Irish Republican Info Svc #198 5/27/97 =========== 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. 198 Teach Daithi O Conaill, 223 Parnell Street, Dublin 1, Ireland Phone: +353-1-872 9747; FAX: 872 9757 e-mail: saoirse@iol.ie Republican Sinn Fein homepage: http://indigo.ie/~saoirse View our SAOIRSE homepage: http://iol.ie/~saoirse In this issue 1. Reported Belfast abduction: Questions for Gerry Adams 2. Roisin McAliskey gives birth 3. Intimidation of Harryville churchgoers escalates 4. Fury over DUP death threat 5. Death Squad bombers attack Leinster town 6. Two Irish political prisoners to be transferred 7. MI5 spy recruitment campaign 1. REPORTED BELFAST ABDUCTION: QUESTIONS FOR GERRY ADAMS THE Belfast 'Irish News' reported on its front page on May 22 that the Provisionals military organisation had abducted and interrogated a member of the IRA led by the Continuity Army Council in west Belfast. The unnamed man was later released. According to the newspaper a Continuity IRA source said all the organisation's members "were accounted for". A statement on May 22 from Republican Sinn Fein said: "If true, a front page report in today's (Thursday , 22 May 1997) Irish News regarding the abduction of a Republican indicate that as the Provisionals move even closer to the British parliament they appear to be willing to act for the British government in that they are doing the British Army's work for them. "Republican Sinn Fein has no desire to aggravate the situation and wants such actions to halt here and now. Gerry Adams in his recent book stated that such ideological differences cannot be resolved other than by political means. "It is fair to ask him publicly now if the Provos are getting ready to act in support of the British forces, as the new Broy Harriers, against members of their own community? "Will they repress genuine Republicans who according to their public statements, seek a New Ireland and reject the 26-County State as a basis for a permanent settlement? Will they coerce those who reject totally the Westminster parliament and believe the British government has no right whatever to rule in Ireland? "As the outlines of the proposed "internal settlement" become clearer are they prepared to force an updated British rule on the nationalist community? And does Gerry Adams and his organisation approve of such action? "These are serious questions which require answers. People are entitled to know where they stand before physical action in support of the alleged peace process develops any further." 2. ROISIN McALISKEY GIVES BIRTH ROISIN McAliskey was finally given leave by a vindictive British system to enter hospital on Friday, May 23. She was released on conditional bail to Whittington Hospital, North London, where the staff reported that she was in a severely weakened condition, due to asthma attacks in a Victorian dungeon-like cell in Holloway prison, London. On Monday, May 26 she gave birth to a baby girl weighing 5lbs 13oz and mother and baby are reported to be doing well. Her mother Bernadette and her partner, Sean McCotter are allowed access. Despite worries over the health of mother and baby, friends say she gained a little weight due to superior hospital food and proper medical treatment. 3. INTIMIDATION OF HARRYVILLE CHURCHGOERS ESCALATES ONE again innocent church-goers had to run the gauntlet of fascist Orange mobs as the 200-strong protesters tried to charge through British police lines to the Catholic church, at Harryville, Ballymena, Co Antrim on Saturday, May 24. Tempers flared as the loyalists bigots hurled bottles, stones, paint bombs and other missiles in the direction of Our Lady's Church. Water service workers who had been operating in the area were forced to flee as their van was set ablaze. The rioters then charged towards a mechanical digger pushing it down an embankment and attacked a lorry carrying stones. Their voracious appetite also included breaking up water mains, leaving many homes on the estate without water. Former rugby international and DUP Councillor Davy Tweed was there to cheer on the Orange mob. The protest in now in its 19th month. 4. FURY OVER DUP DEATH THREAT GAA members and nationalists throughout Occupied Ireland are furious at the latest in a stream of outbursts from one of Paisley's foot-soldiers, Willie McCrea. After losing his seat to the Provisionals in Mid-Ulster, McCrea said nationalists " will have a price to pay". A GAA member in Derry who refused to be named said, "people are naturally frightened, especially after what happened with Sean Brown's murder. A lot of people would believe that Rev McCrea's words would represent a veiled threat". 5. DEATH SQUAD BOMBERS ATTACK LEINSTER TOWN THE County Louth town of Dundalk was the scene of the latest show of strength by the pro-British death squads who planted a bomb in the town on Sunday, May 25. At 10.50am 26-County police received a warning from the death squads via the media that a device had been planted in the town and another in the car-park at Dublin Airport. After an extensive search of the Dundalk area, 26-County police and troops finally found a package left beside a wall in an alleyway. The device, said to contain Powergel explosive and packed into a flask with an alarm clock covered by a plastic bag, was detonated in a controlled explosion by 26-County personnel. After an exhaustive search of Dublin Airport 26-County authorities declared the alert to be a hoax. 6. TWO IRISH POLITICAL PRISONERS TO BE TRANSFERRED TWO Provisional prisoners are to be transferred from prisons in Britain to prisons in the Six Counties. Danny McNamee and Liam McCotter are expected to be transferred shortly to Maghaberry prison in County Antrim. There has been concern about the health of the two men who have been held in "Special Secure Units" (SSUs) since their involvement in the attempted escape from Whitemoor prison in 1994. 7. MI5 SPY RECRUITMENT CAMPAIGN THE British secret intelligence gathering organisation, MI5, placed recruitment adverts in two British newspapers on May 21, 22 and 24. The advert, placed in the 'Guardian' and 'Times' newspapers was headlined 'Intelligence. Use it to create waves and prevent repercussions.' This is the first time that MI5 has publicly advertised for recruits. The advert says applicants should have "three to four years of work experience and a good honours degree" and that its agents currently include "marketing executives, teachers, fund-raisers, overseas aid workers, academics and journalists". It goes on to say it is "keen to recruit people from ethnic minorities or with disabilities. However you do need to be a British citizen to apply". MI5's motives for recruiting "ethnic minorities" is probably less benevolent than a desire to offer "equal opportunities" and may reflect a concern to blend in better with social groups which could be potentially 'disloyal' to the British state. The advert concludes with a warning to potential applicants to "try and avoid telling your friends about your application, because discretion is a serious part of working for the Security Service". -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-05.27.97-20:47:23-284