December 30, 2005

DUP says ‘No’ for New Year

ON YOUR OWN

Good riddance to 2005, it was a real stinker

Open letter to Tony Blair

The following is a letter to British Prime Minister Tony Blair, signed by a number of Irish-American political leaders.

Scraps of 1975

Some of the other details which have emerged so far from the historical papers released in Dublin, Belfast and London under the 30-year-rule.

Dissidents cause race event cancellation

The St. Stephen’s Day horse-racing meeting at the ‘Down Royal’ course outside Hillsborough in County Down was evacuated on Monday because of a bomb alert.

Former hunger striker dies

Former hunger striker and Sinn Féin activist Matt Devlin has died in hospital after an illness.

Informers - an unsavoury fact of life

By Jim Gibney (for the Irish News)

I first met Denis Donaldson, or rather I met his name, a few days after June 27 1970. The word on people’s lips on the streets of the Short Strand was that he and a few other teenage members of the local IRA saved the people of the Strand from a loyalist pogrom.

December 22, 2005

Playwright flees UDA threats

A prominent playwright is in hiding, and his family have been forced to flee their homes - after a campaign of death threats and bomb attacks by unionist paramilitaries.

Orde excuses on Stormontgate ‘an insult’

Efforts by the PSNI police chief Hugh Orde to blame the spying activities of a British informer on Sinn Féin have been greeted with derision by nationalists.

No love for Ulster rally

Republican Sinn Féin are to organise a counter-demonstration to oppose a rally in Dublin by the ‘Love Ulster’ campaign on January 28, which has apparently been given the go-ahead by city authorities.

Website used to trace missing LVF victim

The family of a woman thought to have been murdered by unionist paramilitary criminals earlier this year has launched a website in a bid to find her remains.

OTR BILL OPPOSED

Sinn Féin has withdrawn its support for the British government’s controversial Northern Ireland (Offences) Bill, which deals with the issue of individuals on-the-run (OTRs) from outstanding conflict-related prosecutions.

British must commit to peaceful and democratic activity

The so-called Stormont-gate affair was a carefully constructed lie created by the Special Branch in order to cause maximum political damage to the Good Friday Agreement.

Chef fears Donaldson link in ‘scapegoat’ bid

An American chef linked to an alleged “break-in” at the PSNI police headquarters in Belfast has said it is very possible he has been set up by British agent Denis Donaldson and PSNI Special Branch detectives.

Nothing to do with national security

By Jude Collins (for Daily Ireland)

Breathtaking - that’s the only word. I normally approach political life with a healthy cynicism, at the back of my mind the deathless words of Jeremy Paxman: ‘Why is this lying bastard lying to me?’ But this past week has still left me empty of breath.

December 19, 2005

Statement of Denis Donaldson

The following is the statement of former British agent Denis Donaldson.

Sinn Fein leaders angry but defiant

Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams has now called on the British government to accept responsibility for bringing down the North’s power-sharing executive in 2002.

CPI backs Connolly, due process

The Centre for Public Inquiry is standing solidly behind its chief Frank Connolly, denounced as “a subversive” [a republican] by Minister for Justice Michael McDowell.

Ireland’s first gay wedding

The first Irish gay couple to form a civil partnership hope “many more” will follow. Grainne Close and Shannon Sickels exchanged vows in a private ceremony at Belfast City Hall before emerging to the cheers of supporters, the crush of photographers and opposition from hymn-singing protesters.

TOP TOUT OUT

The exposure of a top-level spy within Sinn Fein has dealt a significant if belated blow to the British government’s efforts to control and manipulate the peace process.

Hitting the fan

It was a weekend of confusion, reaction, hyperbole and, probably, even more deception.

Portrait of a traitor

There is no denying that republicans are angry and disgusted by the outing of the once popular, and occasionally revered, Denis Donaldson.

Republicans should insist informers are unmasked

The Tanaiste has emerged from the shadows to claim that police files are “not confidential at all”.

December 15, 2005

‘Bogusgate’ row rumbles on

The row over the collapse of charges against three men accused of operating an “IRA spy ring” at the Belfast Assembly has continued following the refusal of the British Direct Ruler Peter Hain to make a statement on the matter.

Anger at PSNI violence in Castlederg

Sinn Féin is to hold a protest outside Castlederg PSNI police station tomorrow over the continuing sectarian and brutal treatment of the local nationalist community by the PSNI.

Nelson inquiry delayed again

The public inquiry into the murder of human rights lawyer Rosemary Nelson is to be delayed by a year.

CPI was a threat to the 26-County state - McDowell

Sinn Féin has clashed in the Dublin parliament with the embattled Minister for Justice, Michael McDowell, over his admission that he leaked official documents to the media in an attempt to destroy an independent government watchdog body.

U.S. MOTHER APPEALS TO IRISH

A leading member of the American Anti-war movement and a mother of a US soldier killed in Iraq has called on the Dublin government to stop being “complicit in war crimes.”

