August 2000
31 July – 2 September, 2000 Thursday, 7 September, 2000 Sunday-Monday, 17/18 September, 2000 Tuesday/Wednesday, 19/20 September, 2000 Thursday-Saturday, 21-23 September, 2000 Saturday, 23 September, 2000List of sectarian/race attacks compiled by the Pat Finucane Centre, Derry
In our document on Rosemary Nelson, we included an appendix that listed all known loyalist attacks from 1 January 1999 through 30 April 1999.
Given the nature of the document the list focused on loyalist attacks. Since that time, we have continued to document attacks across the North, expanding our remit to include all incidents that might be considered sectarian and/or racist. (Sometimes, however, the motives are not always clear.)
The following list of sectarian/race attacks and related issues is from 01 through 30 August 2000. We rely on a number of sources for our information, but this is by no means comprehensive. If you find incidents that have been left off the list please contact us.
1 August
Drumcree Orangemen were criticised for selling medals celebrating the siege of Drumcree.
The Orange Standard, published the same day, blamed nationalists and republicans for provoking the violence in July. In the same article the Orange Order washed its hands of any blame for the violence, caused, it claimed, by "unwanted" supporters, and attacked the Catholic Church for its criticism of the violence. The article made no mention of the role of Portadown Orangeman David Jones who had called for roadblocks, or of Harold Gracey who had refused to condemn the violence (IN).
Two houses were firebombed, one in Sion Mills and the other in Eglinton, both near Derry, in what are thought to have been loyalist sectarian attacks. A car was burned and tyres were also slashed. (IN)
A 31-year-old loyalist was remanded at Newtownabbey magistrates' court where he faced a charge of possession of a nail bomb on July 8.
2 August
Apprentice Boys and representatives of the Bogside Residents Group in Derry reached agreement whereby Derry Apprentice Boys would hold their 12 August annual Relief of Derry parades unopposed. The Agreement was made subject to certain conditions, including restrictions on the playing of tunes at certain points, that only the local 'Boys' would march around the walls in the morning and that there would be no paramilitary paraphernalia displayed or sectarian tunes played. (IN/DJ/BBC)
3 August
Nationalists, protesting outside Newtownabbey Borough council about its discriminatory employment practise, were confronted by baseball bat and cudgel wielding loyalists. (IN)
4 August
A Belfast man was hospitalised after an aggravated racial assault outside the Chinese takeaway he was opening. The attack has chilling echoes of the murder of Simon Tang, who was assaulted two years ago by racists wearing balaclavas and wielding baseball bats, as he closed up his fast food takeaway in Carrickfergus. (CWA)
Two South Belfast men, who had previously been warned that their files were in the hands of loyalists, received bullets in the post accompanied by identical hand written death threats. (AN, IN)
A Catholic School in west Belfast suffered several hundred thousand pounds worth of damage in an arson attack that has been blamed on loyalists. Education Minister Martin McGuinness condemned the attack. (IN)
5 August
Sarsfield GAA Hall on the Coolnasillagh Road, Garvagh and Donaghmore Orange Hall, Dungannon, were damaged in fires (RUC,IN)
A Catholic home in Larne was attacked by stone and paint bomb throwing loyalists, injuring one of the inhabitants. The attackers verbally threatened the inhabitants. (CW)
7 August
A Catholic home was petrol bombed in Antrim. (RUC, IN)
10 August
Sinn Féin renewed its calls for the RUC to investigate an incident where the personal details of 23 republicans were found in a wallet belonging to an RIR soldier that was found in a taxi in Dungannon. Sinn Féin passed the wallet on to the Irish authorities. The British army declined to comment on what it called "unsubstantiated allegations". The RUC stated that there would be no investigation. (IN)
A number of Protestant homes in the Shankill were attacked. The attacks were blamed on republicans by the UDA/UFF.
