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March 29, 2007

Gerry Adams Video Interview On Devolution

News about Ireland & the Irish

UT 03/29/07 Gerry Adams Interview With Ken Reid
BT 03/29/07 Lords' Ruling Could Shine Light Into Dark Corners
IT 03/29/07 DUP MP Condemns North Deal
IN 03/29/07 Northern Aid Adds Support To Deal
IN 03/29/07 Irish America Delighted By Progress: McDonnell
BT 03/29/07 Price Of Peace: £391,000 Bill For St Andrews Summit
TS 03/29/07 Struggle For N. Ireland Power-Sharing
IN 03/29/07 Deal Helps SF To Tackle Elections In Republic
BT 03/29/07 UDA Moves To Quell Dissent By Expelling Sr Figures
UT 03/23/07 Orde Likely To Leave Post Within Three Years
BT 03/29/07 Opin: Quiet Push To Peace Must Get Louder
BT 03/29/07 Opin: Time To Get On And Run The Country
IN 03/29/07 Opin: 50:50 Rule Has Been A Success
BT 03/29/07 Opin: Paisley... Worse Than Trimble
BT 03/29/07 Opin: Time To Get On And Run The Country
BN 03/29/07 Census: Foreign Nationals Make Up 10% Of Population
BT 03/29/07 Classic Friel To Reopen At Lyric
IM 03/29/07 Report From Connolly Festival 2007
RT 03/29/07 95% Of Workplaces Complying With Smoking Ban

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http://u.tv/newsroom/indepth.asp?id=81167&pt=n

Gerry Adams Talks To Ken Reid

Three days after the historic meeting between Gerry Adams and Ian
Paisley the Sinn Fein leader has told UTV's Political Editor Ken
Reid that he felt five years ago he would do a deal with Ian
Paisley.

In an extensive interview he reflects on his relationship with
Ian Paisley and suggests they will find much in common in the
time ahead.

Watch UTV`s Ken Reid interview Gerry Adams: Click Here

http://stream.u.tv/shows/news/kenadam.wmv

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http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/article2402748.ece

Lords' Ruling Could Shine A Light Into Some Dark Corners

[Published: Thursday 29, March 2007 - 08:44]
By Chris Thornton

Some long-held secrets about a series of Troubles killings -
including " shoot-to-kill" incidents - could finally be exposed
by a landmark House of Lords ruling made yesterday.

The Law Lords decided the PSNI is legally obliged to give
coroners access to all the material they have about a killing -
including intelligence reports about SAS ambushes.

They also made it clear inquest juries can deliver more detailed
findings about deaths than previously allowed, including remarks
that could suggest blame for particular deaths.

Yesterday's judgment could bring an end to legal battles that
have put some controversial inquests on hold for more than a
decade.

At least six high-profile inquests were delayed while coroners
awaited yesterday's ruling.

Police must now hand over sensitive material about the killings,
including three SAS ambushes of IRA members, two UVF killings and
the RUC killing of an IRA member, unless they convince ministers
to supply official gagging orders.

In some cases, the police indicated they would pursue the orders,
known as Public Interest Immunity Certificates, but chose to
fight the cases in court, first.

Yesterday, the Lords said Chief Constable Sir Hugh Orde is
obliged to hand over any material he has about the 1990 SAS
shooting of IRA man Martin McCaughey.

McCaughey (23), a former Sinn Fein councillor, and 37-year-old
Desmond Grew were shot dead in a security force ambush near
Loughgall as they apparently tried to retrieve weapons.

McCaughey's father, Owen, took the case to the Lords to obtain
the release of intelligence reports relevant to the death of his
son and the RUC investigating officer's report.

Five years ago, the High Court ordered the release of the
documents to the Coroner hearing the inquests, but police went to
the Court of Appeal and the ruling was overturned.

Lord Bingham of Cornhill, writing the majority opinion, said it
would " plainly frustrate the public interest in a full and
effective investigation if the police were legally entitled ...
to withhold relevant and perhaps crucial information".

He concluded the Chief Constable has a duty to disclose the
material " subject to any relevant privilege or immunity", a
reference to the Ministerial gagging order.

In a related case, the Lords ruled that elements of the Human
Rights Act do not apply to the case of IRA man Pearse Jordan, who
was unarmed when he was shot by the RUC.

They said the inquest jury is not allowed to declare an "unlawful
killing" under Northern Ireland law, but can make findings of
fact about the circumstances of a case - even if they imply
someone may have broken the law.

Previously, juries were told they had to give only very
restricted findings of how a person died - saying, for example,
they were shot without saying how the shooting came about.

The ruling could also unleash legal restraints on a series of
other inquests relating to the deaths of 10 people in Tyrone.

They include the UVF shooting of pensioner Roseanne Mallon, in
which police refused to give the Coroner material about a secret
surveillance camera that overlooked the scene of the killing.

The UVF murders of two members of the McKearney family in a
butcher's shop in Moy and SAS killings of IRA members in Clonoe
and Coagh are also still awaiting scrutiny.

Mark Thompson of the group Relatives for Justice, which supports
several of the families, said: "The PSNI should now move swiftly
to comply with this ruling and end the long wait of these
families by handing over all the documents now."

