Posted by Jim on April 30, 2013
Nationalists in north Belfast have walked out of a meeting with the Parades Commission after being told to stay clear of their own parish church this Sunday as yet another incendiary loyalist parade marches by.
For the second time in a month, Carrick Hill parishioners have been banned from standing outside St Patrick’s Church to protest the parades.
They were instructed to instead hold their protest against the routinely provocative parades at a nearby carpark.
The church has been targeted for sectarian abuse by such parades over the past twelve months, most controversially when a UVF-linked band circled outside the church to play sectarian tunes, before setting upon a local man who had video recorded the incident.
The residents, many of whom attend Mass at the church, say they should be allowed to stand outside their place of worship during the controversial parade.
They have also objected to the ‘kick-the-Pope’ bands being allowed to play music while passing nearby nationalist homes. Sunday’s parade is expected to attract up to 1,000 participants and three bands.
Residents have been told they will have to stand at a car park opposite and on a footpath between Trinity Street and No 18 Clifton Street. Their numbers have been restricted to just 30 at each location.
The outward leg of the parade will begin at 2.15pm and return no later than 6pm.
Residents’ spokesman Frank Dempsey said last night that residents were bewildered by the Parades Commission decision.
“I don’t know what the Parades Commission are trying to achieve here,”
he said.
“If they think for one minute the role they are playing is constructive, they need to think again.
“What they have done today is to separate a church from its people and we are not going to allow that to happen.
“The Parades Commission may not be aware that the church is its people.”
“We got up and left them and said we were fed up with their condescending attitude.”
Mr Dempsey said the community was angered at the Parades Commission for allowing the parade to go ahead in the absence of loyal order talks with residents.
Urging talks, the community leader said: “If the Apprentice Boys, Orange Order and Black Institution say there’s no need for the Parades Commission then they should sit down with the residents of Carrick Hill.”
For many republicans, the Parades Commission has became emblematic of the failure of the peace process to improve the lot of northern nationalists. While loyalists have routinely been allowed to ignore their determinations, the body’s sectarian decision-making reached crisis levels earlier this year when it failed to speak out against hundreds of illegal flag-related loyalist parades and protests.
Earlier this week, during during a rare House of Commons debate about the North, British Direct Ruler Theresa Villiers declared that decisions by the Parades Commission during the marching season must now be complied with.
There are real dangers for Northern Ireland if we see a reoccurrence of the disorder which has marred Northern Irelands marching season on too many occasions in years past. It damages Northern Irelands image abroad, she told MPs.
She said the British government is willing to listen to reforms of the Parades Commission if they are put forward together by the North’s political parties but until such time as that is settled it is vital that the Parades Commission is supported”.
Posted by Jim on
British government documents are being examined by a High Court judge who will decide if they should be disclosed to the family of Pat Finucane.
The Finucane family are bringing a legal challenge to the refusal to hold a full, independent inquiry into the 1989 murder of the leading Belfast defence lawyer. His assassination came after comments by a British minister about “IRA lawyers” and was carried out by British state agents operating within the unionist paramilitary UDA.
Justice Stephens said this week he needs to first inspect a series of documents and emails being sought by the Finucanes to consider their usefulness.
Mr Finucane’s widow Geraldine wants full access to the material including minutes from cabinet meetings and correspondence between Downing Street officials.
An official ‘review’ of the case by a British Crown barrister last year claimed that there had been no political decision to carry out the killing at the solicitor’s north Belfast home. But Mrs Finucane condemned the report by QC Desmond de Silva as “a whitewash” and “a sham”.
During her application for complete disclosure of notes and recordings, the court was told of emailed correspondence in which one of Mr Cameron’s closest advisers described the murder as far worse than anything alleged in Iraq or Afghanistan. Jeremy Heywood, now cabinet secretary, also questioned whether the British PM believed it was right to “renege” on a previous administration’s commitment to hold a public inquiry.
