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Posted by Jim on
Amnesty International UK
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Amnesty responds to accusations from NIRPOA
Responding to comments made by the Northern Ireland Retired Police Officers’ Association, Kate Allen, Director of Amnesty International UK, said:
“The families of the Loughinisland victims have yet to see the killers of their loved ones held to account. Amnesty International UK will continue to support them and other families’ campaigns for truth and justice. The trauma and the pain they have suffered is unacceptable, and nothing should be allowed to distract from that.
“Amnesty International UK fully supports the remarks made by Patrick Corrigan, our Northern Ireland Programme Director, in relation to the police investigation into journalists Trevor Birney and Barry McCaffrey.
“The report by the Police Ombudsman into the Loughinisland massacre noted that there was, undeniably, significant wrongdoing by the RUC following the murder of six innocent men by the UVF in 1994.
“The report states: “the protection of informants through both wilful acts and the passive ‘turning a blind eye’; catastrophic failures in the police investigation; and destruction of exhibits and documents”, all of which helped the killers to evade justice.
“We only received the letter this morning, and are concerned that the NIRPOA appear to have prioritised giving it to local media. This is nothing more than a PR stunt by the NIRPOA.”
Posted by Jim on June 10, 2019
| Albany Lobby Day Agenda |
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UFA Albany Lobby Day will be Wednesday, June 12, 2019. The UFA is providing bus transportation to and from Albany. The buses will leave their designated locations at 7:00 AM, and depart from Albany by 3:00 PM. The following locations have been designated for bus pickup & drop-off: QUEENS: Cunningham Park Parking Lot, located at 196th Place and Union Turnpike, 2 buses Engine 259/Ladder 128, 33-51 Greenpoint Avenue, 1 bus MANHATTAN: Randall’s Island, 1 bus STATEN ISLAND: Staten Island Mall Sears Wing, located at 283 Platinum Avenue in SI, 1 bus BRONX: Fordham University (Main Parking Lot), 1 bus Once in Albany, there will be a photo-op press event with legislators on the Capitol Steps, facing Washington Park (between Washington & State Streets, facing Swan Street) at 11:00 AM. We want to remind members to give themselves extra time to account for going through security in and around the Capital. Any delegates that arrive early on Wednesday morning (9:30-10:00 AM) can contact Vice President LeRoy McGinnis at 646-217-1599. Members should wear Class A’s (dress cap optional). We will be asking small groups of about 12-20 members to follow the UFA Executive Board to meetings with Leaders at 12:15 PM in LOB Room 839 with Assemblyman Peter Abbate; and at 1:00 PM in CAP Room 349 (near Assembly Chambers) with Speaker Carl Heastie. Additional photo ops will take place. Members should meet with their legislators between 12:15 – 3:00 PM. Members should schedule to meet their home legislator or make a group meeting with the legislator who represents your firehouse neighborhood. If neither house is in session, members can request to meet their legislator “off the floor” by speaking to SGT/ARMS who stand outside both the Assembly and Senate chambers. To find your Senator, go to www.nysenate.gov. Click the link “Find Your Senator.” To find your Assembly-member, go to www.assembly.state.ny.us and go to “Who is my assembly member?” To find your firehouse’s representatives and their contact information, click the corresponding link to your borough: BRONX BROOKLYN MANHATTAN QUEENS STATEN ISLAND Click on the bill to read about the primary legislation supported by the UFA: Cancer Look Back Bill Tier 2 Equalization Bill Tier 3 Social Security Offset Widows COLA Bill |
Posted by Jim on
DO NOT MISS THIS FILM ABOUT THE 1971 BALLYMURPHY MASSACRE
Monday, June 10, 2019 – 6:00 PM. Landmark’s E Street Cinema, 555 11th Street NW. Washington, DC 20004
CAPITOL HILL. Tuesday, June 4, 2019— Irish-Americans—and all Americans of goodwill in the greater Washington area—should not miss this hugely important film The Ballymurphy Precedent: about the Ballymurphy Massacre, when the British Army slaughtered 10 innocent civilians, including a mother of eight and the local Catholic priest, over a 3-day period in Belfast in August 1971… It was a brutal, calculated act of State-terrorism, sadly setting the course for the next 30 years.Please see this link sent to me by the film’s esteemed Director,Callum Macrae http://pulitzercenter.org/event/ballymurphy-precedent-us-premierePlease rally to the cause of justice, show solidarity, and come to this film, described by Total Film as:“An astonishing documentary ….urgent, angry and moral, this is top tier film-making.” The Guardian calls it “Impressive..shocking….a desperately sad film”. Director Macrae looks forward to seeing us all at his film.Fr. Sean McManus
Posted by Jim on June 8, 2019
Former Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams has called for greater planning and an accommodation with unionists ahead of a referendum on Irish unity which he says he is confident will take place. Mr Adams said he believes a border poll will be held in the future, and called on the Dublin government to open up a consultation on unification.
