January 31, 2006

Reiss urged to play positive role

Fine Gael face poll, charisma challenges

British parliament to consider McBride motion

NO IMC INTELLIGENCE

Shifting ground

US groups step up campaign on immigration reforms

The Irish community in the US is rallying to protest against proposed immigration reforms which threaten thousands of undocumented Irish immigrants.

Inclusive Bloody Sunday commemoration

Thousands of people on Sunday retraced the route of the 1972 civil rights demonstration that ended in a massacre on the streets of Derry on Bloody Sunday.

Murky Maghaberry

By Anthony McIntyre (for the Blanket)

Monica McWilliams as head of the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission could start as she means to go on by poking under the stone that is Maghaberry Prison. As closed institutions, prisons have long been sites of human rights violations. During the 1970s the Northern Ireland Office and the Northern Ireland Prison Service were partners in crime as prison staff on a daily basis beat, abused and terrorised the naked prisoners in their keep.

January 27, 2006

Protest against McDowell deportations

Dublin’s justice minister Michael McDowell has decided to deport a Nigerian man who caused him political embarrassment last year, ostensibly due to traffic offences.

Gardai accused of Ludlow lies

The family of Seamus Ludlow have given their accounts for the first time at an inquiry into the Barron report on his savage murder by a gang of pro-British killers in 1976, and the subsequent cover-up.

Re-investigations ‘buried’ in Ombudsman’s office

Scores of killings by the RUC police in the North may not be properly investigated due to a lack of resources at the Police Ombudsman’s office, it has emerged.

Hardy to face charges in Germany

A north Belfast man wanted by the Germans over an IRA mortar bomb attack on a British army base has voluntarily travelled to Germany, it has emerged.

PARTIES SET FOR TALKS SHOWDOWN

26-County Taoiseach Bertie Ahern and British Prime Minister Tony Blair have announced that a new round of talks with the political parties will begin on February 6, to establish if progress is possible on the implementation of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement.

Why the truth still matters

In an extract from a new book, ‘The Bloody Sunday Inquiry, The Families Speak Out’, Eamonn McCann tells the story of the campaign for justice by the victims’ families over the massacre -- 32 years ago this Monday.

DUP could learn from Sri Lankan strategy

Over the last 20 years Sri Lanka has been torn apart by a war which has claimed the lives of over 60,000 people.

British reversal on SF allowances

The British government has moved to restore the London parliamentary allowances of Sinn Féin MPs, withdrawn following allegations of activity by the Provisional IRA.

January 23, 2006

Another informer outed

A former Sinn Féin election worker has admitted to being a paid Special Branch informer for 25 years.

Football pitch gun threat

A Sinn Féin representative had a gun pointed at him as he warmed up for a football match, it emerged today.

Hogg received numerous Finucane briefings

Former British Conservative Home office minister Douglas Hogg has admitted he was privately briefed by RUC Special Branch on multiple occasions in the run up to the murder of Belfast defence lawyer Pat Finucane.

British Crown investigates itself

Nationalists have criticised the PSNI’s Historical Enquiry Team (HET), as it begins an investigation into more than 3,000 killings during the conflict in the North.

FRU murder and lies at Ballykinlar

The murder of an undercover British Army soldier in the North by a drunken colleague was followed by an elaborate cover-up, it has emerged.

IMC FIASCO FEARED

26-County Taoiseach Bertie Ahern will meet British Prime Minister Tony Blair in Dublin on Thursday as problems mount ahead of discussions on the possible implementation of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement.

Loyalist racists attempt to disrupt parade

A Bloody Sunday commemoration parade in Scotland on Saturday narrowly avoided erupting into serious violence after loyalists waving Union flags and giving Nazi salutes hurled bottles and abuse at marchers.

A huge strategic mistake

The truth is that the DUP, and what’s left of the UUP, would just love an assembly with British ministers taking executive decisions.

January 18, 2006

US Congressional delegation in talks

A delegation of members of the US Congress has held high level meetings in Ireland amid growing tension over the talks process in the North.

PSNI accused of new political intervention

A senior PSNI police chief has controversially claimed that the Provisional IRA continues to engage in activity.

Children attacked by PSNI

A 10-year-old was sprayed with CS gas by the PSNI police on Saturdaay night in an unprovoked attack.

