Posted by Jim on June 21, 2018
RADIO FREE EIREANN will broadcast this Saturday July 21st on WBAI Radio 99.5FM or WBAI.ORG at 12 noon-1pm New York time or 5pm-6pm in Ireland or anytime after the program on WBAI.ORG – Archives (scroll back to 12 noon Saturday)
Radio Free Eireann, will interview JOE BARR of Saoradh in Derry about the recent upsurge in violence in Derry and Belfast , Saoradh’s condemnation of last week’s attacks on the homes of former Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams and party member Bobby Storey or of any Republicans, and his party’s reaction to requests for dialogue.
On the 215th anniversary, of Robert Emmet’s 1803 rebellion,JAMES MCGLASHIN will talk about a re-dedication of the Emmet family graves on Sunday July 22nd at 3pm in Beechwoods Cemetery New Rochelle,the legacy of Robert Emmet and of the Emmet family in Ireland and America.
John McDonagh and Martin Galvin co-host.
Posted by Jim on June 20, 2018
CAPITOL HILL. Tuesday, June 19, 2018——The leader of the 12.5 million Labor coalition was awarded a top peace prize today in Washington, DC.
The Award, World Peace Prize for Labor Leadership, was presented on Tuesday to the president of the massive AFL-CIO, Richard L. Trumka at his national headquarters in Washington, DC.
President Trumka is the inaugural recipient of this new Award established on February 4, 2018, by the World Peace Prize Awarding Council, a 14-member panel of international and interfaith judges, headquartered in Seoul, South Korea. Its Washington, DC office is led by Fr. Sean
Mc Manus, Chief Judge, and Barbara Flaherty, Judge and Corporate Manager—both also lead the Irish National Caucus.
The Founder/Leader of the World Peace Prize, Presbyterian Minister, Rev. Dr. Han Min Su explained: “We are pleased that our International and Interfaith Board has unanimously agreed to endorse the proposal of our Washington Office to institute the World Peace Prize for Labor Leadership. We see the worldwide Labor/Union Movement as one of the major pillars of world peace because we deeply believe that if you want peace, you must strive for justice—including the justice of a living wage for working men and women.”
The award ceremony in the AFL-CIO headquarters was chaired by Barbara Flaherty.
Derek Warfield and The Young Wolfe Tones opened the event with two Labor songs, Joe Hill and James Connolly.
The address on behalf of the World Peace Prize Awarding Council was given by Fr. McManus,who said:”When Barbara Flaherty and I joined the Board in 2013, we wanted to make a signature contribution: to prominently, firmly, front and center, establish that peace is the fruit of justice— that working for peace means working for social justice. Without justice, there is no love. You cannot love God or your neighbor without justice.
Let me share with you three quotes on social justice, which some of you will be familiar with:
1.The first is from the American Protestant Biblical scholar, Walter Brueggemann: ” In Biblical faith, the doing of justice is the primary expectation of God.”… “In Biblical faith, the doing of justice is the primary expectation of God.”
2. The second is from the Prophet Micah : ” This is what God asks of you: only this, to do justice,
to love mercy,
and to walk humbly with your God.”
3.The third is by the Bishops of the Catholic Church meeting in Rome in 1971 :
” … Action on behalf of justice [is] a constitutive dimension of the preaching of the Gospel…” The word constitutive means : that without which someting will not stand… So, without justice the Gospel of Jesus Christ does not stand… Whithout justice, the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the New Testament DO NOT STAND.
Now can anything be more basic and clear than these three quotes? All religions can agree with those three quotes: Judaism, Christianity, Islam, etc. … Not only that, but people of no faith, and no religion, can agree with these three quotes. All people of good will, all fair- minded people, recognize that without justice, civilized society cannot stand.
People of faith can be certain that working for justice is doing God’s work on earth. And people of no faith can be certain that working for justice is doing the decent and loving thing. And all of us can be certain that anything that does injustice —anything that marginalizes, demeans, devalues and disrespects human beings— cannot be God’s work, or cannot be the decent and loving thing to do
… If one looks around America for men and women who are spending their entire lives working for social justice—and justice for working men and women— what group comes to mind immediately? Yes, indeed, the American Labor Movement… And that is why President Trumka was given the World Peace Prize in 2016….And why he is now also receiving the brand-new Prize: the World Peace Prize for Labor Leadership.
