Posted by Jim on March 14, 2019
The Voice of the Irish in America
FREEDOM for ALL IRELAND
BULLETIN
March 2019
A chairde:
FFAI CHRISTMAS APPEAL APPLICANTS
1-Relatives for
Justice-supports the relatives of those killed or injured in the
conflict-fights for legacy justice-provides counseling and support services
with offices in Belfast and Dungannon-involved with campaigns like Ballymurphy
inquest-, headed by Mark Thompson, and Carmel Quinn is one of the trustees.
2-Pat Finucane Centre-Human
Rights Advocacy group-based in Derry named after slain civil rights lawyer Pat
Finucane- headed by Paul O’Connor, and connected to campaigns like Bloody
Sunday.
3-Holy Cross Ardoyne-headed
by Fr. Gary Donegan, is actually the Houben Centre dedicated to peace with
justice in the sectarian flashpoint of Ardoyne.
4- EALU-(means Escape in
Irish)is a center for Republican ex-political prisoners located in Dungannon,
East Tyrone, we visited their offices and they provide an array of services
including job training ,counseling for ex-prisoners and families, legacy
issues, education classes in Irish culture, language and history.
5-Greater New Lodge
Commemoration Committee-maintains a memorial garden and commemorations for IRA
Volunteers and Republicans who were killed by the British in the New Lodge area
of Belfast.
6-Conway Mill Trust-located
in Pittsburgh funds 8 community based organizations in the north including one
in the Garvaghy Road, four in Belfast and three in Derry.
7-Tyrone AOH- foster Irish
history ,culture, language and issues in
an area of Tyrone where all things Irish were suppressed-they hold a special
memorial for a local Hibernian killed in 1916,campaign against the
environmental destruction of the Mass Rock and Sperrins area and also assist on
legacy issues and other issues.
8-Cairde Strabane-serves
Republican ex-political prisoners in West Tyrone which provides job training,
education, counseling, and a historical museum.
9-St. Patrick Centre-cross
community charity and exhibition, and cultural centre about St. Patrick in
Downpatrick.
10-Duchas Oiriall-South
Armagh organization promoting and studying the unique culture and history of
South Armagh.
11-Bridges beyond
Boxing-cross-community boxing club based in Belfast.
12-Down Patriot
Graves-maintains graves, organizes commemorations and promotes history of Irish
patriots in South Down.
13-Green Cross-provides
money and help to the families who lost loved ones during the conflict.
14- Belfast National
Graves-to commemorate and maintain the graves of those who gave their lives for
Irish freedom.
15-Omagh
Basketball-cross-community basketball team in Omagh.
16-Omagh
Choir-cross-community choir
e
Posted by Jim on March 13, 2019
In a day of dramatic developments, the Westminster parliament has
rejected leaving the European Union without a deal under any
circumstances. It is a heavy defeat for British Prime Minister Theresa
May, just as her government sought to threaten Ireland and the EU with
that very scenario.
In a surprise move, the Commons voted 312 to 308 — a majority of just
four — in favour of an amendment blocking a no-deal Brexit. The vote
was later confirmed when the Tory government opposed its its own
amended motion with a three-line whip, and incredibly lost by an even
more emphatic 321 votes to 278.
There is still considerable uncertainty, however, as the Withdrawal
Agreement as currently negotiated was voted down yesterday by a large
majority of 149 MPs. That rejection came despite May securing a
last-minute dilution of the ‘backstop’, the policy intended to prevent
a remilitarisation of the border through Ireland. That is still opposed
by hardline Tories and the unionist DUP, on whom May’s government
depends for support.
MPs are expected to vote tomorrow to delay Brexit until mid-May,
although the situation at Westminster remain fluid and unpredictable,
and tonight’s votes are not considered to be legally binding on the
government.
Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the opposition British Labour party, said that
the parliament must now take full control of the Brexit process. He
said his party will work across the House of Commons to seek a
compromise solution, which would see Britain and the north of Ireland
remain in the EU Customs Union and without new controls at the border
through Ireland.
