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)

December 03, 2006

RUC Killing to Become Issue in New Congress

News About Ireland & The Irish

IN 12/03/06 RUC Killing To Become Issue In New Congress
IN 12/03/06 Irish National Caucus Lter to Police Ombudsman
IN 12/03/06 Irish National Caucus Ltr to Mitchell Reiss
IT 12/04/06 SDLP Urges SF To Moderate Policing Stance
BN 12/03/06 Hain 'Must Stop Meddling In Assembly Business'
BN 12/03/06 Neighbourhood Justice Could Be Law Of Jungle
IE 12/03/06 British Colluded In Loyalist Murders
IT 12/04/06 Sudden Storms Cause Disruption & Serious Damage

*************************

http://www.irishnationalcaucus.org/

RUC Killing Of Irish-American To Become Issue In New Congress

Fr. Sean Mc Manus, Irish National Caucus • 2 December, 2006

Capitol Hill. December 2, 2006 — The 1998 RUC killing of an
American-born Belfast man is set to become a hot issue in
the New Congress that will convene in early January 2007.

John Hemsworth was born in Kearney, New Jersey, on November
13, 1958, and after a few years the family moved back to
Northern Ireland. On January 1, 1998 John died in Belfast
as a result of brutal and unprovoked beating by the now
defunct RUC.

Arouse Conscience of Irish-America

"We must arouse the conscience of Irish-Americans. It is a
disgrace that the killing of this Irish-American has
received such little attention, and it is an outrage that
his family has received no justice," said Fr. Sean Mc
Manus, President of the Capitol Hill-based Irish National
Caucus.

Fr. Mc Manus revealed that he was stricken with guilt when
he received a letter in September from John's 72-year-old
father, Michael, in Belfast, imploring help: "The British
Attorney General promised the family that we would have an
inquest into my son's death but eight years have passed and
nothing has happened. I wrote many, many letters to
American politicians but not one gave me the courtesy of
even an acknowledgement. It is hurtful that some of these
politicians and the President's envoy can meet relatives of
victims of the violence but never had the time to meet me.
You would think that being the father of a natural born
American would be enough to give me preference. President
Clinton once said, ' America looks after its own,' but
sadly this is not the case for my son."

Haunting Words

Fr. Mc Manus expressed regret that he had not received the
letter sooner but vowed to now take up the issue. "Can any
self-respecting Irish-American read these haunting words of
Michael Hemsworth and not feel compelled to do justice for
his son? Irish-Americans have done many fine things for
Ireland, now they must do justice for one of their own. And
shame on us if we don't."

Fr. Mc Manus is launching a campaign in the US Congress —
with special attention to the New Jersey delegation — and
will also pursue the issue with Dr. Mitchell Reiss, Special
Envoy for Northern Ireland.

Plan of Campaign

Fr. Mc Manus explained the plan.

We want American pressure to make the British Government
keep its promise to hold an inquest;

We want the Northern Ireland Ombudsman Office to re-open
the case (to which it previously gave insufficient
attention, according to the Hemsworths);

We want all Irish -American groups to rally to this cause,
and we ask the international human rights community to take
up the issue.

Fr. Mc Manus concluded by saying, "I have a lot of
confidence in Special Envoy, Mitchell Reiss. He has shown
great interest in individual cases, like Pat Finucane, and
I'm sure once he is fully aware of the John Hemsworth case
he will give it due attention and hopefully help to fulfill
President Clinton's words, 'America looks after its own'."

*************************

http://www.irishnationalcaucus.org/

Mrs. Nuala O'Loan
Police Ombudsman
New Cathedral Buildings
St Anne's Square
11 Church Street Belfast .
Northern Ireland . BT1 1PB

Dear Mrs. O'Loan,

I write to you regarding a new (but old) case -- the RUC
beating -death of American-born John Hemsworth in Belfast
in 1998.

I have been contacted by John's father, Michael, who has
asked for my help in bringing some sense of justice and
closure to the family.

Michael writes "... The British Attorney General promised
the family that we would have an inquest into my son's
death but eight years have passed and nothing has happened.
I wrote many, many letters to American politicians but not
one gave me the courtesy of even an acknowledgement. It is
hurtful that some of these politicians and the President's
envoy can meet relatives of victims of the violence but
never had the time to meet me. You would think that being
the Father of a natural born American would be enough to
give me preference. President Clinton once said, ' America
looks after its own' but sadly this is not the case for my
sonŠ".

I am sure you can imagine how that has touched the hearts
and pricked the conscience of Irish-Americans. I have
promised Michael Hemsworth to do all I can to help, and
that naturally includes contacting your good self.

