Republican News · Thursday 5 September 2002

Church targeted

Parish priest Father Sean Rogan has said that sectarian attacks on churches are now a regular occurrence after Saint Patrick's Church in Lisburn was attacked in the early hours of Sunday morning 1 September.

Two stained glass windows and ornamental lights were smashed and plants in the garden around the church were pulled out of the ground and scattered around the building.

"These were no children who carried out this attack as it was basalt boulders pulled from the ground which were thrown at the Church. It is an anti-Catholic element in Lisburn who is carrying out these attacks", said the priest.

Fr Rogan went on to say that nearly every Sunday morning he has to clean up broken glass from bottles thrown at the chapel the night before. All four Catholic churches in the Lisburn area have been burned down in the past and only six weeks ago Saint Joseph's had sectarian graffiti daubed on it.

Sinn Féin councillor for Lisburn, Paul Butler, is compiling a report of sectarian attacks carried out against Catholics in the Lisburn area to be submitting to the Dublin government.

PSNI dismiss bullet threat

Sinn Féin Assembly member for West Belfast, Sue Ramsey, has hit out at the RUC/PSNI after they told a Twinbrook nationalist that a loyalist threat against him wasn´t worth investigating.

Two weeks ago, the man, who wishes to remain anonymous, received a bullet and a threat in the post, which read, "see you soon scumbag - UFF". The man passed the threat and the bullet on to Ramsey before reporting it to the RUC\PSNI. However they told him that the threat wasn´t worth investigating, adding that Ramsey would be arrested and charged if she was found to have the bullet.

Ramsey told An Phoblacht that the man contacted her as he was afraid that his name and address had been passed onto loyalists by RUC/PSNI Special Branch in the first place. She also said that the man had seen his solicitor, who advised him to contact the RUC/PSNI about the threat.

Loyalists bomb Portadown garage

Sinn Féin councillor for Portadown, Brian McKeown, has called on the RUC/ PSNI to say whether the device which exploded at Lavery's Garage on the Corcrain Road in the town on Tuesday night, 3 September, was similar to a device used by loyalists to destroy two Catholic-owned businesses in Portadown in September 1998.

The bomb was placed by loyalists beside a diesel pump at the rear of the filling station and exploded.

"Contrary to what's being said to the media, the bomb was strategically placed beside the pump to cause the maximum effect, but luckily the loyalists mistook the diesel pump for a petrol one," said McKeown.

"Catholic homes are less the 200 yards away and if the bomb had exploded at the petrol pump, we could have been looking at deaths," he added. The Sinn Féin councillor criticised the fact that it took the RUC/PSNI one and a half hours to cordon off the area.

Tuesday's bomb attack happened less that 70 yards from where loyalists mounted a gun attack on the home of a Catholic family in July, narrowly missing a teenage girl.

Bandsman assaults tourist

A German tourist suffered eye and head injuries when he was assaulted by a loyalist bandsman as he attempted to cross Great Victoria Street in Belfast city centre on Saturday 31 August.

Toni Bausenhart told how he was set upon by the UVF thug who broke free from one of the bands marching under a UVF banner as he watched the loyalist Black Perceptory marchers return from parades that occurred throughout the North.

The violent attack happened on the last day of Bausenhart's four-week sightseeing holiday. "I would not let one stupid person ruin my trip," he said.

BBC staff at the nearby Blackstaff studios administered first aid to the badly shocked tourist.

Loyalists attack Armagh supporters

Loyalist targeted Armagh GAA fans just outside Portadown as they travelled home on trains and buses from Croke Park after the All-Ireland semi final against Dublin on Sunday 1 September.

One train was several hundred yards from Portadown railway station when a rock was thrown through a window where children were sitting. One passenger suffered cuts and bruises. One Armagh fan said that everybody got on the floor as they didn't know what would be thrown next. "The children were all covered in glass, they were very lucky not to be seriously injured," said the witness.

According to a spokesperson for Translink, the north's transport authority, a second train carrying Armagh supporters "encountered a fire on the line just outside Portadown station".

According to passengers on the train, burning wooden pallets had been placed across the track and a gang of loyalists armed with sticks were waiting to attack the train if it slowed down. "It was very sinister," said one man. "If the train had slowed down we could have all been attacked."

A bus carrying Armagh football fans was also attacked by loyalists outside Markethill in County Armagh. The windscreen and windows of the bus were broken and two teenagers were injured after being showered with glass. The youths suffered cuts to their head and arms, respectively.

UDA target Catholic cars in Derry

Loyalists damaged up to nine cars in the Clooney Estate in Derry during the early hours of Monday 2 September in a sectarian attack. Vehicles had their tyres slashed by the loyalist gang, who launched their attack from Lincoln Court.

One resident said that neighbours heard people in her street at around 2.30am and when her brother returned from work at 5am cars throughout the street had been vandalised. "All four tyres on our car had been slashed and I know several of my neighbours' cars are in the same position."

Sinn Féin councillor for the area Lynn Fleming blamed the attack on the UDA.