But if no cross-party deal can be reached, Labour has said a proposal
for a second Brexit referendum also remains a very strong possibility.
Tonight’s votes took place shortly after Britain threatened proposals
for heavy tariffs on trade with Ireland in a no-deal scenario. Business
leaders in the North said the plan would lead to economic chaos and
create a black-market economy around the Border.
The proposals claimed that there were would be no “new checks or
controls on goods at the land border”, including no customs
requirements for “nearly all goods”. This would leave the EU and Dublin
to take the wrath of border residents for imposing their border checks,
at least initially.
The European Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development,
Ireland’s Phil Hogan, condemned the “draconian regime” of tariffs,
which he said were intended to “frighten Ireland” into further
concessions ahead of a no-deal Brexit on March 29.
The Irish Farmers Association said the tariffs, if implemented, would
destroy Ireland’s beef industry and would decimate Ireland’s
agribusiness generally.
Incredibly, the plans also indicated Britain would treat trade across
the border substantially differently to trade across the Irish Sea,
despite this being a key factor in the DUP’s opposition to the
negotiated deal.
Hogan said the contradictions of the proposal “beggars belief”.
“We don’t even know if it’s legal, if it’s compatible with the World
Trade Organisation rules,” Mr Hogan said. “I think this is an
ill-thought out proposal to change the news cycle in London.”
Sinn Fein’s Matt Carthy described the proposal as the latest example of
‘game-playing’ on the part of Theresa May’s government.
Separately, British Minister Michael Gove threatened his government
would impose full Direct Rule on the north of Ireland in the event of a
no-deal Brexit. Sinn Fein said this showed the British government had
abandoned any pretence of commitment to the Good Friday Agreement.
Sinn Fein’s leader in the North, Michelle O’Neill, said the comments,
coming on the back of what she said were “blatant attempts” by Tories
to defend the “illegal actions” of British Crown Forces during the
conflict, were conclusive evidence that the London government had
“turned its back on the principles underpinning the Good Friday
Agreement”.
But the Tory strategy appears to have been compromised by the votes
tonight at Westminster.
Speaking from the US, where he has begun the traditional meetings and
engagements for St Patrick’s Day, the Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said
tonight the situation was “brighter”. But he was also highly critical
of the British approach.
“There is a supreme irony in that the proposals produced by the British
government today propose to treat Northern Ireland differently from the
United Kingdom when it comes to customs,” he said.
He also insisted the tariff proposals would not put his government
under pressure.
“I think that it’s evident from events across the water that its the UK
that’s under pressure. The UK government in particular is under
pressure with members of the governing party and many cabinet ministers
not voting with the government so I think they’re the ones that are
under pressure, not us.”
Posted by Jim on
In our motto, James F. McKay President AOH.
Subject: FFAI ACTION ALERT!