Solicitor Peter Madden, who represents both the McCaughey and
Jordan families, said yesterday's ruling has "serious
implications" because the police "can no longer dictate which
information it chooses to withhold from scrutiny".

c Belfast Telegraph

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http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/breaking/2007/0329/breaking31.htm

DUP MP Condemns North Deal

Thu, Mar 29, 2007

One of the Rev Ian Paisley's MPs has criticised the powersharing
agreement with Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams.

David Simpson said he believed the party's move to joint
government with republicans to be premature. "We hope that the
people of Northern Ireland will not have cause to regret this
decision," he said.

He is the second member of Dr Paisley's parliamentary team at
Westminster who is clearly unhappy at the decision to go into
government with Sinn Fein in May.

South Antrim MP the Rev Willie McCrea has already spoken of his
dismay, but, unlike DUP MEP Jim Allister, he has not resigned
from the party.

Dr Paisley will be First Minister when the new Assembly in
Belfast is opened on May 8th, with Sinn Fein MP Martin McGuinness
as Deputy First Minister.

Mr Simpson and fellow Upper Bann Assemblyman Stephen Moutray
said: "We do believe and feel that it is our duty to state that
this decision has been made prematurely, before the conditions
were right and before the completion of a credible testing
period.

"It is our view that both republicans and the government have
more that they needed to do. All parties concerned now have a
huge responsibility upon them to fulfil all of the pledges they
have made in reaching this accord," Mr Simpson said.

PA
c 2007 ireland.com

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http://www.irishnews.com/access/daily/current.asp?SID=552925

Northern Aid Adds Support To Deal

By William Graham

Irish Northern Aid (Noraid) has welcomed the agreement between
the DUP and Sinn Fein to set a firm date for devolution in
Northern Ireland and pledged Irish American support for the
power-sharing government.

The organisation's national president Paul Doris said it
supported the Sinn Fein strategy.

Mr Doris paid tribute to those in the United States who worked
for the breakthrough but he also cautioned against complacency.

"Much remains to be done and we have to be ever vigilant that all
parties involved live up to their commitments," he said.

"For the first time in history, the seeds of democracy have been
sown in the north of Ireland and those seeds must not be allowed
to die because of bigotry, injustice or inequality against
anyone, regardless of their political or religious persuasion."

Noraid has always backed the peace process but there were
differences within the organisation at the time of the Good
Friday Agreement when its former leader Martin Galvin became a
supporter of the 32 County Sovereignty Movement.

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http://www.irishnews.com/access/daily/current.asp?SID=552923&catid=540

Irish America Delighted By North's Progress: McDonnell

By William Graham Political Correspondent

Irish America is delighted by political developments in Northern
Ireland this week but they want reassurance there will genuinely
be devolution by May 8 without further stalling, SDLP deputy
leader Alasdair McDonnell said last night.

Dr McDonnell said they were "also a bit apprehensive about
whether we are moving towards genuine power-sharing as envisaged
in the Good Friday Agreement or whether it will have more of the
character of a sectarian carve-up".

The South Belfast MP is in the United States for a series of
political engagements in New York and Washington.

Today he will be joined by party leader Mark Durkan at a special
dinner to honour John Hume on his 70th birthday in New York.

Dr McDonnell, accompanied by SDLP vice-chairman John Coghlan
yesterday met senior US State department officials.

Today and tomorrow Dr McDonnell will meet with a number of
potential investors who have expressed an interest in Northern
Ireland.

"The international investment community is looking for just one
thing from us, as they have been for years, and that is a clear
and definitive signal that we are going to have political
stability," Dr McDonnell said.

"Once we can demonstrate that stability, the road will be open
for us to move quickly towards a more prosperous future."

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http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/politics/article2402755.ece

The Price Of Peace: œ391,000 Bill For St Andrews Summit

Thursday, March 29, 2007
By Mark Hookham

Almost œ28,000 of taxpayers' money was spent on food and drink
for police officers protecting delegates at the landmark St
Andrews summit, it was revealed yesterday.

Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Hain has announced to MPs the
breakdown of costs for the three-day crunch meeting in Scotland
last October.

His written statement to the Commons shows that the summit, held
at the luxurious Fairmont St Andrews Hotel, cost more than
œ391,000.

Hotel rooms for delegates and officials make up the biggest
proportion of the bill - œ121,834.

Meanwhile, a total of œ100,194 was spent on "facilities and
catering". This included œ64,722 for hiring conference facilities
and catering for officials and delegates.

It also included œ27,966 spent on catering for the police and
œ7,506 on catering for the media.

Transport costs were œ85,775, including œ73,601 on flights and
œ7,671 on cars.

Equipment hire costs, including a stage emblazoned with "St
Andrews Agreement" signs, cost œ55,630, while press facilities,
plumbing, generators and marquees set the taxpayer back œ28,347.

Mr Hain said the bill for the summit was split between the
British and Irish governments.

He added: "The outcome of the Summit culminated in the St Andrews
Agreement between the British and Irish governments.

"The progress made at St Andrews was significant and has
subsequently brought us, with this week's historic statement by
the leaders of the DUP and Sinn Fein, to the brink of a stable
future for the government of Northern Ireland.

