Posted by Jim on June 27, 2016
Constitutional authority resides with the Irish people alone.
The British Government Veto on Irish Unity is without legitimacy .
Dáil Éireann should be restored as the National Parliament of All Ireland
The 1916 Societies are an Irish Separatist Movement and believe that the Irish Republic should be a Sovereign Independent State.
The 1916 Societies are committed to fostering and promoting Irish unity as set out in the 1916 Proclamation.
The 1916 Societies believe in the right of the Irish people to national self-determination. We demand that this right is recognized in the form of a 32 county referendum on Irish Unity.
The 1916 Societies believe the proposed Referendums under the 1998 Act do not constitute National Self-Determination, and would in effect be merely an internal six County border poll. Schedule 1 of the 1998 Act gives the British Secretary of State a supreme veto over the Self-Determination of the Irish people and guarantees Unionists gerrymandering of the island of Ireland. Under this act, the British Government through the Secretary of State, claims that they and they alone may or may not call a Referendum, and claims the right to decide who and who will not have the right to vote, decide on the wording of the Referendum and will only call one when they are satisfied as to its outcome.
The 1916 Societies believe it is for the citizens of Ireland who have the absolute and sovereign right to decide the future of this island. It is for them and they alone, free from external impediment, to choose their own destiny.
The 1916 Societies believe National self-determination expressed through an all-Ireland referendum will give every Irish citizen the equal right to vote on the issue of the partition of Ireland and the formation of sovereign independent unitary state.
For further information on this campaign contact:
1916 Societies-New York
244 Fifth Avenue
Suite K-205
New York, New York 10001
212-726-2112
Posted by Jim on June 25, 2016
US tapes illegally accessed by PSNI to pursue IRA pensioner
Alleged evidence against veteran republican Ivor Bell has been
unlawfully obtained from America in breach of an international treaty, a
court has heard.
Mr Bell’s lawyer said the material obtained from the Boston College
history project should be excluded from a hearing to decide if the
79-year-old should stand trial.
Mr Bell, a former chief of staff in the IRA, faces charges of in
connection with the death of Jean McConville, who was killed in 1972
after being accused of being an IRA informer.
The case against Mr Bell centres on an interview he allegedly gave to US
researchers from Boston College as part of a project with IRA members
and loyalists about their roles in the conflict.
Although transcripts were not to be published until after the deaths of
those who took part, a US court ordered that the tapes should be handed
over to British state forces. It is alleged that Mr Bell is one of the
Boston interviewees based on a voice analysis.
Belfast Magistrates’ Court heard that a US Federal Court judge had
ordered disclosure of interviews in the case was to be limited to only
material relating to the death of Jean McConville. Defence lawyer Peter
Corrigan argued that the tapes handed over to the PSNI police went
beyond those restrictions. He is attempting to have the case thrown out.
“That evidence has been unlawfully obtained and should be excluded,” he
said. He told the court that material put to Br Bell during PSNI
interrogations was “way beyond” the Jean McConville case. “It was
unfairly obtained and in clear contravention of an international
treaty.”
Meanwhile, republican Anthony McIntyre, who was a lead researcher in the
project, is also battling an attempt to imprison him using a similar
“fishing” process of gathering possible evidence from the interviews.
Lawyers for Mr McIntyre have pointed to a series of errors in the PSNI’s
efforts to gain access to the tapes made by him at Boston College.
Senior judges in Belfast have now ordered the PSNI and Crown prosecutors
to clarify how an International Letter of Request (ILOR) for the
material wrongly included an erroneous conviction for armed robbery and
even blamed him for a bomb attack in which he was actually a victim.
With the case adjourned until September, the PSNI members due to travel
to Boston this week as part of a separate inquiry will not yet be able
to take possession of his recordings.
Posted by Jim on
Uncertainty over how border will be policed
Allison Morris.Irish News (Belfast). Saturday, June 25, 2016
There is continued uncertainly about how the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic will be policed when the UK exits from the European Union in two years’ time.
Negotiations about the timeframe for withdrawal from the EU will not begin until a new Conservative leader is appointed following the resignation of David Cameron yesterday.
With a new British prime minister expected to be in place by October, plans on how the 300 miles of border is policed may not be put in place until the end of 2018.
In the run up to the referendum there were warnings of the return to a hard border and vehicle checkpoints at main crossing points, however, Secretary of State Theresa Villiers, has maintained this would not be necessary.
However, the EU could demand that as a member state authorities in the Republic put in place permanent border checkpoints. A decision on this will form a major part of the UK exit negotiations.
Security experts have said that policing the entire length of the border is unlikely given it proved impossible during the Troubles, but customs checks on heavy goods vehicles crossing from north to south would be necessary.