Other sources, including some within loyalism, strongly refuted these allegations blaming instead the UDA/UFF. (IN BBC) (See "Feuding Within Loyalism")
Groups of armed UDA/ UFF members staged roadblocks in the lower Shankill, stopping to pose for press photographs. When the RUC arrived to intervene the UDA men fled, firing a shot at the RUC officers. (IN)
At the same time in Ardoyne, in the north of the city, six Catholic owned houses had their windows smashed and were paint bombed with orange paint. One of the victims, 85-year-old pensioner Agnes Clarke, suffered cuts to her legs and stomach. (IN)
A loyalist pipe bomb discovered in Magherafelt, Co Derry, was diffused by the British army. (IN)
Nationalist politicians welcomed the Police Authority's criticism of the RUC's handling of the Drumcree crisis. (IN)
Loyalists attacked 12 Catholic homes in Carrickhill and Ardoyne. (AN)
11 August
The LVF and UDA/UFF in Belfast renewed their joint pledge to shoot anyone involved in "attacks on Protestant homes". The attacks in question are in fact widely thought to have been the result of the ongoing loyalist feud. (IN)
Nationalist politicians called for the UDA's cease-fire to be reviewed. (IN)
An Orange Hall was gutted in an arson attack in Bailieboro, Co Cavan. (IN)
Loyalists smashed the windows of a Catholic home in Artillery Street in Derry. (CW,PFC)
It was claimed by political and community leaders that a dissident republican bomb destined for Derry was not intended for the Apprentice Boy's march. Spokespersons from across the political spectrum condemned those responsible. (IN,DJ)
Ballymena council announced it would be writing to the town's parish priest, Canon Sean Connolly, expressing regret at recent arson attacks on Harryville chapel and on a number of Catholic schools in the area. (IN)
Three Catholic families fled their homes on the Springfield Road after loyalists attacked at least five homes, smashing windows with bricks, stones, ball bearings and paint bombs. The attackers, some of whom were recognised by local residents as having taken part in the UDA colour party during the Orange march in June, did a 'lap of honour' in their car up and down the Springfield Road before going back to the Shankill through the Workman's Avenue gate. It is believed the ongoing attacks across the Springfield Road interface are co-ordinated by the UDA/UFF. (See 19 August) (IN, AN, BBC)
12 August
Loyalist youths in Ballynahinch, Co Down, smashed windows and damaged cars in the nationalist Windmill Street at around 9pm. Earlier in the month a Catholic man was attacked with a machete in the same area. (IN)
As expected there was little trouble, apart from some relatively minor vandalism, during the Apprentice Boys of Derry parade. 15,000 'Boys' converged on Derry along with 180 bands for the Relief of Derry celebrations. Although a number of the marchers were drunk and there were a number of defiant displays of paramilitary paraphernalia, the number of overt sectarian incidents were comparatively low.
This is thought to have been thanks to an agreement between march organisers and the Bogside Residents, whereby the organisers agreed to curtail bad behaviour and paramilitary and other sectarian displays. Nationalists, for the most part, stayed away from the town centre, which was closed for the day. (PFC, BBC, DJ,LS)
Loyalists in Belfast beat a Co Tyrone mother to the ground to the ground as she waited with her son and a friend for a taxi home. She had been visiting her son in Belfast during the Ardoyne Fleadh. The group of about 15 men, some of whom were wielding baseball bats and iron bars, gave chase to the three before catching the woman by the hair and beating her to the ground. The woman was saved by a passing driver. The 55-year-old woman has vowed never to return to Belfast. She is said to be reluctant to leave her Cookstown home (IN)
Loyalists assaulted three members of the same family in Larne. (CW)
A woman travelling on a bus was injured with a pellet from a shotgun fired by the alleged second in command of the local UDA.(CW)
13 August
An Orange hall in Carnlough, Co Antrim, was badly damaged in an arson attack. (IT, RUC)
The RUC made safe a pipe bomb in Ballymoney, Co Antrim. The device had been pushed through the letterbox of a Catholic home. (RUC, IN)
At least 18 Catholic homes, in and around Newington Street, Parkend Street and in Clanchatton Street in North Belfast, had their windows smashed and paint bombs thrown in. The attacks, carried out by men wearing balaclavas who co-ordinated their actions through a series of whistles, are widely believed to have been orchestrated by the UDA/UFF. The attackers, armed with guns, baseball bats, bricks and paintbombs, tried to break down the front doors of several houses. Residents said attacks like these are a regular occurrence in that part of Belfast, the difference being that whereas it is usually youths who carry out the attacks, this time it was adults, some of whom were armed and had arrived in minibuses. The attackers, who were seen driving off to the nearby Tiger's Bay estate, vowed to return to burn out the residents. It is believed the attack involved around 50 loyalists. There were also attacks on Catholic homes in Bawnmore and Carrickfergus. The RUC reported 'disturbances' in Ballynahinch (RUC, IT, BBC)
Petrol bombers attacked a Catholic home in Newtownabbey. (RUC)
14 August
Arsonists set fire to three homes in or near Ballymena, Co Antrim. Petrol was poured through the letterboxes of two Catholic and one mixed religion home. In all three cases the inhabitants escaped without serious injury. (LT, BBC, RUC) Loyalists attempted to set fire to a Catholic home in Greencastle, Co Antrim.
