Posted by Jim on May 23, 2018
By Anthony Neeson
Four of Northern Ireland’s political parties have called for the north to remain in the European single market and customs union.
In a joint statement, the leaders of Sinn Féin, SDLP, Alliance Party and the Green Party said there should be no hard border in Ireland.
Michelle O’Neill, Colum Eastwood, Naomi Long and Steven Agnew said staying within the single market and customs union is “critical to protecting investment, jobs, trade and the hard-won peace”.
“The Joint Report of the EU and British negotiators published on 8 December last year reiterated its commitment to protecting the Good Friday Agreement, including the effective operation of the institutions and bodies of the Agreement.
“The Joint Report also affirmed that the North South cooperation is a central part of the Good Friday Agreement and Prime Minister Theresa May committed to protecting and supporting continued North South and East West cooperation across the full range of frameworks of cooperation, including the operation of the North South bodies.”
The leaders said “time is of the essence” ahead of next month’s European Council meeting.
“The political parties in the Northern Ireland Assembly wish to reaffirm our common position that we cannot withstand exclusion from the single market or customs union;
“That the protection of the Good Friday Agreement in all of its parts, including North/South and East/West co-operation is critical to maintaining relationships within, and between these islands.
“That the backstop agreed by both the British Government and the EU27 is the bottom line in order to safeguard our political and economic stability now and for the future.”
Meanwhile, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said that that British Prime Minister Theresa May will table a new proposal on Britain’s future customs relations with the EU. He was speaking after a meeting with Theresa May in Sofia in Bulgaria.
“I said to the Prime Minister that any move that helped to align all of the EU and the UK in terms of customs into the future would be beneficial.
“It would help solve some of the problems related to the border but not all of them. It would certainly help us continue to trade between Britain and Ireland much as we do now.”
Posted by Jim on
The victims of the worst day of the recent conflict in Ireland should
be told the truth, a campaigner has said.
A minute’s silence was observed during the wreath laying ceremony to
mark the 44th anniversary of the Dublin/Monaghan bombings on Dublin’s
Talbot street.
The ceremony took place at a memorial to 33 killed by loyalist bombers
on Thursday. Their families want the British government to release
secret files relating to the massacre in which British collusion is
strongly suspected.
Four no-warning bombs were detonated in a co-ordinated manner on May
17, 1974. Three bombs were detonated during a Friday rush-hour on
Parnell Street, Talbot Street and South Leinster Street to maximise
fatalities as people made their way home and to train stations in
Dublin.
A fourth bomb exploded about an hour and a half later in Monaghan in
what was believed to be a diversionary tactic to allow the bombers
cross the border and return to the North. No one has ever been charged
over the bombings.
The Justice for the Forgotten lobby group has fought a long-running
campaign for an open inquiry into evidence that British state agents
were among those who plotted and co-ordinated the sophisticated
attacks.
Spokeswoman Margaret Urwin said: “When people talk about justice they
are often meaning prosecutions and so on. We have been campaigning now
for 25 years, since 1993 basically.
“What the families have always asked for, demanded, is for the truth
rather than prosecutions. I don’t think they ever expect justice in
that sense but what they really want to get is as much of the truth as
possible.”
After years of delay, a consultation has begun on measures to address
the past conflict, including mechanisms to reinvestigate past
wrongdoing and many unresolved killings.
Ms Urwin said: “We hope that the mechanisms of the Stormont House
Agreement will soon be established. That may also help in freeing them
up a bit more to release these documents.”
Minister for Justice and Equality Charlie Flanagan also took part in
the ceremony.
He said: “We will persevere in our efforts to seek out the truth behind
those events and, hopefully, to secure some measure of comfort for
you.”
He claimed his government had worked consistently to implement the
previous motions of the Dublin parliament which call on the British
government to allow independent access to all original documents in
their possession relating to the bombings. These have all been ignored
by successive British governments, he said.
“I know you are frustrated that these motions have not yet been
responded to and I share your frustration. However, I want to assure
you that we will not give up in our efforts.”
The Minister also spoke about his determination to achieve progress
through the new consultation.
He said: “The Irish government is determined to play our part in
ensuring that the Stormont House legacy bodies are established in a way
that will meet the legitimate needs and expectations of all victims and
survivors. The Tanaiste continues his work with the British government
and the Northern Ireland parties to achieve this.
“Dealing effectively with the legacy of the past will be one way to
honour the memory of all those killed and injured in the dark days of
the troubles, including those victims of the Dublin and Monaghan
bombings who are foremost in our thoughts today.”
