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The Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams has branded as "totally and
absolutely unacceptable" attempts by the DUP to attach the parades issue
as a new condition to an agreed deal on policing.
DUP leader Peter Robinson told MPs at the London parliament of what he
claimed was the "political imperative" to resolve issues of parading in
the North ahead of any agreement.
Mr Robinson also called for the abolition of the Parades Commission,
which is responsible for deciding the routes of sectarian parades. He
branded it "not a solution to problems but part of the problem itself".
On Thursday, Mr Adams said that Irish republicans accept and respect the
rights of the anti-Catholic Orange Order to "parade and promote their
sense of Orangeism" which he said was "part of who we are as a nation".
"But this has to be done on the basis of equality and mutual respect and
tolerance," he added.
He said a deal on the devolution of policing and justice powers from
London to the Belfast administration at Stormont had already been reached
when the issue of sectarian marches was raised on Tuesday night.
He called on the Orange Order to engage in dialogue with local residents
to resolve the remaining contentious parades.
"The Orange Order and Orangeism is part of who we are as a nation. Irish
republicans want a dialogue with the loyal institutions in order that we
can understand and appreciate each other's position."
"As a society, we cannot afford the negative and unsustainable
political, financial and social costs that flow from parading disputes.
"While the overwhelming majority of orange parades take place without
rancour or dispute, there are a small number each year which give cause
for concern.
"I am again asking the Orange Order to engage in dialogue with local
residents to resolve these contentious parades.
"Let us together seek to resolve this issue in a common sense and
respectful manner.
Sinn Fein and the DUP have met to discuss the latest comments made by Mr
Robinson.
Mr Adams has said the parades issue cannot now be mixed up with the
policing and justice debate, on which he said agreement had already been
reached.
"Has the deal been done?" he said.
"Yes. It was led by Martin McGuinness, but it involved the First
Minister Peter Robinson - and Peter Robinson has signed on for that.
He said the future of the Parades Commission is "an issue which is
distinctly separate and which will not be resolved as a precondition -
it's totally and absolutely unacceptable."
Nevertheless, there are concerns that those nationalist communities
which are forced to endure sectarian parades every summer could be
sacrificed to appease the DUP hardliners.
Joe Marley, of the Ardoyne Parades Dialogue Group, said the recent
clashes over sectarian Orange Order parades in north Belfast this year
proved there was "a long way to go" before agreement on parading could
be achieved.
He said a lasting settlement must "reflect the rights of residents to
live free from fear of sectarian harassment".
The Parades Commission's "flawed decision making" in his community had
"wrecked community confidence" among nationalists, he said.
"There is no consistency with determinations and no transparency with
decision-making," Mr Marley said.
The residents of the Garvaghy Road estate in Portadown fear a political
manoeuvre could see the return of the infamous Drumcree march through
the Catholic enclave and the march-related violence which blighted the
town in the late '90s.
Breandan Mac Cionnaith from the Garvaghy Road Residents' Coalition
accused the DUP of playing the 'Orange card'.
"The timing of the DUP's present political offensive suggests that the
DUP see the parades issue as some form of bargaining tool in the wider
political arena," he said.
He said the review of parading was unnecessary and unhelpful. In regard
to Portadown, he said nationalists residents had moved on and would not
accept any renewed bid to force a parade through their community.
The Drumcree issue was "one which belongs in the past and should remain
there, and must not be allowed to be resurrected by anyone in order to
suit party political agendas or narrow sectarian interests," he said.
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2009/1030/1224257681034.html
SINN FÉIN and the DUP have clashed angrily over the troubled transfer of policing and justice powers to Stormont.
Gerry Adams yesterday called for the DUP to desist from what he called “grandstanding” over contentious parades and calls for the abolition of the Parades Commission. He also accused the leading unionist party of linking its call for the commission to be scrapped to its consent for justice devolution.
The DUP hit back at Mr Adams last night, accusing the Sinn Féin president of being an “unmitigated liar”. DUP leader Peter Robinson told MPs at Westminster earlier this week that abolition of the Parades Commission, which rules on contentious marches, could help build unionist confidence in justice devolution. He argued that the commission, which is widely opposed by members of the loyal orders, rather than offering solutions, is part of the problem itself.
Mr Robinson has backed the review of parading headed by former Liberal Democrat leader Lord [Paddy] Ashdown which includes a republican representative. He accused Mr Adams of trying to distance himself from the review’s findings and of politicising it.
Mr Adams said a deal had been done on policing and justice and that other issues could be addressed by the four parties in the Executive.
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2009/1029/breaking75.htm
It has emerged tonight that kidnapped Irish priest Fr Michael Sinnott is alive and has received medical treatment.
Senior Sinn Fein figure Gerry Kelly and former Downing St chief of staff Jonathan Powell have been involved in behind-the-scenes talks in an attempt to secure the 79 year-old priest's release.
"Obviously Fr Sinnott is 79 year-of-age, he has a health problem. The fact there is word from the kidnappers is looked upon as a good thing - and there has been word from the kidnappers in terms of ransom," Mr Kelly told RTÉ.
