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News about the Irish & Irish American culture, music, news, sports. This is hosted by the Irish Aires radio show on KPFT-FM 90.1 in Houston, Texas (a Pacifica community radio station)
February 08, 2005
02/08/05 – Michael Finucane: Blair Broke His Promise
Table of Contents - Overall
Table of Contents – Feb 2005
GU 02/08/05 Michael Finucane: Blair Broke His Promise To Our Family
SM 02/08/05 Government's Inquiries Bill 'Will Destroy Trust'
SF 02/08/05 Backing For Finucane Challenge To Limit Inquiry Scope
IT 02/09/05 Release Of McCabe Killers Is Off The Table, Says Ahern
IT 02/09/05 Taoiseach's Message Is Not Loud And Clear
IT 02/09/05 IMC Says IRA Behind Raid - Ahern -V(2)
SF 02/08/05 If Govnt Opposes Sanctions Then They Must Prevent Them
IT 02/08/05 Security Cuts Cited Before Northern Bank Raid
SF 02/08/05 FG Motion Offers Nothing To Advance Process
IT 02/09/05 Fine Gael Motion –V
IT 02/09/05 The Amendment: Agreed Between Government & Fine Gael
IT 02/09/05 Time To Shout 'Stop' To IRA, Says Kenny
IO 02/08/05 Ahern: Republicans Must Face Reality For Peace
GU 02/08/05 Brutal Killing Turns Republicans Against IRA
IT 02/09/05 Dundalk Man Charged Over Omagh Bomb Car –V
IT 02/09/05 President's Husband Meets Loyalists In Belfast
IT 02/09/05 Fund For Ireland Left Out Of Bush Budget
IT 02/09/05 Theft Of Kerry Road Signs 'An Industry'
SF 02/09/05 Gerry Adams To Launch Sinn Fein Centenary Exhibition
PT 02/08/05 Dispute Over Future Of Salmon Drift Net Fishing –VO (2)
RT 02/08/05 Ahern Meets UN Secretary General In New York -VO
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Dispute Over Future Of Salmon Drift Net Fishing - Tanya Sillem reports on the controversy of drift net fishing of salmon off Ireland's western coasts amid falling stocks of the fish
http://www.rte.ie/news/2005/0208/primetime/primetime56_2a.smil
Seamus De Búrca, Chair, Cork Salmon Drift Net Association, and Niall Greene, Chair, 'Stop Salmon Drift Nets Now' group, are in studio to discuss the issue
http://www.rte.ie/news/2005/0208/primetime/primetime56_2b.smil
Ahern Meets UN Secretary General In New York - Robert Shortt, Business Correspondent, reports on Dermot Ahern's visit to the US
http://www.rte.ie/news/2005/0208/9news/9news56_5a.smil
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http://politics.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,9115,1408872,00.html
Comment: Blair Broke His Promise To Our Family
This bill is a recipe for cover-ups, including of my father's murder
Michael Finucane
Wednesday February 9, 2005
The Guardian
In three days, on February 12 2005, exactly 16 years will have passed since my father was murdered by proxy agents of the British government. For those 16 years, my family and I have been campaigning for a public tribunal of inquiry into the murder because of our belief that his killing was ordered at the highest level. What is more, we are convinced the evidence to prove it is contained in files locked deep within the establishment.
Our campaign has led us deep into the heart of an establishment now fighting to keep the secrets about murders like that of Pat Finucane. At the end of an investigation led by the former commissioner for the Metropolitan police, Sir John Stevens, he stated: "My inquiries have highlighted collusion, the wilful failure to keep records, the absence of accountability, the withholding of intelligence and evidence, and the extreme of agents being involved in murder. These serious acts and omissions have meant that people have been killed or seriously injured."
Tony Blair signed an agreement with the Irish government in 2001 to deal with my father's case. He did so under pressure and in an attempt to delay an inquiry into the case, something his government has been doing for several years. He appointed an internationally recognised judge, Peter Cory, to examine the case, and promised to implement his recommendations. Cory recommended a public inquiry in the case of my father.
But instead of honouring its promise, Tony Blair's government said it would establish something else, in a way - as the Northern Ireland secretary Paul Murphy put it - that "takes into account the public interest, including the requirements of national security". Something "special" had to be done, to "hold the inquiry on the basis of new legislation which will be introduced shortly".
That new legislation was the inquiries bill - now going through parliament - and not a public inquiry. In fact, the word "public" does not appear except in the context of "public interest", which is not surprising since the bill is not designed to establish public inquiries at all. Instead, its focus is on giving control of inquiries to ministers so that anything potentially embarrassing to government is prevented from leaking out.
The repeated assertion of the British government that an inquiry will get to the truth by using this new legislation does not stand up. The inquiries bill grants the power to a government minister to limit an inquiry through restrictive terms of reference, to curb investigations by limiting available funding, to censor the final report and even control and limit the very evidence the inquiry can consider. How can an inquiry be expected to get to the truth under the yoke of this new law? The reality is that an inquiry that is not a public inquiry becomes little more than a government-controlled charade. It is established by government, regulated by government and controlled by government throughout.
The joint human rights committee and the house public administration select committee have criticised the bill for giving unjustifiable, unaccountable ministerial influence on what should be an independent inquiry.
About a year before Tony Blair became prime minister, he promised to "end the obsessive and unnecessary secrecy which surrounds government activity". Given what we now know of the man, it seems an unlikely remark for him to make.
Somehow the politician who promised an end to government by stealth was replaced by one who seems to want to write the definitive work: the inquiries bill. The murder of my father is a crucial event because of what the case could potentially reveal. It is for this reason the bill was created. But the bill does not just affect one case: it is about to become the law of the land and is being pushed through by the most control-obsessed government Britain has ever seen.
In the course of the last 12 months, Tony Blair's government has been at the heart of many incidents that have demanded explanations. The prime example would be the Iraq war, examined publicly to some degree by Lord Hutton and not at all publicly by Lord Butler. More recently, attention has been focused on the home secretary's proposals for house arrest on the decision of a minister.
The government's Freedom of Information Act is supposed to be about providing explanation, but is now the subject of allegations of manipulation to allow the release of particular kinds of information, usually material that is damaging to opponents of the government. What does not get out is information that would do the government harm. The inquiries bill is a continuation in the same vein. It should be resisted by anyone who really feels that secrecy and closed doors have no place in amodern, democratic British government. Or, to put it another way, anyone who doesn't think like Tony Blair.
· Michael Finucane is the eldest son of Pat Finucane and a practising solicitor in Dublin
mf@michaelfinucane.ie
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http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=4107602
Government's Inquiries Bill 'Will Destroy Trust'
By Helen William, PA
Trust in any public inquiry will be wrecked forever if the Government moves ahead with plans to put ministers at the heart of investigations into government failures and national tragedies, it was claimed today.
Bereaved relatives of Belfast solicitor Pat Finucane, the Deepcut Barracks soldiers and the Southall Rail crash joined forces at Westminster today to condemn proposals included in the Government’s Inquiries Bill.
They fear it will lead to unacceptable levels of control being handed over to ministers and shatter the chances for open, in-depth and independent scrutiny.
“I would urge anyone who is interested in accountable, democratic and open government to oppose this Bill now,” Mr Finucane’s son Michael told a House of Commons press conference.
His family have limited confidence in the Government’s handling of an inquiry into allegations that British Army intelligence and Royal Ulster Constabulary officers colluded in the murder of his father in 1989 by members of the loyalist Ulster Defence Association.
He said: “The Government’s current actions beg one simple question – how much more is there that we do not know?”
The Bill, currently in the Lords, has already drawn criticism from the cross-party Public Administration Committee which said it would give ministers too much say in the way their actions are investigated.
Geoff Gray is calling for a full public inquiry into the controversial deaths of his son and three other young soldiers at the Army’s Deepcut Barracks in Surrey.
The families of Sean Benton, 20, from Hastings, East Sussex, Cheryl James, 18, from Llangollen, north Wales, Geoff Gray, 17, from Co Durham, and James Collinson, 17, from Perth, Scotland, do not accept the Army’s findings that their deaths were suicides.
Mr Gray said: “An inquiry would be for the good, not the detriment of the army. If there is something wrong, work to fix it.
“I have always had the knowledge that the British army is the best army in the world and that it was safe. I was shattered when that army said he (my son) had committed suicide. We want that trust to be regained and the way to do that is through an investigation into the army.”
Maureen Kavanagh said the inquiry into the Southall rail crash, in which her son Peter was one of the seven dead, resulted in long-lasting changes to the railways.
For any investigation to be effective it has to be transparent and fearless in seeking the truth. This would not be the case without an independent chairman at the helm, she argued.
Mrs Kavanagh said: “We need it (inquiries) to be based on justice and the power to state who is to blame and not to be afraid that there may be power or important people involved.”
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http://www.sinnfein.ie/news/detail/8414
Backing For Finucane Challenge To British Government Attempt To Limit Scope Of Inquiry
Published: 8 February, 2005
Sinn Féin Councillor Paul Fleming has said that he supports the Finucane family in their efforts to thwart the British Government changing the law to limit the power of any further inquiries.
Councillor Fleming stated,
"The family of collusion victim Pat Finucane have travelled to London today to confront the British Government over their attempts to change the law over any future inquiries.
"Geraldine Finucane recently gave the annual Bloody Sunday Lecture at the Guildhall and articulated the lengths in which the British Government have covered and frustrated the many families who strive to get the truth as not only how but why their family members were executed.
"It is obvious that the British Government have much to fear from the truth of their dirty war in Ireland being exposed. This would show that there was an institutional policy of collusion between the British forces and Unionist death squads that can be traced to the highest level of government.
"In order to protect themselves the British Government are now proposing that any further inquiries, like the ones called for by Judge Peter Cory over collusion, would have limited remits.
"Sinn Féin support the campaign by the Finucane family to have full disclosure over what happened to Pat Finucane and the hundreds of others who died as a result of the policy of collusion. ENDS
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http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/front/2005/0209/3926475054HM1NORTH.html
Release Of McCabe Killers Is 'Off The Table', Says Ahern
Mark Brennock, Chief Political Correspondent
The Taoiseach has said the question of the early release of the killers of Det Garda Jerry McCabe is not only "off the table" but he does not "see it coming back on the table" again in future talks.
In the Dáil yesterday Mr Ahern also said the report of the Independent Monitoring Commission, to be published tomorrow, goes further than he has ever gone in blaming the IRA for the Northern Bank raid.
And in a downbeat assessment of the prospects for progress, he said he did not "see a way of getting the [ required] trust and confidence at present".
His comments on the McCabe killers yesterday afternoon appeared to signal a hardening of the Government's position on this issue. His position has consistently been that the issue is "off the table". This leaves open the prospect that it could come back on to the table again if a power-sharing deal in the North was in sight.
