he admitted he "was dying" prior to a rehab stint in 2005.
Addiction
Farrell described himself as "fairly drunk and high for 16 years" before revealing how he checked into rehab for five weeks.
Speaking at the time he said: "I came back into the world and everything was in a degree of focus that I hadn't experienced.
"Desperation will allow you to do incredible things in the name of survival.
"So much of the work that I did I was struggling so hard to keep it together. A lot of my energy was going into trying not to have a complete meltdown. By the end of Miami Vice I was just done," he said.
The Castleknock native went on to explain what had caused his spiral into drugs and alcohol addiction.
"I don't believe I have any chemical predisposition towards depression, but let's just say I was suffering from a spiritual malady for years and I indulged it," he revealed at the time.
Well known for his interviewing skills, Byrne (75) is sure to delve deeper into the topic when he asks Colin the questions: What's it all about? Why am I here? Is there a God? and Why do bad things happen?
The long-time broadcaster is also set to interview Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams about his faith for the new series.
Discussing the interview earlier this week Byrne said: "I disagree with everything he [Gerry Adams] stands for, everything the Provisional IRA stands for and everything Sinn Fein stands for.
"Nonetheless, I have great regard for Gerry Adams, himself in his person. I think he is a very impressive guy and a very impressive communicator who has a wonderful way with words," he told a Sunday paper.
The much-respected RTE man went on to explain how his latest meeting with Adams had been friendly and completely without confrontation.
Although he admits: "It was an interview where you certainly had to think on your feet."
The first episode will air on Sunday, April 19 at 10.20pm featuring Colin Farrell. A screening date for the Gerry Adams interview has yet to be announced.
- Lorna Nolan
Updated: 10/4/2009
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