Lawyers for the Finucane family argued that the case is about the past and present abuse of state power.
They said it involved the killing of a lawyer perceived to be “a thorn in the side” of the British government and Crown forces.
It was claimed that the abuse of power continued in 2011 when the current government reneged on a commitment to hold a public inquiry.
The court heard details of an email Heywood sent to Simon King, a private secretary to the prime minister, ahead of a ministerial meeting in July 2011.
In correspondence already disclosed to the parties, he asked: “Does the PM seriously think that it’s right to renege on a previous government’s clear commitment to hold a full judicial inquiry?
“This was a dark moment in the country’s history – far worse than anything that was alleged in Iraq/Afghanistan.
“I cannot really think of any argument to defend not having a public inquiry. What am I missing?”
A reply email stated that the prime minister “shares the view this is an awful case, and as bad as it gets, and far worse than any post-9/11 allegation”.
Material being sought by the Finucanes’ lawyers includes original notes, minutes, recordings or transcripts of a meeting between the British Direct Ruler in Ireland and the prime minister, meetings of British officials and ministers, and copies of letters from MI5 to officials in Belfast, all dating from 2011.
It is expected the British government will seek partial censorship
(redaction) of the documents should the judge ultimately decide that the material should be handed over.
Sinn Fein Assembly member Gerry Kelly said the correspondence already revealed in court pointed to the web of cover-up within the British government from the time of Pat Finucane’s killing.
David Camerons intelligence advisor said evidence available internally to the British government would, and I quote suggest that within government at a high level this systematic problem with loyalist agents was known, but nothing was done about it.
It is clear from these comments why the British government are against a full public inquiry into the death of Pat Finucane.
If David Cameron is to break with what his predecessors have done in Ireland then he needs to honour the commitment given at Weston Park and hold a public inquiry into this murder.
If ever a case cried out for a public inquiry, this is one and these documents point to why the secrecy needs to end and the Finucane family be given access to the truth.
Posted by Jim on
Loyalists have returned to intimidate a Catholic girls’ school in north Belfast, almost 12 years after a previous campaign of violence and terror made international headlines.
A group of more than 50 loyalists gathered outside the Holy Cross primary school in a threatening manner on Thursday after earlier painting the kerb-stones outside the school red, white and blue.
The front gates of the school had to be closed in fear of a possible attack.
Tensions have mounted in the area since British Union Jack flags were hoisted outside the school in December by loyalists at the start of the violence over a decision to reduce the flying of the flag over Belfast City Hall.
Families of the schoolchildren said the trouble brought back painful memories of 2001, when those going to and from the school were forced to run a daily gauntlet of abuse and missiles, including urine, excrement and blast bombs.
It was not immediately clear what prompted Thursday’s protest, but loyalists have engaged in serious violence in recent months in protest at what they perceive to be increasing nationalist political influence, particularly in Belfast.
At the weekend, a major parade in support of UVF death squads saw over 8,000 loyalists march through the east of the city. Some journalists and photographers were later ‘escorted’ from the concluding rally.
On Monday, there was a shock for the Holy Cross schoolchildren when loyalists painted kerb-stones at the entrance to the school but nowhere else along the Ardoyne Road.
Irish National Teachers’ Organisation northern secretary Gerry Murphy said he feared a return to the 2001 “corridor of hate” blockade.
“It is a nasty echo of what happened before and I hope that we do not return to that.”
UVF FLAGGED
Meanwhile, the continued presence of UVF flags in east Belfast has raised tensions there.
Hundreds of UVF flags had been placed along the parade route by masked paramilitaries ahead of the march. The flags continue to fly throughout east Belfast despite promises by loyalists that they would be taken down.
SDLP justice spokesman Conall McDevitt said the removal of the flags would be a “major test” for the PSNI police.
“For the PSNI to gain public confidence they must be seen to uphold the law and must also follow through on any compromise and ensure parade organisers remain true to their word.”