Yesterday's remark, however, suggested that the Government has now decided that it is unlikely to negotiate on this matter again in the context of a deal in the North. In relation to the men's release, he said: "That is off the table and I do not see it coming back on the table either for that matter."
The Government did not agree to reflect this new formulation in a motion on the peace process agreed between the Coalition and Fine Gael last night.
That agreed motion, to be voted upon in the Dáil tonight, says on the McCabe issue that it welcomes the Taoiseach's statement that the issue of the men's release was "no longer on the table". Mr Ahern also confined himself to this precise formulation in a Dáil speech last night on a private members' motion on the peace process.
Tonight the Dáil will vote on this motion - an amended version of a Fine Gael private members' motion - agreed after lengthy negotiations between the Government and the largest opposition party yesterday.
In an unusual step this amended version will be in the names of Mr Ahern and Mr Enda Kenny, reflecting a desire to show Dáil unity on the issue. Labour, the Green Party and most if not all Independents will support it.
Fine Gael's motion reaffirmed commitment to the Belfast Agreement; regretted the lack of agreement on decommissioning and criminality; noted the damage done to the peace process by the Northern Bank robbery; noted the assessment by the Irish and British governments that this was the work of the IRA; and rejected Sinn Féin's view of what constitutes criminality.
The amendment in Mr Ahern's and Mr Kenny's names leaves all of this unchanged, but replaces a reference to the Taoiseach having made an "offer" to release the killers of Det Garda Jerry McCabe.
The Government insists that the release of the men was a "demand" made by Sinn Féin rather than an "offer" by the Government.
The agreed version to be voted upon tonight "welcomes the Taoiseach's recent statement that the question regarding the early release of the murderers of Detective Garda Jerry McCabe was no longer on the table".
In relation to the IMC report, considered by the Cabinet yesterday, Mr Ahern said that "if anything it will go beyond anything I have said on previous occasions. I will leave people to read this independent report for themselves."
The Taoiseach also said he believed the Bush Administration had already decided how it was going to deal with the question of whether to invite Sinn Féin representatives to the White House for St Patrick's Day celebrations.
It is believed that while the Taoiseach will make the traditional presentation of shamrock to President Bush in the White House, the Northern parties will not be invited to a St Patrick's Day party as they have been since the mid 1990s.
This approach would avoid the scenario of having Sinn Féin leaders as guests of President Bush after they have been accused of foreknowledge of the Northern Bank robbery, while avoiding any discrimination against them by the White House which would be portrayed as "exclusion".
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http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/ireland/2005/0209/1318987130HM6SKETCH.html
Taoiseach's Message Is Not Loud And Clear
Dáil Sketch/Frank McNally: It looked like the peace process was taking yet another bad turn when Sinn Féin failed to show up for Leaders' Questions.
As the Taoiseach faced his twice-weekly grilling by the Opposition, the benches normally occupied by the republicans were emptier than a cleaned-out bank vault.
Observers feared that, having decided not to interpret any more IRA statements, Sinn Féin had also resigned from the (perhaps greater) challenge of interpreting Bertie Ahern.
In their absence, Labour's Pat Rabbitte continued the struggle, asking Mr Ahern to clarify "conflicting signals" from the Government in its dealings with the republican movement.
But far from clearing up the confusion, the Taoiseach was soon delivering one of those strange elliptical replies, in a barely audible voice, that has members of the press gallery straining their ears and then staring at each other in pained incomprehension.
You know at these times that Mr Ahern is probably having a coherent thought, but it's as if his voice is only relaying the selected highlights.
He started, promisingly enough, by warning that the peace process could not "go back into a cul de sac" even though some might like that.
Then he spoke about certain people crying "wolf", and we were struggling to stay with him.
Did he say "wolf" or "woof?" reporters asked each other.
But even as we were asking, the Taoiseach murmured something about a "hostage", and we'd lost the trail completely.
"I thought he said 'ostrich'," one reporter ventured afterwards.
It was a potentially fraught scenario: an ostrich trapped up a cul de sac with a wolf. You certainly wouldn't need P O'Neill to underline the seriousness of such a situation.
So it was with some relief that we later consulted the official transcript and found the Taoiseach recorded as having said: "People like being in the cul de sac."
Then they all shout "wolf", "hostage", "victim" and so on. "That is not helpful."
Unfortunately, we still had no idea what it meant, and it was hard to argue with the wisdom of Sinn Féin's abstentionist, anti-interpretationist strategy.
In fact, before Leaders' Questions finished, the party did make a brief appearance in the form of Arthur Morgan and Caoimhghin Ó Caolain.
And before he finished answering Pat Rabbitte, Mr Ahern did briefly make sense.
He said that the impending report from the Independent Monitoring Commission would "if anything go further" than anyone yet had in pinning the bank job on the IRA.
Then, in a grave but this time audible voice, he confirmed that the release of the McCabe killers was "off the table", and added: "I don't see it coming back on the table for that matter."
© The Irish Times
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IMC report links IRA to Northern Bank raid, says Ahern - David McCullagh, Political Correspondent, reports on the political aftermath of the Northern Bank robbery in Belfast last December
http://www.rte.ie/news/2005/0208/6news/6news56_2a.smil
David Davin-Power, Political Correspondent, previews tonight's Dáil debate on the crisis in the Northern Ireland peace process
http://www.rte.ie/news/2005/0208/6news/6news56_2b.smil
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http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/ireland/2005/0209/1685171304HM6DLAHERN.html
IMC Says IRA Behind Raid - Ahern -V(2)
Michael O'Regan
The Independent Monitoring Commission (IMC) has confirmed the Government's view that the Provisional IRA was responsible for the Belfast bank robbery, the Taoiseach told the Dáil.
Mr Ahern also revealed that the release of the killers of Det Garda Jerry McCabe was "no longer on the table".
The Taoiseach said the IMC's report would be published later this week.
"The Government has seen it. If anything, it will go beyond anything I have said on previous occasions," he added.
"I think I will leave people to read it themselves."
On the possible release of the killers of Det Garda McCabe, Mr Ahern said: "That issue is off the table. I have heard people say in recent days that they made great efforts to do things to assist the peace process. Well, I did this one.
"I tried my best on this one, not only on the murder of Jerry McCabe but all of the other prisoners. I supported the release of several of the prisoners, including a number of people who murdered gardaí."
Mr Ahern added there had been a "demand" rather than an "offer" on the issue to try to secure a comprehensive agreement.
"That is off the table, and I do not see it coming back on the table either for that matter," he added.
Mr Ahern was replying to the Labour leader, Mr Pat Rabbitte, during leaders' questions.
Speaking later during the debate on a Fine Gael Private Member's motion, Mr Ahern said it was a measure of the Government's deep commitment to the peace process that it was prepared to consider the early release of the killers of Garda McCabe.
"This would have been in the context of a comprehensive agreement involving all the outstanding issues, including an end to all IRA paramilitary activity and the full decommissioning of their weapons," he added.
"This step was considered with the greatest of reluctance and only because it had become necessary if we were to conclude a comprehensive agreement. It was a risk that the Government were prepared to take in the particular circumstances of closure.
"However, I have now made it clear, including earlier today in the House, that the question of the early release of the killers of Det Garda McCabe is no longer on the table," the Taoiseach said.
© The Irish Times
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http://www.sinnfein.ie/news/detail/8420
If Irish Government Opposes Sanctions Then They Must Prevent Them
Published: 8 February, 2005
Speaking as the Irish government met to discuss the latest report from the IMC, Sinn Féin Assembly member for North Belfast Gerry Kelly said that 'if the Irish government oppose sanctions then they will stop them happening'.
Mr Kelly said:
"I have read with interest the Taoiseach's remarks yesterday on the issue of the IMC and sanctions against Sinn Féin. The Irish Cabinet is meeting today to discuss this. In Sinn Féin's view it is not good enough for the Irish government to say it opposes sanctions. The Irish government created the IMC along with the British as a sop to unionists. The sole purpose of the IMC is as a vehicle to be used to sanction and exclude Sinn Fein from the process.
"If the Irish government are serious about what they are saying then as co-equal partners in this process it has to challenge the British government on this issue. If the Irish government is really serious about sanctions then it must block their introduction.
"Confrontation, exclusion, and criminalising an entire section of people are not the way forward. They haven't worked in the past and they will not work now.
" It the two governments want to see progress then they need to pull off this confrontational approach. If they are determined to subvert the Sinn Féin mandate then we will robustly and assertively defend ourselves, our mandate and the process." ENDS
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http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/ireland/2005/0209/222598654HM9NEWSHINNERS.html
Security Cuts Cited Before Northern Bank Raid
Dan Keenan, Northern News Editor
A former head of security at the Northern Bank in Belfast said the £26.5 million alleged IRA robbery could not have taken place under the former security arrangements at the bank.
Mr Hugh Conkey, who worked for 18 years at the Northern Bank headquarters where the robbery took place, said he left the bank after it decided to replace in-house security, of which he was in charge, with outside security.
"It would never have taken place with the procedures we had in place," he told UTV's Insight programme last night. He said he was informed the changes were made to save £100,000 a year over a five-year period.
Meanwhile, Sinn Féin yesterday urged the Government to block attempts to impose Independent Monitoring Commission sanctions on republicans.
Mr Gerry Kelly, a senior negotiator and North Belfast Assembly member, called on the Taoiseach to act on his claim that he opposed penalties levied on Sinn Féin following the Northern Bank robbery.
"If Bertie Ahern is against sanctions then the [Irish Government] needs to do something about that and should say to the British 'we will not accept sanctions'," he said yesterday.
Mr Kelly was vociferous in his opposition to the Independent Monitoring Commission, whose report on the bank robbery is expected to be published tomorrow.
"Sanctions has been tried before," he said. "It doesn't work. Exclusion has been tried before, criminalisation has been tried before - all these have been tried before." He said it was not good enough for Mr Ahern to proclaim his opposition to sanctions against Sinn Féin.
"The Irish Government, as a co-equal partner, should block sanctions by the IMC because the IMC does have a representative of the Irish Government on it, and was set up by the two governments to take sanctions against Sinn Féin. It was set up as a sop to unionists."
He warned: "If the IMC want to make victims out of our voters I will robustly and strongly defend their right and our mandate."
Mr Kelly again rejected the assessment by the Garda and the PSNI that the IRA was behind December's £26.5 million robbery, and added that neither the Sinn Féin president, Mr Gerry Adams, nor Mr Martin McGuinness knew in advance of the robbery.
"Neither of those are fact, in fact they are absolutely wrong," he said.
Sinn Féin doubts whether the Taoiseach will do anything more than voice opposition to sanctions. Mr Kelly said Irish Government opposition to the suspension of Stormont was not supported by action.
"We have had situations before with the suspension of the institutions, for instance, where the Irish Government said publicly they were against it but frankly did not do a lot to stop the British suspending the institutions," he said.
