June 30, 2004

Traveller groups warn of crisis

Six-month delay plan rejected

British military assessor backs McBride family

POLICE FRAME-UP BLASTED

Frequently asked questions about Travellers

The following information about the Travellers is from the Pavee Point organisation, www.paveepoint.ie

Collusion concerns over spy post deployment

The British Army has installed elements of the notorious Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR) in the spy post on the top of Divis Tower in the heart of west Belfast.

Consistently inconsistent is the policy

By Brian Feeeney (for the Irish News)

Bertie bounced in from Tokyo on his way to Shannon to meet Bush. Blair swanned in on his way to Istanbul. They patted the politicians from the north on the head, held a cursory press conference and made off.

Adams meets Parades Commission after Springfield u-turn

Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams MP led a party delegation today to meet with the Parades Commission, which adjudicates over contentious marches in the North of Ireland.

June 25, 2004

Blair sets deadline

The British Prime Minister Tony Blair has set a deadline for a resolution of the deadlock in the northern peace process in September, and warned that he could abandon central elements of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement.

PSNI look on as loyalists attack motorists

The PSNI police last night ignored unionists who blockaded both ends of a main road in west Belfast and intimidated motorists.

Lisburn City Council does it again

Unionists on Lisburn City Council have again engaged in systematic discrimination after nationalists were excluded from all senior positions on the council.

PARADES COMMISSION CAPITULATES

The Parades Commission has reversed its decision to ban a sectarian march from the nationalist Springfield Road tomorrow.

Republican 26-County local representatives

The following is a complete listing of Sinn Féin’s local representatives following the breakthrough election for the party last week.

Bush’s war opposed

Protests against the war in Iraq are underway across Ireland ahead of the arrival of US President George Bush to County Clare this evening.

PSNI bins residents’ protest application

Sinn Féin councillor Bridge Meehan has accused the PSNI in Glengormley of ‘disgraceful sectarian behaviour’ after an application for a peaceful protest was openly binned by the PSNI.

A Day That Comes, Also Goes

By Tom Luby (for the Blanket)

The key questions that arise from the recent all-Ireland European election are not to do with whether or not Sinn Féin has become an unstoppable vote-gathering machine which one day soon will relentlessly propel Gerry Adams into the Taoiseach’s office in Government Buildings, but conversely whether the Sinn Féin steamroller is beginning to run out of steam in the North, why this is happening and what impact it could have on SF’s fortunes in the South.

June 23, 2004

Blair vows no devolution while IRA active

The British Prime Minister Tony Blair has said there will be no return to power-sharing government in the North of Ireland unless all activity by the Provisional IRA ceases.

Coalition strained over policy shift

Relations in the Dublin coalition government have become increasingly difficult in the wake of a poor performance in the local and European elections last week.

Tension mounts over re-routed parade

Unionists have warned of a potential deterioration in relations following a decision to reroute a unionist parade away from the Springfield Road on Saturday.

US leadership needed in peace process - Kerry

US presidential candidate John Kerry has offered his assistance to the Irish and British governments in the peace process, if he is elected to succeed president George Bush later this year.

Adams blasts collusion cover-up

Sinn Féin’s Gerry Adams has accused the British government of using an investigation into the murder of Belfast defence lawyer Pat Finucane to block an inquiry into the controversial killing.

IRELAND GIRDS FOR BUSH VISIT

A large tract of County Clare is being sealed off as large numbers of Irish and US security forces and military support take up positions in advance of the visit to Ireland by US President George Bush.

Marching down the hill

The nationalist Garvaghy Road Residents Coalition looks at how the impasse over the annual march to Drumcree Hill in Portadown by the Protestant Orange Order in Portadown can be resolved.

Sinn Féin - A lot done, more to do

It took Sinn Féin 20 years to outpoll the SDLP in the North. They did not set out to do so when they entered electoral politics in 1982.

June 21, 2004

Process ‘has not stopped’

The British government has suggested that serious efforts to restore the North’s power-sharing institutions may be put off until after the summer, drawing criticism from Sinn Féin for backing what it said was a timetable set by unionist hardliners.

MARCH MOB ATTACKS HOSPITAL

A north Belfast hospital was stormed by a mob of unionist paramilitary supporters after Friday night’s contentious ‘Tour of the North’ march.

Making Republicanism Relevant - This is our Time

An edited version of the annual speech by Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams at the grave of Wolfe Tone in Bodenstown, County Kildare.

Dublin/Monaghan group goes to Europe

Relatives and survivors of the 1974 Dublin and Monaghan bombings are going to the European Court of Human Rights in their battle for a full public inquiry.