"The Government will continue to do everything it can to support
the political parties in Northern Ireland in taking the final
step towards restoration."
----

Breakdown of costs

ACCOMMODATION/ROOM HIRE (œ121,834.50)

Fairmont St Andrews Hotel œ97,614.40
Other St Andrews hotels œ24,220.01

CONFERENCE FACILITIES AND CATERING (œ100,194.57)

Hire of conference facilities, catering for officials and
delegates œ64,722.41
Catering for police œ27,966.03
Catering for media œ7,506.13

TRANSPORT (œ85,775.86)

Charter flights œ53,500.24
Scheduled flights œ20,101.68
Other transport œ4,501.98
Official cars œ7,671.96

TECHNICAL AND COMMUNICATIONS (œ55,630.94)

Equipment hire, staging, SAA logo board

WORKS CHARGES (œ28,347.79)

Press facilities, plumbing, generators and marquee hire

TOTAL: œ391,783.66

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http://www.thestate.com/mld/thestate/news/nation/16975109.htm

Struggle For N. Ireland Power-Sharing

Associated Press

Milestones (Time Line) from the past nine years of Northern
Ireland peacemaking:

1998:

April 10: British and Irish prime ministers Tony Blair and Bertie
Ahern sign the U.S.-brokered Good Friday agreement on Northern
Ireland after 22 months of negotiations. Most local party leaders
say they support the complex deal but do not sign it.

May 22: About 71 percent of voters in Northern Ireland - almost
all Catholics but only half of Protestants - support the
agreement in a referendum. In neighboring Republic of Ireland, 94
percent of voters support the agreement and commit the country to
dropping its territorial claim to Northern Ireland.

June 20: Voters elect a new Northern Ireland Assembly that wields
power to elect, or block, a Catholic-Protestant administration.

July 1: David Trimble of the Ulster Unionist Party and Seamus
Mallon of the moderate Catholic party SDLP are elected to top
posts. Trimble, a Protestant, refuses to form the rest of the
administration until IRA starts to disarm.

Oct. 16: Trimble and SDLP leader John Hume share the Nobel Peace
Prize.
----

1999:

July 1: Sinn Fein rejects a deal that requires the IRA to start
disarming as the administration takes office.

Dec. 2: Although the IRA still refuses to disarm, Trimble
overcomes Protestant opposition to form a four-party
administration that includes IRA's Sinn Fein allies.
----

2000:

Feb. 1: Disarmament officials report no progress in talks with
the IRA.

Feb. 11: Britain mothballs the administration to forestall
Protestant rebellion against Trimble.

May 6: The IRA promises to put weapons "completely and verifiably
beyond use." Power-sharing revives weeks later.
----

2001:

July 1: Faced with growing Protestant anger, Trimble resigns as
first minister, says he will seek re-election only if the IRA
starts to disarm.

Oct. 23: Disarmament officials say the IRA has handed over an
unknown amount of weaponry.

Nov. 3: Trimble narrowly re-elected first minister on second try.
----

2002:

Oct. 4: Police raid Sinn Fein legislative office, arrest Sinn
Fein chief of staff Denis Donaldson over alleged IRA spy ring.
Britain mothballs power-sharing again to save Trimble.
----

2003:

Nov. 26: Voters punish moderates, reward hard-liners in Assembly
elections. Democratic Unionists, who oppose the Good Friday deal,
become a major Protestant party; Sinn Fein overtakes the SDLP
among Catholics.
----

2004:

Dec. 20: The IRA is accused of robbing Northern Bank in Belfast
of $50 million. Helps torpedo an emerging power-sharing deal
between Democratic Unionists and Sinn Fein.
----

2005:

Jan. 30: IRA members kill a Catholic civilian outside a crowded
Belfast pub. Sinn Fein counsels witnesses not to talk to police.
The victim's sisters and fiancee take their campaign for justice
to the White House in Washington.

March 16-17: Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams shunned at Irish-
American political events for St. Patrick's Day.

July 28: The IRA says 1997 cease-fire will be permanent, tells
members to "dump arms" and "observe exclusively peaceful means."

Sept. 26: Disarmament officials announce the IRA's full
disarmament.

Dec. 16: Adams identifies ex-Sinn Fein official Donaldson as a
British spy.
----

2006:

April 4: Donaldson is assassinated at a remote farmhouse. The IRA
denies involvement.

May 15: Britain revives the Assembly, gives members a Nov. 24
deadline to share power.

May 22: Adams nominates Democratic Unionist leader Ian Paisley as
first minister; Paisley rejects the offer as a stunt.

Oct. 4: International experts say the IRA has shut down key units
responsible for weapons-making, arms smuggling and training.

Oct. 11: Blair, Ahern summon Northern Ireland parties to St.
Andrews, Scotland, for day-and-night negotiations.

Oct. 13: Prime ministers unveil British-Irish plan for reviving
power-sharing by March 26 deadline. Plan requires Sinn Fein to
support police and Paisley to accept the nomination as power-
sharing leader by Nov. 24.

Nov. 24: Paisley says he will accept the nomination only after
Sinn Fein accepts law and order. Debate adjourned when Protestant
extremist Michael Stone tries to storm Stormont Parliamentary
Building with grenades, other weapons.
----

2007:

Jan. 28: Adams wins overwhelming support from Sinn Fein members
to begin cooperating with Police Service of Northern Ireland.
Britain in reply suspends the Assembly and calls a new election.

March 7: Democratic Unionists, Sinn Fein triumph versus moderate
rivals in elections for new Assembly.

March 24: Democratic Unionists reject British deadline but
pledge, for first time, to work with Sinn Fein in May.

March 26: Paisley, Adams hold unprecedented face-to-face
negotiations.