"The Taoiseach now says he is opposed to sanctions. I hope he will follow that through. But I am doubtful based on the history of the suspension of the institutions. We need it blocked by the Irish Government. We are co-equal partners in this process." He said that IMC penalties would "hurt" Sinn Féin.
Despite the political fallout from the robbery, Mr Kelly said he was sure the US administration would not respond by shunning Sinn Féin representatives at the White House during St Patrick's week next month
"I met the State Department when I went over last week. They said they had no intentions of changing the normal arrangements," Mr Kelly said.
Meanwhile Mr David Burnside, the Ulster Unionist MP for South Antrim, yesterday called for the British government to take a stronger stance against the IRA.
© The Irish Times
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http://www.sinnfein.ie/news/detail/8418
FG Motion Offers Nothing To Advance Process
Published: 8 February, 2005
Sinn Féin Dáil group leader, Caoimhghin Ó Caoláin, described the motion put down by Fine Gael for Private Members Business this evening as "every negative‚ and offering nothing in terms of moving the whole peace process forward".
Deputy Ó Caoláin said, "This is a very negative motion from Fine Gael. They seem to be returning to the failed agenda of their former leader John Bruton.
"The motion offers nothing in terms of moving the whole peace process forward. The fact that they have struggled to find a set of words, withdrew their original motion and have now rushed to produce a substitute motion, best illustrates their complete failure to understand the complexities of the issues that face us all in terms of trying to resolve the outstanding difficulties.
"Their narrow-minded and blinkered anti-republican agenda has well and truly exposed. In fact it stands in marked contrast to their lack of concern on other issues. Where was Fine Gael's outrage and indignation at the failure of Paul Murphy and the British Government to provide information in relation to the role of their forces in the Dublin/Monaghan bombings and other acts of collusion in this state?
"The Sinn Féin amendment focuses on the Good Friday Agreement. That's the basis for us all to move forward.
"We will defend the mandate of our party which has the support of over a third of a million voters on this island. They are decent people who want peace and justice and we will not let them be maligned by a party that has done little or nothing to advance the cause of justice and equality for all people on this island.
"The Agreement says that all the parties have a responsibility to work together to implement the Agreement. That's the context in which we will all collectively solve the issue of arms and armed groups. That is not the sole responsibility of Sinn Féin." ENDS
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Main parties agree terms of Dáil motion on NI - David McCullagh, Political Correspondent, reports on the beginning of a two-day Dáil debate on Northern Ireland
http://www.rte.ie/news/2005/0208/9news/9news56_2a.smil
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http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/ireland/2005/0209/3040843311HM6DLNEW.html
Fine Gael Motion -V
The following is the text of the Fine Gael motion on the North's peace process agreed with the Government:
"That Dáil Éireann: recognises the primacy of the Good Friday Agreement and the importance of both governments continuing to protect and develop its achievements;
welcomes the progress made to date towards the full implementation of a broad range of commitments made in the Good Friday Agreement;
welcomes the continuation of cross-party support in the House for the peace process;
reaffirms its view that this Agreement must form the basis of a lasting settlement in Northern Ireland; welcomes the progress represented by the proposals of the British and Irish governments, published in December 2004, towards achieving a complete resolution of the key issues identified by the Taoiseach and Prime Minister Blair at Lancaster House in June, 2004;
regrets that there was no agreement at that time in relation to two key issues, namely an end to all forms of paramilitary and criminal activity and decommissioning;
notes that all parties to the Agreement undertook to pursue their political objectives by exclusively peaceful and democratic means, and that the Agreement envisaged full decommissioning of all paramilitary arms within two years;
notes the damage which has been done to the peace process by ongoing criminality including the recent robbery of the Northern Bank in Belfast and the assessment of the Irish and British authorities that the Provisional IRA was responsible for these crimes;
notes that a report by international Monitoring Commissions regarding ongoing paramilitary and criminal activity will shortly be published;
emphasises that there can be no room in a genuine peace process after 10 years of engagement for threats of whatever kind;
rejects recent comments by Sinn Féin spokespersons as to what constitutes criminality;
underlines the need for a responsible and calm debate of the current difficulties in the peace process;
notes the clearly expressed views of the Irish people that all paramilitary activity and criminality be permanently brought to an end; believes that with a resolution of current difficulties the restoration of the devolved institutions and the full implementation of the Good Friday Agreement is achievable;
welcomes the continuing and valued support of the President of the United States notes the determination of the two governments to maintain dialogue with all the Northern Ireland political parties;
welcomes the Taoiseach's recent statement that his offer regarding the early release of the murderers of Detective Garda Jerry McCabe has been withdrawn;
and expresses its full support for the ongoing efforts to the two governments to bring to completion full implementation of the Good Friday Agreement."
© The Irish Times
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http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/ireland/2005/0209/3698652138HM6DLAMEND2.html
The Amendment: Agreed Between The Government And Fine Gael
An amendment agreed between the Government and Fine Gael reads as follows:
"That Dáil Éireann recognises the primacy of the Good Friday Agreement and the importance of both Governments continuing to protect and develop its achievements;
welcomes the progress made to date towards the full implementation of a broad range of commitments made in the Good Friday Agreement; welcomes the continuation of cross-party support in the House for the peace process;
reaffirms its view that this agreement must form the basis of a lasting settlement in Northern Ireland;
welcomes the progress represented by the proposals of the British and Irish Governments, published in December 2004, towards achieving a complete resolution of the key issues identified by the Taoiseach and Prime Minister Blair at Lancaster House in June 2004;
regrets that there was no agreement at that time in relation to two key issues, namely an end to all forms of paramilitary and criminal activity and decommissioning;
notes that all parties to the agreement undertook to pursue their political objectives by exclusively peaceful and democratic means, and that the agreement envisaged full decommissioning of all paramilitary arms within two years;
notes the damage which has been done to the peace process by ongoing criminality including the recent robbery of the Northern Bank in Belfast and the assessment of the Irish and British authorities that the Provisional IRA was responsible for these crimes;
notes that a report by the International Monitoring Commission regarding ongoing paramilitary and criminal activity will shortly be published;
emphasises that there can be no room in a genuine peace process after 10 years of engagement for threats of whatever kind; rejects recent comments by Sinn Féin spokespersons as to what constitutes criminality;
underlines the need for a responsible and calm debate of the current difficulties in the peace process;
notes the clearly expressed views of the Irish people that all paramilitary activity and criminality be permanently brought to an end; believes that with a resolution of current difficulties the restoration of the devolved institutions and the full implementation of the Good Friday Agreement is achievable;
welcomes the continuing and valued support of the President of the United States; notes the determination of the two governments to maintain dialogue with all the Northern Ireland political parties; welcomes the Taoiseach's recent statement that the question regarding the early release of the murderers of Detective Garda Jerry McCabe was no longer on the table; and expresses its full support for the ongoing efforts of the two governments to bring to completion full implementation of the Good Friday Agreement."
An amendment tabled by Mr Joe Higgins (Socialist Party, Dublin West) calls for an end to all activity by all paramilitaries, loyalist and republican, and the building of a "mass political party capable of uniting the working class in the struggle for a socialist solution".
© The Irish Times
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http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/ireland/2005/0209/1766692455HM6DLSF.html
Time To Shout 'Stop' To IRA, Says Kenny
Michael O'Regan
A blind eye had been turned to the ongoing criminal activity of the IRA for too long, the Fine Gael leader, Mr Enda Kenny, told the Dáil last night.
"This was so as long that they thought they could do as they pleased without shouting stop," he added. "Well, tonight, Fine Gael is shouting 'stop' and I hope the other parties in the House will join us in doing so."
Mr Kenny, who was introducing a Fine Gael Private Member's motion, said that his party's position relating to the peace process, unlike some others, had been consistent throughout. "In government and in opposition, in public and in private, we have never played politics with the process," he added.
Mr Kenny said he respected the Sinn Féin electoral mandate. "But I remind them that I, too, have a mandate on behalf of the Fine Gael party," he said.
"Sinn Féin has become accustomed to their mandate being disproportionately heard because it comes to us through a megaphone at the end of a gun. This must stop. No democratic party has a mandate for killing, for robbery, for racketeering, for maiming or for stalking. My mandate is to stand up for the truth, to defend and strengthen the institutions of this State and to allow democratic politics to build a country of peace and pride."
Mr Kenny said the debate gave an opportunity to send a clear message to the IRA and to their political representatives in the Dáil that that type of behaviour would not be tolerated.
"The republican movement must end all their illegal activities and complete the process of decommissioning," he added. "The urgency of completing this transformation has been highlighted by recent events and statements which have provided an alarming insight into the republican mindset and their conception of what their commitment to exclusively peaceful and democratic [ methods] means."
The Labour leader, Mr Pat Rabbitte, said it was arguable that the governments, and the Republic's Government in particular, had aided a process of propaganda, especially in the way in which other parties in the North had been excluded from the process.
"I find it unconscionable that parties like the SDLP in particular, and the UUP, should be expected to sign on to a comprehensive solution sight unseen".
"There would be no peace process, and no evidence of workable institutions in Northern Ireland, without the work of people like Mark Durkan and David Trimble. The exclusion from the negotiations of parties and individuals who have an enormous contribution to make will come to be seen as one of the reasons why the process has hit so many obstacles in recent times."
Mr Rabbitte accused Sinn Féin of being "under the misapprehension that their party has grown in support solely because of the genius of their leadership".
In fact, he added, the democratic parties had knowingly facilitated the emergence of Sinn Féin as a representative force because it seemed the best way to copper-fasten the peace process.
"If the leadership of the republican movement reflects for a while, they will surely understand why the democratic parties cannot indefinitely acquiesce in Sinn Féin failing to conclude the peace process while maintaining a stranglehold over disadvantaged communities through undemocratic means."
© The Irish Times
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http://212.2.162.45/news/story.asp?j=133052760&p=y33x53466&n=133053520
Ahern: Republicans Must Face Reality For Peace
08/02/2005 - 22:12:50
The IRA must end all illegal activity if the promise of the Good Friday Agreement is to be fulfilled, Taoiseach Bertie Ahern insisted tonight.
As his Government signed a Fine Gael motion in theDáil calling on the IRA to immediately disarm and end all criminal activity, Mr Ahern said republicans had to face reality.
“After two years and more of exhaustive negotiations across the full spectrum of issues, it is now impossible to deny that continuing IRA paramilitary and criminal activity are fundamentally destabilising to the peace process,” he said.
“Quite simply, there cannot be inclusive institutions until they are definitely removed from the equation.
“I fully understand and appreciate that this may be an uncomfortable reality for some people to accept.
“However, if we are to move beyond the present impasse and get the process back on track, we must honestly acknowledge the nature of the problem.”
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http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,3604,1408652,00.html
Brutal Killing Turns Republicans Against IRA
Stabbing of father of two is last straw after years of beatings
Angelique Chrisafis, Ireland correspondent
Wednesday February 9, 2005
The Guardian
Behind the coffin, hundreds of mourners snaked in grim procession through the tiny nationalist enclave of the Short Strand in east Belfast.