However, with immigration one of the major factors in the decision to leave the EU it seems almost certain that some form of passport check will be put in place to stop citizens of other EU member states entering the UK via the land border with Northern Ireland.
Ulster Unionist leader Mike Nesbitt said there was still “no certainty about what will happen”.
“We know from bitter experience that it is practically impossible to secure the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland and as it is likely that freedom of movement will continue to apply on the island of Ireland, the challenge will be to stop illegal immigrants moving into Northern Ireland from the Republic,” he said.
“The next question that raises is how will the UK government stop people illegally entering Great Britain from Northern Ireland?
“The hard border could be at the ports and airports at Cairnryan, Heathrow, Gatwick and all the rest. Equally, there is no certainty there will be free trade and will customs posts return?”
Fr Sean McManus of the Irish National Caucus, who is a native of Co Fermanagh, said that the return of a checkpoint while an “ugly” eyesore strengthened the case for Northern Ireland to move away from a union “that has never really cared”.
“Not only is my country divided but my historic parish of Kinawley is also arbitrarily and arrogantly divided by that damn border. Part is in the six counties and part in the Irish Republic.
“While the UK was in the EU, and with the coming of the peace process I had the joy of driving seamlessly home each summer from Dublin to the parish of Kinawley and not seeing one British custom post or one British army manned border fortress.
“However, without trying to make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear, one can gain some comfort with the thought that since Northern Ireland itself voted to remain in the EU, this now means that the vast majority of the people in Ireland, north and south, side with the EU rather than with England.
“Maybe, therefore, it can be said that the unionist cause is getting weaker and weaker”, he said.
Sinn Féin MEP Martina Anderson said any attempt to introduce Irish border controls would be “a major setback for the political process in the North”.
Adrian Cummins of the Restaurants Association of Ireland said: “Restaurateurs in border areas are deeply concerned with potential new border arrangements post Brexit”.
However, loyalist blogger Jamie Bryson called for a return of the British army to patrol the border “as a matter of urgency.”
“There will undoubtedly be an increased terror threat from Irish republican terrorists as well as an rapidly increasing threat of international terrorism emanating from within the open borders of the European Union,” he said.
“Given these increased threats, especially during the period of the UK’s negotiation as we move towards an eventual exit, there is a clear need for increased border security.
“The British army are clearly best equipped to provide the required security for the UK’s border areas under an increased terrorist threat.”
Posted by Jim on June 24, 2016
British Prime Minister David Cameron is predicted to resign after
results from his referendum on EU membership show it pulling Britain and
the north of Ireland out of the European Union by a total vote of an
estimated 51.7% to 48.3%.
Opinion polls published ahead of the vote once again proved wildly
incorrect as the ‘Leave’ vote gained a majority of almost a million
votes by 5am this Friday morning.
The “Leave” camp did much better than expected in the post-industrial
northern English towns and the Labour-voting former mining valleys in
Wales. Significantly, the north of Ireland and Scotland showed clear
majorities for remaining in the EU, with 56% and 62% in favour of
‘Remain’ respectively, while England and Wales voted for ‘Leave’
by some 54% and 52% respectively.
Amid profound financial and political upheaval, Labour leader Jeremy
Corbyn is set to call on David Cameron to resign if he does not depart
of his own accord, according to reports. Hilary Benn, the shadow foreign
secretary, said he believed David Cameron would quit.
“If you are the prime minister, you’ve called this referendum, you’ve
laid your reputation on the line and your arguments, I think it’s going
to be very hard,” he said.
The results of the referendum painted a picture of Britain as a deeply
divided state, fractured along lines of region, class, age, and, in the
Six Counties, along sectarian lines. The poll released a wave of
hostility in England against immigrants and foreigners in general,
culminating in a fatal gun and knife attack on Labour MP Jo Cox, who had
campaigned on behalf of Syrian refugees.
In the north of Ireland, there was a strong trend towards remaining in
the EU in nationalist constituencies, and for leaving in unionist
constituencies. The strongest ‘Remain’ votes were in Derry, where 78%
backed EU membership, followed by west Belfast at 74%, while the
strongest ‘Leave’ votes were in north Antrim, where 62% backed ‘Leave’,
followed by Strangford at 56%.
The biggest surpirse of the night was in Wales, where only 5 of the 22
Welsh authorities voted to remain, the rest for ‘Leave’. ‘Remain’
campaigners saw the result as a protest against the establishment and
Tory austerity as well as immigration. There was a similar story across
swathes of England, where industrial and working class areas voted
strongly for ‘Leave’, while the wealthier and more cosmopolitan
constituencies of London and other southern urban centres voted strongly
for ‘Remain’.
