Irish Republican Info Svc #199 6/3/97

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 Irish Republican Information Service, No. 199
 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. RELEASE JOSEPHINE HAYDEN, REPUBLICAN WOMAN PRISONER
 2. CASEMENT CASE APPEAL -- FORENSIC EVIDENCE DISALLOWED AT TRIAL
 3. NATIONALIST STABBED IN NECK IN GLENGORMLEY
 4. MASKEY SPEECH A 'FURTHER DETERIORATION'
 5. MOWLAM CRITICISES GARVAGHY ROAD COUNCILLOR
 6. DUBLIN/MONAGHAN RELATIVES CRITICISE DUBLIN GOVERNMENT
 7. LVF DEATH THREAT TO VISITORS FROM THE 26 COUNTIES
 8. BRITISH POLICEMAN'S DEATH LINKED TO DUNLOY ORANGE BAN
 9. ROISIN McALISKEY GRANTED BAIL
10. HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH HITS OUT AT BRITISH POLICE (RUC)
11. FAMILY TARGETED TWICE IN A WEEK
12. ORANGE ORDER SPURNS HUME TALK
13. PROVO LANDMINE SHENANIGANS IN BELFAST
14. LEINSTER HOUSE PARTIES CONSENSUS ON BRITISH RULE: IGNORE IT
15. BRITISH POLICE LAUNCH VICIOUS ATTACK ON NATIONALIST


1. RELEASE JOSEPHINE HAYDEN, REPUBLICAN WOMAN PRISONER

REPUBLICAN Sinn Fein called for the immediate release from Limerick prison
on humanitarian grounds of Josephine Hayden (51), the only woman political
prisoner currently incarcerated in the 26 Counties. A native of Clashmore,
County Waterford, she has lived in Tallaght, County Dublin for many years. 

On Friday last, May 30 Josephine, a member of Cumann na mBan, suffered a
heart attack in Limerick prison's "C" Block and had to be removed to
Limerick Regional Hospital, where she is still being cared for. 

In a statement on June 3 Peig King, POW Department, Republican Sinn Fein,
outlined the atrocious conditions in Limerick prison: 

 "Josephine is a mother of two children and has served one-third of a
six-year sentence in virtual isolation as the only woman political
prisoner in the 26 Counties. 

 "The conditions in 'C' Block of Limerick jail, which was built in 1821,
are primitive and have contributed to her present medical condition. She
shares the wing (designed for ten prisoners) with 12 other ordinary woman
prisoners who have no sanitary facilities in the cells and instead have to
'slop out'. The wing was actually closed down for 17 years before being
re-opened several years ago due to pressure for space. The women all eat
and sleep, do their laundry and engage in recreation in a small area. 

 "The governor of Limerick prison, Pat Laffan, has admitted (Radio
Limerick, February 5, 1997 and 'Irish Times', February 7, 1997) that the
conditions for women prisoners in the jail are the 'worst we have'. 

"Unlike the ordinary women prisoners who are serving short sentences for
minor offences, Josephine Hayden is serving six years for political
offences and will have to endure these inhuman conditions for the
foreseeable future. 

"Josephine Hayden is serving six years for political offences and will
have to endure these inhuman conditions for the foreseeable future. 

"Josephine has been denied visits with her children in Dublin, a facility
which is available on a monthly basis to ordinary prisoners who hail from
Dublin. 

"The women's exercise yard with its 12-foot high steel walls was described
in the 'Irish Times' (February 7, 1997) as 'high steel wall around a space
the size of a tennis court -- has been accurately described as a cage'. 

"In all these circumstances Republican Sinn Fein calls for her release on
humanitarian grounds. In the interim, Josephine Hayden must be allowed a
period of convalescence in hospital and should not be rushed back to
prison ahead of her complete and total recovery. 

"Finally, we call on all concerned individuals and organisations to seek
the release of Josephine Hayden and the closure of the 'C' Wing of
Limerick prison." 

2. CASEMENT CASE APPEAL -- FORENSIC EVIDENCE DISALLOWED AT TRIAL

THE court of appeal in Belfast decided on May 28 to admit evidence to the
appeal of one of the Casement Three which had not been allowed at the
original trial. 

Dr Gisli Gudjonsson, a forensic psychologist from Norway, told Judges
McCollum, Campbell and Kerr on May 28 that he examined Patrick Kane (39)
in prison on February 1990 and found that in terms of numeracy and reading
he had the ability of a nine-year-old. "I mean that he was functionally
illiterate," he said. 