The stabbing of a father has sparked anger in these streets, where three-metre "peace" fences separate 3,000 Catholics from the 60,000 Protestants who surround them.
But Robert McCartney's death was not the result of a violent confrontation between loyalists and nationalists on one of Belfast's most troubled faultlines. The popular 33-year-old was killed during a savage bar brawl and residents blame the local IRA.
Father Sean Gilmore yesterday told more than 1,000 mourners at St Matthew's church that the murder had a "devastating and demoralising effect" on the Short Strand.
The past week has seen an unprecedented turning point in local attitudes towards the IRA. More than 600 people gathered for a candlelight street vigil in defiance of Mr McCartney's killers. Residents in the Short Strand, which has suffered decades of sectarian violence, would once not have challenged the standing of the IRA, seen as defenders of the community. But some said the vigil was a sign of the growing unease at the criminal activities of what one person called a "Goodfellas" gang of IRA "peacetime" paramilitaries. People complained of IRA punishment beatings, racketeering, intimidation and sexual violence over recent years.
In an area with its own republican murals, once unthinkable graffiti appeared on one wall last week: "PIRA [Provisional IRA] scum out".
Mr McCartney, a bodybuilder and the father of two small boys, died of stab wounds on January 30 after a fight in Magennis's bar in Belfast city centre. IRA members from the local Markets and Short Strand areas were drinking in the bar after returning from the Bloody Sunday commemorations in Derry. According to reports, an argument broke out and the IRA men sent for back-up. Mr McCartney tried to defend a friend when the fight spilled on to the street. A kitchen knife was produced.
Brendan Devine, 31, Mr McCartney's friend, was slashed across his throat and from chest to navel. He spoke from hospital this week, saying: "I remember a hand coming over my face and my throat was slashed a couple of times." He told the Irish News he saw Mr McCartney with his hands up being confronted by five men.
Seven men have been questioned over the murder and released, including a senior republican believed to be a member of the IRA's Northern Command. Police do not think the murder was carried out to fulfil the "organisational aims or objectives" of any paramilitary group. But, residents asked, if IRA members were involved in the murder on their own behalf, would they be brought to justice or would witnesses be intimidated into staying silent? Police refused to comment on reports that CCTV from inside the bar had been stolen.
A Short Strand source, who would not be named, said: "The candlelight vigil was a message. People are standing up and saying this is the straw that broke the camel's back. They [the IRA] have beaten and shot a number of people over the past number of years, now they have killed someone. People are afraid to speak out. Someone might come to your door and stick a gun to your head."
The source said that in recent years, local IRA members had caused fear with their regime of summary justice. They had carried out punishment beatings, shootings and exilings. Within the past few weeks they had punished a 17-year-old by shooting him through the hands in a new style of attack named after "Padre Pio", a monk said to carry signs of the stigmata. The teenager was shot after he was involved in a fight.
Another source said local IRA members had been involved in crime in recent years, including robberies, protection rackets and sexual violence.
One woman in the Short Strand said witnesses would be intimidated: "They [the IRA] have too much power. People will be too scared to give evidence. Whatever the [IRA] do, it seems they can't get caught. Everyone turns a blind eye. We feel like we are at a dead end."
When police investigating the murder carried out searches in the nationalist Markets area last week, they were attacked by children and teenagers throwing bricks, bottles and stones. Sinn Féin said the police had been "heavy handed".
Detectives are following 500 lines of inquiry. A local source suggested some residents had contacted the police with information, once unthinkable in an area described as a policing vacuum where people have bitter memories of the old RUC.
Joe O'Donnell, the area's Sinn Féin councillor, said the murder was "totally and absolutely wrong", as were punishment beatings. He said residents should give any information to a priest or solicitor. He denied there was a danger of witness intimidation.
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Man charged with providing car for Omagh bomb - Watch the video
http://www.rte.ie/news/2005/0208/9news/9news56_1a.smil
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http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/ireland/2005/0209/3815004492HM4BOLDS.html
Dundalk Man Charged Over Omagh Bomb Car -V
A 34-year-old Dundalk man has been charged with supplying the car which was used by the Omagh bombers.
The man was arrested on Monday in Newry, Co Down, and was later charged with providing property for the use of terrorists.
It is alleged that the man supplied the bombers with a maroon-coloured Vauxhall Cavalier, the vehicle which exploded in Omagh town centre on August 15th 1998, killing 29 people and two unborn children.
The man will appear before Enniskillen Magistrates' Court this morning.
© The Irish Times
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http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/ireland/2005/0209/2668531606HM9NIMCALEESE.html
President's Husband Meets Loyalists In Belfast
Gerry Moriarty, Northern Editor
Dr Martin McAleese, husband of the President, Mrs McAleese, has twice met loyalist representatives in Belfast in what are viewed as attempts to "mend fences" over the President's apparent comparison of Northern Protestants with Nazis.
On Monday at Stormont, Dr McAleese met a number of unionist politicians and loyalist representatives, including the UDA's so-called south Belfast brigadier, Mr Jackie McDonald.
Last week he met the Ulster Political Research Group (UPRG), which provides political analysis for the UDA.
The President is expected to visit a nationalist area of her native north Belfast in the coming weeks, which prompted speculation she may also seek to visit a loyalist area during that trip.
The after-shocks of her radio comments last Thursday week, which in many quarters were interpreted as her attributing all sectarianism in the North solely to Protestants, are still being felt. While Mrs McAleese's apology was widely accepted, a number of unionists were only prepared to "forgive, but not to forget".
Dr McAleese on Monday attended a meeting of the Protestant Interface Network (PIN) chaired by Ulster Unionist MLA Sir Reg Empey, although he is not a member of the organisation.
Politicians from all parties, including the DUP, attended the meeting of PIN, which is linked to the UPRG and the UDA, and which works to prevent trouble at the Protestant-Catholic "peace lines".
The President's spokeswoman said Dr McAleese was "warmly received" at the PIN meeting and also at last week's UPRG meeting. She did not hear any reference at Monday's meeting to the President's remarks, although Mr Sammy Duddy, of the UPRG, said the matter was "quietly mentioned".
Mr Duddy said he had great admiration for Mrs McAleese and her husband, and that, as far as he was concerned, she would be welcome in Belfast. "We know the great work she has done. We know how she has gone out on a limb to reach out to people."
Sir Reg Empey said he was happy to speak to Dr McAleese while still harbouring concerns about the President's initial remarks.
"I have no doubt that President McAleese, after a bit of time and space, will continue with her work. The truth of the matter though is that a lot of people will now be more hesitant than they were in the past to have dealings with her."
© The Irish Times
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http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/ireland/2005/0209/516163800HM9IFI.html
Fund For Ireland Left Out Of Bush Budget
Deaglán de Bréadún, Foreign Affairs Correspondent, in New York
No allocation has been made to the International Fund for Ireland in US President George Bush's proposed budget, although a spokesman for the Irish embassy in Washington said the Government was confident that an allocation would be made when the budget came before Congress for approval.
The IFI was set up in 1986 after a visit to deprived areas in Donegal and Derry by the then Speaker of the US House of Representatives, the late "Tip" O'Neill. Its purpose is to promote economic regeneration and reconciliation in Northern Ireland and in the Border counties of the Republic. Some 5,500 projects have received a total of €768 million from the IFI since its foundation.
The Bush administration's contribution to the IFI has fallen from $25 million to $18.5 million, and the current proposed budget envisages no allocation at all. However, the embassy spokesman said: "We are not treating this as a significant development."
He said it was not the first time the IFI had been left out of the budget: "It happened in the past. It was normal under the first President Bush. It's up to Congress to decide the budget. The president makes essentially a wish-list."
The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Dermot Ahern, is visiting New York and Washington this week and would be "emphasising the need for continued assistance".
In May 2003, a Washington think-tank which monitors US government waste sharply criticised the $25 million given to the IFI at that time. In its annual report, Citizens Against Government Waste claimed that US taxpayers' money given to the IFI was being spent on wasteful projects and on Irish companies making golfing videos and exporting sweaters. An IFI spokesman said that the claims were inaccurate.
The British and Irish governments, the European Commission and the governments of Canada, Australia and New Zealand also support the IFI, which invested €36.5 million last year in more than 300 projects. In 2004, the EU gave €15 million to the IFI, while Canada gave the equivalent of €241,000.
Mr William McCarter is stepping down as IFI chairman after 12 years. He will be succeeded by another Northern businessman, Mr Denis Rooney. The IFI is shifting its focus towards reconciliation work as a result of the economic boom.
© The Irish Times
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http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/ireland/2005/0209/1558179329HM2ROADSIGNS.html
Theft Of Kerry Road Signs 'An Industry'
Anne Lucey
Road signs in Co Kerry are being stolen by "professional" sign takers, who were profiting from people's sentimental attachment to the county, a councillor has claimed.
Any sign with Kerry on it is particularly vulnerable, according to Cllr Michael Healy-Rae. In a recent episode, only the "Welcome to Cork" sign was left on the main tourist route between Kerry and west Cork, he said - all others inside the Kerry border were stolen.
The Independent councillor said professional gangs were "roaming the country" and conducting "an industry" nationwide in road sign removal. "You can't keep a sign with a popular place- name on it." The signs were ending up in bars and homes in New York and the UK and the lucrative trade was costing Kerry taxpayers thousands of euro each year, he added.
Mr Healy-Rae said a stronger adhesive for the poles and a new method of fixing the signs needed to be found. In some cases, "pole and all has been carried".
The matter emerged during a motion by Mr Healy-Rae at an area meeting of Kerry County Council. Mr Healy-Rae said there was "extreme confusion" regarding signposts for graveyards in Glencar, a remote mountain and valley area which stretches from the foothills of Ireland's highest mountains, the MacGillycuddy's Reeks, to Glenbeigh. Different names were being used on the signs than on public death notices.
Near Bonane, on the Kerry-Cork border, all but one of around six signs had been taken recently. Only the "Welcome to Cork" sign on the other side of the tunnel remained, according to Mr Paul Neary, senior engineer for south Kerry council. The local Kerry placenames and the "Welcome to Kerry" signs were gone. It cost between €500 and €2,000 to replace the metal signs on galvanised poles, he added.
© The Irish Times
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http://www.sinnfein.ie/news/detail/8419
Gerry Adams To Launch Sinn Fein Centenary Exhibition
Published: 8 February, 2005
Sinn Fein will tomorrow (Wednesday 9th February) launch an exhibition celebrating the 100th Anniversary of the foundation of Sinn Fein.
The exhibition will include historical artefacts, photographs and images depicting the history and development of Sinn Fein over the past 100 years. The exhibition will travel around Ireland over the next year.