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

http://www.irishnews.com/access/daily/current.asp?SID=552920&catid=540

Deal Helps SF To Tackle Elections In Republic

By Valerie Robinson Southern Correspondent

The agreement reached between the DUP and republicans has freed
up Sinn Fein's heavy hitters to target the upcoming general
election in the Republic.

Sinn Fein's Dublin-based director of publicity Dawn Doyle
yesterday confirmed that Mr Adams planned to participate in a
leadership tour covering all of the 26 counties from April 19.

"Over the next four weeks there will be launch of our policies.
We'll be focusing on health, education and housing. There will
also be extensive canvassing,'' she said.

The party has already named 38 candidates including 12 in Dublin
and is likely to declare more in the coming weeks.

Sinn Fein's big names from the north will be travelling southward
to boost local candidates' campaigns. Martin McGuinness is
scheduled to travel to places like Wexford and Cork next month to
help drum up support.

Other northern representatives, including Michelle Gildernew and
MEP Bairbre de Brun, will be accompanying or representing Mr
Adams on the leadership tour.

The party is planning to use its annual 1916 Easter Rising
commemorations next month to cement its place in voters' minds,
with Mr Adams travelling to Dublin for the main event.

In recent months, the party's leadership in the north has been
preoccupied with its special ard fheis, which saw members agree
to support the PSNI, paving the way for Monday's agreement with
the DUP.

The successful negotiations means Mr Adams and his party
colleagues can now concentrate on the general election which is
likely to take place around a fortnight after the executive is
restored.

Sinn Fein is expected to exploit its recent achievements at
Stormont, including the IRA's efforts to distance itself from
criminality, to attract the 'undecided' vote.

Described by the Encyclopedia Britannica as "charismatic,
articulate and possessing experience that generated respect
within his constituency'', Mr Adams's image will feature strongly
the campaign.

Ms Doyle said that he would feature on posters, alongside those
of the candidates, in all constituencies.

He will also be representing Sinn Fein in all television and
radio discussions on the campaign as well as taking part RTE's
party leaders' debate, alongside Taoiseach Bertie Ahern and other
leaders.

Ms Doyle refused to comment on speculation that the party would
double its Dail representation to 10 seats.

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

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/article2402742.ece

UDA Moves To Quell Dissent By Expelling Senior Antrim Figures

[Published: Thursday 29, March 2007 - 08:39]
By Brian Rowan

The UDA leadership last night moved to end a long-running
standoff with its so-called brigade in south east Antrim.

A statement from the inner council of the organisation "expelled"
the paramilitary brigadier in that area and his political
adviser.

The two men were not named in the statement but are known to be
the senior UDA figures Gary Fisher and Tommy Kirkham who was once
a member of the Ulster Political Research Group.

The statement from the inner council was read to the Belfast
Telegraph.

"After lengthy consultations with grassroots members of south
east Antrim UDA, the ruling body inner council have arrived at
the decision that two members from south east Antrim brigade -
the brigadier and his political adviser - have from today been
expelled from the UDA."

Last year, the south east Antrim brigadier sided with the Shoukri
brothers when they were expelled from the paramilitary group, and
he then divorced his UDA brigade from the mainstream
organisation.

Last night's statement from the inner council called on "loyal
members of south east Antrim brigade and their 'Beyond Conflict'
group to meet with the ruling body to discuss a way forward that
will seek to bring an end to the exploitation of our community."

The UDA leadership is claiming that it is responding to a mood on
the ground in south east Antrim - and wants to bring that part of
the organisation back into the mainstream.

A senior loyalist source said the UDA is aware that the Fisher
leadership plans some kind of a rally in Rathcoole this weekend -
designed to demonstrate that they are still in charge and that
they have support in the area.

We are looking at a familiar loyalist pattern of events. The move
against Fisher and Kirkham is the same used to remove the Shoukri
leadership in north Belfast and Johnny Adair and John White on
the Shankill.

It also comes within days of œ1m being allocated to a conflict
transformation project in loyalist areas.

Last night a loyalist source told the Belfast Telegraph: "The UDA
is now preparing its next step."

He said as part of that conflict transformation project it was
getting ready to talk "to a wider audience" - meaning the
beginning of some dialogue outside its own community.

It is not clear how Fisher and Kirkham will respond to the
statement from the UDA leadership.

c Belfast Telegraph

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

http://www.utvlive.com/newsroom/indepth.asp?id=81174&pt=n

Orde Likely To Leave Post Within Three Years

Sir Hugh Orde can stay on as Northern Ireland Chief Constable for
up to three more years, it has emerged.

By:Press Association

He is set to accept a contract extension offered by the authority
monitoring his performance.

But the married police chief, revealed last month to have
fathered a secret love child, is understood to be ready to go
before the new period expires.

In a major vote of confidence following the tabloid publicity
around his private life, the Northern Ireland Policing Board
confirmed tonight it agreed to give Sir Hugh up to three years
more on his original fixed term contract.

"There was absolutely no dissent on this. He`s a star performer,"
disclosed one Board member.

Sir Hugh, 48, a former senior Scotland Yard officer, beat off
competition from two Assistant Chef Constables in Belfast to take
command of the Police Service of Northern Ireland in September
2002.

Since his appointment on a five-year deal he has overseen major
reforms to the Protestant-dominated force.

His time in the œ130,000 a year job has also involved some of
Belfast`s most ferocious rioting, the œ26.5 million raid on the
city`s Northern Bank headquarters.

