Posted by Jim on November 29, 2016
John Sweeney, AFL-CIO President Emeritus and Elizabeth Powell, Secretary-Treasurer, APWU
JOHN SWEENEY ELIZABETH POWELL
CAPITOL HILL. Tuesday, November 29, 2016ââ The recipients of the 2016 World Peace Prize, âRoving Ambassadors for Peaceâ have been announced.
The Prize will go to two leading members of the American Labor Movement: AFL-CIO President Emeritus Mr. John Sweeney and Ms. Elizabeth Powell, Secretary-Treasurer, American Postal Workers Union (APWU).
Fr. Sean Mc Manus â President of the Capitol Hill-based Irish National Caucus and Chief Judge of the World Peace Prize Awarding Council (WPPAC)â said: âI have the honor of being the Chief Judge of the World Peace Prize Awarding Council (headquartered in Seoul, South Korea), and was pleased to be able to propose both John and Elizabeth for the Award on the basis that if one works in solidarity for justice for working men and women, one is, indeed, working for peace. I was delighted that our 14-member panel of international and interfaith judges unanimously agreed. We strongly believe that the Labor Movement should be recognized as powerfully contributing to world peaceâbased on equality and justice. That is, also, why the 2015 World Peace Prize âTop Award was presented to AFL-CIO President Trumka. The âRoving Ambassador for Peaceâ is the second-tier Award.â
The presentation of the âRoving Ambassador for Peaceâ award will take place on Tuesday, February 14, 2017 at 2:30 -4:30 PM at the AFL-CIO Headquarters, 815 16th St., N.W., Washington D.C. 20006.
Fr. Mc Manus explained: âThe World Peace Prize was initiated in Seoul, South Korea in 1989 by the
visionary Reverend Dr. Han Min Su, a Presbyterian Minister who has dedicated his life to promoting world peace by bringing together East and West and representatives of all the major world religions: Judaism, lslam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Catholicism, Protestantism, Russian Orthodox and Zoroastrianism.
Fr. Mc Manus concluded: âJohn Sweeney personifies the strong and proud record of Irish-Americans in the history of the Labor Movementâs struggle for justice. Elizabeth Powell, a strong and proud African- American, is the first woman to hold the position of Secretary-Treasurer in the APWU. She personifies the Dream of Martin Luther King Jr. as she blazes the trail for justice, equality and peace, thereby building up the âBeloved Communityââ the term Dr. King made famous.â
Posted by Jim on November 28, 2016
After five deaths at the jail in the past year, prisons campaigner
Alec McCrory raises concerns about the situation in Maghaberry.
The problems in Maghaberry are systemic ones. Recent suicides are not
explained simply by neglect or failure to follow guidelines for the
management of vulnerable prisoners. No, it goes much deeper into the
system where there is a lack of empathy and basic respect for prisoners.
Screws are not social workers, fair enough, yet they are required to
work with people who suffer from mental health problems and serious
addictions. Also, the level of educational attainment amongst prisoners
is frighteningly low and is reflected in their inability to articulate
concerns and grievance.
The relationship between staff and prisoners is based on a power
differential. This unequal relationship is not conducive to building
understanding and trust between human beings. Every conceivable social
prejudice towards prisoners is present in the general workforce in
Maghaberry; prisoners are scum and are unworthy of proper treatment. A
basic training regime for new recruits does nothing to alter these
prejudices at the individual or collective level.
For example, I was up visiting a friend today and nothing seems to have
changed regarding the attitude of some staff members. A female screw
with a well earned reputation for being a bigot was her usual abrasive
self. Although this was a minor issue it is reflective of the hostility
that exists within that institution which is responsible for many of the
problems we see today. I would not trust that woman with the care of a
dog to say nothing of prisoners for whom she has the upmost disdain.
During the exchange I noticed she was not displaying an identification
number on her uniform. When I challenged her on this she said it was
none of my business and that she was not answerable to the likes of me.
I reminded her that a court ruling last year required all members of
staff to wear numbers for identification purposes and that the
compliance date was long past: to which she merely shrugged her
shoulders. Why an ignoramus such as this is allowed to engage with the
public is typical of the blase attitude of those responsible for
managing the prison.
Finally, Maghaberry requires a complete overhaul at every level of the
system. This will only happen when the political parties at Stormont
begin to take the matter seriously. Successive reports have damned the
prison as being totally unfit for purpose. As prisons are now a devolved
matter, the responsibility for the present crisis sits squarely on the
shoulders of the local parties; the major portion resting with the
devilish DUP/Sinn Fein coalition. How many more deaths must there be,
how many more damming reports, how many more protests before this
nightmare institution is put to rights?
Posted by Jim on
The family of a US citizen killed by the RUC (now PSNI) police in 1997
have accused those involved of being part of a “conspiracy of silence”.
Police Ombudsman Michael Maguire this week confirmed an inquest finding
that it was “highly probable” that one or more RUC members were
responsible for the injuries which contributed to John Hemsworth’s
death.