15 August
UDA/UFF commander Johnny Adair claimed that republicans were responsible for the pipe bomb explosion that injured his hand. The claim was dismissed by security forces who said the pipe bomb fragments recovered were from a type of device frequently used by loyalists. It was alleged that Adair and some colleagues were carrying the device in the car in which they were travelling when it exploded prematurely.
Shots were fired into two homes newly occupied by Catholics in Clifton Park Avenue, an interface area of north Belfast. One of the bullets struck a wall, just inches from where a two-year-old boy lay sleeping. Republicans have called for the gates in the peace line to be closed (IN).
In the latest development in the ongoing sectarian fighting in the Seacourt estate in Larne, local nationalists attacked four Protestant homes with stones. (IN)
A Catholic church parade in Kilkeel, Co Down, which had already changed its route to avoid confrontation, was forced to march past loyalist protesters carrying UVF flags after loyalists erected a new plaque in the town. The white supremacist British National Party (BNP) was said by Unionist sources to have been recruiting among anti-agreement loyalists and unionists in the area. The BNP boasted that it had sold over 200 copies of its newspaper True Brit in Kilkeel. The spokesperson for Mourne Nationalists for Equality, Martin Connolly, said it was believed that the BNP were behind a protest called by an unknown group calling itself the Kilkeel Silent Majority. (IN)
Three men, believed to be loyalists, were charged in Magherafelt Magistrates court with making death threats against two Catholic brothers. A pipe bomb was found by the RUC in the town (IN)
16 August
Eight houses, five in Larne and three in Carrickfergus, were attacked with bricks and paint bombs. One of them, the house of a brother of an SDLP councillor, had a crossbow bolt fired through its window. The attacks are believed to have been carried out by loyalists on households they believed to be occupied by families of Catholic or mixed religion. The attackers claimed to be acting in retaliation for the attacks on Protestant houses the previous night in the Seacourt Estate (IN)
Dozens of Catholic children, many as young as eight, were forced to run a gauntlet of sectarian abuse as they fled the Seven Towers leisure centre in Ballymena. The group, from a Co Antrim youth club that wishes to remain anonymous, then had its bus pelted with stones as it left the town centre. (IN)
A pipe bomb was found near the Glenshane Pass on the Belfast-Derry road. Pipe bombs are usually associated with loyalist attacks. (IN)
Two Belfast loyalists, one of them a pastor, pleaded not guilty at Cookstown magistrates court to charges of possessing two hand grenades and a pipe bomb. Prominent loyalist pastor Clifford Peeples, believed to have strong LVF connections, and associate James McGookin Fischer, are to stand trial at Belfast Crown Court. (IN)
Three Catholic homes in the Divis area of Belfast, including that of an SDLP councillor, were paint bombed by loyalists. (IN)
17 August
Loyalists petrol bombed a Catholic primary school, and paint bombed a Church building outside Ballymena. (IN)
A Catholic priest's house in South Belfast was saved from fire when double-glazing stopped would-be petrol bombers from putting a concrete flowerpot through his window. (IN)
Two Catholic school girls from the New Lodge area of Belfast, an 11 and 12 year old, were set upon by loyalist youths who forced one of them to take off her 'Celtic' football shirt and set it on fire. The youths threatened to paint the girls red white and blue before running off.