The exhibition will be launched by Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams in the Edinburgh Suite in the Europa Hotel, Belfast at 11am.
The media are invited to attend.
Table of Contents - Overall
Table of Contents – Feb 2005
Table of Contents – Feb 2005
GU 02/08/05 Michael Finucane: Blair Broke His Promise To Our Family
SM 02/08/05 Government's Inquiries Bill 'Will Destroy Trust'
SF 02/08/05 Backing For Finucane Challenge To Limit Inquiry Scope
IT 02/09/05 Release Of McCabe Killers Is Off The Table, Says Ahern
IT 02/09/05 Taoiseach's Message Is Not Loud And Clear
IT 02/09/05 IMC Says IRA Behind Raid - Ahern -V(2)
SF 02/08/05 If Govnt Opposes Sanctions Then They Must Prevent Them
IT 02/08/05 Security Cuts Cited Before Northern Bank Raid
SF 02/08/05 FG Motion Offers Nothing To Advance Process
IT 02/09/05 Fine Gael Motion –V
IT 02/09/05 The Amendment: Agreed Between Government & Fine Gael
IT 02/09/05 Time To Shout 'Stop' To IRA, Says Kenny
IO 02/08/05 Ahern: Republicans Must Face Reality For Peace
GU 02/08/05 Brutal Killing Turns Republicans Against IRA
IT 02/09/05 Dundalk Man Charged Over Omagh Bomb Car –V
IT 02/09/05 President's Husband Meets Loyalists In Belfast
IT 02/09/05 Fund For Ireland Left Out Of Bush Budget
IT 02/09/05 Theft Of Kerry Road Signs 'An Industry'
SF 02/09/05 Gerry Adams To Launch Sinn Fein Centenary Exhibition
PT 02/08/05 Dispute Over Future Of Salmon Drift Net Fishing –VO (2)
RT 02/08/05 Ahern Meets UN Secretary General In New York -VO
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Dispute Over Future Of Salmon Drift Net Fishing - Tanya Sillem reports on the controversy of drift net fishing of salmon off Ireland's western coasts amid falling stocks of the fish
http://www.rte.ie/news/2005/0208/primetime/primetime56_2a.smil
Seamus De Búrca, Chair, Cork Salmon Drift Net Association, and Niall Greene, Chair, 'Stop Salmon Drift Nets Now' group, are in studio to discuss the issue
http://www.rte.ie/news/2005/0208/primetime/primetime56_2b.smil
Ahern Meets UN Secretary General In New York - Robert Shortt, Business Correspondent, reports on Dermot Ahern's visit to the US
http://www.rte.ie/news/2005/0208/9news/9news56_5a.smil
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http://politics.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,9115,1408872,00.html
Comment: Blair Broke His Promise To Our Family
This bill is a recipe for cover-ups, including of my father's murder
Michael Finucane
Wednesday February 9, 2005
The Guardian
In three days, on February 12 2005, exactly 16 years will have passed since my father was murdered by proxy agents of the British government. For those 16 years, my family and I have been campaigning for a public tribunal of inquiry into the murder because of our belief that his killing was ordered at the highest level. What is more, we are convinced the evidence to prove it is contained in files locked deep within the establishment.
Our campaign has led us deep into the heart of an establishment now fighting to keep the secrets about murders like that of Pat Finucane. At the end of an investigation led by the former commissioner for the Metropolitan police, Sir John Stevens, he stated: "My inquiries have highlighted collusion, the wilful failure to keep records, the absence of accountability, the withholding of intelligence and evidence, and the extreme of agents being involved in murder. These serious acts and omissions have meant that people have been killed or seriously injured."
Tony Blair signed an agreement with the Irish government in 2001 to deal with my father's case. He did so under pressure and in an attempt to delay an inquiry into the case, something his government has been doing for several years. He appointed an internationally recognised judge, Peter Cory, to examine the case, and promised to implement his recommendations. Cory recommended a public inquiry in the case of my father.
But instead of honouring its promise, Tony Blair's government said it would establish something else, in a way - as the Northern Ireland secretary Paul Murphy put it - that "takes into account the public interest, including the requirements of national security". Something "special" had to be done, to "hold the inquiry on the basis of new legislation which will be introduced shortly".
That new legislation was the inquiries bill - now going through parliament - and not a public inquiry. In fact, the word "public" does not appear except in the context of "public interest", which is not surprising since the bill is not designed to establish public inquiries at all. Instead, its focus is on giving control of inquiries to ministers so that anything potentially embarrassing to government is prevented from leaking out.
The repeated assertion of the British government that an inquiry will get to the truth by using this new legislation does not stand up. The inquiries bill grants the power to a government minister to limit an inquiry through restrictive terms of reference, to curb investigations by limiting available funding, to censor the final report and even control and limit the very evidence the inquiry can consider. How can an inquiry be expected to get to the truth under the yoke of this new law? The reality is that an inquiry that is not a public inquiry becomes little more than a government-controlled charade. It is established by government, regulated by government and controlled by government throughout.
The joint human rights committee and the house public administration select committee have criticised the bill for giving unjustifiable, unaccountable ministerial influence on what should be an independent inquiry.
About a year before Tony Blair became prime minister, he promised to "end the obsessive and unnecessary secrecy which surrounds government activity". Given what we now know of the man, it seems an unlikely remark for him to make.
Somehow the politician who promised an end to government by stealth was replaced by one who seems to want to write the definitive work: the inquiries bill. The murder of my father is a crucial event because of what the case could potentially reveal. It is for this reason the bill was created. But the bill does not just affect one case: it is about to become the law of the land and is being pushed through by the most control-obsessed government Britain has ever seen.
In the course of the last 12 months, Tony Blair's government has been at the heart of many incidents that have demanded explanations. The prime example would be the Iraq war, examined publicly to some degree by Lord Hutton and not at all publicly by Lord Butler. More recently, attention has been focused on the home secretary's proposals for house arrest on the decision of a minister.
The government's Freedom of Information Act is supposed to be about providing explanation, but is now the subject of allegations of manipulation to allow the release of particular kinds of information, usually material that is damaging to opponents of the government. What does not get out is information that would do the government harm. The inquiries bill is a continuation in the same vein. It should be resisted by anyone who really feels that secrecy and closed doors have no place in amodern, democratic British government. Or, to put it another way, anyone who doesn't think like Tony Blair.
· Michael Finucane is the eldest son of Pat Finucane and a practising solicitor in Dublin
mf@michaelfinucane.ie
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http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=4107602
Government's Inquiries Bill 'Will Destroy Trust'
By Helen William, PA
Trust in any public inquiry will be wrecked forever if the Government moves ahead with plans to put ministers at the heart of investigations into government failures and national tragedies, it was claimed today.
Bereaved relatives of Belfast solicitor Pat Finucane, the Deepcut Barracks soldiers and the Southall Rail crash joined forces at Westminster today to condemn proposals included in the Government’s Inquiries Bill.
They fear it will lead to unacceptable levels of control being handed over to ministers and shatter the chances for open, in-depth and independent scrutiny.
“I would urge anyone who is interested in accountable, democratic and open government to oppose this Bill now,” Mr Finucane’s son Michael told a House of Commons press conference.
His family have limited confidence in the Government’s handling of an inquiry into allegations that British Army intelligence and Royal Ulster Constabulary officers colluded in the murder of his father in 1989 by members of the loyalist Ulster Defence Association.
He said: “The Government’s current actions beg one simple question – how much more is there that we do not know?”
The Bill, currently in the Lords, has already drawn criticism from the cross-party Public Administration Committee which said it would give ministers too much say in the way their actions are investigated.
Geoff Gray is calling for a full public inquiry into the controversial deaths of his son and three other young soldiers at the Army’s Deepcut Barracks in Surrey.
The families of Sean Benton, 20, from Hastings, East Sussex, Cheryl James, 18, from Llangollen, north Wales, Geoff Gray, 17, from Co Durham, and James Collinson, 17, from Perth, Scotland, do not accept the Army’s findings that their deaths were suicides.
Mr Gray said: “An inquiry would be for the good, not the detriment of the army. If there is something wrong, work to fix it.
“I have always had the knowledge that the British army is the best army in the world and that it was safe. I was shattered when that army said he (my son) had committed suicide. We want that trust to be regained and the way to do that is through an investigation into the army.”
Maureen Kavanagh said the inquiry into the Southall rail crash, in which her son Peter was one of the seven dead, resulted in long-lasting changes to the railways.
For any investigation to be effective it has to be transparent and fearless in seeking the truth. This would not be the case without an independent chairman at the helm, she argued.
Mrs Kavanagh said: “We need it (inquiries) to be based on justice and the power to state who is to blame and not to be afraid that there may be power or important people involved.”
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http://www.sinnfein.ie/news/detail/8414
Backing For Finucane Challenge To British Government Attempt To Limit Scope Of Inquiry
Published: 8 February, 2005
Sinn Féin Councillor Paul Fleming has said that he supports the Finucane family in their efforts to thwart the British Government changing the law to limit the power of any further inquiries.
Councillor Fleming stated,
"The family of collusion victim Pat Finucane have travelled to London today to confront the British Government over their attempts to change the law over any future inquiries.
"Geraldine Finucane recently gave the annual Bloody Sunday Lecture at the Guildhall and articulated the lengths in which the British Government have covered and frustrated the many families who strive to get the truth as not only how but why their family members were executed.
"It is obvious that the British Government have much to fear from the truth of their dirty war in Ireland being exposed. This would show that there was an institutional policy of collusion between the British forces and Unionist death squads that can be traced to the highest level of government.
"In order to protect themselves the British Government are now proposing that any further inquiries, like the ones called for by Judge Peter Cory over collusion, would have limited remits.
"Sinn Féin support the campaign by the Finucane family to have full disclosure over what happened to Pat Finucane and the hundreds of others who died as a result of the policy of collusion. ENDS
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http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/front/2005/0209/3926475054HM1NORTH.html
Release Of McCabe Killers Is 'Off The Table', Says Ahern
Mark Brennock, Chief Political Correspondent
The Taoiseach has said the question of the early release of the killers of Det Garda Jerry McCabe is not only "off the table" but he does not "see it coming back on the table" again in future talks.
In the Dáil yesterday Mr Ahern also said the report of the Independent Monitoring Commission, to be published tomorrow, goes further than he has ever gone in blaming the IRA for the Northern Bank raid.
And in a downbeat assessment of the prospects for progress, he said he did not "see a way of getting the [ required] trust and confidence at present".
His comments on the McCabe killers yesterday afternoon appeared to signal a hardening of the Government's position on this issue. His position has consistently been that the issue is "off the table". This leaves open the prospect that it could come back on to the table again if a power-sharing deal in the North was in sight.
Yesterday's remark, however, suggested that the Government has now decided that it is unlikely to negotiate on this matter again in the context of a deal in the North. In relation to the men's release, he said: "That is off the table and I do not see it coming back on the table either for that matter."