Eirigi spokesperson Padraic Mac Coitir said the situation there again illustrated the partisan attitude of the PSNI and other agencies towards unionism.
It would appear that the PSNI, like the RUC before it, chooses its courses of action on the grounds of the political affiliations of those it is dealing with in short: there is one law for unionists and another set of laws for
Posted by admin on April 24, 2013
By Jim McIlmurray
On Tuesday, April 16th, 2013, Lurgan man Martin Corey will have spent three years in Maghaberry Prison without any charges ever being placed against him. During that time, police have never questioned or interviewed Martin regarding any incident, occurrence or event relating to his imprisonment.
So who is Martin Corey?
Martin Corey is a 62 year old man who served 19 years of his life in Long Kesh as a republican prisoner. He was released by the prison authorities in 1992 and began to rebuild his life. He is a popular figure from a well respected, hard-working family in the town.
It was a proud day for Martin when he was granted a loan to purchase his own mechanical digger. After a time, he gained the contract as the parish grave digger, covering several cemeteries in the greater Lurgan area. Many people, myself included, will recall his compassionate approach and professionalism during the time of families’ bereavement.
In all the time I have known Martin, I have only known his interests to be his family, his friends and his love of coarse fishing.
On Friday, April 16th, 2010, the police arrived at his O’Neill’s Terrace home and told him they had a warrant for his arrest. Martin was brought to Lurgan PSNI station and later that day transferred to Maghaberry Prison. It was stated he broke the terms of his Life Licence release.
When his solicitor requested to know what Martin was alleged to have done, he was told it a matter of National Security and the subject of closed file information.
For the past three years, his solicitor and barristers have challenged his unlawful detention on numerous occasions in the High Court. On Monday, the 9th of July, 2012, a High Court judge, Justice Seamus Tracy, who has a background in the European Human Rights Courts, ordered Martin’s immediate release, stating that his Human Rights had been breached under sections 4 and 5 of the European Human Rights act and that there were no charges for which he should answer. I waited for 4 hours outside Maghaberry with Martin’s family that day, only to be told at 4:15pm that the then current Secretary of State, Owen Patterson, had overruled the High Court judge and blocked Martin’s release. I was 25 yards away from Martin when I received that call. I watched him step out of the prison van at the reception centre and watched him walk back to the van to be returned to his cell. As he got into the van, he paused and stared at me and that will always be one of the hardest and cruelest moments I have ever witnessed in my life.
Martin has a legal entitlement to an annual Parole Board review every twelve calendar months to reevaluate the reasons for his continued detention. I have been accepted to speak on Martin’s behalf; however, every date set for a hearing for Martin last year was followed by a cancellation by the Parole Board, citing numerous excuses. Martin hasn’t received a parole review in 18 months, an action deemed illegal by the Court of Human Rights in Strasburg. We are currently awaiting a date to take this case to the High Court for a judicial review.
Martin has been subjected to a number of incidents during his time in Maghaberry Prison. These incidents include waiting over three weeks for an emergency dental appointment; of note, a veterinarian would have a legal obligation to report a pet owner for cruelty if he found an animal to be suffering for that period. Also, Martin’s request for compassionate leave to attend the funeral of his brother was denied by both the Prison Service and the Courts without any reasons given. He was only granted leave to attend 1 hour before the service started after a request was made to the Justice Minister on humanitarian grounds. I had to make three requests to the Prison Ombudsman to intervene in cases concerning material submitted by myself for Martin for use in his cell crafts. The prison staff either confiscated the printed image materials or refused to provide them to Martin. The Prison Ombudsman upheld all three decisions in Martin’s favour, ruling against the Northern Ireland Prison Service and determining that the material must be provided to Martin.
Martin’s case has been in the High Court in Belfast several times over the past three years, without any finding of criminal offence with which to charge him. Had Martin been charged with possession of an illegal firearm during his arrest three years previously, he would have been released six months ago. There is no other name for his illegal detention other than internment without trial.