Adults who saw the incident did not intervene. (IN)
It was claimed that three well-known loyalists were scouting the area around the home of Sinn Féin Councillor Seán Hayes in the Markets area of Belfast. Cllr Hayes had already been told by the RUC that security files containing his details were in the hands of loyalists. He has applied to be put under the Key Person's Protection Scheme. (IN)
18 August
The RUC defused a pipe bomb in Cullybackey near Ballymena, Co Antrim. (RUC)
19 August
Springfield Road residents called for the "peace wall" which separates the mainly nationalist side from the loyalist Shankill to be built 10 feet higher following increased attacks on Catholics by loyalists. They also called for the gate at Workman's Avenue to be shut permanently. (IN, AN)
20 August
Loyalists targeted the opening of a memorial garden in Clonard, West Belfast, hurling bottles, bricks and stones at relatives of victims from the Clonard who had come to the opening. A one-year-old child was struck in the head with a brick and escaped with her life after her mother shielded her from the hail of missiles that rained down on the crowd. She was shielded from the full impact of the brick because her mother had thrown a coat over her pram.
21 August
Sinn Féin Assembly member Mitchell McLaughlin cautioned against moves to have the PUP expelled from the Assembly. He warned that anti-agreement Unionists would try to use the loyalist feud as an excuse to have the PUP's Billy Hutchinson and David Ervine removed and said that their record of working with Sinn Féin clearly demonstrated their commitment to making politics work.
22 August
Loyalists attacked three homes in the nationalist Glendore area of Belfast. (IN) A Catholic mother from the Markets area in Belfast became the third person from the area to be told by the RUC in recent weeks that security force files containing their personal details were in the hands of loyalists. The RUC themselves are suspected locally of having passed the information on. (IN)
23 August
Republican prisoner Martin Corden was reported to be opposing a transfer by the prison service from the Maze to Maghaberry, where there is no segregation between loyalist and republican prisoners. He would be the only republican prisoner among many loyalists, a number of whom belong to organisations not on cease-fire. He argued that his life would be in danger if he was transferred. (IN)
24 August
An arson attack in Newtownards, Co Down was alleged to be the work of loyalists. (RUC) There was outrage after the Apprentice Boys of Derry mounted a guard of honour for murdered UVF man Bobby Mahood's coffin in Belfast. Boys' Governor Alistair Simpson was prominent at the funeral. The coffin was followed by an informal UFF/UDA contingent.
Mahood, a UVF man with strong UDA links was killed by the same UVF assassin who killed UDA commander Jackie Coulter. The UVF stayed away from the funeral. (IN/ST)
26 August
Nationalist community leaders united with a cross section of Belfast City Councillors in calling for the Deputy Lord Mayor, Cllr Frank McCoubrey of the UDP, political allies of the UFF/UDA, to resign. McCoubrey had been present on the platform adorned with "IRISH OUT" posters at the UDA "festival", when masked UDA men and women fired off rounds from automatic weapons into the air. (AN)
A loyalist bomb was found at an AOH hall in Bellaghy, south Derry. (IN)
28/29 August
A car windscreen was damaged and the windows of several houses smashed when loyalists threw stones over the wall separating the loyalist Fountain from the mainly nationalist Bishop Street area of Derry. RUC and Fountain residents claim that nationalists then threw three petrol bombs over the wall into the Fountain. Later, in what was described by residents as a four hour sustained attack by up to 20 masked adults, stones and paint bombs were thrown at the windows of houses on Bennett Street on the nationalist side. Apprentice Boys Governor and Fountain Area Partnership spokesperson Alistair Simpson appealed to nationalist residents in the Long Tower/Bishop Street area of Derry to help curb sectarian attacks across the Fountain/Bishop Street interface and to root out trouble makers. He asked whether Derry nationalists wanted a Protestant presence on the west bank of the city. This was a reference to the ongoing migration of Protestants from the west bank of the city and recent cross community initiatives to encourage a 'shared city'. Local Sinn Féin representative Marion Hutcheon accused Simpson of distorting the facts when he apportioned blame to one side only in the dispute. A blue UDA flag with the words "C. Company - Simply The Best" flys over the wall, hung from the turret of the old city jail on the Fountain side. "C. Company" is the UDA/UFF section headed by Johnny Adair.
New graffiti on the Nationalist side reads: "HUNS OUT - C.IRA" (IN, LS, DJ, CW, PFC) 'Huns' is a pejorative word for Protestants. The PFC intends removing the above slogan. Our information is that the sectarian incidents in the area are instigated by young people from both sides of the peaceline.