Gudjonsson said Kane suffered from a high level of nervous anxiety which
could lead to him making a false confession to get out of the RUC
barracks. He said Kane was embarrassed by his illiteracy, and knowing that
he would have to sign a statement, even though he did not write it, would
exacerbate his level of anxiety and make him even more apprehensive. 

He said that because of Kane's limited intelligence another adult should
have been with him during police interviews to ensure that they were
fairly conducted. 

Patrick Kane, along with Sean Kelly and Michael Timmons, were convicted in
March 1990 of aiding and abetting in the killing of British soldiers,
Derek Woods and David Howes. Judgement was reserved in the case on May 30. 

3. NATIONALIST STABBED IN NECK IN GLENGORMLEY

A NATIONALIST needed 36 stitches after being stabbed in the neck in
Glengormley, north of Belfast in the early hours of June 1. Paul Seaye
(25) was attacked by a crowd of loyalists outside a fast food takeaway in
the centre of Glengormley. Gerald Seaye, the victim's father, said the
crowd, from a loyalist estate two miles away, wanted to kill his son.
"There were 20 cuts in his coat where they tried to stab him further down
after they had stabbed him in the neck. Catholics are being deliberately
targeted in Glengormley and the RUC is not doing enough about it," he
said. 

4. MASKEY SPEECH A 'FURTHER DETERIORATION'

ASKED on Radio Ulster's 'Talkback' programme on May 28 last about
performing all the "functions" of the Belfast Lord Mayor if elected, Alex
Maskey, the Provisional leader on the council said that such matters as
toasts to the British Queen at civic dinners, attending Remembrance Day
('Poppy Day') ceremonies to remember the British Crown Forces dead, and
greeting British royal visitors to Belfast would all have to be considered
by his organisation. 

In a response Ruairi O Bradaigh, President, Republican Sinn Fein, said
that "This statement by Alex Maskey shows a further deterioration by the
Provisionals as they depart further from their roots. 

"As the pace of their absorption into the British systems quickens,
Republicans are entitled to ask how long will it be before they are
indistinguishable -- not from the SDLP -- but from the Alliance Party?" 

Belfast City Council chose its first nationalist Lord Mayor on Monday,
June 2 when Alban Maginness of the SDLP beat off DUP candidate Harry Smyth
by 26 votes to 22. The Provisionals were hoping to gain the post, having
nearly double the number of seats the SDLP have, but finally relented and
backed the SDLP man "if we had let a unionist in again, the electorate
would never have forgiven us," said one of the Provisionals. 

The DUP however finding this new parity of esteem unionism hard to stomach
described the election as "a backward step for Belfast that will result in
a further whittling away of unionist rights". Both the Provisional and
Alliance councillors backed Maginness with the support of independent
unionist Alan Crowe. 

And just in case anybody should accuse them of collaboration in a revamped
British statelet, the Provisionals with the support of the SDLP and
Alliance parties voted through a motion to discard the term Alderman for
the four years of the council. They will now be known simply as
councillors. This name-changing business will help show how progressive
and nationalist the Provos really are -- like changing the name of
Stormont rule to 'interim agreement' or insisting that attending the
British parliament 'frequently' is abstentionism. 

5. MOWLAM CRITICISES GARVAGHY ROAD COUNCILLOR

BRITISH direct-ruler in the Six Counties, Majorie Mowlam, joined in the
Orange Order's criticism of the Garvaghy Road Residents Committee (GRRC)
chairman, Brendan Mac Cionnaith, on May 28. 

Brendan Mac Cionnaith had been elected to the local council as an
independent in the previous week's local election with 1,493 first
preference votes. Fellow GRRC member Joe Duffy was also elected, with
their combined first preference vote exceeding the combined vote for the
SDLP and Provisionals in the 1993 council elections. Having an electoral
mandate from the people of the Garvaghy Road does not mean anything to the
British direct-ruler, however. 

Speaking to a reporter, Mowlam described the newly elected local
councillor as "part of the difficulty we face in the Garvaghy Residents
Association". Mowlam's view coincided with that of local Orangemen who
refuse to talk to the resident's association, one reason being Mac
Cionnaith's previous conviction for political offences. 

The Garvaghy Road Residents Committee said on May 29 that they were
"surprised" at the comments, but stopped short of criticising Mowlam. The
British direct-ruler was warmly received by the group during a visit to
Portadown the previous week. 

Mowlam also said on June 3 that she was "considering" banning two armed
groups under the British emergency legislation in the Six Counties: the
IRA under the leadership of the Continuity Army Council and the Billy
Wright-led Loyalist Volunteer Force (LVF) which broke away from the UVF
British-backed death squad. 