SF suspends councillor

Sinn Féin has suspended one of its newly elected Dublin councillors while it purses an investigation into unspecified allegations.

Ahern urged to seek top EU post

Following the successful negotiation of a new constitution for the European Union, the Irish Prime Minister, Taoiseach Bertie Ahern, could be set to quit the Dublin government for the lucrative position of President of the European Commission.

Anti-war groups prepare protests for Bush summit

A number of organisations have announced plans for protests in the south Clare area for the visit of US President George Bush to Ireland next weekend.

The Real Slow Learners

by Danny Morrison (for the Andersonstown News)

It was Seamus Mallon who famously once described the Belfast Agreement as ‘Sunningdale for Slow Learners’, a soundbite which was immediately seized upon by opponents and critics of the Republican Movement. They were claiming, in varying degrees, that what was negotiated in 1998 was available in the power-sharing Sunningdale arrangements of 1974 and therefore republicans, by continuing the armed struggle, had to bear major responsibility for the continuation of the conflict and the loss of all subsequent life.

June 14, 2004

UVF issue threats in Ballymena

A number of Catholics in a County Antrim town have been warned they are under threat from unionist paramilitaries.

Referendum result undermines Agreement

The citizenship referendum in the 26 Counties has caused political damage to the Good Friday Agreement, nationalists have warned.

Election results summary

Latest results from the European and local elections.

MI5 man says IRA campaign was successful

An MI5 officer has stated publicly that the IRA “fought a just cause” and won a “successful campaign” during the 30-year conflict in the North.

McBride anger at US contract for discredited Guardsman

A former British Army officer who falsely suggested that murdered Belfast teenager Peter McBride may have been carrying a bomb when he was murdered by two soldiers under his command has been awarded a major private security contract in Iraq by the US Department of Defence, according to the Pat Finucne centre, a Derry-based human rights group.

ALL-IRELAND SUCCESS FOR SINN FÉIN

Sinn Féin has made historic gains in local and European elections at the expense of Fianna Fáil in the South and the SDLP in the North.

Election results summary

The results of the European and local elections.

Heath unleashed Bloody Sunday ‘death squad’ - QC

The Bloody Sunday inquiry was urged today to determine the extent of former British Prime Minister Ted Heath’s responsibility for the deaths of the 13 people shot dead by troops at the civil rights march in Derry over 30 years ago.

Rosy Future for Sinn Féin

By Danny Morrison
(for the Irish Examiner)

If the election results augur well for the future of one party above all others throughout Ireland, that party is Sinn Féin. Both North and South its vote has continued to increase and later today the party’s confirmation as the leadership of northern nationalists will be reinforced with the election of Bairbre de Brun to Europe in a close-fought contest with Jim Allister of Ian Paisley’s Democratic Unionist Party (DUP).

June 11, 2004

UVF blamed for Ballymena bomb

The so-called ‘ceasefire’ by the unionist paramilitary UVF has again been discredited after the group was linked to recent attacks on republicans in Ballymena, County Antrim.

‘Recreational’ riots in Derry

Clashes erupted last night between local youths and the PSNI police as they entered republican areas at the close of polling in Thursday’s election.

Turnout points to battle for last seat in North

Turnout in the Six County European election is down by more than 5% on the 1999 poll, with large regional variations in the number of those who cast their vote.

NATIONALISTS HARASSED AT POLLS

British Crown forces in the North engaged in widespread harassment and intimidation of voters on Thursday, patrolling around polling stations and photographing voters as they arrived.

Torture photos of Irish Republicans

By Gerry Adams MP (for the Guardian)

News of the ill-treatment of prisoners in Iraq created no great surprise in republican Ireland. We have seen and heard it all before. Some of us have even survived that type of treatment. Suggestions that the brutality in Iraq was meted out by a few miscreants aren’t even seriously entertained here. We have seen and heard all that before as well. But our experience is that, while individuals may bring a particular impact to their work, they do so within interrogative practices authorised by their superiors.

British cabinet linked to Finucane murder

Judge Peter Cory, who investigated the controversial murder of Pat Finucane, has revealed that documents relating to the conspiracy to kill the Belfast defense lawyer were seen by the British government cabinet.

Blair gets election drubbing

British Prime Minister Tony Blair is facing a bleak future following huge losses in the local elections in England and Wales.

Call off this sad witchhunt

By Mark Brennock (for the Irish Times)

You could be forgiven for thinking the State itself was under threat. A matter has arisen that is so grave that the Cabinet has now discussed it at least three times in recent weeks. Legislation has been rushed through the Oireachtas. The Taoiseach and Minister for Justice speak with growing solemnity about the situation.