Michael is unhappy with the way your Office has dealt with
the case. He states in a public Fact Sheet:"... We were
granted a Hearing with the Police Ombudsman but [the
Office] was in its infancy and they used the police to
investigate their own officers. The result was biased and
obvious as the police refused to believe that any of their
officers would lie about their part in this lethal
assaults"

I urge you please to reopen and re-examine this case. You
have a well-earned record of fairness, fearlessness and
integrity, which I deeply respect. And I hope you can find
some way to do justice for John Hemsworth. I have spoken by
phone to his father, Michael. He is a very fine man, and is
not out for vengeance. While knowing nothing can bring John
back, he is driven by a father's sense of duty and honor to
do justice for his son, achieve some sense of closure for
the family and be able to look his granddaughter in the eye
when she asks him, " Granddaddy, what did you do about the
police killing my Daddy?"

I look forward to your response. I enjoyed meeting with you
in your Office in August.

Thank you.
Sincerely,
Sean
Father Sean Mc Manus
President
Irish National Caucus
P.O. Box 15128
Capitol Hill
Washington, D.C. 20003-0849
202-544-0568

*************************

http://www.irishnationalcaucus.org/

Dr. Mitchell Reiss
Special Envoy for Northern Ireland
Sunday, December 3, 2006

Dear Mitchell,

I want to bring to your special attention the tragic case
of American-born, John Hemsworth, who died in Belfast in
1998 as the result of a brutal and unprovoked beating by
the RUC.

Yet despite being American-born, America abandoned him--- a
fact that has deeply distressed John's father, Michael, who
has asked for my help.

Writing to me from Belfast, Michael says:" The British
Attorney General promised the family that we would have an
inquest into my son's death but eight years have passed and
nothing has happened. I wrote many, many letters to
American politicians but not one gave me the courtesy of
even an acknowledgement. It is hurtful that some of these
politicians and the President's envoy can meet relatives of
victims of the violence but never had the time to meet me.
You would think that being the Father of a natural born
American would be enough to give me preference. President
Clinton once said, ' America looks after its own' but sadly
this is not the case for my sons"

Mitchell, I think these words must prick the conscience of
any American - especially those of us who have been
involved in the cause of equality, justice and peace in
Ireland. Remember, I have mentioned to you many times, the
one thing Catholics in Northern Ireland feel very deeply is
the " double standard ": that when it suits those in power,
Catholics can expect to be kept at the back of the bus -
even American Catholics!

Michael Hemsworth is also unhappy with the way Mrs.
O'Loan's Office has dealt with the issue. He states:" We
were granted a Hearing with the Police Ombudsman but [the
Office] was in its infancy and they used the police to
investigate their own officers. The result was biased and
obvious as the police refused to believe that any of their
officers would lie about their part in this lethal
assaultŠ"

Mitchell, I appeal to your well-established sense of
American fairness. Please help the Hemsworth family.

I have spoken with Michael on the phone. He is a very fine
man, and is not out for vengeance. While knowing nothing
can bring John back, he is driven by a father's sense of
duty and honor to do justice for his son, achieve some
sense of closure for the family and be able to look his
granddaughter in the eye when she asks him, " Granddaddy,
what did you do about the police killing my Daddy?"

Irish-Americans are going to vigorously pursue this issue
in the New Congress as Irish-Americans we can do no less.

I hope as Special Envoy you too will do justice for John
Hemsworth and help bring some closure for his family.

I look forward to you response.

Thank you.

Sincerely
Sean
Father Sean Mc Manus
President
Irish National Caucus
P.O. Box 15128
Capitol Hill
Washington, D.C. 20003-0849
202-544-0568

*************************

http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/ireland/2006/1204/1164823956822.html

SDLP Urges Sinn Féin To Moderate Policing Stance

Gerry Moriarty, Northern Editor

A senior SDLP politician has urged Sinn Féin to moderate
its position on policing as the DUP reiterated at the
weekend that it would not agree an advanced timetable for
devolving policing and justice to a restored Executive.

Deputy SDLP leader Dr Alasdair McDonnell yesterday said
Sinn Féin's position that it could not call a special
ardfheis on policing until it had a timeframe for the
transfer of policing and justice powers was largely a
"smokescreen".

"As it stands about 80 per cent of the policing and justice
agenda is already devolved to the Policing Board while
other elements of the justice and equality agenda are
devolved to the Office of First Minister and Deputy First
Minister," he said yesterday.

If Sinn Féin endorsed the PSNI it would be entitled to have
members on the Policing Board whose remit is to oversee the
delivery of an "effective, efficient, accountable and
impartial police service which will secure the confidence
of the whole community".