End of GAA ban on ‘barracks games’

Irish rugby and soccer international matches will be played for the first time at the home of the Gaelic Athletics Association, it has been confirmed.

SECRET AGENDA WARNING

Sinn Féin has alleged that secret talks have been taking place aimed at excluding the party from a restored power-sharing administration in the North.

Taking the Plunge on Policing

Sean Mac Conmara looks at the progress of peace process negotiations on policing over the last three years.

Slow progress on demilitarisation

The British Army has dashed hopes that five military spytowers in south Armagh are to be taken down.

Stalwarts of unionism must change to survive

By Tom McGurk (for the Sunday Business Post)

The ‘Love Ulster’ campaign is heading south.

January 14, 2006

McGuinness makes Sri Lanka peace trip

Sinn Fein’s Martin McGuinness is to travel to Sri Lanka next week to speak on conflict resolution at the invitation of a peace group.

UNCERTAINTY FOR OTRs

Republicans ‘on the run’ from potential conflict-related prosecutions face an uncertain future following a sudden decision of the British government to abandon new legislation intended to regularise their status.

Finucanes win support

The opposition leader in the 26 Counties has led calls for a full public inquiry into the 1989 murder of Belfast defence lawyer Pat Finucane.

A vision of policing and justice

In a keynote address, Sinn Fein’s spokesperson on policing and justice Gerry Kelly said today his party would respond to a truly new beginning to policing. The following is the text of his address.

SF looks to Nordic model for economy

Sinn Fein delegates gathered in Dublin today for a key party conference on economic policy.

Cross-border co-operation announced

The Dublin and London governments are to act on a pledge to establish an all-Ireland autism centre of excellence in a border village.

CIRA mount attack

The Continuity IRA has claimed responsibility for a bomb left in Armagh on Wednesday.

The dog ate my homework

Bertie Ahern, in a radio interview on Sunday, backed off a demand for an investigation into what is known as “Stormontgate”, writes Vincent Browne.

January 10, 2006

DUP rejects IRA arms inventory

A published inventory of weapons decommissioned by the Provisional IRA would come as “too little, too late,” a DUP politician has said.

US use of Shannon grows

New figures have shown that more than 300,000 US troops had passed through Shannon airport in the west of Ireland last year.

Death of Merlyn Rees

The death in a London hospital last week of former British governor in Ireland, Merlyn Rees, followed the release of historical government papers which shed light on his role in the conflict.

Legal action over Parades Commission

A nationalist resident is to mount a legal action against the appointment of two members of the Protestant Orange Order to the North’s Parades Commission.

1916 letter must be returned

Sinn Fein has called on the British government to hand back a surrender letter rebel leader Padraig Pearse gave to an English general after the Easter Rising.

PRISONER ‘DENIED HUMAN RIGHTS’

A republican prisoner has accused the British government of denying him his human rights.

The origins of the 1981 hunger strike

This year, 2006, marks the 25th anniversary of the 1981 hunger strike. We will be carrying several feature article throughout the year on the story of that fateful struggle.

Bring on ‘Miss Good Cheer’

By Bill Delaney

The New Year is typically the time of year when we look back at the past twelve months of the peace process. This period coincides with the release of historical papers, which provides a new insight into the actions of previous governments.

January 6, 2006

Parties gear up for talks

All parties and the Dublin and London governments have a public duty to work together in 2006 to restore power to the North’s political institutions, Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams has said.

Dirty tricks’ seen behind spy rumours

Sinn Fein has warned that speculation more spies could be unearthed within the party may be coming from some elements within the British intelligence service.

Sectarian attacks in Derry, Belfast

The home of a Catholic family in Derry has been targeted in a sectarian attack.

Who killed Lindsay Robb?

A former member of the British army is the main suspect in the controversial killing of a leading unionist paramilitary figure.

IRA New Year statement

The following is the full text of the annual New Year statement by the Provisional IRA.

Reiss’ attack fuels the wrong message

The RUC was never a police service. It was a political paramilitary militia, which engaged in the most disgraceful abuse of human rights which included torture and murder.

Hain doesn’t sound like a man in charge

Peter Hain hasn’t presented a single fact. That’s why none of the north’s political parties believes his gloss on what has unfolded in the last couple of weeks.

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