Sinn Féin representatives Alex Maskey MLA, Mick Murphy MLA and Cllr Frank McDowell called on the RUC to fully release any information they had on security files relating to Catholics that are in the hands of loyalists. Loyalists are alleged to have files, which had been compiled by British Intelligence, on about 80 Catholics in the south Down area, yet RUC officers had only informed 15 of the people concerned. Information given to those concerned was described as scant. (IN)
A Catholic Nursery school off the Donegall Road in Belfast was damaged in an arson attack. (IN)
In Larne a Protestant woman was burned out of her house and a Protestant man was hit in the back of the head with shotgun pellets after a dispute about flags with nationalists in an enclave in the mainly Protestant Seacourt estate. Nationalists locally blamed a 'hood element' for the attacks. A nationalist was injured when loyalists threw a stone at him. (CW,IN)
30 August
The magnet used to clamp the bomb to Rosemary Nelson's car came from Harland and Wolff shipyards, according to the team investigating her murder. This was 'revealed' in a televised appeal about her murder, although the source of the magnet has been public knowledge for some months now. Norfolk Deputy Chief Constable Colin Port, who is leading a team of RUC and English police officers investigating her murder, appealed for witnesses to come forward. This is unlikely however as the dozens of witnesses who contacted the PFC have stated that they would not co-operate with any investigation that involved RUC personnel. RUC officers are known to have made several threats to Rosemary Nelson's life and there are strong allegations of RUC collusion in her murder. The PFC is backing calls by her family for a fully independent enquiry into all the circumstances surrounding her death. During the televised appeal Colin Port appealed for information from workers going on night shift between 11.30pm and midnight. This confirms our view that those involved in the murder entered a nationalist area of North Lurgan while a British Army helicopter, containing RIR personnel, was carrying out surveillance overhead.
Why did the attackers feel confident enough to enter an area under helicopter surveillance. See our website: www.serve.com/pfc. (IN, BBC, PFC)
A Catholic Church hall in Aghadowey, Co Derry, used by cross-community groups, was completely destroyed in an overnight attack blamed on loyalists. Local Protestants rallied with messages of support. (IN)
A University of Ulster study showed that racism in the North of Ireland is rife in the workplace as well as in schools. (IN)
A pub in Hannahstown, Belfast was destroyed in a fire believed to have been started by the UDA. The republican 32 County Sovereignty Committee recently used the pub for a fund raising night. Graffiti on the outside read "UFF release JAD [Johnny Adair]" and "C. Comm [C. Company]". (AN)
A woman, believed to be Catholic, had paint thrown at her for the second time as she went to her place of work in the loyalist Sandy Row area of Belfast. (IN)
Loyalist Feud Incidents
Pat Finucane Centre
Due to the seriousness of the ongoing intra-loyalist feud the PFC felt it necessary to document feud related incidents in a similar way to the documentation of sectarian attacks. We do not intend this to be an ongoing published feature, although such incidents will continue to be documented in our archive. The decision to produce this list was taken in light of the potential for intra-loyalist violence to be redirected towards sectarian violence, (ie at Catholics) as has happened on similar occasions in the past.
Loyalist Feud: 31 July - 2 Sept 2000
Because of the extent of the ongoing loyalist feud, the PFC has kept a log of incidents relating to it and compiled a digest for readers (see previous update Feuding within loyalism).
31 July
An arson attack on a Protestant house in Derry's loyalist Tullyally estate was the work of Loyalist paramilitaries seeking to assert control over the estate, according to the DUP's Willie Hay. (IN)
11-12 August, Friday-Saturday
A 28-year-old woman was left in intensive care after she was attacked -by a mob at a bonfire in the loyalist Lincoln Courts area of Derry. (IN/DJ)
18 August, Friday
Security sources expressed concern in the Irish News of impending violence by loyalists on nationalists and within loyalism in the run up to a UFF linked 'festival' in the Shankill Road on 19 August. The UVF and UFF were reported to be vying for gable ends and wall space for murals. (IN)
19 August, Saturday
Representatives of nationalists living close to the Shankill area expressed concern at the convergence of thousands of LVF and UFF supporters in the area for the planned 'festival'. Both groups have recently vowed to kill Catholics. Sinn Féin's Tom Hartley called for the organisers, including UDP chairman John White and UDP deputy Lord Mayor of Belfast Frank McCoubrey, to ensure that the event passed off peacefully. John White dismissed the fears saying that the festival was to celebrate a recent clean-up of the area and to make a call for the regeneration of the Shankill. (IN/ DJ/ STr)
Loyalist leader Johnny Adair led a group of loyalists carrying UFF and UDA flags to mural unveilings. Some were masked and in paramilitary garb. The parade began with a rally addressed by UDP representatives John White and Frank McCoubrey, Deputy Lord Mayor of Belfast. The platform was bedecked with posters which read: "The Ulster conflict is about nationality. IRISH OUT!" After the speeches several UDA men and one woman wearing balaclavas and battle dress appeared on stage and fired off several long bursts from automatic weapons. The UDP representatives and the crowd cheered. (IN/STr/BBC)
At three p.m., as the parade went past 'The Rex', a bar said to be frequented by UVF supporters, customers came out and became embroiled in a fracas with LVF supporters from Portadown. In response, the Adair UDA/UFF contingent later fired into the bar. Three people were admitted to the Royal Victoria Hospital with injuries. The UDA later returned to the bar, fired shots at it again and petrol bombed it.