He accused Sinn Féin of waging a false battle on the issue
and said its current stance on policing was the single
biggest obstacle to the restoration of full devolution.

"Much of the power Sinn Féin is seeking is already there.
So the continuing demands for the devolution of justice and
policing is largely a smokescreen to avoid facing up to
their responsibility to support law and order," he added.

Dr McDonnell said if Sinn Féin took the initiative on
policing, actual devolution of policing and justice to the
Executive "would come fairly quickly".

DUP justice spokesman Ian Paisley jnr insisted again
yesterday that Sinn Féin would not get a date from his
party for the devolution of justice and policing.

As some DUP politicians also seek to push back the St
Andrews Agreement deadline of March 26th for restoring
devolution, Mr Paisley jnr said the DUP was not concerned
about the power-sharing deadline or dates for devolving
policing.

It was up to Sinn Féin to establish its fitness for
government, he said. "It's not about us giving them a date,
it's about them convincing people they are fit to measure
up to government," Mr Paisley told BBC Northern Ireland's
Inside Politics programme.

The Northern Assembly meets this morning to discuss a
motion from Ulster Unionist Party leader Sir Reg Empey
deploring the "interference" of Northern Secretary Peter
Hain in last Friday week's confused attempt to deem Dr
Paisley and Sinn Féin's Martin McGuinness as prospective
First Minister and Deputy First Minister, respectively.

*************************

http://www.breakingnews.ie/ireland/?jp=CWIDQLQLGBOJ&rss=yes

Hain 'Must Stop Meddling In Assembly Business'

03/12/2006 - 17:19:49

Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Hain was tonight accused
of trying to dictate how the North's Assembly conducts its
business.

As Assembly members prepared to debate a motion querying
the way Stormont was being operated, Ulster Unionist leader
Sir Reg Empey insisted MLAs needed to assert their own
independence.

“The way the Secretary of State conducted the Hain Mark One
Assembly between May and November this year was to stifle
debate, and interfere as much as possible,” the East
Belfast Assembly member said.

“He vetoed motion after motion properly brought forward by
the Business Committee – especially any attempt by us to
debate his plans for local government under the review of
public administration.

“The first meeting of the Hain Mark Two Transitional
Assembly on November 24 also saw the Secretary of State
trying to stage-manage events even down to the trivial
detail of who would or would not be allowed to speak, even
though the Business Committee had already decided.

“How can public confidence be established in the Assembly
if it is seen merely as a creature of the NIO with no
independence whatsoever even over minor matters?

“How can we establish any credibility that we are capable
of taking on responsibility for a huge budget and
government departments if we cannot work together here to
determine simple matters like debates etc?”

The latest incarnation of the Assembly is designed to pave
the way for the restoration of power-sharing next March
under British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Taoiseach
Bertie Ahern’s plan for devolution.

Earlier this year MLAs accused Mr Hain of treating the
Assembly with contempt by failing to call the Assembly to
debate motions put forward by the Business Committee.

Tomorrow’s debate is expected to also focus on Mr Hain’s
role in the controversy over whether the Rev Ian Paisley
fulfilled government requirements on November 24 to
indicate he would be First Minister next year.

The November 24 meeting was abandoned during a security
alert caused by loyalist Michael Stone.

Following claims Mr Paisley did not fulfil the Government’s
requirements in the chamber, the Democratic Unionist leader
stated outside Stormont he would seek the nomination of
First Minister provided all sides honoured their
commitments under the St Andrews power-sharing plan and
provided the electorate wanted him in that role.

*************************

http://www.breakingnews.ie/ireland/?jp=CWIDQLQLOJMH&rss=yes

Neighbourhood Justice 'Could Lead To Law Of The Jungle'

03/12/2006 - 16:28:07

British government plans for neighbourhood justice schemes
in the North could condemn nationalist communities to rough
justice and one sided political policing, it was claimed
today.

As the House of Commons’ Northern Ireland Affairs Committee
prepared for two days of evidence in Belfast on the
Government’s revised community restorative justice
proposals, nationalist SDLP deputy leader Dr Alasdair
McDonnell warned they could leave some neighbourhoods
exposed to the law of the jungle.

The South Belfast MP warned: “Although the new restorative
justice protocols have some improvements, they still leave
communities exposed.

“The danger of state-paid vigilantes under Sinn Féin’s
control remains. That really would be ’political policing’.
We owe it to nationalist communities to prevent that.”

Restorative justice schemes are designed to offer an
alternative for so-called paramilitary punishment attacks
and expulsions.