Posted by Jim on May 22, 2018
Raymond McCord, Sr. — a proud Belfast Protestant/Unionist—is one of the heroes of The Troubles in Northern Ireland. As the attached article from the Belfast Telegraph reminds us, he has fearlessly campaigned since 1997 for justice for his murdered son, Raymond, Jr.—a Protestant victim of British government collusion and cover-up.
The Irish National Caucus has been proud to support Raymond, Sr. in his heroic quest, reminiscent of the Man from La Mancha:
‘This is my quest to follow that star;
No matter how hopeless, no matter how far
To fight for the right without question or pause
To be willing to march into Hell for a heavenly cause.’
Raymond, Sr. testified before Congress in 2009. His voice needs to be heard again in Congress. With good reason, I refer to his son’s case as the ‘Protestant Pat Finucane case’—the Pat Finucane case being the very symbol of British government collusion in the murder of Catholics in Northern Ireland.(Of course, hundreds of Catholics were killed through British government collusion, while very few Protestants were).However, whereas the entire Catholic/Republican/Nationalist community in Northern Ireland rallied in solidarity behind the Finucane family, the Protestant/Unionist community were scared of rallying behind the McCord family because it meant taking on the British government, which they consider ‘their government’—a bit like how the Whites in Alabama and Mississippi were reluctant to admit that white sheriffs were colluding with the KKK.
The Irish National Caucus, in lobbying Congress, focuses on past collusion-killings in Northern Ireland. The other killings— that did not involve British government collusion— are the proper business of the police in Northern Ireland, not the Congress of the United States.”—Fr. Sean McManus
“I’ve had countless death threats, but we need to fight for justice.”
Raymond McCord, Jr.
Belfast Telegraph.Tuesday, May 22, 2018
Raymond McCord’s 22-year-old son Raymond, Jr. was beaten to death by a UVF gang in 1997. He said: “MY son Raymond Jr. was so badly beaten they wouldn’t let me see him in the morgue. He was identified through his fingerprints. We had a closed coffin.
He was the oldest of my three boys, but he was a big softie.
I found out he had done his best to defend himself as the UVF battered him, but he was outnumbered, and they used breeze blocks. There was only ever going to be one outcome. His body was found on Remembrance Sunday, November 9, 1997, in Ballyduff quarry.
He was 22-years-old. I never thought he’d be taken from me and his mother like that. The people who killed him claim to be Loyalists, but they are nothing but gangsters. They killed people because of their religion and over drugs.
The former Police Ombudsman Nuala O’Loan produced a tremendous report on the Mount Vernon UVF. It was damning of the Special Branch. She said my son was murdered by one of their informers. It was a clear-cut case of collusion. The then Prime Minister, Tony Blair, accepted the report and said it all shouldn’t have happened. But neither his government nor all the ones who came after that have done anything about it.
This informer and his associates were involved in many killings. I want to see the handlers in these cases in the dock. The police are meant to be there to protect us, but all too often they didn’t do that.
I had a friend who was a cop, a good guy, a Christian who upheld the law, but in my experience, there were far too many who weren’t like him.
The UVF held an inquiry into my son’s murder. It was a sham. I talked to three hooded men. They assured me there would be no cover-up. The one leading the investigation was later exposed as a Special Branch agent.
Nationalists have long addressed the collusion issue. Unionists are uncomfortable with it. I’ve relatives who don’t speak to me because they don’t like what I’m saying. I’ve no time for most unionist politicians. Justice means nothing to them. The DUP promised me they’d name Raymond’s killers in the House of Commons. I never heard from them again.
I’ve received countless death threats. The UVF have smashed my son’s headstone three times. It’s other victims who keep me going. I went down to speak alongside some of the Bloody Sunday relatives in Derry, and they had a picture there of Raymond in his Royal Air Force uniform. I thought that was a lovely touch.
People might think me reckless for taking on the UVF and the police like I do.
But I was never going to walk away from this. It was always Raymond and me from the moment he was born. I could do no wrong in his eyes and, while I’ve breath in my body, I’ll be there for him.
I always wonder if he ended up in the UVF because of me. I’d clashed with the UDA many times, and maybe Raymond joined the UVF to counter that.
The unionist community needs to wake up. Collusion isn’t an illusion. My son is dead because of it. We shouldn’t be just sitting here telling our stories. We have to be out fighting for justice.”