Afterwards, at an open-air rave-disco, Johnny Adair read out the names of alleged UVF families from the Shankill. He also announced that the Shankill would be a "UFF state by Christmas". Later Gusty Spence, former leader of the UVF, was intimidated out of his pensioner's bungalow. (IN/STr/BBC)
20 August, Sunday
Some thirty families accused of having UVF leanings were reported to have left the lower Shankill after UDA/UFF intimidation. (IN/BBC)
21 August, Monday
At 12:30pm Jackie Coulter, a UDA commander and close associate of Johnny Adair, and UVF man and former PUP talks delegate Bobby Mahood were both shot by a lone UVF gunman as they sat in Coulter's Jeep on the Crumlin Road. Coulter died instantly, Mahood died later in hospital from his injuries. Mahood's murder is said to have been a mistake. His brother had survived an attempt on his life by a UVF gunman on the Crumlin Road on 24 July this year. The UVF also fired shots into the offices of the UDP, the political wing of the UDA/UFF. In response the UDA/UFF fired shots into the offices of the PUP, the political wing of the UVF. (IN/BBC)
Armed UDA men were later seen roaming the Shankill area. The offices of the PUP were set on fire, along with a house and a car in the area, and a taxi depot was attacked. RUC officers fired shots during the disturbances. Later two men were arrested and guns were seized.
By nightfall British soldiers had been deployed on the Shankill. The UDA fired shots at the house next door to PUP representative Billy Hutchinson's. It is believed the shots were intended for Hutchinson's home. (IN)
22 August, Tuesday
Johnny Adair had his early release licence suspended by Peter Mandelson, British Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, and was arrested and flown to Maghaberry prison. "I think you've saved my life" he is alleged to have told arresting officers. That night 21-year-old Sam Rocket, an alleged UVF member, was shot dead by the UDA in front of his girlfriend and baby daughter. (IN/STr/ST)
The UDA fired a number of shots into the Lincoln Courts home of a PUP supporter in Derry. It is understood the UDA have a hard core of 60 members in the City while the UVF have only around 10. Shots were also fired into the homes of a number of other PUP supporters in counties Antrim and Derry. (IN/DJ)
The PUP spokesman Billy Hutchinson said that more killings were likely before there was mediation between the two groups. (IN) 23 August, Wednesday The Chairman of the PUP's Ballymena branch, William McCaughey, accused the UDA/UFF of setting fire to his double glazing business premises in Ahoghill, Co Antrim. McCaughey, an ex-member of the RUC's Special Patrol Group (SPG) served 16 years for the sectarian murder of Catholic chemist William Strathearn and for the kidnap of Catholic priest Father Hugh Murphy. A former bodyguard to Ulster Unionist Minister John Taylor, McCaughey is alleged by former SPG colleague John Weir to have committed a number of other sectarian murders. More recently he was a member of the DUP and a prominent figure in the notorious sectarian picket of the Catholic Church in Harryville. (IN/BBC/PFC archive)
24 August, Thursday
Feud victim Sam Rocket's brother Arthur was arrested by the RUC and charged with possession of a revolver and ammunition. (IN/BBC)
There was outrage after the Apprentice Boys of Derry mounted a guard of honour for Bobby Mahood's coffin. Mahood was shot by the UVF at the same time as they shot UDA leader Jackie Coulter. The Apprentice Boys' Governor Alisdair Simpson was part of the Boys' contingent at the funeral. The coffin was followed by an informal UFF contingent. The UVF stayed away. (IN/STr)
25 August, Friday
A thousand-strong funeral cortege for Jackie Coulter was led by his young grandsons, who carried UDA and UFF wreaths. The majority of the cortege was made up of young men in UFF uniform: black tie, white shirt and black combat trousers. Many of them had shaved heads and wore sunglasses. (IN/STr)
26 August, Saturday
Over a thousand mourners followed the coffin of UDA/UFF victim Sam Rocket as it made its way around the streets in the Shankill. The cortege was lead by a lone piper. Arthur Rocket, given compassionate leave to attend the funeral, was handcuffed and escorted by RUC officers. The media were advised to stay away for their own safety and the funeral went off peacefully.