The Government did not agree to reflect this new formulation in a motion on the peace process agreed between the Coalition and Fine Gael last night.
That agreed motion, to be voted upon in the Dáil tonight, says on the McCabe issue that it welcomes the Taoiseach's statement that the issue of the men's release was "no longer on the table". Mr Ahern also confined himself to this precise formulation in a Dáil speech last night on a private members' motion on the peace process.
Tonight the Dáil will vote on this motion - an amended version of a Fine Gael private members' motion - agreed after lengthy negotiations between the Government and the largest opposition party yesterday.
In an unusual step this amended version will be in the names of Mr Ahern and Mr Enda Kenny, reflecting a desire to show Dáil unity on the issue. Labour, the Green Party and most if not all Independents will support it.
Fine Gael's motion reaffirmed commitment to the Belfast Agreement; regretted the lack of agreement on decommissioning and criminality; noted the damage done to the peace process by the Northern Bank robbery; noted the assessment by the Irish and British governments that this was the work of the IRA; and rejected Sinn Féin's view of what constitutes criminality.
The amendment in Mr Ahern's and Mr Kenny's names leaves all of this unchanged, but replaces a reference to the Taoiseach having made an "offer" to release the killers of Det Garda Jerry McCabe.
The Government insists that the release of the men was a "demand" made by Sinn Féin rather than an "offer" by the Government.
The agreed version to be voted upon tonight "welcomes the Taoiseach's recent statement that the question regarding the early release of the murderers of Detective Garda Jerry McCabe was no longer on the table".
In relation to the IMC report, considered by the Cabinet yesterday, Mr Ahern said that "if anything it will go beyond anything I have said on previous occasions. I will leave people to read this independent report for themselves."
The Taoiseach also said he believed the Bush Administration had already decided how it was going to deal with the question of whether to invite Sinn Féin representatives to the White House for St Patrick's Day celebrations.
It is believed that while the Taoiseach will make the traditional presentation of shamrock to President Bush in the White House, the Northern parties will not be invited to a St Patrick's Day party as they have been since the mid 1990s.
This approach would avoid the scenario of having Sinn Féin leaders as guests of President Bush after they have been accused of foreknowledge of the Northern Bank robbery, while avoiding any discrimination against them by the White House which would be portrayed as "exclusion".
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http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/ireland/2005/0209/1318987130HM6SKETCH.html
Taoiseach's Message Is Not Loud And Clear
Dáil Sketch/Frank McNally: It looked like the peace process was taking yet another bad turn when Sinn Féin failed to show up for Leaders' Questions.
As the Taoiseach faced his twice-weekly grilling by the Opposition, the benches normally occupied by the republicans were emptier than a cleaned-out bank vault.
Observers feared that, having decided not to interpret any more IRA statements, Sinn Féin had also resigned from the (perhaps greater) challenge of interpreting Bertie Ahern.
In their absence, Labour's Pat Rabbitte continued the struggle, asking Mr Ahern to clarify "conflicting signals" from the Government in its dealings with the republican movement.
But far from clearing up the confusion, the Taoiseach was soon delivering one of those strange elliptical replies, in a barely audible voice, that has members of the press gallery straining their ears and then staring at each other in pained incomprehension.
You know at these times that Mr Ahern is probably having a coherent thought, but it's as if his voice is only relaying the selected highlights.
He started, promisingly enough, by warning that the peace process could not "go back into a cul de sac" even though some might like that.
Then he spoke about certain people crying "wolf", and we were struggling to stay with him.
Did he say "wolf" or "woof?" reporters asked each other.
But even as we were asking, the Taoiseach murmured something about a "hostage", and we'd lost the trail completely.
"I thought he said 'ostrich'," one reporter ventured afterwards.
It was a potentially fraught scenario: an ostrich trapped up a cul de sac with a wolf. You certainly wouldn't need P O'Neill to underline the seriousness of such a situation.
So it was with some relief that we later consulted the official transcript and found the Taoiseach recorded as having said: "People like being in the cul de sac."
Then they all shout "wolf", "hostage", "victim" and so on. "That is not helpful."
Unfortunately, we still had no idea what it meant, and it was hard to argue with the wisdom of Sinn Féin's abstentionist, anti-interpretationist strategy.
In fact, before Leaders' Questions finished, the party did make a brief appearance in the form of Arthur Morgan and Caoimhghin Ó Caolain.
And before he finished answering Pat Rabbitte, Mr Ahern did briefly make sense.
He said that the impending report from the Independent Monitoring Commission would "if anything go further" than anyone yet had in pinning the bank job on the IRA.
Then, in a grave but this time audible voice, he confirmed that the release of the McCabe killers was "off the table", and added: "I don't see it coming back on the table for that matter."
© The Irish Times
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IMC report links IRA to Northern Bank raid, says Ahern - David McCullagh, Political Correspondent, reports on the political aftermath of the Northern Bank robbery in Belfast last December
http://www.rte.ie/news/2005/0208/6news/6news56_2a.smil
David Davin-Power, Political Correspondent, previews tonight's Dáil debate on the crisis in the Northern Ireland peace process
http://www.rte.ie/news/2005/0208/6news/6news56_2b.smil
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http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/ireland/2005/0209/1685171304HM6DLAHERN.html
IMC Says IRA Behind Raid - Ahern -V(2)
Michael O'Regan
The Independent Monitoring Commission (IMC) has confirmed the Government's view that the Provisional IRA was responsible for the Belfast bank robbery, the Taoiseach told the Dáil.
Mr Ahern also revealed that the release of the killers of Det Garda Jerry McCabe was "no longer on the table".
The Taoiseach said the IMC's report would be published later this week.
"The Government has seen it. If anything, it will go beyond anything I have said on previous occasions," he added.
"I think I will leave people to read it themselves."
On the possible release of the killers of Det Garda McCabe, Mr Ahern said: "That issue is off the table. I have heard people say in recent days that they made great efforts to do things to assist the peace process. Well, I did this one.
"I tried my best on this one, not only on the murder of Jerry McCabe but all of the other prisoners. I supported the release of several of the prisoners, including a number of people who murdered gardaí."
Mr Ahern added there had been a "demand" rather than an "offer" on the issue to try to secure a comprehensive agreement.
"That is off the table, and I do not see it coming back on the table either for that matter," he added.
Mr Ahern was replying to the Labour leader, Mr Pat Rabbitte, during leaders' questions.
Speaking later during the debate on a Fine Gael Private Member's motion, Mr Ahern said it was a measure of the Government's deep commitment to the peace process that it was prepared to consider the early release of the killers of Garda McCabe.
"This would have been in the context of a comprehensive agreement involving all the outstanding issues, including an end to all IRA paramilitary activity and the full decommissioning of their weapons," he added.
"This step was considered with the greatest of reluctance and only because it had become necessary if we were to conclude a comprehensive agreement. It was a risk that the Government were prepared to take in the particular circumstances of closure.
"However, I have now made it clear, including earlier today in the House, that the question of the early release of the killers of Det Garda McCabe is no longer on the table," the Taoiseach said.
© The Irish Times
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http://www.sinnfein.ie/news/detail/8420
If Irish Government Opposes Sanctions Then They Must Prevent Them
Published: 8 February, 2005
Speaking as the Irish government met to discuss the latest report from the IMC, Sinn Féin Assembly member for North Belfast Gerry Kelly said that 'if the Irish government oppose sanctions then they will stop them happening'.
Mr Kelly said:
"I have read with interest the Taoiseach's remarks yesterday on the issue of the IMC and sanctions against Sinn Féin. The Irish Cabinet is meeting today to discuss this. In Sinn Féin's view it is not good enough for the Irish government to say it opposes sanctions. The Irish government created the IMC along with the British as a sop to unionists. The sole purpose of the IMC is as a vehicle to be used to sanction and exclude Sinn Fein from the process.
"If the Irish government are serious about what they are saying then as co-equal partners in this process it has to challenge the British government on this issue. If the Irish government is really serious about sanctions then it must block their introduction.
"Confrontation, exclusion, and criminalising an entire section of people are not the way forward. They haven't worked in the past and they will not work now.
" It the two governments want to see progress then they need to pull off this confrontational approach. If they are determined to subvert the Sinn Féin mandate then we will robustly and assertively defend ourselves, our mandate and the process." ENDS
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http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/ireland/2005/0209/222598654HM9NEWSHINNERS.html
Security Cuts Cited Before Northern Bank Raid
Dan Keenan, Northern News Editor
A former head of security at the Northern Bank in Belfast said the £26.5 million alleged IRA robbery could not have taken place under the former security arrangements at the bank.
Mr Hugh Conkey, who worked for 18 years at the Northern Bank headquarters where the robbery took place, said he left the bank after it decided to replace in-house security, of which he was in charge, with outside security.
"It would never have taken place with the procedures we had in place," he told UTV's Insight programme last night. He said he was informed the changes were made to save £100,000 a year over a five-year period.
Meanwhile, Sinn Féin yesterday urged the Government to block attempts to impose Independent Monitoring Commission sanctions on republicans.
Mr Gerry Kelly, a senior negotiator and North Belfast Assembly member, called on the Taoiseach to act on his claim that he opposed penalties levied on Sinn Féin following the Northern Bank robbery.
"If Bertie Ahern is against sanctions then the [Irish Government] needs to do something about that and should say to the British 'we will not accept sanctions'," he said yesterday.
Mr Kelly was vociferous in his opposition to the Independent Monitoring Commission, whose report on the bank robbery is expected to be published tomorrow.
"Sanctions has been tried before," he said. "It doesn't work. Exclusion has been tried before, criminalisation has been tried before - all these have been tried before." He said it was not good enough for Mr Ahern to proclaim his opposition to sanctions against Sinn Féin.
"The Irish Government, as a co-equal partner, should block sanctions by the IMC because the IMC does have a representative of the Irish Government on it, and was set up by the two governments to take sanctions against Sinn Féin. It was set up as a sop to unionists."
He warned: "If the IMC want to make victims out of our voters I will robustly and strongly defend their right and our mandate."
Mr Kelly again rejected the assessment by the Garda and the PSNI that the IRA was behind December's £26.5 million robbery, and added that neither the Sinn Féin president, Mr Gerry Adams, nor Mr Martin McGuinness knew in advance of the robbery.
"Neither of those are fact, in fact they are absolutely wrong," he said.
Sinn Féin doubts whether the Taoiseach will do anything more than voice opposition to sanctions. Mr Kelly said Irish Government opposition to the suspension of Stormont was not supported by action.
"We have had situations before with the suspension of the institutions, for instance, where the Irish Government said publicly they were against it but frankly did not do a lot to stop the British suspending the institutions," he said.
"The Taoiseach now says he is opposed to sanctions. I hope he will follow that through. But I am doubtful based on the history of the suspension of the institutions. We need it blocked by the Irish Government. We are co-equal partners in this process." He said that IMC penalties would "hurt" Sinn Féin.