Support needed for House Resolution 1547
A brother Hibernian and former Irish Republican Prisoner needs our urgent help. Malachy McAllister is being threatened with deportation to Northern Ireland. Malachy has resided in New Jersey with his wife and three children for decades. He is a small business owner, dedicated Hibernian, active in many charitable efforts since he legally emigrated to our country in the 1990’s. He has come to this country legally and has complied with every required Immigration regulation asked of him for the past 30 years. This threat of deportation is not new. Because of Malachy’s Irish Republican activism, the British government has continually harassed Malachy and pressured the United States for his deportation several times since he came to this country. If the crown is able to have Malachy successfully deported, they will use this precedent as a tool to continue to harass and intimidate those who choose to stand up to their repressive regime. Malachy’s local US Representative Pascrell is submitting a Resolution to ensure Malachy is not deported. Contact your local congressman and urge them to support this bill allowing Brother McAllister to stay, safe, with his family in his adopted home. You can find your congressional representative and their contact information here by following the link and entering your address: https://www.callmycongress.com/ The bill is titled: H.R. 1547 A BILL For the relief of Malachy McAllister, Nicola McAllister, and Sean Ryan McAllister. HR 1547 was created by New Jersey Congressman Pascrell. A copy of the bill is attached for your reference. 2•HR 1547 IH1 alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence upon fil2ing an application for issuance of an immigrant visa under3 section 204 of such Act or for adjustment of status to4 lawful permanent resident.5 (b) ADJUSTMENT OF STATUS.—If Malachy McAllis6ter, Nicola McAllister, or Sean Ryan McAllister enters the7 United States before the filing deadline specified in sub8section (d), he or she shall be considered to have entered9 and remained lawfully and shall, if otherwise eligible, be10 eligible for adjustment of status under section 245 of the11 Immigration and Nationality Act as of the date of the en12actment of this Act.13 (c) WAIVER OF GROUNDS FOR REMOVAL OF, OR DE14NIAL OF ADMISSION TO, MALACHY MCALLISTER, NICOLA15 MCALLISTER, AND SEAN RYAN MCALLISTER.—16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding sections17 212(a) and 237(a) of the Immigration and Nation18ality Act, Malachy McAllister, Nicola McAllister, and19 Sean Ryan McAllister may not be removed from the20 United States, or denied admission to the United21 States, by reason of any act of any of such individ22uals that is a ground for removal or denial of admis23sion and is reflected in the records of the Depart24ment of Homeland Security, or the Visa Office ofVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:37 Mar 06, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1547.IH H1547 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS3•HR 1547 IH1 the Department of State, on the date of the enact2ment of this Act.3 (2) RESCISSION OF OUTSTANDING ORDER OF4 REMOVAL.—The Secretary of Homeland Security5 shall rescind any outstanding order of removal or de6portation, or any finding of deportability, that has7 been entered against Malachy McAllister, Nicola8 McAllister, or Sean Ryan McAllister by reason of9 any act described in paragraph (1).10 (d) DEADLINE FOR APPLICATION AND PAYMENT OF11 FEES.—Subsections (a) and (b) shall apply only if the ap12plication for issuance of an immigrant visa or the applica13tion for adjustment of status is filed with appropriate fees14 within 2 years after the date of the enactment of this Act.15 (e) REDUCTION OF IMMIGRANT VISA NUMBER.—16 Upon the granting of an immigrant visa or permanent res17idence to Malachy McAllister, Nicola McAllister, and Sean18 Ryan McAllister, the Secretary of State shall instruct the19 proper officer to reduce by 3, during the current or next20 following fiscal year, the total number of immigrant visas21 that are made available to natives of the country of the22 aliens’ birth under section 203(a) of the Immigration and23 Nationality Act or, if applicable, the total number of immi-VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:37 Mar 06, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1547.IH H1547 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS4•HR 1547 IH1 grant visas that are made available to natives of the coun2try of the aliens’ birth under section 202(e) of such Act.ÆVerDate Sep
Posted by Jim on
“Brian Feeney, columnist for the Irish News of Belfast, continues to speak truth to power, cutting through all the nonsense. As Blessed Martin Luther King, Jr. liked to quote, ‘the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice’ (Theodore Parker,1810-1860). That arc is now finally bending toward a United Ireland—without England’s damn Border, symbol of sectarianism, division, anti-Catholicism, and denial of national self-determination and democracy. The attached article is important reading for all Members of Congress committed to solidarity, justice, unity, and peace on the island nation of St. Patrick.A Happy St. Patrick’s Day to all.”—Fr. Sean Mc Manus A border poll is inevitable, it is just a question of when
Joe Brolly said the GAA’s ‘endorsement and support for a unity poll… is entirely legitimate, peaceable and reflective of our membership’s views.’… For the first time an Irish Times columnist, Una Mullally, has tried to raise consciousness in the Republic of why it’s an important matter for Northerners, a far cry from that newspaper’s usual wide of the mark editorial line on The North.Brian Feeney. Irish News. Belfast. Wednesday, March 13, 2019
Now we have three famous influential GAA figures, Peter Canavan, Jarlath Burns and Joe Brolly, supporting a Border Poll, or advocating that the GAA support Irish unity in a Border Poll….