He also held a series of meetings with Sinn Fein leaders Gerry
Adams and Martin McGuinness in advance of republicans` historic
decision in January to support the PSNI.

But his image was tested by revelations of the affair with an
undercover detective in the Metropolitan Police.

Sir Hugh later apologised to RUC widows representatives over
claims he snubbed a memorial service for officers killed in the
line of duty to go running with his mistress.

At the time Policing Board Chairman Sir Desmond Rea backed the
Chief Constable, and that support has been strengthened by the
new offer, which is likely to be approved by Secretary of State
Peter Hain.

He said: "Since his appointment in 2002, Sir Hugh Orde has
provided strong strategic leadership for the Police Service of
Northern Ireland and has served with distinction."

Annual performance reviews over the last three years led Sir
Desmond and his vice chairman Barry Gilligan to discuss a
possible extension.

"Following this meeting the Vice-Chairman and I brought a
recommendation to the Board," he added.

"The Board accepted the recommendation and agreed to offer the
Chief Constable an extension of his contract of up to three
years.

"As the contract extension is subject to approval by the
Secretary of State, the Board`s decision will now be taken
forward with the Northern Ireland Office."

A spokeswoman for Sir Hugh confirmed that he looked set to accept
the offer.

She said: "It`s likely that he will stay on, but the length of
time has yet to be determined."

Meanwhile, it emerged tonight that Sinn Fein is ready to join the
Policing Board immediately after Northern Ireland`s power-sharing
administration is restored on May 8 under the devolution deal
agreed by Mr Adams and Democratic Unionist leader Ian Paisley.

UTV reported the republican party`s leadership will call a
meeting as soon as possible to ratify the move.

Ian Paisley Junior, a Democratic Unionist member of the Board,
fully endorsed the decision to offer Sir Hugh a contract
extension.

He said: "I believe he totally deserves this because of the trust
he has built up among his senior command team and the rank and
file officers I speak to on the ground."

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

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/article2402743.ece

Opin: Quiet Push To Peace Must Get Louder

[Published: Thursday 29, March 2007 - 08:40]
By Brian Rowan

Is there some wider meaning to the words of this latest statement
from the UDA inner council? Is there a reason why we should take
time to read more closely every sentence penned in the name of
that brigadier leadership?

I think this has something more to it than just the dumping of
another loyalist brigadier and his political adviser.

It is about some in the UDA and the linked Ulster Political
Research Group trying to re-create the organisation and present
it as being ready for the peace process.

This is the stuff of loyalist 'goodies' and 'baddies' - and look
at the timing, just as the œ1m is agreed for the conflict
transformation project.

Is this the UDA trying to justify the money for peace?

We have seen this before - Johnny Adair, John White, the
Shoukris, Alan McClean, and many others have been stripped of
their loyalist rank.

Jim Gray was murdered.

And now the focus is on Gary Fisher and Tommy Kirkham.

They were always going to be expelled.

Why? Because they sided with the Shoukris when they were shown
the door in north Belfast, and Fisher and his associates went
further when they then divorced their south east Antrim brigade
from the rest of the UDA organisation.

In expelling them, the inner council is responding to a mood on
the south east Antrim ground.

It won't be said out loud yet, but that is where the push for a
leadership change originates. It is what I have described as a
quiet revolt.

Fisher and Kirkham will go or will be pushed, a new leadership
will be appointed in south east Antrim and that so-called brigade
will find its way back to the mainstream UDA organisation.

As always, there will be winners and losers.

But that doesn't make it a new UDA.

The big job of work for the UDA is to end its criminality, stand
down its paramilitary organisation, get rid of its guns and show
itself as something that is genuinely new.

Only then will it be ready for the peace process - not before
then, and not because it has removed yet another of its
brigadiers.

c Belfast Telegraph

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

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/opinion/article2402855.ece

Viewpoint: Time To Get On And Run The Country

[Published: Thursday 29, March 2007 - 11:05]

Ian Paisley must have expected that, after his ground-breaking
decision to enter government with Sinn Fein, both his party and
his church would suffer some defections.

He may see the move as "a necessary evil", as his wife, Eileen,
has described it, but for others it was - and will remain - a
leap too far.

Jim Allister was the first high profile member to resign, on the
grounds that power-sharing with former terrorists offended his
conscience, but the fall-out will not stop there. Long-serving
members like Jim Wells, who was the only MLA to vote against the
May 8 resolution in the party executive, is considering his
position and no doubt will be replaced as co-chairman of the
Preparation for Government committee, on which he served
alongside Sinn Fein's Francie Molloy.

It is easy to be critical of the defectors, who are unable to
accept the majority view that, on balance, Sinn Fein have met
enough of the DUP's conditions to merit a restoration of power-
sharing. They argued their case, lost by a huge margin, and those
who have taken the honourable course of resignation deserve
respect. No one in the party, including the leadership, is happy
about the prospect of a Paisley-McGuinness partnership in
government, but they see it as the only alternative to direct
rule, with an all-Ireland bias.

A decision to resign is understandable, but what would not be
acceptable, to either the party or the majority of voters, would
be any attempt to undermine the May 26 deal from within. The will
of the people is clear, that they want stable devolved government
and are willing to let Ian Paisley and Gerry Adams plan for the
future, whatever they think about their pasts. The kind of
internal squabbling that brought down David Trimble cannot be
tolerated.