Mr Hemsworth was left with a broken jaw and bruising to his neck and
back following the assault. He suffered a stroke six months later and
died on New Year’s Day 1998, at the age of 39.
The attack happened during a night of rioting in west Belfast linked to
the Drumcree dispute in Portadown, where the RUC attempted to force a
sectarian Orange Order parade down the nationalist Garvaghy Road.
Members of the dead man’s family pursued the case for 18u years despite
being repeatedly fobbed off by the Six County authorities. The resulting
inquest and an investigation by the Police Ombudsman’s office confirmed
John Hemsworth was in the same location as the PSNI members at the time
of the fatal assault.
Mr Hemsworth’s daughter Danielle welcomed the Police Ombudsman’s
findings but said they were “deeply upset and concerned” that those
responsible continue to evade accountability and justice.
“At the very minimum if these serving officers cannot recall the assault
on my daddy, despite numerous investigations and an inquest, then are
they really fit to serve as police officers?”, she said.
Her mother Collette Hemsworth said it had been an “emotionally
exhausting journey in establishing the truth and the facts surrounding
John’s death”.
“I was robbed of my loving husband and my daughter of her devoted
father,” she said.
“Nothing can ever replace that aching gap in our lives. The cherished
memories we have of John remain with us every single day. He was a
wonderful human being who would not have harmed a living soul and yet he
was so cruelly set upon.”
The victim’s brother Paul Hemsworth said his father died without seeing
the completed report.
“The RUC officers’ lack of co-operation since this time has led to an
18-year delay,” he said. “My brother was in the wrong place at the wrong
time. Let this be on the RUC officers’ conscience.”
Relatives for Justice director Mark Thompson said it was astonishing
that none of the PSNI men interviewed could recall the incident. “We
find this situation beyond incredible,” he said.
Posted by Jim on November 23, 2016
Claire Simpson.Irish News (Belfast). Wednesday, November 23, 2016
THE Orange Order has hit out at the reappointment of the existing Parades Commissioners, saying the Secretary of State’s decision “amounts to nothing more than rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic”.
James Brokenshire announced on Monday that he has reappointed the five commissioners – Anne Henderson, Sarah Havlin, Paul Hutchinson, Colin Kennedy and Geraldine McGahey – for up to three years, subject to review in a year’s time.
He said he would also phase in “staggered appointments” to the commission over the next three years.
However, the Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland said it was frustrated by the move and said new parading legislation was needed.
“While the commissioners have over the years made some illogical, stupid and unjust decisions, including rewarding dissident violence; their reappointment amounts to nothing more than rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic,” it said.
“Mr Brokenshire’s statement offers no hope that the current debacle will be replaced with fair and equitable legislation. It ignores the wishes of the leadership of unionism, all of whom have stated that the current legislation is not fit for purpose, underscoring that politics has failed the Orange family in respect of creating a level playing field for parading.”
The Grand Lodge said recent resolutions to contentious parades, including in Ardoyne in north Belfast, “were in spite of the Parades Commission, not because of them”.
“Indeed, their existence hindered solutions,” it said.
TUV leader Jim Allister said he was “disappointed” by the reappointments and added that laws around parades need to change.
“Fundamental legislative change is imperative to establish a presumption in favour of traditional routes and parades on main arterial routes, as they are a shared space,” he said.
Posted by Jim on
John Manley. Irish News (Belfast). Tuesday, November 22, 2016
THE secretary of state has called on the Stormont executive to “play their part” in ensuring any process for dealing with the past is a success.
Nationalists have blamed the British government’s ‘national security veto’ for stalling progress, while disagreement between the DUP and Sinn Féin is thought to be holding up funding for historical inquests.
Writing in The Irish News today, James Brokenshire, pictured, says that since he took office in July many victims and survivors have voiced their disappointment and occasional anger at the failure to agree on a process for dealing with the past.
He says the British government is committed to implementing the Stormont House Agreement’s “balanced and proportionate structures” for dealing with legacy issues and that everyone in the north has a stake in making the new institutions work.
The secretary of state also signals the likelihood of a forthcoming public consultation but says the success or failure of the process does rest solely with the British government.
“It will not hinge on a national security ‘veto’ – that simplistic characterisation fails to recognise that the UK government has agreed to disclose all relevant material it holds to the Historical Investigation Unit, with appropriate, independent oversight of its onward transmission to ensure lives are protected today,” he writes.
Mr Brokenshire’s comments come against the background of a freshly published report on legacy by UN Special Rapporteur Pablo de Greiff which concluded that national security concerns cannot override the state’s obligations to provide information about the past.
The SDLP’s Alex Attwood described the secretary of state’s argument on national security as “disingenuous”.
“The national security veto is about London blocking disclosure on anything they think they don’t want to put into the public domain,” he said.
“To portray it otherwise dowses not build confidence this late in the conversation.”