Our World Peace Prizes place social justice front and center.Our Peace Prizes encourages members of the Labor Movement to positively think of themselves as not just fighters for justice but as peace builders as well. Our World Peace Prize for Labor Leadership, in particular, makes the connection between Labor and peace. I believe this gives an important dimension to Labor’s self-understanding, self-image and self-identity. And, President Trumka, and the other Labor leaders here, I urge you to claim this identity, embrace it, and promote it among the AFL-CIO. It is a powerful way to advance Labor and promote solidarity.”
When he accepted the World Peace Prize for Labor Leadership, President Trumka greatly welcomed Fr. McManus’ strong linkage of justice and peace and expressed deep appreciation for the Award. He promised the assembled guests that he and his AFL-CIO would continue the struggle for justice and peace, nationally and globally—needed now, as much as ever before.
Dr.Han, who was unable to attend, in his message from Seoul, said:”I want to give my personal and corporate congratulations to President Trumka for being the inaugural and most worthy recipient of the World Peace Prize for Labor leadership. There is no better choice for this award. Fr. McManus and Barbara Flaherty have told me very many wonderful things about His Honor, President Trumka. So, I know that in honoring him, he in turn, honors us by accepting our World Peace Prize for Labor Leadership.”
Posted by Jim on June 19, 2018
A British soldier who shot dead a man as he walked through a British
Army checkpoint in the North of Ireland is to face prosecution.
Aidan McAnespie was aged 23 when he killed at the border in Aughnacloy,
County Tyrone, in February 1988 as he walked towards a Gaelic football
match.
But today, the Public Prosecution Service (PPS) has announced its
intention to prosecute a 48-year-old former soldier for gross negligence
manslaughter.
Mr McAnespie was on his way to a local GAA club when he was shot with a
machine gun by the soldier. He had been hounded and harrassed by the
Crown Forces since 1981 and right up until the morning of his death,
when he and his mother Elizabeth were stopped and detained at Aughnacloy
UDR base for two hours on their way back from the wake of a relative.
He had been the target of systematic harrassment since the age of 17. On
the day of his death, his movements would have been routinely noted by
the Crown forces as he passed through the checkpoint. He was killed by a
single bullet.
The soldier claimed his hands were wet and his finger slipped on the
trigger of his heavy military weapon and he was initially charged with
manslaughter only for the charge to later be dropped.
He was later fined for negligently firing his weapon.
The McAnespie family have welcomed the historic decision to prosecute a
soldier. His brother Vincent said the family had faced a “brick wall” in
their 30-year campaign.
“It’s truth and justice we want to get,” he said.
“He was just an ordinary local lad from the community that just wanted
to go about his ordinary everyday life.”
Cousin Brian Gormley said relatives were relieved the circumstances of
the case were going to be examined in a court of law.
“The opportunity of actually getting to the truth of what happened in
this case is still very much alive and we as a family are committed to
pursuing that until we get to the very bottom of what happened that
day,” he said. “This is one further step.”
Michelle Gildernew, Sinn Fein MP for Fermanagh South Tyrone told the
Telegraph: “We have consistently called for transparency in all cases
for families to get the truth they deserve. Every family has the right
to know what happened to their loved ones”.
“We’re not the only ones who have suffered,” she said, “but we’re not
the only ones to have inflicted suffering”.
“The only people not to be held to account were those involved in state
killings.”
Posted by Jim on
Sinn Fein’s internal difficulties have worsened following a combative
display by the party leadership at a weekend conference saw the party
adopt a hardline pro-abortion stance, including a ban on dissent on the
issue by its elected representatives.
Over the past 48 hours, a number of party members have publicly
resigned from the party, the most high profile of whom to date is
Offaly TD Carol Nolan. Ms Nolan said this afternoon that she feels she
“no longer has a place” in a party which she said “doesn’t recognise or
show genuine respect for the pro-life views of members”.
Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald described Ms Nolan’s decision to
resign as “disappointing but not surprising.”
At the weekend’s annual Ard Fheis [conference], the party leadership
headed by Ms McDonald and deputy Michelle O’Neill pivoted the party to
a more fiscally conservative and socially liberal agenda. The party has
made clear it hopes the change will make it easier to enter into a
Dublin government, most likely in coalition with Fine Gael.
