Irish Republican Info Svc #197 5/20/97 =========== Posted to multiple newsgroups and lists =========== ===== Redistribute *only* with full header and signature! ===== Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit Irish Republican Information Service, No. 197 Teach Daithi O Conaill, 223 Parnell Street, Dublin 1, Ireland Phone: +353-1-872 9747; FAX: 872 9757 e-mail: saoirse@iol.ie or saoirse@indigo.ie Republican Sinn Fein homepage: http://indigo.ie/~saoirse View our SAOIRSE homepage: http://iol.ie/~saoirse In this issue: 1. Blair 'delights unionists' with Belfast speech 2. Raids, arrest of councillor and damaging newspaper references . . 3. Belfastman charged in Sligo court with possession of explosives 4. Stepping-stone to Westminster 5. GAA figure in Derry shot dead by pro-British death squad 6. 'Die you Fenian bastard': victim of fascist murder-gang dies 7. Death squad murder bid 8. Nationalist taxi-man's lucky escape 9. Nationalist home sprayed with death squad gunfire 10. Protestant man badly beaten in Derry 11. RUC man shot dead in Belfast 12. Us congress on seven Irish deportees 13. RUC chief retains power over orange marches 14. RUC member convicted over loyalist protest 1.BLAIR 'DELIGHTS UNIONISTS' WITH BELFAST SPEECH THE British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, made his first major speech on the Six Counties in Belfast on May 16, ruling out British withdrawal and burying the British Labour Party's previous policy of a united Ireland by consent. He offered a meeting of British government officials with the Provisional's political organisation without a ceasefire but delighted the unionists by stating "I believe in the United Kingdom. I value the Union . . . my agenda is not a united Ireland . . . none of us in this hall today, even the youngest, is likely to see Northern Ireland as anything but a part of the United Kingdom. That is the reality, because the consent principle is now almost universally accepted." He continued: "A political settlement is not a slippery slope to a united Ireland. The Government will not be persuaders for unity. The wagons do not need to be drawn up in a circle." Tony Blair's "principle of consent" is the unionist veto by which 18% of the people of Ireland (the unionists) are given the say by the British government over the wishes of the other 82%. It is therefore anathema to Irish Republicans and democrats. Blair's offer for his officials to meet the Provisionals is conditional on their military organisation continuing their de facto ceasefire for the Westminster and 26-County general elections. According to the British Prime Minister the meeting would not negotiate cease-fire terms but would discuss whether the Provisionals were "ready to give up violence". A reference to "cross-border arrangements" was qualified by Tony Blair by saying that "if such arrangements were really threatening to unionists we would not negotiate them". He also called on the Dublin administration to change Articles 2 and 3 of the 1937 constitution which contain a "paper chain" to jurisdiction over the 32 counties. This would be a sign of their support for the 'principle of consent', he said. In its editorial (May 17) the London 'Guardian' said that Blair "is keen to limit Dublin's influence over the process". British officials and the Provisionals are expected to meet at Stormont on May 21 and the latter have indicated that a ceasefire would follow if they were satisfied that they would get entry immediately to "inclusive talks without unnecessary preconditions" within a "fixed timeframe". 2. RAIDS, ARREST OF COUNCILLOR AND DAMAGING NEWSPAPER REFERENCES . . Up to a dozen homes of members and supporters of Republican Sinn Fein in County Donegal and North Leitrim were raided by 26-County Special Branch on May 13-14 last. In the case of Mary Ward, Vice-President, papers relating to a recent conference of Republican Sinn Fein in the Guildhall, Derry were seized. No doubt copies of these will make their way to the British Crown Forces (RUC). In all cases lists of names and addresses and particularly telephone numbers used in the course of the organisation's work were also seized. In pursuance of the collaborationist policy of the Dublin administration this material also will no doubt be handed over to the Occupation Forces north of the Border. On Thursday, May 15, came the arrest under the Offences Against the State Act of Bundoran Councillor Joe O'Neill. This Republican Sinn Fein public representative was being held in Sligo police barracks while some newspapers continue to carry pointed and pejorative references to his situation which can only have been "leaked" by the Special Branch. In a statement Republican Sinn Fein President Ruairi O Bradaigh said: "This harassment and attempted disruption of Republican Sinn Fein will not impede its work but rather will strengthen our member's resolve to continue working for a democratic Ireland based on national, provincial and local self-determination free of British rule." Councillor O'Neill was released without charge on Saturday, May 17, having been held for the full 48 hours under the OASA. 3. BELFASTMAN CHARGED IN SLIGO COURT WITH POSSESSION OF EXPLOSIVES A BELFAST man appeared before a special sitting of Sligo District Court in the 26 Counties on May 17 charged with possession of 2.28 kilograms of Semtex explosives in Belfast seven days previously. He was remanded in custody to