As a close friend of Martin’s, I am in a better position than most to know if he was ever involved in any activity that could be deemed illegal or “a threat to National Security”, a phrase often utilized by faceless, nameless individuals in the courts. I can say without fear of contradiction that Martin is an innocent man. Everyone should make their voice be heard and call upon the Secretary of State to either bring charges against him or release him immediately.
I speak to Martin by telephone on a daily basis and visit him regularly in Maghaberry Prison, and can assure everyone that his spirits remain high despite his total lack of confidence in the judicial system in the North of Ireland. He thanks everyone for their continued messages of support .
We are currently awaiting a date to attend the Court of Appeal in London to challenge his illegal detention. If unsuccessful there, we will take his case to the European Courts of Justice. We will continue our presence at the Belfast High Court to request the Parole Board to give an explanation as to why Martin has been denied his legal right to an annual Parole Review.
Posted by Jim on
The U.S. Supreme Court has rejected an appeal to keep secret interviews with former IRA members from being turned over to the British authorities in the North of Ireland.
The court’s move leaves in place a lower court ruling ordering Boston College to give the Justice Department portions of interviews recorded with IRA veteran Dolours Price.
Dolours, who died in January, was interviewed with other former IRA members between 2001 and 2006 as part of the Belfast Project, a Boston College oral history study that was created to be a resource for journalists, scholars and historians.
But now the PSNI police wants to access the secret recordings, given on the basis of academic confidentiality, because they may contain evidence that can be used against both mainstream and ‘dissident’ republicans.
Researchers Ed Moloney and Anthony McIntyre, who had assured their subjects that their interviews would remain secret until after their deaths, have argued that the participants’ lives could be endangered if their identities are publicly revealed because they could potentially be branded as informers.
Attorney Eamonn Doran is representing Moloney and McIntyre, the director and lead researcher respectively of the Belfast Project, in their challenge of the decision by U.S. authorities to subpoena the records.
Monday’s Supreme Court refusal to hear Moloney and McIntyre’s appeal has potentially disastrous consequences, Dornan said.
“Numerous warnings have been given to the Department of Justice and the State Department by the AOH, the Brehon Law Society and the Irish American Unity Conference. Each is seriously concerned that the release of these materials, particularly at this time, may have a detrimental effect on the peace process,” Dornan said.
“We don’t know who’s pushing for these records to be released because we can’t see who issued the subpoena, or what the nature of the request is.
We suspect it must be the PSNI. The question is who in their right mind is driving this request for information, which would have a detrimental effect on a fragile enough peace?”
Last year a U.S. appeals court in Boston found that Moloney and McIntyre had no right to interfere with the police actions under the terms of the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT) between the U.S. and Britain. The appeals court insisted that criminal investigations must take precedence over academic study.
Brendan Moore, the National President of the Ancient Order of Hibernians, said, “It’s obviously an egregious application of the MLAT.
It’s undermining academic enquiry in this country. Clearly it’s also a fishing expedition on the part of the PSNI. They’re looking for people to be implicated.
“It’s also most unfortunate in terms of international relations. I think we are all under threat if treaties are going to be twisted in this way.”
But Moore calls Monday’s ruling a major setback, not a defeat. “There is a coalition between the AOH, the Brehon Law Society and the Irish American Unity Conference. We are all pledged to continue the fight. We do believe we have the support of Secretary of State John Kerry and influential members of Congress,” Moore said.
Dornan sees a practical solution to the crisis, if all parties have the wisdom to reach for it. “It’s still within the remit of the Department of Justice and the State Department to stop the transfer of these materials. The question is now in the political court,” he said.
In response, Moloney and McIntyre said they would fight the process politically, and thanked Irish American campaigners for their support.
“We began this fight almost exactly two years ago and all along the campaign has run on two tracks, one legal, the other political. The legal track has almost come to an end but the political campaign continues,” they said in a statement.
“All of those involved in this campaign can be assured that it is not over yet.”