Characteristically Brolly is the most explicit. He says The North is, ‘a dysfunctional entity, a pretense that cannot survive’. Who could disagree?
The support of these men is more evidence of the unstoppable momentum that has built up for a poll. For the first time an Irish Times columnist, Una Mullally, has tried to raise consciousness in the Republic of why it’s an important matter for Northerners, a far cry from that newspaper’s usual wide of the mark editorial line on The North.
It’s OK to say it out loud. A Border Poll is inevitable now. It’s only a question of when. There are other critical matters, of which more anon. The present stance of the two main parties in The South is hypocritical and intellectually dishonest. The short version of their response, ‘the time is not right’ is just unforgivably disingenuous. Both Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil know perfectly well that if our dim, witless, proconsul [Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Karen Bradley, MP] were to call next week for a Border Poll, it would be at least 2021 before it took place.
Let’s have a brief look at the political logistics. The two governments would have to agree on the question, or questions. Yes, a Border Poll isn’t just for The North; the south must vote too. Before any such polls, there would have to be agreement on the critical matters. Would it be a unitary state, a federal state, a confederal state? Would there be a single legislature or would The North have a legislature subordinate to the Oireachtas, as already provided for in Bunreacht na hÉireann? Depending on the answer, there might have to be a constitutional referendum in The South.
All that, and more, would need to have been agreed in a forum of some kind, a citizens assembly, all-party round table talks, some mechanism to answer questions about pensions, savings, health service, education, currency (well OK, the Euro, because we’d be in the EU again), transfer of financial obligations, and so on. Remember, the SNP produced a 602 page booklet laying out what an independent Scotland would look like. So the cant, ‘the time is not right’, is a disgraceful excuse for doing nothing.
The momentum for a Border Poll is not driven by any single motor. Yes, there is rapid demographic change, there is the catastrophe of Brexit, and there is the refusal of Unionism to operate equitably the place [the Six County State] they were given in 1921. They had a decade to behave decently: they blew it. Hence Brolly’s description of this place as dysfunctional and a pretense.
Now here are a few points you mightn’t have thought of. First, as soon as a proconsul announces a border poll, the legitimacy of The North’s existence is gone. It means the British believe most people here want out of the UK. Secondly, if Unionists had any wit, which they haven’t, they would opt for a unitary state. Here’s why. They are a community in retreat. Their current majority is like snow on a pitched roof. They are a diminishing minority in Ireland.
They would be nuts to opt to keep a Stormont assembly in which they would be an ever diminishing minority, entering Stormont at a roundabout with a statue of Bobby Sands on the pedestal. Far preferable to be constantly in government in a unitary state where they would always constitute a sufficiently large group to be a junior partner in coalition, guaranteed by The South’s electoral system. Who remembers the last single party government?
There is of course the basic democratic reason for a poll. That wouldn’t appeal to Unionists, but unification is the solution which avoids the backstop and allows the British to leave the EU and give everyone else in Europe peace and quiet. It is provided for in the Good Friday Agreement and allows the will of the majority North and South to prevail.
All we need now is for an Irish government to start thinking about it before its necessity hits them in the face after an election here.
Posted by Jim on March 10, 2019
A decision on Bloody Sunday prosecutions is due to be issued on
Thursday, and the day will mark a key moment in a 47-year-old campaign
for justice.
A Public Prosecutions Service team has been assessing evidence against
17 Parachute Regiment soldiers who were involved in the Bloody Sunday
massacre, in which fourteen civilians were killed by British
Paratroopers, and a further 22 were injured.