appear before the next sitting of the court. Gerard Michael Moyna had been held for 48 hours under the Offences Against the State Act by the 26-County Special Branch in Sligo after having being discharged from Sligo General Hospital on Thursday, May 15. On the expiry of that 48-hour period he was again arrested and charged with offences contrary to Section 3 of the Explosives Substances Act 1883, as substituted by Section 4 of the Criminal Law Act of 1976. The charge is being linked by the 26-County Special Branch and the British Crown Forces in briefings to the media to an incident in Belfast city centre on May 10 when a bomb in a red Proton car was defused by the British army. The vehicle contained a quantity of Semtex explosive, a timing unit, a battery and a detonator which had exploded prematurely. The car had been hijacked in Andersonstown at 6pm and was discovered at 7.10pm in College Avenue. 4. STEPPING-STONE TO WESTMINSTER This statement was issued following the May meeting of Comhairle Uladh (Ulster Executive) of Republican Sinn Fein in Monaghan: "The Provisional Movement would be mistaken to regard the results in the Westminster election in the Six Occupied Counties as a mandate to further their design of moving gradually towards taking seats in the British parliament. "Such action would mean acceptance by them of the British government's claim to rule and exercise sovereignty and jurisdiction in Ireland. The 127,000 people who voted for them did not endorse that and it would be politically very unwise to proceed on such an assumption. "There is no doubt as to the Provos' long-term intention to accept the British parliament. The 'Irish News' (Belfast) on April 2 reported their plans to attend the Palace of Westminster 'frequently' which it regarded as 'an important shift in policy'. "The 'Irish Times', on May 5, described their move to open offices for their new MPs at Westminster thus: 'The party's policy of abstentionism seems set to become virtually meaningless as a result.' "The change in electoral boundaries -- as Republican Sinn Fein noted at the time -- undoubtedly assisted Provo candidates. This was seen in West Belfast, in Mid-Ulster and in West Tyrone. "Gerry Adams's wishing Marjorie Mowlam well in her appointment (May 3) must surely be the first time ever a political leader claiming Republican credentials has welcomed a British Supremo or Viceroy to Ireland. "Such action is merely 'another small step on the road to full participation' at Westminster (Irish News editorial April 2), a further stepping-stone on the road to the British parliament. "It is all very reminiscent of de Valera's weaving and political manoeuvring from 1923 to 1927 as he made his way towards accepting the 26-County parliament. "However the nationally-minded people will not be taken for granted if the looming change by the Provos from revolution to constitutionalism in the Six Occupied Counties takes place, even gradually. "There will always be those who reject British rule politically and even those who actively resist it. That is the lesson of Irish history." 5. GAA FIGURE IN DERRY SHOT DEAD BY PRO-BRITISH DEATH SQUAD A PROMINENT Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) official was killed by a loyalist death squad in County Derry on May 13. Sean Brown (61), chairman of the Wolfe Tone Gaelic Football Club in Bellaghy, County Derry, was locking up the club premises on his own after a meeting. He was a father of six children. It is believed he was abducted as he was locking the gates. A shot was fired at the gates, possibly during a struggle between Brown and his attackers. An hour after the abduction Sean Brown's body was found beside a burning car near Randalstown, County Antrim, ten miles away. He had been shot dead. In a statement on May 13 Ruairi O Bradaigh, President, Republican Sinn Fein said: "Republican Sinn Fein deplores the sectarian murder of the chairman of the Bellaghy Wolfe Tones GAA club in Co Derry and expressed sincere sympathy to the family and colleagues of Sean Brown. "Similarly we deplore the several recent sectarian murders in the Six Occupied Counties and the many sectarian attacks including the destruction of churches and church property. "But GAA members must not in the face of such killings back down or make any concessions to such attacks and those responsible for them -- while at all times keeping the lines open to those not of their national and Gaelic tradition. "They must remain calm and vigilant in the current situation and show by their steadfastness and dignity that they will uphold the best traditions of their Association. That service for well over a century has been an inspiration to Irish people at home and abroad. "Sectarian gangsters with British Intelligence backing must not be allowed to deflect them from their noble work among the community or to cause them to compromise on their ideals. "Irish people and sportsmen and women throughout the world stand by them when their officials and members are threatened and killed in the name of an outdated colonialism." 6. 