There was a very clear divide between Scotland and England, with voters
north of the border showing much stronger support for ‘Remain’. In
Glasgow, Scotland’s largest city, voters backed ‘Remain’ by a margin of
two to one, with 67% in favour of staying in Europe, compared to 33% who
backed a Brexit.
Former SNP leader Alex Salmond said the result of the referendum warned
that Scots could hold a second independence referendum if the country is
“dragged” out of the European Union.
He said: “Scotland looks like it is gong to vote solidly Remain. If
there was a Leave vote in England, dragging us out the EU, I’m quite
certain Nicola Sturgeon would implement the SNP manifesto.”
The party’s manifesto ahead of May’s Scottish Parliament election said
Scotland should have the right to hold a second independence vote if
there is a “significant and material” change in circumstances from 2014,
such as Scotland being taken out of the EU against its will.
In the north of Ireland, Sinn Fein looks set to to press ahead with its
demands for a border poll, but has not yet made a definitive statement.
Speaking as the results came in early this morning, Sinn Fein’s
national chairman Declan Kearney said Brexit will have “massive
ramifications for the British State as we know it”.
Posted by Jim on
Conservative Party leader David Cameron has resigned as British Prime
Minister, and said he will step down in October. He made his
resignation speech this morning outside Downing Street after Britain
voted to leave the European Union. Mr Cameron said he accepted the
decision of the electorate, which voted for a ‘Brexit’ yesterday by 52%
to 48%.
Flanked by his wife Samantha, Cameron said he had informed the English
royals of his decision to remain in place for the short term as
negotiations take place.
“The British people have voted to leave the European Union and their
will must be respected,” he said. “The will of the British people is an
instruction that must be delivered.”
He said he would leave it to his successor to invoke Article 50 of the
Lisbon Treaty, which kicks off the two-year process of negotiating a new
relationship with the EU. Cameron said this will need to involve the
“full engagement of the Scottish, Welsh and Northern Ireland governments
to ensure that the interests of all parts of our United Kingdom are
protected and advanced”.
“The country requires fresh leadership to take it in this direction,” he
added. “I will do everything I can as Prime Minister to steady the ship
over the coming weeks and months, but I don’t think it would be right
for me to try to be the captain that steers our country to its next
destination.”
Elsewhere, there were ugly scenes in London as a panicked and angry
crowd labelled Boris Johnson a “twat” and “scum” as he emerged from his
home following his campaign’s victory in the EU referendum. Mr Johnson’s
car was trapped by a crowd of around 40 cyclists and onlookers blocking
a junction who taunted him with profanities as his car was trapped. One
man yelled: “The pound is down, what do you say about that? Is it going
to be all right, Boris? Is the UK going to be all right, Boris? Are we
going to be all right, mate? Come on, man up.”
While England and Scotland voted to quit the EU, both the north of
Ireland and Scotland voted to remain. In the Six Counties, only seven
constituencies voted to leave, mostly along the eastern seaboard:
Belfast East, Lagan Valley, Strangford, Upper Bann and the three Antrim
constituences.
Sinn Fein MEP Matt Carthy said that Britain’s decision to leave the
European Union means that a referendum on a United Ireland is now
vital.
“The British Government has no mandate to drag the north of Ireland out
of the EU. It has no mandate to re-erect border controls between north
and south,” he said.
“Irish interests are being actively and gravely damaged by the
decisions taken in England.
“The north of Ireland has voted to remain in the EU. The British
Government cannot now negotiate on behalf of people there to exit the
European Union.
“A referendum on a United Ireland is now a democratic imperative and it
is incumbent that the Irish Government and all Irish nationalist parties
support this demand. To do anything less would be to betray the best
interests of the Irish people.”
In Belfast, Martin McGuinness said the decision to “drag us out” of the
European Union had “nothing to do with issues around the European
institutions and everything to do with the civil war within the British
Tory party”.
“The people of the north of Ireland, nationalists, republicans,
unionists and others have made it clear at the polls that they wish to
remain in the EU.
“The British government now need to take account of that and recognise
that reality and allow the people of the north to have their say on
their own future.
“Dragging us out of Europe will be to the detriment of all our citizens
and will be bad for business, trade, investment, and wider society
“I, and all Sinn Fein ministers will work to ensure the political
institutions remain on a stable footing but it is very difficult to put
detailed contingencies in place until we know the extent of the impact
of Brexit on our finances, our infrastructure and health services.
“All of that is still subject to a negotiation but the fact is that we
are in unchartered waters.
“Sinn Fein will be seeking an urgent meeting with the Irish government,
the European institutions and also with our counterparts in Scotland to
discuss how we move forward in the best interests of all of our people.”