Fifteen restorative justice schemes currently operate in
republican areas and five in loyalist neighbourhoods.

They are designed to bring the perpetrators of low level
crime face to face with their victims to agree an
appropriate punishment.

The schemes, which Sinn Féin has been supportive of, have
operated until now with private financial backing.

In July Northern Ireland Office minister David Hanson
revised his plans for state funded schemes after the
Government was originally accused of appeasing Sinn Féin by
keeping police contact with the restorative justice groups
at an arms length.

Dr McDonnell expressed concern that in the revised
protocols restorative justice groups were now only required
to deal directly with the police in writing.

He insisted there must be face to face discussions.

“The SDLP also remains concerned that under the
government’s proposals community restorative justice groups
can be funded even though the party establishing many of
them, Sinn Féin, refuses to support policing and the rule
of law,” he said.

“They can be funded even though many in the community are
too scared to speak out. They can be funded without proper
inspection arrangements, especially for non-crminal work.

“They can be funded without a proper legislative framework
and even though those involved may have been convicted
before the Good Friday Agreement of paramilitary-related
crimes such as punishment beatings.

“David Hanson claims that the provisions on complaints have
been improved. In fact, the new complaints system has no
investigatory powers whatsoever – and the Criminal Justice
Inspector is specifically prohibited by law from
investigating complaints.

“And as long as the culture of paramilitary control
continues, the government knows full well that people will
be too scared to complain.”

The SDLP deputy leader said it would be unacceptable for
any political party to be able to operate its state-funded
policing.

Yet he claimed the Government’s proposals contained no
requirement to ensure restorative justice groups were
independent and impartial.

Dr McDonnell said it was also vital all restorative justice
groups accepted a legitimate definition of a crime and
proved they would uphold the law before they were funded.

The House of Commons’ committee will hear evidence from
representatives from Community Restorative Justice Ireland
tomorrow and Police Service of Northern Ireland Chief
Constable Sir Hugh Orde on Tuesday.

*************************

http://www.emigrant.ie/article.asp?iCategoryID=9&iArticleID=61865

British Colluded In Loyalist Murders

An Oireachtas subcommittee has found that members of the
British security forces in the North colluded extensively
with loyalist paramilitaries, and played a part in a number
of fatal bombings and shootings on both sides of the border
in the 1970s. The committee was reporting after it had
considered the findings of former Supreme Court judge
Justice Henry Barron, who had investigated nine incidents
which claimed the lives of 18 people. In his report,
completed earlier this year, Justice Barron also found
evidence of collusion but was more diplomatic in his
references to it.

Among the atrocities investigated was the massacre of the
Miami Showband in 1975. This was carried out by uniformed
members of the Ulster Defence Regiment, two of whom died
when the bomb they were planting in the band's van exploded
prematurely. Three others were subsequently convicted and
remained in prison until they were released under the terms
of the Good Friday Agreement. Three band members, Fran
O'Toole, Anthony Geraghty and Brian McCoy, were shot dead.
Two survived; Des McAlea was blown into an adjacent field
with the force of the explosion and Stephen Travers feigned
death after being shot. Mr Travers has no doubt that the
person giving commands on the fateful night had an English
accent and that he was a British Army officer. It was later
established that the guns used to kill the band members had
been used in a number of sectarian murders in the mid-
Ulster area.

Other incidents investigated by Justice Barron and
considered by the committee were fatal bombings in
Castleblayney, Dundalk, Dublin Airport and Silverbridge,
Co. Armagh as well as gun murders in Keady, Co. Armagh and
Gilford, Co. Down.

The committee concluded that successive British Governments
were fully aware that the security forces had been
infiltrated by known loyalist paramilitaries but failed to
act on this information. The committee was also satisfied
that the Irish authorities of the day were aware of the
collusion. In 1975 the Irish Government contacted the
British Government about four members of the RUC who were
active in the UVF, but correspondence on the matter came to
an abrupt and inconclusive end in less than a month.

The committee believes that the relatives of the victims
will not find closure until the truth is known and those
involved identified. Without disclosure the committee
argues that the situation could be repeated at some time in
the future. The truth, it is acknowledged, will only emerge
with the co-operation of the British authorities, something
that hasn't been forthcoming to date. It is suggested that
a full Dáil debate on the committee's findings might change
attitudes at Westminster and lead to British participation
in an inquiry of the type recommended by Canadian Judge
Peter Cory.

In the wake of the report Minister for Foreign Affairs
Dermot Ahern contacted Northern Secretary Peter Hain to
inform him of the Government's concerns at what has been
emerging. Mr Hain had, according to Mr Ahern, responded
positively while referring to the difficulties in
establishing the facts of events that occurred more than 30
years ago.