Everyone recognises the difficulties there will be in reconciling
the policies and objectives of two such divided parties,
representing the extremes of unionism and republicanism. They
will continue to be at odds on the fundamental constitutional
question, but since both now accept that democracy alone will
decide the issue, they can get on with the business of running
the country - and righting the wrongs of direct rule.

Certainly there is no shortage of issues that require urgent
attention by locally-accountable ministers. In education, there
must be an end to the uncertainty about the future of academic
selection and what will replace the 11-plus. In health and social
services, decisions about hospitals must be taken that make sense
to the communities they serve. And all must come within a limited
budget, stretched as far as possible by joint submissions to the
Chancellor. With only six weeks of a countdown to devolution, the
working together must start immediately.

c Belfast Telegraph

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

http://www.irishnews.com/access/daily/current.asp?SID=552890&catid=611

Opin: 50:50 Rule Has Been A Success

Editorial
By Staff Reporter

The 50:50 recruitment rule for the PSNI has been a major success
since the launch of the new service in 2001, and it is
disappointing that it was only renewed by a relatively narrow
margin in the House of Lords.

For a range of reasons, many but not all beyond its control, the
former RUC was drawn almost exclusively from one side of a
divided community.

This was a pattern which had to change if we were ever to move
into the new era for policing envisaged by the Patten report.

At the heart of Christopher Patten's thinking was a recruitment
policy which would result in a greatly improved religious balance
for our police service.

When the PSNI came into being six years ago, eight per cent of
its members were Catholics. Today the figure is 21 per cent and
rising.

This is a heartening development and within five years it is
highly likely that the overall breakdown will be even closer to
that of the wider population.

It is also well worth noting that the percentage of female
officers has more than doubled since the PSNI succeeded the RUC.

The perfect police service has never existed and it is certain
that the PSNI will have many issues to face in the years ahead.

However, the 50:50 rule has left it in a strong position to
command public confidence as its members go about their demanding
duties.

The eventual introduction of a new recruitment policy is
inevitable but the time for a review has not yet arrived.

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

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/opinion/article2402981.ece

Opin: Paisley... Worse Than Trimble

[Published: Thursday 29, March 2007 - 12:32]

The DUP and Sinn Fein's announcement that they are set to go into
government made world headlines, but is the big story really that
Ian Paisley has bottled it, asks Dean Godson

I used to think that David Trimble was the weakest Unionist
leader of all time. I was dead wrong. He can't hold a candle to
Ian Paisley. The effect of Monday's meeting with Gerry Adams upon
the morale of middle Ulster will be seismic. For once, there was
nothing hyperbolic about the claim of the New Labour spin machine
- that the encounter was 'historic'.

Not every unionist liked the 'Doc', but most of them would have
conceded that, in his own way, he was an 'honest bigot'. Even if
they never voted for him, he set a kind of gold standard with
which all other politicians in the Ulster-British firmament had
to reckon.

Adams desperately needed that kosher certificate from his
greatest foe - and got it. He required a legitimising laying on
of hands from Paisley so that he could obtain 'closure' on the
Troubles. And Adams secured it without even having to say that
he's sorry.

Indeed, at the Stormont press conference, the Doc made a fig-leaf
reference to "our justified loathing of the horrors" of the
Troubles - but failed to identify who had actually perpetrated
the lion's share of those atrocities.

Adams talked about the people of Ireland (he used the singular,
not the plural) and spoke of the all Ireland context. Paisley
didn't make one explicit reference to the rest of the UK.

So Adams isn't the one who has had "manners put on him"; rather,
it's Paisley. Adams would have met with the DUP at any stage of
the Troubles. He's come up in the world since 1969. Paisley's the
one who's come down.

The Sinn Fein/IRA leader can now go to voters in the Republic and
state the obvious: if republicans are good enough for the Big
Man, then it stands to reason that they must also be good enough
to sit in a coalition down South.

Don't be distracted by Ian Jr's delusional boasting - that the
DUP's success in obtaining a six week delay in establishing the
Executive means that Peter Hain has been humiliated. Even if it
is true, it's a mere side show compared the sea change that is
taking place in unionism.

A bit of extra time for Paisley to sort out his internal problems
is no skin off Adams's nose. It means that devolution will be
reinstated just days before May's anticipated Irish election,
thus giving Sinn Fein/IRA a maximum bounce.

Why does the Republic matter? One of Trimble's achievements was
to de-politicise north-south co-operation so that it never
undermined the Belfast Agreement in the way that the Council of
Ireland did to Brian Faulkner in 1974. It worked so long as the
SDLP remained the majority in northern nationalism, working
alongside counterparts from the South who represented fully
constitutional parties.

But with Sinn Fein/IRA operating north-south institutions on both
sides of the border, Adams will be able to create a political
aesthetic of continued momentum towards unity. They will use
these as bully pulpits to ensure that Northern Ireland never
becomes a stable entity.

What makes Paisley's volte face all the more craven is that his
rush to do this deal is so unnecessary. In the post-9/11 world,
the balance of forces has shifted against republicanism.

Thus, the Bush White House is the most anti-Sinn Fein
administration of all time - in contrast to the very Green
Clintons whom Trimble had to deal with.

Trimble also had to cope with Blair at the height of his powers.
But Blair is on the way out. So why didn't Paisley wait for
Gordon Brown and give the new PM a boost? Indeed, if David
Cameron becomes Prime Minister heading up a minority Conservative
government in a hung Parliament, the DUP could well be his most
attractive partners.