Despite the political fallout from the robbery, Mr Kelly said he was sure the US administration would not respond by shunning Sinn Féin representatives at the White House during St Patrick's week next month
"I met the State Department when I went over last week. They said they had no intentions of changing the normal arrangements," Mr Kelly said.
Meanwhile Mr David Burnside, the Ulster Unionist MP for South Antrim, yesterday called for the British government to take a stronger stance against the IRA.
© The Irish Times
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http://www.sinnfein.ie/news/detail/8418
FG Motion Offers Nothing To Advance Process
Published: 8 February, 2005
Sinn Féin Dáil group leader, Caoimhghin Ó Caoláin, described the motion put down by Fine Gael for Private Members Business this evening as "every negative‚ and offering nothing in terms of moving the whole peace process forward".
Deputy Ó Caoláin said, "This is a very negative motion from Fine Gael. They seem to be returning to the failed agenda of their former leader John Bruton.
"The motion offers nothing in terms of moving the whole peace process forward. The fact that they have struggled to find a set of words, withdrew their original motion and have now rushed to produce a substitute motion, best illustrates their complete failure to understand the complexities of the issues that face us all in terms of trying to resolve the outstanding difficulties.
"Their narrow-minded and blinkered anti-republican agenda has well and truly exposed. In fact it stands in marked contrast to their lack of concern on other issues. Where was Fine Gael's outrage and indignation at the failure of Paul Murphy and the British Government to provide information in relation to the role of their forces in the Dublin/Monaghan bombings and other acts of collusion in this state?
"The Sinn Féin amendment focuses on the Good Friday Agreement. That's the basis for us all to move forward.
"We will defend the mandate of our party which has the support of over a third of a million voters on this island. They are decent people who want peace and justice and we will not let them be maligned by a party that has done little or nothing to advance the cause of justice and equality for all people on this island.
"The Agreement says that all the parties have a responsibility to work together to implement the Agreement. That's the context in which we will all collectively solve the issue of arms and armed groups. That is not the sole responsibility of Sinn Féin." ENDS
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Main parties agree terms of Dáil motion on NI - David McCullagh, Political Correspondent, reports on the beginning of a two-day Dáil debate on Northern Ireland
http://www.rte.ie/news/2005/0208/9news/9news56_2a.smil
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http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/ireland/2005/0209/3040843311HM6DLNEW.html
Fine Gael Motion -V
The following is the text of the Fine Gael motion on the North's peace process agreed with the Government:
"That Dáil Éireann: recognises the primacy of the Good Friday Agreement and the importance of both governments continuing to protect and develop its achievements;
welcomes the progress made to date towards the full implementation of a broad range of commitments made in the Good Friday Agreement;
welcomes the continuation of cross-party support in the House for the peace process;
reaffirms its view that this Agreement must form the basis of a lasting settlement in Northern Ireland; welcomes the progress represented by the proposals of the British and Irish governments, published in December 2004, towards achieving a complete resolution of the key issues identified by the Taoiseach and Prime Minister Blair at Lancaster House in June, 2004;
regrets that there was no agreement at that time in relation to two key issues, namely an end to all forms of paramilitary and criminal activity and decommissioning;
notes that all parties to the Agreement undertook to pursue their political objectives by exclusively peaceful and democratic means, and that the Agreement envisaged full decommissioning of all paramilitary arms within two years;
notes the damage which has been done to the peace process by ongoing criminality including the recent robbery of the Northern Bank in Belfast and the assessment of the Irish and British authorities that the Provisional IRA was responsible for these crimes;
notes that a report by international Monitoring Commissions regarding ongoing paramilitary and criminal activity will shortly be published;
emphasises that there can be no room in a genuine peace process after 10 years of engagement for threats of whatever kind;
rejects recent comments by Sinn Féin spokespersons as to what constitutes criminality;
underlines the need for a responsible and calm debate of the current difficulties in the peace process;
notes the clearly expressed views of the Irish people that all paramilitary activity and criminality be permanently brought to an end; believes that with a resolution of current difficulties the restoration of the devolved institutions and the full implementation of the Good Friday Agreement is achievable;
welcomes the continuing and valued support of the President of the United States notes the determination of the two governments to maintain dialogue with all the Northern Ireland political parties;
welcomes the Taoiseach's recent statement that his offer regarding the early release of the murderers of Detective Garda Jerry McCabe has been withdrawn;
and expresses its full support for the ongoing efforts to the two governments to bring to completion full implementation of the Good Friday Agreement."
© The Irish Times
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http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/ireland/2005/0209/3698652138HM6DLAMEND2.html
The Amendment: Agreed Between The Government And Fine Gael
An amendment agreed between the Government and Fine Gael reads as follows:
"That Dáil Éireann recognises the primacy of the Good Friday Agreement and the importance of both Governments continuing to protect and develop its achievements;
welcomes the progress made to date towards the full implementation of a broad range of commitments made in the Good Friday Agreement; welcomes the continuation of cross-party support in the House for the peace process;
reaffirms its view that this agreement must form the basis of a lasting settlement in Northern Ireland;
welcomes the progress represented by the proposals of the British and Irish Governments, published in December 2004, towards achieving a complete resolution of the key issues identified by the Taoiseach and Prime Minister Blair at Lancaster House in June 2004;
regrets that there was no agreement at that time in relation to two key issues, namely an end to all forms of paramilitary and criminal activity and decommissioning;
notes that all parties to the agreement undertook to pursue their political objectives by exclusively peaceful and democratic means, and that the agreement envisaged full decommissioning of all paramilitary arms within two years;
notes the damage which has been done to the peace process by ongoing criminality including the recent robbery of the Northern Bank in Belfast and the assessment of the Irish and British authorities that the Provisional IRA was responsible for these crimes;
notes that a report by the International Monitoring Commission regarding ongoing paramilitary and criminal activity will shortly be published;
emphasises that there can be no room in a genuine peace process after 10 years of engagement for threats of whatever kind; rejects recent comments by Sinn Féin spokespersons as to what constitutes criminality;
underlines the need for a responsible and calm debate of the current difficulties in the peace process;
notes the clearly expressed views of the Irish people that all paramilitary activity and criminality be permanently brought to an end; believes that with a resolution of current difficulties the restoration of the devolved institutions and the full implementation of the Good Friday Agreement is achievable;
welcomes the continuing and valued support of the President of the United States; notes the determination of the two governments to maintain dialogue with all the Northern Ireland political parties; welcomes the Taoiseach's recent statement that the question regarding the early release of the murderers of Detective Garda Jerry McCabe was no longer on the table; and expresses its full support for the ongoing efforts of the two governments to bring to completion full implementation of the Good Friday Agreement."
An amendment tabled by Mr Joe Higgins (Socialist Party, Dublin West) calls for an end to all activity by all paramilitaries, loyalist and republican, and the building of a "mass political party capable of uniting the working class in the struggle for a socialist solution".
© The Irish Times
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http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/ireland/2005/0209/1766692455HM6DLSF.html
Time To Shout 'Stop' To IRA, Says Kenny
Michael O'Regan
A blind eye had been turned to the ongoing criminal activity of the IRA for too long, the Fine Gael leader, Mr Enda Kenny, told the Dáil last night.
"This was so as long that they thought they could do as they pleased without shouting stop," he added. "Well, tonight, Fine Gael is shouting 'stop' and I hope the other parties in the House will join us in doing so."
Mr Kenny, who was introducing a Fine Gael Private Member's motion, said that his party's position relating to the peace process, unlike some others, had been consistent throughout. "In government and in opposition, in public and in private, we have never played politics with the process," he added.
Mr Kenny said he respected the Sinn Féin electoral mandate. "But I remind them that I, too, have a mandate on behalf of the Fine Gael party," he said.
"Sinn Féin has become accustomed to their mandate being disproportionately heard because it comes to us through a megaphone at the end of a gun. This must stop. No democratic party has a mandate for killing, for robbery, for racketeering, for maiming or for stalking. My mandate is to stand up for the truth, to defend and strengthen the institutions of this State and to allow democratic politics to build a country of peace and pride."
Mr Kenny said the debate gave an opportunity to send a clear message to the IRA and to their political representatives in the Dáil that that type of behaviour would not be tolerated.
"The republican movement must end all their illegal activities and complete the process of decommissioning," he added. "The urgency of completing this transformation has been highlighted by recent events and statements which have provided an alarming insight into the republican mindset and their conception of what their commitment to exclusively peaceful and democratic [ methods] means."
The Labour leader, Mr Pat Rabbitte, said it was arguable that the governments, and the Republic's Government in particular, had aided a process of propaganda, especially in the way in which other parties in the North had been excluded from the process.
"I find it unconscionable that parties like the SDLP in particular, and the UUP, should be expected to sign on to a comprehensive solution sight unseen".
"There would be no peace process, and no evidence of workable institutions in Northern Ireland, without the work of people like Mark Durkan and David Trimble. The exclusion from the negotiations of parties and individuals who have an enormous contribution to make will come to be seen as one of the reasons why the process has hit so many obstacles in recent times."
Mr Rabbitte accused Sinn Féin of being "under the misapprehension that their party has grown in support solely because of the genius of their leadership".
In fact, he added, the democratic parties had knowingly facilitated the emergence of Sinn Féin as a representative force because it seemed the best way to copper-fasten the peace process.
"If the leadership of the republican movement reflects for a while, they will surely understand why the democratic parties cannot indefinitely acquiesce in Sinn Féin failing to conclude the peace process while maintaining a stranglehold over disadvantaged communities through undemocratic means."
© The Irish Times
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http://212.2.162.45/news/story.asp?j=133052760&p=y33x53466&n=133053520
Ahern: Republicans Must Face Reality For Peace
08/02/2005 - 22:12:50
The IRA must end all illegal activity if the promise of the Good Friday Agreement is to be fulfilled, Taoiseach Bertie Ahern insisted tonight.
As his Government signed a Fine Gael motion in theDáil calling on the IRA to immediately disarm and end all criminal activity, Mr Ahern said republicans had to face reality.
“After two years and more of exhaustive negotiations across the full spectrum of issues, it is now impossible to deny that continuing IRA paramilitary and criminal activity are fundamentally destabilising to the peace process,” he said.
“Quite simply, there cannot be inclusive institutions until they are definitely removed from the equation.
“I fully understand and appreciate that this may be an uncomfortable reality for some people to accept.
“However, if we are to move beyond the present impasse and get the process back on track, we must honestly acknowledge the nature of the problem.”
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http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,3604,1408652,00.html
Brutal Killing Turns Republicans Against IRA
Stabbing of father of two is last straw after years of beatings
Angelique Chrisafis, Ireland correspondent
Wednesday February 9, 2005
The Guardian
Behind the coffin, hundreds of mourners snaked in grim procession through the tiny nationalist enclave of the Short Strand in east Belfast.