Taoiseach Bertie Ahern responded to the report by
describing the revelations as "deeply disturbing". He too
had been in touch with the British Government and called on
it to "examine the findings of all these reports as well as
the forthcoming MacEntee report" and to "fully co-operate
with all investigations into the serious issues that have
arisen". The MacEntee report on the Dublin and Monaghan
bombings is due to be handed to Government on December 11.

On Thursday the Taoiseach had a meeting with Stephen
Travers and relatives of those who died in the Miami
massacre. Afterwards those who attended the meeting, which
lasted two hours instead of one, were full of praise for Mr
Ahern's interest in the case and his willingness to follow
up on a number of the issues raised.

*************************

http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/ireland/2006/1204/1164823956728.html

Sudden Storms Cause Massive Disruption And Serious Damage

Fiona Gartland

Gusts of up to 120km an hour and torrential rain caused
massive disruption yesterday, including power cuts and
travel delays.

One man was killed, while a female garda was seriously
injured on traffic duty in Dublin. Some 15,000 homes in
various parts of the country were without electricity for a
time.

The sudden storms were caused by a deep depression moving
across the country from the Atlantic.

Met Éireann said the unsettled weather is expected to
continue in the early days of this week but wind speeds
should not exceed those recorded yesterday.

Paul Bogues (46) died after being washed into the water in
Ardglass, Co Down, on Saturday night. He was walking along
the pier at Ardglass harbour when a high wave struck him
and carried him into the sea.

Two friends held on to Mr Bogues after he fell into the
water, but he was declared dead when he arrived at
hospital.

The death was the second tragedy to affect the family this
year. The body of Mr Bogues's son Conor (26) has not yet
been recovered after his fishing boat sank off Ardglass in
January.

In Dublin, a female garda was injured after she was trapped
under a 30-foot wooden hoarding blown over by winds in
north Dublin. Strong gales knocked down a barrier which was
being used to block off a construction site just off the
N32 Malahide Road at Coolock.

The garda was working on Operation Freeflow when the
hoarding toppled over and trapped her legs. She was taken
to Beaumont hospital. A Garda spokesman said she had
suffered a serious leg injury.

A spokesman for the ESB said 15,000 homes were without
power, mainly in the midlands, Athlone, Ballinasloe, in
parts of Leinster and the west and in some parts of the
southeast.

Crews worked into the night but could not be sure that
power would be restored to all homes by today, a spokesman
said.

In Waterford, two men were taken to hospital after being
rescued from the sea at Newtown Cove by an Irish Coast
Guard helicopter shortly after 3pm

It is understood the pair, understood to be Czech
nationals, were swept from the swimming platform in high
winds, as they were taking photographs of the waves. Rescue
services estimated that waves swelled to approximately 3m
in height.

In Galway, the city fire brigade service rescued two people
from the rocks off Salthill promenade after they were swept
out in a severe gust shortly after lunchtime, while a
cyclist had a narrow escape on the Western Distributor Road
when a speed limit road sign was uprooted. In Moycullen,
local residents in a new housing estate called the fire
brigade to assist with potential flooding, while the roof
of the community centre was blown off.

Severe weather led to minor mudslides, power failures,
floods, fallen trees and blocked roads in many parts of
Kerry.

Some of the worst flooding happened at Crossmolina, Co
Mayo, when the River Deel burst its banks and residents in
the town were evacuated.

Several acres of farmland were flooded in Cavan and
Monaghan and considerable damage was caused to farm
buildings. Part of a new road scheme between Castleblayney
and Clontibret was completely under water.

Met Éireann warned that rain early in the week could cause
further flooding and that high winds could return at the
end of the week.

Forecaster Dr Aidan Nulty said yesterday's storm was
unusual for the time of year. "We usually have the big
storms after Christmas, we have already had three or four
in the last few weeks and this weekend's was the worst."

The country could expect heavy rain today with heavy
showers tomorrow, he said.

----
To Subscribe to Irish Aires Google News List, click Here.
To Unsub from Irish Aires Google News List, click Here
For options visit: http://groups.google.com/group/IrishAiresNews

Or join our Irish Aires Yahoo Group, Click here

To Get RSS Feed for Irish Aires News click HERE
(Paste http://irishaires.blogspot.com/atom.xml into a News Reader)

To December Index
To Index of Monthly Archives
To Searches & Sources of Other Irish News
Posted by: Unknown / 9:56 PM
Comments: Post a Comment

<< Home

This page is powered by Blogger. Isn't yours?