6. DUBLIN/MONAGHAN RELATIVES CRITICISE DUBLIN GOVERNMENT

ONE of the relatives of the 1974 Dublin and Monaghan bombings victims has
accused the 26-County authorities of attempting to "cover up their
incompetence". 

Tim Grace, from Drumcondra in Dublin, whose wife, Breda, was killed in the
Talbot Street bombing is one of the relatives taking legal action against
the 26-County State because of its refusal to allow them access to secret
files concerning the bombs. The documents are required in order to pursue
several cases against the British government that are currently before the
European Court of Human Rights. 

"I think it is scandalous," Tim Grace said, "that we are being treated in
this way. It took me the best part of ten years to get over my wife's
death and finally seek justice. I believe it is the old Civil Service
business of covering up their incompetence that has led to this." 

7. LVF DEATH THREAT TO VISITORS FROM THE 26 COUNTIES

THE pro-British death squad which is reportedly under the control of
leading loyalist Billy Wright ('King Rat') has threatened to take action
against all "members and supporters of the pan-nationalist front" from all
parts of Ireland. 

In a statement to the 'Sunday Life' of June 1, the group warned that
visitors from the 26 Counties "should not assume that their safety is
guaranteed" in the Six Counties. "We reserve a first-strike option against
members and supporters of all constituents of the pan-nationalist front
whether within Ulster's boundaries or beyond." 

The LVF has been involved in a terror campaign of church burnings and
arson attacks on business premises belonging to both loyalists and
nationalists in an attempt to stir up sectarian turmoil and gain control
of the Six Counties. They are also responsible for the death of GAA figure
Sean Brown on May 13 last. 

The same death squad has threatened to attack prison officers from 9pm on
Saturday, June 6 if LVF prisoners which include King Rat are not
transferred from Maghaberry jail to Long Kesh. 

8. BRITISH POLICEMAN'S DEATH LINKED TO DUNLOY ORANGE BAN

A MEMBER of the British paramilitary police (RUC), Gregory Taylor (41),
suffered a gruesome death at the hands of an Orange mob in the early hours
of June 1. 

Taylor had been drinking in Kelly's Bar in Church Street, Ballymoney,
County Antrim when a crowd of about 100 loyalist flute bandsmen began
jeering and taunting him over the RUC ban on an Apprentice Boys march
through the nationalist village of Dunloy. 

Fearing for his safety he and a fellow officer tried to back away from the
crowd and contact their Crown Force allies on a mobile phone. But with no
available personnel on duty in the town, Taylor and his colleague left the
bar only to be cornered outside. 

"Why don't you clear off and do your drinking in Dunloy" was the overture
for an horrific death dance as a gang of a dozen loyalists seized Taylor
and knocked him to the ground, kicking, thumping and dancing on his head.
His colleague pretended to be a doctor, but one of the youths involved in
the attack shouted "he doesn't need a doctor" and he was held back by the
crowd. 

After chasing the second RUC member away the crowd returned to their prey
taking turns to kick the life out of RUC man Taylor. The Orange cleric and
UUP MP Rev Martin Smyth blamed the British police ban on the Dunloy Orange
march for Taylor's death. 

"I regret that there were men on the ground receiving the consequences of
the wrong decision by a senior police officer," he said. Clearly Orange
supremacists are severe on policemen who step out of line. 

9. ROISIN McALISKEY GRANTED BAIL

ROISIN McAliskey was granted bail in the London High Court on June 3. Her
lawyer Gareth Peirce said that she would be moved as soon as possible to a
secure National Health Service mother and baby unit. Bail was set at
#200,000 and Roisin will have to attend a further court hearing when she
is well enough to do so. Her week-old daughter, Loinnir, was born in
Whittington hospital in north London on May 26. 

That evening mother and baby were removed to Maudsley Psychiatric Hospital
in south London. Roisin's bail was conditional on her remaining there
pending the full hearing of the German extradition case, expected to take
place later this month. 

10. HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH HITS OUT AT BRITISH POLICE (RUC)

THE respected international body Human Rights Watch, founded out of the
'Helsinki Accord' 1978 and whose brief is to monitor human rights abuses
by states across the world, has condemned the British paramilitary police
(RUC) for their behaviour during the Drumcree stand-off in July 1996 and
their eagerness to use plastic bullets indiscriminately against
nationalists. 

The report 'To Serve Without Favour, Policing Human Rights and
Accountability', was published on May 28. 