Ah, the DUP will say, we were threatened with some terrible Plan
B, imposed from on high by the British and Irish Governments.
Leading DUP lights cited this looming danger to secure the
party's acquiescence.

Many of these are men who have invoked the spirit of the
Apprentice Boys of Derry throughout their careers.

But I wonder whether the original Apprentice Boys would have
caved in at the prospect of King James's Plan B. And they would
have told the Crown where to shove their water rates, peerages
and privy councillorships. But then the 17th century Apprentice
Boys were fiercely independent Covenanters who didn't take
anything on blind faith.

Who would have guessed that many of those claiming descent from
them would now accept so much on trust from the Doc - almost like
a Calvinistic caricature of illiterate Sicilian peasants
believing in Papal infallibility?

I suspect that things won't go quite so easily for the Doc at
tomorrow night's secretive meeting of the Free Church Presbytery.
The resignation of Jim Allister MEP from the party has
highlighted a moral dilemma which the Free Presbyterians cannot
now ignore.

If Paisley had real bottle, he would have told the British and
Irish Governments: do your worst. Impose your undefined Plan B.
Could it really be much worse than this - with an unrepentant
Martin McGuinness as co-premier, strutting around and playing the
politics of ethnic wind up with renewed vigour?

Peter Hain may be ghastly, but at least he's never had blood on
his hands. I'd gladly pay an extra few bob on the water bill for
that.

Himself Alone: David Trimble and the Ordeal of Unionism by Dean
Godson (Harper) œ15

c Belfast Telegraph

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

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/opinion/article2402855.ece

Viewpoint: Time To Get On And Run The Country

[Published: Thursday 29, March 2007 - 11:05]

Ian Paisley must have expected that, after his ground-breaking
decision to enter government with Sinn Fein, both his party and
his church would suffer some defections.

He may see the move as "a necessary evil", as his wife, Eileen,
has described it, but for others it was - and will remain - a
leap too far.

Jim Allister was the first high profile member to resign, on the
grounds that power-sharing with former terrorists offended his
conscience, but the fall-out will not stop there. Long-serving
members like Jim Wells, who was the only MLA to vote against the
May 8 resolution in the party executive, is considering his
position and no doubt will be replaced as co-chairman of the
Preparation for Government committee, on which he served
alongside Sinn Fein's Francie Molloy.

It is easy to be critical of the defectors, who are unable to
accept the majority view that, on balance, Sinn Fein have met
enough of the DUP's conditions to merit a restoration of power-
sharing. They argued their case, lost by a huge margin, and those
who have taken the honourable course of resignation deserve
respect. No one in the party, including the leadership, is happy
about the prospect of a Paisley-McGuinness partnership in
government, but they see it as the only alternative to direct
rule, with an all-Ireland bias.

A decision to resign is understandable, but what would not be
acceptable, to either the party or the majority of voters, would
be any attempt to undermine the May 26 deal from within. The will
of the people is clear, that they want stable devolved government
and are willing to let Ian Paisley and Gerry Adams plan for the
future, whatever they think about their pasts. The kind of
internal squabbling that brought down David Trimble cannot be
tolerated.

Everyone recognises the difficulties there will be in reconciling
the policies and objectives of two such divided parties,
representing the extremes of unionism and republicanism. They
will continue to be at odds on the fundamental constitutional
question, but since both now accept that democracy alone will
decide the issue, they can get on with the business of running
the country - and righting the wrongs of direct rule.

Certainly there is no shortage of issues that require urgent
attention by locally-accountable ministers. In education, there
must be an end to the uncertainty about the future of academic
selection and what will replace the 11-plus. In health and social
services, decisions about hospitals must be taken that make sense
to the communities they serve. And all must come within a limited
budget, stretched as far as possible by joint submissions to the
Chancellor. With only six weeks of a countdown to devolution, the
working together must start immediately.

c Belfast Telegraph

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

http://www.breakingnews.ie/ireland/?jp=MHAUEYKFSNCW&rss=rss2

Census Shows Foreign Nationals Make Up 10% Of Population

29/03/2007 - 11:16:22

Foreign nationals now make up 10% of Ireland's population,
according to the final results from the 2006 Census.

The Central Statistics Office says almost 420,000 non-Irish
nationals are living in Ireland, a rise of almost 200,000 on the
figure from 2002.

Elsewhere, 11% of the population is now made up of people aged
over 65, while residents of the Fingal area in Dublin have the
youngest average age of 32.2 years.

The number of divorced people in the state has also risen by 70%
since 2002, while the average number of children per family has
declined from 2.2 in 1986 to 1.4 last year.

The census also shows there are 22,400 Travellers in Ireland,
that the number of Irish speakers is in decline and that Islam is
now the third-largest religion in the country.

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

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/entertainment/theatre-arts/article2402919.ece

Classic Friel To Reopen At Lyric

[Published: Thursday 29, March 2007 - 11:44]
By Maureen Coleman

Brian Friel's award-winning play Dancing At Lughnasa is to return
to the Lyric Theatre in Belfast for the first time in over 10
years.

The world-famous classic will run from June 1 to July 7, directed
by Northern Ireland native Mick Gordon, who recently ran London's
Gate Theatre.

During its last run in 1996, the production sold out in weeks and
was extended after huge public demand.

Dancing at Lughnasa tells the story of the Mundy family living in
rural Donegal in harvest time, 1936.