'DIE YOU FENIAN BASTARD': VICTIM OF FASCIST MURDER-GANG DIES THE nationalist victim of a sectarian loyalist assault on April 27 died at Belfast's Royal Victoria Hospital on Thursday, May 10. Father-of-two Robert Hamill (25) endured monstrous beatings in a horror attack by a gang of 30 loyalists when he and three relatives were set upon by the fascist mob as they were making their way home from a dance in Portadown, County Armagh. According to an eyewitness Robert Hamill whose partner Caroline is expecting their third child in July, received a constant stream of blows and kicks from the mob who then "danced on" him and said: "Die, you Fenian bastard" as his body was pinned to the ground at the junction of Thomas Street and Market Street. A cousin who asked not to be named accused the British police (RUC) of allowing the attack to occur unhampered, "The police could have done more. They stood by and watched. I am not politically motivated but they said they could not control that crowd. One plastic bullet would have broken up the crowd." He said attacks on nationalists in the town had become regular weekend occurrences. "You will get them running about up the town any Friday or Saturday night. They are only looking for one thing, Catholics. There are boys attacked up there regularly. Some are lucky enough to get away, some don't." The dead man's sister, Diane, told a press conference on May 13 that the family wanted "a separate body set up totally independent of the police to investigate what happened to Robert and why the RUC didn't get involved." The family had little faith in the so-called 'Independent Commission for Police Complaints' conducting an inquiry, and Diane Hamill said "What is the point of the RUC investigating themselves?" Her brother died because the RUC sat in a nearby jeep and did nothing to disperse the mob kicking her brother to death. "If they had got out of the jeep and put their gun up to the air and shot a bullet in the air . . . if they'd gone up to my brother and turned him on his side and held his airways open he would have been home today." She expressed her disgust at the RUC and questioned why they changed their initial statement, which said it was a clash between "rival gangs". Later the RUC maintained they could not aid Robert Hamill because they "were under attack". The family also want the RUC to suspend the paramilitary police members who were in the Land Rover that night. Nationalists throughout Occupied Ireland live in terror of an unending stream of attacks some of them causing death as the British and their loyalist allies continue their expansionist terror campaign to gain a stranglehold on the Six Counties. The Provisionals handed them an opportune gift with a mindless 'peace process'. Meanwhile Garda Proiseas Siochana (the Provo Police) hold back nationalist youths who are trying to defend their neighbourhoods from British and loyalist attacks. At a sitting of a special court in Lurgan, Co Armagh on Sunday, May 11, five men were remanded to Lisburn magistrates court on June 4 charged with the murder of Robert Hamill. A sixth man was charged with murder on May 12. 7. DEATH SQUAD MURDER BID A NORTH Belfast family narrowly escaped annihilation when a British-backed death squad placed a bomb under their car in the Bawnmore Estate on Wednesday, May 7. The nationalist father of seven who declined to be named said the British police (RUC) who obviously have contact with the death squads had warned him two weeks previously that loyalists were targeting him. The man regularly uses his car to transport his children to school. "Luckily the kids were off school today because it was a teacher training day," he said. Scores of families had to be evacuated to an adjacent community centre early on Wednesday when neighbours of the family spotted two men placing a bomb under the car. The death squad assailants fled on discovery. "I'm definitely going to consider leaving here after this, not only for my sake, but my family's as well," the shocked father said. "I've lived in this one all my life, but now I want out." This is the latest in a series of incidents designed to force nationalists out of Bawnmore and other areas of the Six Counties as the pro-British loyalists move to gain ground and strengthen their grip throughout Occupied Ireland. Gary McMichael of the UDP, the MI5-controlled mouthpiece for the death squads insulted the intelligence of the nationalist population by saying of the attack "In the absence of a claim of responsibility by the CLMC, then we must assume that the ceasefire of the CLMC remains intact". 8. NATIONALIST TAXI-MAN'S LUCKY ESCAPE LOYALISTS attempted to kill a nationalist taxi-driver in Milford, County Armagh on May 14. The incident happened around 1am when the taxi-driver was delivering a food order to a house on Monaghan Street in Milford. The order turned out to be a hoax and there was no response from the house. When he returned to his car he was confronted by a masked man who tried to shoot him but the gun jammed. The taxi-driver jumped out of the car and struggled with the gunman who broke free and escaped. The victim, who works for Mr Crispy -- a combined takeaway and taxi firm in Armagh city -- was uninjured. Earlier in the evening, a caller contacted the A-2-B taxi office and asked for a car to be sent to the same address. However the base operator, who knew the house, did not recognise the caller and didn't send out a car. 9. NATIONALIST HOME SPRAYED WITH DEATH SQUAD GUNFIRE A LOYALIST pro-British death squad sprayed a nationalist home with gunfire on the northern outskirts of Belfast after failing to break down the door on May 12. The occupant of the house, a pregnant mother of two, was taken to hospital suffering from shock after the attack. The attack started when a car was hijacked by masked men in the Rathcoole area before the assault on the house at Archdale Park, Carnmoney, near Glengormley shortly after 10pm. The loyalist gunmen first attempted to sledge-hammer their way into the house, presumably to kill the occupants. However they were unable to break the door and instead fired shots at the house. At least six shots went through the living-room window. The woman escaped injury by diving on to the settee when the shooting started. Her two children were asleep upstairs. 