The British police used excessive force against peaceful nationalist
demonstrators on the Garvaghy Road while failing to stop loyalists from
setting up illegal road blocks, which "resulted in the effective
submission of state authorities to the threat of unionist violence," the
report states. 

Human Rights Watch said it was also concerned with reports of collusion
between loyalist death squads and the British police and has called for an
inquiry into the death of nationalist solicitor Pat Finucane. The report
also calls for a more vigorous examination of pro-British death squad
killings and the banning of plastic bullets. 

Human Rights Watch also called for the closure of Castlereagh
interrogation centre and for the video and audio-taping of British police
interrogations in the Six Counties. 

In an earlier report, and alone of human rights bodies in Ireland, England
and the US, Human Rights Watch condemned the political test oath
introduced by Margaret Thatcher for 1989 local council elections in the
Six Counties. 

They described it as an "undemocratic" restriction on free and fair
elections. Republican Sinn Fein candidates, and three sitting
councillors among them, refused to take the oath and were not allowed to
stand for election. They were similarly barred from the Six-County
elections in 1994 and 1997. 

11. FAMILY TARGETED TWICE IN A WEEK

A NORTH Belfast nationalist family were quietly asleep in their Wyndham
Street home when a baseball bat-wielding thug smashed the living-room
window at 4am on Sunday orning, May 25. 

Mother-of-five, Bernadette Reilly told how she heard a loud bang and
rushed from her kitchen to find her living room window smashed and a
masked man fleeing with a baseball bat in his and. 

Just two days earlier, two of her children narrowly escaped injury when
they were showered with glass as their bedroom window was smashed. "I was
so afraid, that I just froze. After last week's attack, I couldn't sleep
and that was why I was still awake so late," Bernadette Reilly said. 

Speaking of her worry for her children she said "Lauren and Paul could
have been seriously hurt as the glass showered their quilt. I feel very
nervous and don't feel safe living here. I haven't been able to eat
anything since it happened." 

Bernadette Reilly has been living in the area for six years and claims
their was never any hassle until Drumcree last July. "Since then we have
had no peace," she said. Both her children suffer from nervous attacks.
"Lauren can't sleep anymore. She is nervous and is wetting the bed because
she is so scared. She keeps saying 'someone is coming to get me mammy' ". 

In Derry City's Waterside area a mother and her four-year-old daughter
were forced to flee their home on Monday, May 27. Sharon Ferguson and her
daughter Natasha were sitting in the house in the Clooney area when two
masked men armed with batons burst in shouting "get out, you Fenian
bastard". 

Her father and brother had been beaten in sectarian attacks and her
windows had been smashed on several occasions. Sharon Ferguson said her
greatest concern was for her daughter who keeps asking "Mammy, what's
Fenian scum?". 

12. ORANGE ORDER SPURNS HUME TALK

IT SEEMS there is no end to the spiral of Drumcree stand-offs as we
approach another Orange marching season. John Hume put on his usual
Euro-rose-tinted glasses on May 15 announcing he had achieved a
significant breakthrough following a meeting with Orange Grand Master
Robert Saulters. 

He promised to bring both the Garvaghy Residents and the Orange Order to a
meeting, chaired by himself. "It is a positive development and a definite
sign of progress," said Hume. 

However, on the following day, May 20, John Hume was somewhat perplexed.
"I am confused," said he to the fact that the Orange Fuhrer Robert
Saulters would not meet with Breandan Mac Cionnaith because of his prison
record. 

A statement from the Grand Lodge of Ireland said "We wish to pursue the
path of peace," but refused point blank to meet any residents who had a
record of militant nationalism, accusing the Provisionals of manipulating
residents groups. As Republican Sinn Fein has consistently claimed, an
accommodation with tyranny only entrenches that tyranny. 

13. PROVO LANDMINE SHENANIGANS IN BELFAST

THE Provisionals' military wing has admitted responsibility for placing a
van containing a defused landmine in the nationalist Poleglass estate of
West Belfast on Saturday, May 31. The 'Irish Times' of Monday, June 2
quoted "hardline republican sources" as remaining "sceptical that the
incident meant a return to violence by the Provisionals . . . It could
well be just another of these phoney operations to satisfy grassroots and
get militants off the leadership's back" the source is quoted as saying. 

This is a last puff of pretence from the Provisionals' military wing in a
phoney war as they cease to be an army and more and more take on the
mantle of a paramilitary police force keeping order in nationalist areas
at the behest of their new constitutional friends and attempt to stifle
Republican resistance. 