“The debate about the future, about a new Ireland and the demand for a referendum on unity is growing,” he said. “Demographic and political changes in northern society are also playing an important role in encouraging this debate”.
Mr Adams pointed to recent elections in which the overall share of the vote for the main unionist parties fell significantly, falling by a fifth in the European elections. While the overall nationalist vote also fell slightly, it is still believed that nationalists will form the dominant community in future years.
The elections also showed increased support for Alliance, a ‘non-sectarian’ unionist party who ‘want Northern Ireland to work’, despite the sectarian nature of the statelet. The results show that Alliance has strengthened its claim to hold the balance of power within the Six County area.
Mr Adams said a plan now needs to be made to win the support of unionists for reunification in a Six County vote.
“This needs [to be] planned now. Not after the referendum. That is the one big lesson of Brexit. A referendum without a plan is stupid. So a referendum on unity must be set in a thoughtful inclusive process which sets out a programme of sustainable options, including phases of transition,” he wrote.
“What accommodations are needed to persuade political unionism that a united Ireland can work for it?”
He said the key to this to this is the need for “an agreed shared Ireland”.
“What happens to the political institutions established by the Good Friday agreement?” he asked.
“Winning support for a united Ireland is not just about persuading unionists although that is crucial. Everyone needs to be convinced of the advantages of unity – personal, economic, wages, health provision, environmental, cultural, peace, prosperity.”
He said there was a “constitutional imperative” to achieve a united Ireland. “There will be a referendum on Irish unity. I am confident of this. Winning that referendum is the biggest single challenge facing united Irelanders.”
Sinn Féin has come in for criticism over the past year for some vacillation and hand-wringing on a referendum, unlike the more forthright and determined approach to independence in Scotland. Party leader Mary Lou McDonald was forced to row back on a statement in August that a border poll should not take place in the context of Brexit and only with “maximum consent” from unionists. There was speculation that Mr Adams’s latest statement was deliberately held back to avoid impacting on the recent elections.
‘CONVERSATION’
SDLP leader Colum Eastwood took credit for the statement.
“I’m glad to hear that Sinn Féin is moving to the position that I have been outlining for some time. Their initial reaction to my suggestion that calling for a border poll with no plan or idea on how it would be delivered would be madness was entirely negative,” he said.
“Let the conversation that we’re about to have be based on what’s best for people. Let it be a cross-community conversation on a vision for the future that reflects where we are and where we want to be. That’s the challenge that lies ahead.”
Aontú Leader Peadar Tóibín said that it is vital that a ‘New Ireland Forum on Irish Unity’ is established. He called for practical planning to begin to map out a process of convergence, north and south.
“The Fine Gael government is out of step with the majority view in Ireland and is doomed to repeat the catastrophic mistakes of the Tories in London by refusing to plan for the inevitable,” he said.
Meanwhile, talks about restoring power-sharing have continued at Stormont. Speaking after meeting the two governments and party leaders, Sinn Féin’s Mary Lou McDonald called for a “radical step change” to resolve outstanding issues before the anti-Catholic marching season gets fully underway.
“An intensive, focussed and time-limited negotiation must now begin,” Ms McDonald said. “We have an opportunity but time is short. The next week is critical.
“People want an Executive and an Assembly that is sustainable, rights-based and which serves every citizen. That is a test of leadership. That is a test of political will. That’s what we want to achieve.”