The conference comes weeks after a bruising referendum campaign in the
26 Counties saw a constitutional ban on abortion lifted by a margin of
2-1. Legislation to introduce abortion on request in the first three
months of pregnancy is being prepared by the Fine Gael-led minority
government, and still faces a tricky passage through the Dublin
parliament.
Sinn Fein’s recent transition to a pro-choice stance has been deeply
polarising. Although it has been at pains to point to large numbers of
new members, including many young women, hundreds of older and more
traditionally-minded members stayed away from the party conference this
year, while others engaged in a protest outside the venue.
Inside, the party leadership drove home the message that dissent could
not be tolerated. There was no surprise, therefore, when Ms Nolan, one
of the party’s most well known pro-life campaigners, confirmed her
resignation his afternoon. She had been suspended from the party
earlier this summer following a disagreement over the 8th amendment
referendum.
Ms Nolan, who won a breakthrough Sinn Fein seat in the Offaly-North
Tipperary constituency in 2016, said she was disappointed that the
party’s delegates voted against the motion to allow members to have a
conscience vote on the issue of abortion.
“I want to thank all of the 24 cumainn who put forward motions on the
need for a conscience vote on the abortion issue,” she said.
“I feel that it is unethical to force TDs who are strongly opposed to
abortion to vote against their conscience. Every TD in Leinster House
is directly responsible for the laws that they enact, if a TD votes for
abortion they are responsible for all abortions that happen in this
state.
“I do not want to have any hand, act or part in bringing about the end
to the life of an unborn child, the most vulnerable in our society.”
Speaking in response, Ms McDonald said she had regretted the
resignation.
“Sinn Fein made every effort to give its members space and latitude to
articulate a position contrary to the party’s position in the recent
referendum campaign on Repeal of the 8th Amendment,” she said.
“The people have spoken on this issue. The Sinn Fein Ard Fheis has
democratically agreed the party’s position to support the forthcoming
leglislation.”
Posted by Jim on
19 Jun 2018 01:00 AM PDT
In a letter published in the Irish News earlier this month Martin Galvin challenges the British state’s Northern Secretary.
In her Forward to the Consultation Paper, British colonial secretary Karen Bradley wrote legacy mechanisms “must seek to meet the needs of victims” and “must be fully consistent with the rule of law”. She then saluted British crown forces, pledging to “reject any attempts to rewrite the history of the past” or “displace responsibility from the people who perpetrated acts of terrorism.” What happens when such lofty aspirations collide?
The Ballymurphy Massacre illustrates the point. These victims and survivors need truth. They believe British troopers ‘protected’ Ballymurphy by murdering 11 residents, including a Catholic priest and mother of eight. The British then “displaced responsibility”, blaming the victims. Requests for inquest funding met with hurtful dismissals. References to “innocent victims”, implied that Ballymurphy Massacre victims were not among the “innocent.”
These families fought a heartbreaking legal battle to get truth. They believe an inquest with eyewitness testimony under the rule of law can deliver it. What does Bradley do if these victims are right?
Bradley says her Tory regime will reject any attempt to rewrite history. If the evidence proves that the 11 killings were murders, how can she reject rewriting history with truth? Does Bradley simply ignore inconvenient facts, like Theresa May seemed to ignore Ivor Bell, Gerry McGeough and Seamus Kearney, asserting only British forces get investigated for the past? How would Bradley escape shifting blame from exonerated “innocent victims” back onto British troops for murder and smearing the dead?
What about collusion? The law holds those who pay for, direct, procure weapons, identify targets, cover-up ,or otherwise conspire in murders, are jointly criminally responsible for these murders. What if new legacy mechanisms confirm that Glenanne Gang and other murders claimed by loyalists should be counted jointly as British state collusion murders?
How does Bradley “displace responsibility” from British crown forces for their role in such acts of terrorism or reject recording the truth? Can Britain bury such crimes in a national security pit?
Bradley also wants legacy proposals to “reflect a broad political consensus and be balanced, fair, equitable and crucially, proportionate”.
“Political consensus” has been the pretext for a DUP clamp on funding needed to give nationalists their chance for justice. Because crown forces only admit to ten percent of “Troubles” killings, “balanced and proportionate” have become code words for a quota on investigations of British crown killings which ignores collusion and state cover-ups.
Too many promises of legacy justice have been broken. Victims must get more than broken promises and stonewalling. It may be their last chance.
Martin Galvin is a US Attorney-At-Law.