Fr Sinnott was abducted from his compound on October 11th by six gunmen who forced their way into the Columban House in Pagadian City in Zamboanga del Sur province, 890km south of Manila.
Fears have risen that the missionary was in a critical condition due to dysentery, malnutrition and the absence of the medicine he needs following open-heart surgery four years ago.
However, Mr Kelly said he had indications that Father Sinnott has received the medicine he requires.
"I understand he has received medicine. This is all good news that he is in health."
He added that Father Sinnott's location had been identified.
"And, they believe they know at least the area in Mindanao, the end of Mindanao where he is."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/newsnight/8328309.stm
A confidential file of terror incidents reveals that the police in Northern Ireland are facing their greatest threat for a decade.
Last March, one officer was murdered by republican paramilitaries. Since then there have been 11 attempts to kill other PSNI officers. And in the last two years, 38 police and their families have had to be re-housed and more than 50 have had to improve home security.
I spoke to one police officer, on condition of anonymity, who was forced to move house this year under threat of death from the dissidents.
Now living in a different town, he told me what the last six months have been like:
"It's a horrible way to have to live, you don't sleep when you should be sleeping, you find yourself exhausted during the day, you are just sick with worry, you become overprotective of what you do have, overprotective of yourself, your children, your wife." His wife told me their lives will never be the same again:
"It's really only looking back that you sort of think about the situation, about how horrible it is to leave everything that you had, all the relationships that you had, the town that you grew up in, you lived your whole life in.
"And realising you're never going to be able to go back again and there'll be people you'll never be able to see again."
The officer, a Catholic, is supposed to be part of a new era of policing in Northern Ireland.
Gone are the armoured patrols of the recent past, the emphasis is on working in the community.
But some officers are questioning whether this is feasible given the current security threat.
In the period of the last two years, there have been 750 bomb alerts. The Army says 420 of these involved viable devices.
Most of retired chief superintendent Norman Baxter's policing career took place during the Troubles, in which 300 officers lost their lives.
He led the second investigation of the Omagh bomb, carried out by the Real IRA, and now uses his expertise as a security consultant.
"The current levels are clearly casting a shadow on society, in particular in those areas where attacks have happened. It's casting a shadow on police officers both on and off duty, and immersing Northern Ireland into an era which should be relegated to the past," he told me.
In the north-western city of Londonderry, one of the centres of dissident activity, I met Gary Donnelly.
He is a member of the republican splinter group 32 Counties Sovereignty Movement.
Mr Donnelly was a member of Sinn Fein, but left the party over its support for the peace process.
He represents a pocket of hardliners who believe that armed struggle is still justified. I asked him about targeting police officers, to which he responded:
"It would be perfectly legitimate to target anyone who is promoting British rule in Ireland."
But when I asked him about targeting their families, after a long pause, he described that as a "thorny issue".
The body which monitors paramilitary activity for the governments in London and Dublin, the Independent Monitoring Commission, is due to report next week, and I understand it will find the recent increase in terrorist activity "deeply disturbing".
It last reported in the wake of the murders of two soldiers and a police officer in March this year.
Since then there has been what security sources call "constant background activity" in an attempt to "undermine the peace process and the move to normality and community policing."
The Police Federation, which represents 7,000 PSNI officers is stressing the importance of getting the security situation under control.
I spoke to its chairman Terry Spence who had a warning for other parts of the UK:
"I don't think there's any doubt that they will change their focus of attention from Northern Ireland at some stage to mainland UK, and I'm sure the government are only too well aware of that.
In March this year two British soldiers were killed at Massareene barracks
"Albeit the government seems to be publically at this stage in denial that the seriousness of the situation and the gravity of the situation is as bad as it is."
Politicians from all parties argue that the dissidents do not have the support of their communities, limiting their effectiveness.
They are continuing moves towards the devolution of policing and justice powers to Northern Ireland which they say will send out a powerful signal of progress and normality.
But while the peace process has delivered strong progress, the increasing boldness of republican diehards means the situation is anything but normal.
http://www.irishnews.com/articles/540/5860/2009/10/28/631151_398351583802Medaland.html
The chief MI5 witness in a Real IRA arms trial refused to give evidence unless he was given £650,000 and a medal from the Queen.
Paul McCaugherty (43), of Beech Court, and Desmond Kearns (44), of Tannaghmore Green, both in Lurgan, are to stand trial next year over an alleged plot to smuggle weapons from mainland Europe.
Dermot Gregory (41), also known as Michael Dermot, of Concession Road in Crossmaglen, also faces related charges.
The trio from Co Armagh were arrested after a three-year ‘sting’ involving an MI5 agent codenamed ‘Amir’.
Amir accused MI5 of betrayal when, despite earlier assurances, he was ordered to give evidence against the dissident suspects.
It has now emerged that he demanded £650,000 from MI5 for the stress caused.