Meanwhile, on Saturday, May 31, 12 shots were fired from a high velocity
rifle at New Barnsley RUC barracks in Belfast at around 11pm. No claim of
responsibility was made afterwards. 

Meanwhile, a report in the 'Sunday Tribune' on June 1 stated that the
Provisionals' military organisation has "called a halt" to all punishment
beatings in the Six Counties. The report claims that the move was "an
effort to meet British government preconditions for [Provisional] Sinn
Fein's entry into all-party talks". The last such incident by the
Provisionals was three weeks ago ater the British secretary Marjorie
Mowlam had travelled to Derry for a meeting with SDLP leaderJohn Hume. 

This reported halt would be fulfilling one of the six Mitchell Principles
outlined by former US senator George Mitchell in his January 1996 report
on the surrender of arms by armed groups in the Six Counties as a
precondition for entry into the talks about a new "internal settlement"
under British rule. 

The article further suggests that the unofficial Provisional ceasefire
since April 10 could be extended through the Drumcree crisis until August
when it could be announced publicly on the third anniversary of their 1994
unconditional "complete cessation". It is possible then that the
Provisionals' political organisation could be allowed into the Stormont
Talks a month after this (around September 29) when they are due to resume
after the summer recess, the 'Tribune' states. 

On May 30 the head of the British police in Ireland, the RUC, said on BBC
Radio Ulster that a Provisional ceasefire is inevitable. RUC Chief
Constable Ronnie Flanagan said that he had no intelligence to say it was
"imminent". 

14. LEINSTER HOUSE PARTIES CONSENSUS ON BRITISH RULE: IGNORE IT

THE general election manifestos of the main 26-County political parties
reveal a consensus approach to the question of British rule in the Six
Counties -- ignore it! A perusal of the manifestos by the 'Irish Times'
(June 2) showed that both Fine Gael and the 26-County Labour Party have no
mention of the Six Counties in their manifestos, their policy commitments
for the duration of the next 26-County administration. 

Democratic Left have only a "fleeting reference" while Fianna Fail and the
Progressive Democrats limit themselves to the usual "aspirational" agenda
of the current process: "peace", an "acceptance of democratic principles"
(ie, acceptance of unionist veto in Ireland), "inclusive talks"(confined
to the Six Counties and to those who meet the requirements of the British
government) and "a North-South dimension" (as long as such inoffensive
cross-Border boards are agreeable to the unionists). 

Overall for the beleaguered nationalists of the Six Counties, Leinster
House political parties have remained true to form, offering only the
message that they must accept British rule and not disturb the cosy
partitionist set-up in the 26 Counties. 

Voting in the 26-County general election takes place on June 6 and the
result is expected to be close. 

15. BRITISH POLICE LAUNCH VICIOUS ATTACK ON NATIONALIST

A MAN who receives regular medical and psychiatric treatment because of
harassment from British Crown Forces was the victim of a sickening assault
as he was walking along Belfast's Falls Road on Sunday, May 25. 

Thomas Torney (34) said he was beckoned by a driver towards an RUC
armoured Land Rover after 2am. When he reached the vehicle a "cloud of
smoke exploded in his face" he said as a British paramilitary policeman
blasted him with a fire extinguisher at point blank range. 

"I was about five or six inches away. I didn't see it but I could hear the
sound of the spray. I was blinded, just completely blinded. I was stunned,
I didn't know what it was," Thomas Torney said. 

Torney suffers from arthritis and has had a number of nervous breakdowns
in the past six months. A woman who observed the assault said the Land
Rover then sped away leaving the father-of-five crumpled in agony on the
ground while his partner, Breige, rushed to his aid. "It frightened the
life out of us, I ran, I couldn't take anything like that. If it happened
to me I would've got a heart attack," said the witness who refused to be
named. 

Lawyer Kevin Winters referred to the attack as bizarre and amounting to
actual bodily harm. "We have several independent eye-witnesses and I think
there is sufficient evidence for a criminal investigation," Kevin Winters
said. 

Thomas Torney, a brother of slain INLA leader Hugh "Cue-ball" Torney,
insisted he had no military affiliations and the Crown Forces were well
aware of it. He has been tormented by Crown Forces for over seven years,
he said. "It's having a tremendous effect on my family. We're all near
breaking point. I took all my tablets in one go last week and ended up in
City Hospital . . . All we want is to be left alone. We don't do anything,
we don't go anywhere, we don't bother anyone. We just want to get
physically and mentally better." 


                               -end-

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