Relatives of Bloody Sunday victims have said the passage of time cannot
be used as an excuse to deny justice for their loved ones.
Kate Nash’s brother William was shot dead on January 30, 1972 and her
father Alex was seriously wounded attempting to come to his son’s aid.
Speaking to Derry Now, she rejected a campaign by Tories and unionists
to ensure the perpetrators are protected from the courts
“There’s absolutely no reason why these people should not be
prosecuted,” she said.
“I mean, there have been various people that we’ve heard like Boris
Johnson that these soldiers should not be prosecuted because of their
age.
“They are asking ‘is this how we treat our national heroes?’ Well, I can
tell you should treat national heroes very well, but these guys are not
heroes. They committed the atrocity on Bloody Sunday.
“My only complaint about the whole thing is how long it took. It should
never have taken all this time. We are talking about almost
half-a-century. It seems to have gone in the blink of an eye.
“Also, they should be joined in the dock by the officers who were they.
People talk about the soldiers having been ordered in as some sort of
excuse not to prosecute them, but as ordinary soldiers they are still
responsible for their actions. However, the fact of the matter is that
their officers left these soldiers by themselves. They were described as
‘bad apples’. But, of course we know that that’s the establishment
looking after itself. Is that fair?
“I think the PPS should be questioned on theft that squaddies are being
charged but their officers are not with them.
“But, that’s not the conclusions that Saville came to. He concluded that
the atrocity was carried out by nine ‘bad apples’. Well, I don’t agree
with that because they’ve spent a long, long time in their cover up.
“We’ve had the Widgery whitewash and then Saville and the whole truth
still didn’t come out there either. Look at the Ballymurphy case, and
thankfully after all these years they have an inquest. But during
Saville our legal teams did refer to Ballymurphy which happened only a
few months before Bloody Sunday, but Lord Saville wouldn’t touch that.
“What he did touch on however was looking into the background relatives
of some of the witnesses and whether or not they were republicans. So,
why show interest in that? To me that seemed like an information
gathering operation instead of concentrating on the Ballymurphy case
which had more relevance.”
The justice campaigner also said that even with regard to the arrests of
soldiers during the PSNI investigation, the system was skewed in favour
of the former soldiers.
In 2015, the soldier referred to be the cipher Lance Corporal J was
arrested. It is believed he was the man responsible for wounding Kate’s
father Alex.
Kate continued: “I am told that when Soldier J was arrested he was
terribly shocked. What we learned from that was that his family were
made aware that he was involved in Bloody Sunday and he was ashamed. So,
if you like, he didn’t want that known to his family.
“My question is then, why would heroes be hiding their actions in the
past?
“That perception has always been out there that all Catholics were
republicans when they are not. We know that there were deals done with
the IRA and the British Government over the ‘On The Run Letters’ (OTR).
“Families then have had to answer this, and I’ve had to answer it myself
sometimes, and I’ve had to say what have OTR letters got to do with
innocent people being murdered?
“It has nothing to do with it. Perhaps that was done to ensure that
soldiers wouldn’t be prosecuted because they have tried every dirty move
in the book.
“This has created stories about hounding soldiers-we haven’t hounded
soldiers. We have been accused of seeking vengeance for years. Never-we
simply want the same thing for my brother that everybody else would
expect in law.
“We want whoever killed him to be made responsible. But, there are
officers thereto. There are more questions there and plenty more to be
answered.
“They got medals. They were lauded for what they did on Bloody Sunday.
An officer received an OBE. We don’t even know if he’s one of the
soldiers that may be prosecuted.”
The former British Army officer Kate Nash referred to is Derek Wilford
who received his award in the New Year’s honours list in January, 1973
almost exactly a year after Bloody Sunday.
She said: “I applied a few years ago to the Forfeiture Committee in
England to have those medals returned. What kind of an insult is that to
innocent victims who were murdered that someone got a medal for killing
them? What was brave about that? What was heroic about that?”