Amir’s solicitor wrote to MI5: “I would invite you to agree to pay to my client the sum of £450,000 within 28 days in full and final settlement of his current claims.
“Please also confirm that you will agree to a life contingency payment of £200,000.”
In later correspondence Amir also demanded a £30,000 ‘retainer’.
“Amir would be prepared to hold his ‘grievance’ (as it has been referred to by you) in abeyance pending the criminal trial in Northern Ireland,” his solicitor wrote.
He said his client “seeks to be paid a lump sum of £30,000 reflecting a monthly income or retainer of £2,500”.
Amir’s solicitor warned that this was his “final position”.
“If your client [MI5] does not, then our client will withdraw his cooperation with the authorities
in Northern Ireland and pursue a civil claim against the service for breach of contract and/or breach of their duty of care to him,” he wrote.
Amir claimed that MI5 had promised him an honour from the Queen, only to withdraw it after he refused to give evidence.
In an internal MI5 memo his handlers wrote: “Amir raised the fact that he had been told by the [redacted] that an honour was long overdue and that he had ‘definitely been put down for one and it had gone through various people and it is on the desk of somebody’.
“Amir stated that he had raised it again a few weeks later and [redacted] stated that it was definitely happening 100 per cent.
“Amir stated that he believed he had not received the honour as a result of his refusal to provide evidence on [redacted]. Amir request-ed that he be told why he did not receive the honour.”
Thirty-five MI5 agents will testify anonymously at the trial. All the defendants deny the charges.
In a separate development yesterday, dissident republicans were suspected of involvement in an attempt to smuggle the largest ever haul of illegal cigarettes into Brit-ain or Ireland. The haul was seized at Greenore port in Co Louth.
http://www.irishnews.com/articles/540/5860/2009/10/28/631204_398418488617RUCputou.html
15 people including two children were killed when loyalists left a bomb at McGurks bar in north Belfast in 1971. Newly unearthed papers show the RUC ignored British army information and blamed the IRA
New documents relating to the Mc-Gurk’s bar bomb- ing in 1971 show how the false claim that it was an ‘IRA own goal’ was being circulated within hours of the atrocity.
Campaigners for victims of the loyalist attack, which claimed the lives of 15 innocent civilians including two schoolchildren, have unearthed the RUC duty officers’ report from the day.
The massacre on December 4 1971 at the public house in North Queen Street, Belfast, was one of the worst single acts of violence during the Troubles.
The police report, written within hours of the explosion, ignores information provided by British army technical experts who had examined the scene and determined that the bomb had been placed outside the building.
Instead it states that just before the explosion “a man entered the licenced premises and left down a suitcase”.
“Presumably to be picked up by a known member of the Provisional IRA. The bomb was intended for use on other premises.
“Before the ‘pick-up’ was made the bomb exploded.”
Earlier this year The Irish News revealed that a confidential briefing note was presented to Harry Tuzo – the British army’s general officer commanding in Northern Ireland at the time – within hours of the blast stating that the 50lb bomb had been planted outside the building.
The latest document was obtained by Caroline Parkes of British Irish Rights Watch.
The claim made by security forces at the time that the bomb had been part of an IRA operation gone wrong caused untold hurt to the families of those who died.
Last year security minister Paul Goggins issued an apology.
“We are deeply sorry, not just for the appalling suffering and loss of life that occurred at McGurk’s bar, but also for the extraordinary additional pain caused to both the immediate families and the wider community by the erroneous suggestions made in the immediate aftermath of the explosion as to who was responsible,” he said.
This followed a Historical Enquiries Team (HET) investigation into the atrocity.
The HET had dismissed as “irresponsible and inaccurate” the authorities’ IRA claim, saying it “could not be based on facts but instead reflected a desired outcome”.
A UVF getaway driver received 15 life sentences in 1978.
Ciaran MacAirt, whose grandmother Kathleen Irvine (53) was among the victims of the massacre, said the latest documents raised questions about who benefited most from the circulation of the false information.
“There are some very serious questions that need to be answered here,” Mr Mac-Airt said.
“A good start would be for the HET to question the four duty officers named as authors of this police report.
“This police report was obviously written minutes after 11 named victims are re-corded in the same order, along with required corrections, and four victims, including my own grandmother, are still to be identified.
“Nevertheless, the police report’s recording of the bomb’s placement is diametrically opposed to the truth within the original military brief and also with each and every one of the dozens of witness statements the RUC were already beginning to gather.”
Mr MacAirt added: “It leaves us with two unanswered questions – who benefited from the disinformation and who, therefore, created these lies?”
Those who died at McGurk’s bar were: Philomena McGurk (46), Marie McGurk (14), James Cromie (13), John Colton (49), Thomas Mc- Laughlin (55), David Milligan (52), James Smyth (58), Francis Bradley (61), Thomas Kane (49), Kathleen Irvine (53), Philip Garry (75), Edward Kane (29), Edward Keenan (69), Sarah Keenan (58) and Robert Spotswood (38).
Updated: 11/5/2009
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