Republican News · Thursday 14 November 2002

Granddad's second sectarian attack

A 63-year-old grandfather had a lucky escape when unionist paramilitaries targeted his North Belfast home for the second time in recent months.

The living room window of Francie Grogan's Westland Road home was smashed with a paving stone wrapped in a plastic bag at around 1am on Saturday morning 9 November.

A neighbour saw three men, who had just broken another window in the same street, throw the missile through the window.

Grogan said his grandchildren can no longer stay with him overnight for their own safety as it was getting too dangerous, "but how do you tell a three-year-old it's for the best?

"Eight weeks ago I discovered the back window of my car had been broken and a pipe bomb had been thrown onto the back seat, I take my grandchildren to school in the car so it's always a worry."

Grogan said the PSNI have told him to increase his security and so he now always checks under his car every morning.

PSNI informer recruitment drive in Derry

A Derry woman was left shaken and traumatised when a member of the PSNI tried to recruit her as an informer after she was stopped for having no tax or insurance on her car.

Teresa Glenn had just left her child to Steelstown School and was driving along the Steelstown Road in Shantallow when she was stopped by the PSNI, who told her that they could prevent it going to court if she gave them information.

"He said to me, 'come on Teresa you know there are things you can tell us about republicans'," said Glenn. The PSNI member told her that he knew of agencies that could help her and he knew money was tight for her. "I told him I knew nothing; he then told me to get myself a solicitor as I was going to court".

The PSNI member then offered Glenn a lift, which she refused. "I left the scene in tears, the whole episode has left me really upset and scared," said Glenn.

Sinn F´in councillor for Shantallow Tony Hassan ´said the PSBNI's behaviour was a disgrace. "Pat Ramsey and the SDLP tell us to welcome the PSNI when they are still trying to recruit informers," he said. "This is the third attempt by the PSNI to recruit informers in Derry in the last month and on one of those occasions they threatened a 21-year-old with death if he didn't agree to gather intelligence for them".

Glenn has been in contact with her solicitor and has made a formal complaint to the Police Ombudsman's office.

Provocative checkpoints

Sinn Féin councillor Robin Martin has hit out at the "deliberately provocative" presence of a joint PSNI/British Army checkpoint at Kinawley, County Fermanagh on Saturday 2 November, which coincided with the annual Blessing of the Graves in the local cemetery.

A number of vehicles were stopped at the checkpoint on the Moher Road. Martin said the incident showed the need for demilitarisation and the vast majority of local people wanted an end to the constant PSNI/British Army patrols and the immediate closure of Kinawley barracks.

"This was totally uncalled for in an area which has to endure continual helicopter flights in and out of Kinawley barracks, along with the ongoing foot patrols and checkpoints," he said.