June 9, 2004

Review to resume after elections

It has been announced that the formal review of the Good Friday Agreement is to resume next Tuesday in Belfast. The North’s political parties are being invited this week to the talks, which will be attended by British and Irish ministers.

Second republican Mayor of Derry

The Mayoral chain of Derry has been placed on a second Sinn Féin Mayor.

Intimidation in Ballymena

A senior Sinn Féin member, Michael Agnew, has been targeted in a pipe-bomb attack at his home in Ballymena, County Antrim.

BREAKTHROUGH ELECTION UNDERWAY

Voting is already underway in the European elections in Ireland, with the governing Fianna Fáil party in the South and the SDLP in the North both facing losses.

An agenda for change

By Bairbre de Brun
Sinn Féin candidate for Six County EU election

Is tráthúil an ócáid í seo do Shinn Féin. Tá deis ann anois Feisirí Eorpacha Shinn Féin ar fud an oileáin a thoghadh do Pharlaimint na hEorpa.

Dublin Mayor ignored bombs inquiry

One of the Dublin government’s main prospects for retaining a European Parliament seat has confirmed that he fáiled to pass on information about the Dublin attacks to the recent inquiry into the bombings.

Bloody Sunday Inquiry hears submissions

Soldiers “probably” were responsible for all of the deaths on Bloody Sunday, their legal representative admitted today.

Watching Paint Dry, Or ...

by Danny Morrison
www.dannymorrison.com

A few weeks ago, just on the eve of the European election campaign, but not, as far as known, in competition with it, satellite channel UKTV announced that it was to stream a new reality show called ‘Watching Paint Dry’ on the internet. Viewers can watch a different kind of paint dry on an empty wall each day and will be able to vote for their favourite paint.

June 4, 2004

‘Free Derry’ Wall repaired

Free Derry Corner, a listed tourist attraction, has been restored by a group of republicans.

Support grows for cross-border ban on smoking

Pressure is growing for an all-Ireland ban on smoking in workplaces following the success of the measure in the 26 Counties.

A blind eye on PSNI incident

Nationalist politicians last night epxressed anger over news that a PSNI police officer who drove an armoured Land Rover at a crowd of Catholics will not be prosecuted.

Informer accusations denied

A north Belfast republican has denied reports that he had spied on the IRA for the RUC Special Branch police.

DEATH OF A HIT-MAN

A man gunned downed at the gates of a South Belfast primary school on Thursday was responsible for the 1996 murder of former commander of the INLA republican armed group, Gino Gallagher.

Patsy O’Hara Commemoration

The following address was given by a leading member of the Irish Republican Socialist Party (IRSP) Eddie McGarrigle, in Derry last week at the annual commemoration of 1981 hunger strike patriot Pasy O’Hara

DUP appeal on marching season

An appeal for calm at interface areas this summer by unionist leaders has been widely welcomed.

A chance to show generosity

By John Waters

Sometime in the 1990s, when Ireland was at the peak of its football mania, a friend described to me the changed nature of social behaviour some distance away from the pitch.

June 2, 2004

Warning on ‘Ireland of the unwelcome’

Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams has called for people in the 26 Counties to vote no in the citizenship referendum and warned added that it would makes a joke of the claim to be Ireland of the welcomes.

Special Branch ‘dirty war’ continues

Two Belfast men have come forward to reveal that they were approached by PSNI police officers and asked to work for them as informers.

Murphy ‘reconciliation’ comments questioned

It is absurd for British Direct Ruler Paul Murphy to talk about the conditions for a truth and reconciliation commission when his government remains a combatant, Sinn Féin’s Gerry Adams said yesterday.

Unionists angry at loss of Mayoral positions

Sinn Féin councillor Joe O’Donnell was voted in as deputy Mayor of Belfast last night with the support of the Alliance party, who took the Mayoral position.

TWO FOR SINN FÉIN JOY

There is growing confidence in Sinn Féin that the party will pick up at least two seats in the European parliament elections on June 10 and 11.

Building a Europe of Equals

The following is an extract from the Sinn Féin manifesto for the EU election, including a message from Gerry Adams.

Call for arrests in banking scandal

Ireland’s largest banking group is caught in a growing scandal over accusations of over-charging and other potentially criminal activities.

Citizenship risk cuts both ways

By Brian Feeney (for the irish News)

Here’s what the Good Friday Agreement says about citizenship. That the British and Irish governments will “recognise the birthright of all the people of Northern Ireland to identify themselves and be accepted as Irish or British, or both, as they may so choose, and accordingly confirm that their right to hold both British and Irish citizenship is accepted by both governments and would not be affected by any future change in the status of Northern Ireland”.

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