The stabbing of a father has sparked anger in these streets, where three-metre "peace" fences separate 3,000 Catholics from the 60,000 Protestants who surround them.
But Robert McCartney's death was not the result of a violent confrontation between loyalists and nationalists on one of Belfast's most troubled faultlines. The popular 33-year-old was killed during a savage bar brawl and residents blame the local IRA.
Father Sean Gilmore yesterday told more than 1,000 mourners at St Matthew's church that the murder had a "devastating and demoralising effect" on the Short Strand.
The past week has seen an unprecedented turning point in local attitudes towards the IRA. More than 600 people gathered for a candlelight street vigil in defiance of Mr McCartney's killers. Residents in the Short Strand, which has suffered decades of sectarian violence, would once not have challenged the standing of the IRA, seen as defenders of the community. But some said the vigil was a sign of the growing unease at the criminal activities of what one person called a "Goodfellas" gang of IRA "peacetime" paramilitaries. People complained of IRA punishment beatings, racketeering, intimidation and sexual violence over recent years.
In an area with its own republican murals, once unthinkable graffiti appeared on one wall last week: "PIRA [Provisional IRA] scum out".
Mr McCartney, a bodybuilder and the father of two small boys, died of stab wounds on January 30 after a fight in Magennis's bar in Belfast city centre. IRA members from the local Markets and Short Strand areas were drinking in the bar after returning from the Bloody Sunday commemorations in Derry. According to reports, an argument broke out and the IRA men sent for back-up. Mr McCartney tried to defend a friend when the fight spilled on to the street. A kitchen knife was produced.
Brendan Devine, 31, Mr McCartney's friend, was slashed across his throat and from chest to navel. He spoke from hospital this week, saying: "I remember a hand coming over my face and my throat was slashed a couple of times." He told the Irish News he saw Mr McCartney with his hands up being confronted by five men.
Seven men have been questioned over the murder and released, including a senior republican believed to be a member of the IRA's Northern Command. Police do not think the murder was carried out to fulfil the "organisational aims or objectives" of any paramilitary group. But, residents asked, if IRA members were involved in the murder on their own behalf, would they be brought to justice or would witnesses be intimidated into staying silent? Police refused to comment on reports that CCTV from inside the bar had been stolen.
A Short Strand source, who would not be named, said: "The candlelight vigil was a message. People are standing up and saying this is the straw that broke the camel's back. They [the IRA] have beaten and shot a number of people over the past number of years, now they have killed someone. People are afraid to speak out. Someone might come to your door and stick a gun to your head."
The source said that in recent years, local IRA members had caused fear with their regime of summary justice. They had carried out punishment beatings, shootings and exilings. Within the past few weeks they had punished a 17-year-old by shooting him through the hands in a new style of attack named after "Padre Pio", a monk said to carry signs of the stigmata. The teenager was shot after he was involved in a fight.
Another source said local IRA members had been involved in crime in recent years, including robberies, protection rackets and sexual violence.
One woman in the Short Strand said witnesses would be intimidated: "They [the IRA] have too much power. People will be too scared to give evidence. Whatever the [IRA] do, it seems they can't get caught. Everyone turns a blind eye. We feel like we are at a dead end."
When police investigating the murder carried out searches in the nationalist Markets area last week, they were attacked by children and teenagers throwing bricks, bottles and stones. Sinn Féin said the police had been "heavy handed".
Detectives are following 500 lines of inquiry. A local source suggested some residents had contacted the police with information, once unthinkable in an area described as a policing vacuum where people have bitter memories of the old RUC.
Joe O'Donnell, the area's Sinn Féin councillor, said the murder was "totally and absolutely wrong", as were punishment beatings. He said residents should give any information to a priest or solicitor. He denied there was a danger of witness intimidation.
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Man charged with providing car for Omagh bomb - Watch the video
http://www.rte.ie/news/2005/0208/9news/9news56_1a.smil
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http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/ireland/2005/0209/3815004492HM4BOLDS.html
Dundalk Man Charged Over Omagh Bomb Car -V
A 34-year-old Dundalk man has been charged with supplying the car which was used by the Omagh bombers.
The man was arrested on Monday in Newry, Co Down, and was later charged with providing property for the use of terrorists.
It is alleged that the man supplied the bombers with a maroon-coloured Vauxhall Cavalier, the vehicle which exploded in Omagh town centre on August 15th 1998, killing 29 people and two unborn children.
The man will appear before Enniskillen Magistrates' Court this morning.
© The Irish Times
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http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/ireland/2005/0209/2668531606HM9NIMCALEESE.html
President's Husband Meets Loyalists In Belfast
Gerry Moriarty, Northern Editor
Dr Martin McAleese, husband of the President, Mrs McAleese, has twice met loyalist representatives in Belfast in what are viewed as attempts to "mend fences" over the President's apparent comparison of Northern Protestants with Nazis.
On Monday at Stormont, Dr McAleese met a number of unionist politicians and loyalist representatives, including the UDA's so-called south Belfast brigadier, Mr Jackie McDonald.
Last week he met the Ulster Political Research Group (UPRG), which provides political analysis for the UDA.
The President is expected to visit a nationalist area of her native north Belfast in the coming weeks, which prompted speculation she may also seek to visit a loyalist area during that trip.
The after-shocks of her radio comments last Thursday week, which in many quarters were interpreted as her attributing all sectarianism in the North solely to Protestants, are still being felt. While Mrs McAleese's apology was widely accepted, a number of unionists were only prepared to "forgive, but not to forget".
Dr McAleese on Monday attended a meeting of the Protestant Interface Network (PIN) chaired by Ulster Unionist MLA Sir Reg Empey, although he is not a member of the organisation.
Politicians from all parties, including the DUP, attended the meeting of PIN, which is linked to the UPRG and the UDA, and which works to prevent trouble at the Protestant-Catholic "peace lines".
The President's spokeswoman said Dr McAleese was "warmly received" at the PIN meeting and also at last week's UPRG meeting. She did not hear any reference at Monday's meeting to the President's remarks, although Mr Sammy Duddy, of the UPRG, said the matter was "quietly mentioned".
Mr Duddy said he had great admiration for Mrs McAleese and her husband, and that, as far as he was concerned, she would be welcome in Belfast. "We know the great work she has done. We know how she has gone out on a limb to reach out to people."
Sir Reg Empey said he was happy to speak to Dr McAleese while still harbouring concerns about the President's initial remarks.
"I have no doubt that President McAleese, after a bit of time and space, will continue with her work. The truth of the matter though is that a lot of people will now be more hesitant than they were in the past to have dealings with her."
© The Irish Times
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http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/ireland/2005/0209/516163800HM9IFI.html
Fund For Ireland Left Out Of Bush Budget
Deaglán de Bréadún, Foreign Affairs Correspondent, in New York
No allocation has been made to the International Fund for Ireland in US President George Bush's proposed budget, although a spokesman for the Irish embassy in Washington said the Government was confident that an allocation would be made when the budget came before Congress for approval.
The IFI was set up in 1986 after a visit to deprived areas in Donegal and Derry by the then Speaker of the US House of Representatives, the late "Tip" O'Neill. Its purpose is to promote economic regeneration and reconciliation in Northern Ireland and in the Border counties of the Republic. Some 5,500 projects have received a total of €768 million from the IFI since its foundation.
The Bush administration's contribution to the IFI has fallen from $25 million to $18.5 million, and the current proposed budget envisages no allocation at all. However, the embassy spokesman said: "We are not treating this as a significant development."
He said it was not the first time the IFI had been left out of the budget: "It happened in the past. It was normal under the first President Bush. It's up to Congress to decide the budget. The president makes essentially a wish-list."
The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Dermot Ahern, is visiting New York and Washington this week and would be "emphasising the need for continued assistance".
In May 2003, a Washington think-tank which monitors US government waste sharply criticised the $25 million given to the IFI at that time. In its annual report, Citizens Against Government Waste claimed that US taxpayers' money given to the IFI was being spent on wasteful projects and on Irish companies making golfing videos and exporting sweaters. An IFI spokesman said that the claims were inaccurate.
The British and Irish governments, the European Commission and the governments of Canada, Australia and New Zealand also support the IFI, which invested €36.5 million last year in more than 300 projects. In 2004, the EU gave €15 million to the IFI, while Canada gave the equivalent of €241,000.
Mr William McCarter is stepping down as IFI chairman after 12 years. He will be succeeded by another Northern businessman, Mr Denis Rooney. The IFI is shifting its focus towards reconciliation work as a result of the economic boom.
© The Irish Times
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http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/ireland/2005/0209/1558179329HM2ROADSIGNS.html
Theft Of Kerry Road Signs 'An Industry'
Anne Lucey
Road signs in Co Kerry are being stolen by "professional" sign takers, who were profiting from people's sentimental attachment to the county, a councillor has claimed.
Any sign with Kerry on it is particularly vulnerable, according to Cllr Michael Healy-Rae. In a recent episode, only the "Welcome to Cork" sign was left on the main tourist route between Kerry and west Cork, he said - all others inside the Kerry border were stolen.
The Independent councillor said professional gangs were "roaming the country" and conducting "an industry" nationwide in road sign removal. "You can't keep a sign with a popular place- name on it." The signs were ending up in bars and homes in New York and the UK and the lucrative trade was costing Kerry taxpayers thousands of euro each year, he added.
Mr Healy-Rae said a stronger adhesive for the poles and a new method of fixing the signs needed to be found. In some cases, "pole and all has been carried".
The matter emerged during a motion by Mr Healy-Rae at an area meeting of Kerry County Council. Mr Healy-Rae said there was "extreme confusion" regarding signposts for graveyards in Glencar, a remote mountain and valley area which stretches from the foothills of Ireland's highest mountains, the MacGillycuddy's Reeks, to Glenbeigh. Different names were being used on the signs than on public death notices.
Near Bonane, on the Kerry-Cork border, all but one of around six signs had been taken recently. Only the "Welcome to Cork" sign on the other side of the tunnel remained, according to Mr Paul Neary, senior engineer for south Kerry council. The local Kerry placenames and the "Welcome to Kerry" signs were gone. It cost between €500 and €2,000 to replace the metal signs on galvanised poles, he added.
© The Irish Times
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http://www.sinnfein.ie/news/detail/8419
Gerry Adams To Launch Sinn Fein Centenary Exhibition
Published: 8 February, 2005
Sinn Fein will tomorrow (Wednesday 9th February) launch an exhibition celebrating the 100th Anniversary of the foundation of Sinn Fein.
The exhibition will include historical artefacts, photographs and images depicting the history and development of Sinn Fein over the past 100 years. The exhibition will travel around Ireland over the next year.
The exhibition will be launched by Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams in the Edinburgh Suite in the Europa Hotel, Belfast at 11am.
The media are invited to attend.
Table of Contents - Overall
Table of Contents – Feb 2005