The tale is told through the memory of a young man raised by five
irrepressible sisters.

While the family's first wireless radio unleashes colourful
bursts of music and emotion in to the air, visits from the boy's
elderly missionary uncle and mysterious father mark the end of an
era.

Richard Gaston of the Lyric Theatre said: "We're delighted to
have Dancing At Lughnasa back here and hopefully it will be as
successful as it was the last time, when we had to extend it due
to demand."

c Belfast Telegraph

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

http://www.indymedia.ie/article/81704

Report From Connolly Festival 2007

Dublin History And Heritage News Report
D‚ardaoin M rta 29, 2007 10:45
by Labour Youth

The Connolly Festival was a great success. The talk by Bob Doyle
was packed to the brim with about 30 people standing around the
walls and the back of the hall.

Cuban Ambassador Noel Carrillo

The festival began on Friday with a talk titled "End the blockade
of Cuba". Cuba's Ambassador to Ireland, Noel Carrillio, reviewed
the decades of US aggression against the Cuba people. He wanted
to see Bush go-but he has not the confidence that a Democrat in
the White House will bring about a change in policy form the US
towards Cuba. The ambassador insisted that there is no anti-
Americanism amongst the Cuban people and that there is
recognition that the American people are not responsible for the
US blockade. And he explained that the blockade has its
advantages "we see the big American films as soon as they come
out-we just don't pay for them".

The discussion form the floor extended beyond the blockade. One
speaker remarked from the back that there are more Cuban Doctors
working in the third world than the entire world Health
organisation delegation. The meeting shifted to discussion about
the Miami 5, the five Cuban men imprisoned in the US on charges
of terrorism. Those interested in getting involved in the
campaign to free the Miami 5 were urged to contact
freemiami5youth AT gmail.com.

The crowds that gathered for Spanish Civil war veteran Bob Doyle
showed that he is one of the biggest draws in Dublin for a public
meeting of this kind. In an in inspiring address, Bob recalled
the conditions of the fight in Spain, the motivating factors
behind the decisions of Irish men and women to join the Connolly
Column and support the international brigades and the sacrifice
of his comrades who did not return from Spain. Bob advised us of
the tools for our political approach today-organisation,
education and civil disobedience.

With Bobs talk completed, Manus O'Riordain, head of Research for
SIPTU and son of Spanish Civil war veteran Michael O'Riordain,
gave an historical appraisal of the contribution of the
International Brigades. He alluded to the bemusment his Father
would get from the renaming of the UCD labour branch to the
UCD/Michael O'Riordain branch-given that his father was expelled
from the Labour Party.

The discussion from the floor allowed an opportunity for debate
on both contemporary and historical questions. A Trotskyite
intervention on the question of coalition was welcomed by Labour
Youth speakers who used it an opportunity to put forward their
rejection of coalitionism and point towards an alternative
approach. Amidst calls for Left unity, there was debate and
division about the tactics of the anti-fascists in the Spanish
Civil war. One speaker put forward concerns about the treatment
of the Anarchist wing of the Republican forces.

The Connolly festival resumed at ten o'clock on Saturday morning.
This meeting proved to be the most fractious of the weekend. In
her talk, Biddy Connors focused on her experience as a traveller
living in Tallaght. She argued that education is the key to
empowering travellers and looked at some of the traditional
handicaps for travellers in the Irish education system.
Jennifer's contribution focused mainly on the role of community
development work. Declan Bree's talk was shaped by his experience
as a public representative over a period of thirty years. He
argued that the organised labour movement must assist travellers
in their struggle for justice. There appeared to be consensus on
the platform on the role of the settled community in supporting
travellers in this regard.

The Consensus on the platform did not extend to the floor. A
contribution from a member of the Sparticist Group (Ireland)
welcomed the fact that Labour Youth had hosted a meeting on
traveller's rights-but he had harsh words for Labour Youth's
political approach. This was followed by an exchange of views
between Declan Bree and a member of the audience on Brees voting
record on the question of Traveller accommodation as a Councillor
in Sligo.

The final meeting of the weekend was the most powerful political
meeting that many present had ever attended. The meeting was
titled "Justice for Terence Wheelock" and the speaker was
Terence's brother, Larry. Terence died as a result of injuries
received in Garda custody in September 2005. In his talk, Larry
spoke of the circumstances of Terence's death, the victimisation
of the Wheelock family by the Gards and the need for an
independent inquiry into Terence's death. Larry's contribution is
best summed up by his own words. "Our family can not grieve for
Terence until we get a proper public inquiry". There were several
contributions from the floor from members of the community living
in the North inner city about Garda harrassment. The weekend
proceedings concluded with a donation collected by Labour Youth
over the weekend from attendees of the Connolly festival, towards
the Justice for Terence Wheelock campaign.

Related Link: http://www.LabourYouth.ie

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

http://www.rte.ie/news/2007/0329/smoking.html?rss

Workplaces Complying With Smoking Ban

Thursday, 29 March 2007 10:26

95% of businesses complied with the workplace smoking ban last
year, according to figures released to coincide with the third
anniversary of the legislation's introduction.

Over 32,000 inspections were carried out by Environmental Health
Officers last year.

35 cases were brought, most against licensed premises, but three
involved taxi drivers and one a bus driver. 34 were successfully
prosecuted.

The Office of Tobacco Control said it is now
focussing on tackling the issue of children and smoking.

----
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