10. PROTESTANT MAN BADLY BEATEN IN DERRY A PROTESTANT man was set upon and beaten in a sectarian beating in Derry on May 10. Ivan Heatherington had been visiting friends in the Fountain and was returning to his home in the Waterside after midnight when he was attacked by a group of Catholics at Spencer Road, who kicked and punched him leaving him with severe head injuries. Witnesses to the attack claimed one of the man's assailants returned to kick him again after the main assault has ended. As he approached the unconscious man, his accomplice told him to stop or he would kill his victim. "That's the idea," said the attacker according to the witness. Six men have been charged so far by the British police (RUC) with the attempt to kill Ivan Heatherington. The three latest to be arrested appeared at Limavady magistrates court on May 13 and were remanded in custody to Derry magistrates court on June 6. Heatherington's condition after the attack was serious, but has improved slightly. 11. RUC MAN SHOT DEAD IN BELFAST THE INLA killed a British policeman (RUC) in Belfast on May 9. Darren Bradshaw was drinking in the Parliament Bar in Belfast city centre when the INLA men came in and shot him. 12. US CONGRESS ON SEVEN IRISH DEPORTEES MEMBERS of the US House of Representatives debated the cases of seven Irishmen living in the US who are facing deportation to British Occupied Ireland. Ten members of the House opposed deportation during a Special Orders debate on the cases against the men including Tyrone native Brian Pearson, who was recently awarded political asylum by a New York judge. The decision to grant political asylum is being appealed by the Immigration and Naturalisation Service, the immigration arm of the US Justice Department. The various members of the House of Representatives highlighted individual aspects of each case including the fact that US citizen wives and children were also facing deportation. 13. RUC CHIEF RETAINS POWER OVER ORANGE MARCHES THE British government has announced it will prepare legislation to give the Parades Commission the power to set conditions on parades. This legislation will not be in place in time for this year's loyalist marching season, meaning that this year's Orange parades will again be overseen by the head of the British police (RUC) as it has in previous years. This legislation, announced at the opening of the new British parliament, will implement the recommendations of the North Report on parades. When the law is enacted, decisions on the routing of parades will be taken by the recently-created Parades Commission, headed by Alistair Graham. The new British government announced on May 14 that it plans to incorporate the European Convention on Human Rights into British law. Britain has the worst human rights record in Europe, having been found in breach of the convention more than 40 times. Most of these breaches related to human rights abuses in the Six Occupied Counties. Civil liberties bodies in Ireland said the decision would have to be judged on the impact it has on the ground relating to the use of shoot-to-kill policies, plastic bullets and repressive laws such as the Emergency Provisions Act. At present people in the Six Counties have to take a case to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, France which is extremely costly and takes an average of six years to obtain a judgement. If the convention was incorporated in British law a person could take a case to a British court first, while still retaining the right to go to Strasbourg. Britain and the 26 Counties are the only States in the European Union who have not incorporated the European Convention on Human Rights into their domestic law. It is no coincidence that these two States also maintain the greatest amount of repressive legislation on their statute books of any European country. Human rights lawyers have maintained that the potentially repressive powers of the 26 Counties actually exceed those of Britain. 14. RUC MEMBER CONVICTED OVER LOYALIST PROTEST A BRITISH police (RUC) reservist based in County Down has been convicted of taking part in a loyalist protest during last summer's disturbances over Drumcree. In a statement issued on May 12 the RUC said the man had "appeared recently at the local magistrates court charged with public order offences. He was found guilty and fined." No mention was made of the nature of the offences. -end- Please circulate the information in IRIS and credit us if reprinting. We welcome your comments and ideas. Send them to: saoirse@iol.ie ================================================================= NY Transfer News Collective * A Service of Blythe Systems Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us 339 Lafayette St., New York, NY 10012 http://www.blythe.org e-mail: nyt@blythe.org ================================================================= nytire-05.21.97-22:27:09-5612