Mixed reaction to Ferry workers’ deal

Trade unions are expected to call for its members to support an apparent resolution of the Irish Ferries’ dispute during talks early Wednesday morning.

The Shannon cover-up

By Tim Hourigan

Having spent the past four years monitoring Shannon airport through wet summers and cold winter nights, I think I can speak for the small group of Shannon watchers when I say it would be nice to be able to trust official assurances.

Continuing with an old practice

By Brian Feeney (for the Irish News)

Stormontgate is not the first time the DPP and the British attorney-general have decided not to proceed with a prosecution. Far from it.

December 12, 2005

McKevitt appeal rejected

Dissident republican Michael McKevitt has lost his appeal against his 20-year-sentence in the ‘FBI supergrass’ case.

McDowell admits smear bid

26-County Minister for Justice Michael McDowell is under pressure to resign after he admitted he had passed a Garda document to a national newspaper.

Loyalists may parade in Dublin

A ‘Love Ulster’ parade featuring sash-wearing Orangemen and hardline unionist ‘kick the pope’ bands may take place in Dublin’s city centre towards the end of January.

THE BIG LIE

The British government’s ‘Dirty Tricks’ policy in the North has been exposed after those still charged in the bogus case of the ‘IRA spy ring’, which brought about the collapse of the institutions of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, were all found not guilty.

Huge support for Ferries workers

In one of the biggest ever demonstrations of its kind, up to 100,000 people took part in a march in Dublin on Saturday in support of the Irish Ferries workers and against wage exploitation in the Irish economy.

Oppose the extradition of Sean Garland

Sean Garland has no chance of getting justice in the United States and it is on that basis -- not out of sympathy for the man or his party -- that his extradition should be opposed and resisted.

PSNI muscle used in coup d’etat

For almost a year now, the PSNI have been spearheading the campaign to hinder the progress of Sinn Féin.

December 8, 2005

End stalling on institutions - SF

The British and Irish governments must produce an action plan for reviving power-sharing in the North and the all-Ireland cross-border institutions, British MPs were told today.

Concern mounts over US use of Shannon

The US ambassador to Ireland, James Kenny, is being asked to answer questions on the illegal transport of abductees through Shannon airport amid increasing controversy over the Dublin government’s dealings with the Bush administration.

Rising building to be protected

Councillors in Dublin have voted unanimously to protect 16 Moore Street, the last headquarters of the 1916 Rising leaders, and three adjoining houses on the street.

McDowell smears Frank Connolly

26-County Minister for Justice Michael McDowell has hidden behind parliamentary protections to accuse journalist Frank Connolly, of being involved in an alleged IRA plot to train rebels in Colombia’s civil war.

CRJ GETS GREEN LIGHT

British government draft guidelines for community restorative justice schemes in the North have been given a mixed welcome by northern nationalists.

Budget 2006 - main points

The following are the main points of the annual budget for the 26-Counties, announced yesterday by Minister for Finance Brian Cowen.

Chef seeks to end PSNI harassment

An American citizen who the North’s PSNI police allegedly want to question about the removal of top secret files from a Crown force base has lodged a complaint with the Police Ombudsman.

Chef seeks to end PSNI harassment

An American citizen who the North’s PSNI police allegedly want to question about the removal of top secret files from a Crown force base has lodged a complaint with the Police Ombudsman.

Infighting adds to pain and anger of victims

By Anne Cadwallader (for Daily Ireland)

If I were related to a victim of loyalist collusion with RUC Special Branch/British military intelligence, I would be feeling incredibly let down by my political representatives.

December 4, 2005

Movement needed on powersharing - Adams

Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams has said the British and Irish governments should prepare a plan to restore the North’s powersharing institutions early next year.

Victims see legislation as British cover-up

The British government has been urged by victims’ groups to ‘go back to the drawing board’ and introduce a proper truth recovery process.

Sinn Féin challenges legality of sanctions body

Sinn Féin lodged legal papers in the High Court in London yesterday, seeking to have the so-called ‘Independent Monitoring Commission’ declared unlawful.

BIAS ON PARADE

Nationalist residents’ groups opposed to unionist parades have described the new Parades Commission as a “sop” to unionists.

The Irish Stone

By Jim Dee (for Daily Ireland)

Wandering away from the glittering lights of downtown Montreal towards the expansive St Lawrence River, a visitor approaching Victoria Bridge will find a grim memorial to history’s often cruel hand.

Electoral fraud continues

The British government is being urged to create a permanent rolling electoral register after it emerged that 100,000 voters in the Six Counties remain disenfranchised despite the compilation of a new list.

Bogus arrest damages peace process

A Sinn Féin assembly member arrested by police investigating the Claudy bomb attack has accused the PSNI of trying to wreck his reputation.

Much more likely to be of use to oppressors

There are also potential ramifications for the media in publishing announcements or claims from proscribed organisations since such statements could be interpreted as promoting the objectives of terrorism or inciting fear.

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