Four men were arrested in connection with his murder.
Security presence in the area was high as the UDP's John White denied rumours that a truce was in the offing. Mr White criticised Peter Mandelson for sending Adair back to jail. (IN/BBC)
28 August, Monday
Feud victim Samuel Rocket's home in Oldpark was destroyed in an arson attack. In Coleraine 11-year-old Charlene Daly was shot in the back and seriously wounded when the UVF sprayed her home in Jefferson Park on the Ballysally estate with machine gun fire.
The four arrested in connection with Samuel Rocket's murder were released without charge. The UDP's John White denied reports that a 72 hour cease-fire had been negotiated.
Protestant Church leaders and Shankill community workers called on the rival paramilitaries to find a peaceful solution to their differences, citing the trauma caused to the community at large, and the younger generation in particular. (IN/BBC/NBelfN)
29 August, Tuesday
There were more than 30 attacks on houses by rival UVF and UDA gangs in Carrickfergus and Greenisland, both in Co Antrim. The PUP accused the UDP of starting the tit-for-tat spate of attacks by attacking the home of one of their own supporters.
British Soldiers were deployed in the Ballysally housing estate in Coleraine, Co.Derry, after the UVF shooting of 11-year-old Charlene Daly.
The PUP accused the UDA/UFF of having caused the feud by breaking an agreement not to allow an LVF presence at the rally on the Shankill on 19 August. (IN/BBC)
30 August, Wednesday
British troops were deployed on the Streets of Carrickfergus as a result of the previous night's violence. Mobile British army patrols have also been observed in loyalist areas of Derry. The Northern Ireland Housing Executive revealed that more than 53 families had been forced from their homes in the Shankill in the previous two weeks.
The RUC released statistics relating to the loyalist feud since 16 August:
The DUP leader Ian Paisley hit out at feuding loyalists for "killing their own kith and kin". His party colleague and fellow Free Presbyterian clergyman William McCrea blamed pro-agreement Unionists for the feud. (IN/BBC)
2 September
The Orange Order presence at the UVF parade in memory of UVF man Brian Robinson sparked outrage among Nationalists. Robinson was killed by the British Army in 1989 as he was returning to the Shankill from shooting dead Catholic man Brian McKenna in Ardoyne. A spokesman for the Order in Belfast denied that the organisation had outlawed membership of paramilitary organisations, adding that he had "no particular problem" with the Order's participation in the parade. This follows the outrage at the presence of Apprentice Boys Governor Alisdair Simpson at the funeral of loyalist Bobby Mahood on 24 August. (IN/BBC)
PUP supporter Billy Mitchell, in an article in the North Belfast News, traced the feud back to splits, particularly in the mid-Ulster UVF (one faction of which became the LVF under the leadership of Billy Wright), which he said were widely known to have been engineered by anti-agreement Unionist politicians. Dismissing the casting of the feud as a turf war over drugs and prostitution, the PUP man said the feud was the result of concerted efforts to isolate, vilify and root out pro-agreement and progressive politics from within the Protestant community. He said that in the last two years six people associated with the PUP had been killed.
Peter McBride Week of Action - Events in London and Sydney
Pat Finucane Centre
Jean McBride, mother of Belfast teenager Peter McBride who was murdered by Scots Guards James Wright and Mark Fisher, today travelled to Downing St to hand in a letter demanding the dismissal of her son's murderers from the British army. Her visit is exactly one year on from the day a Belfast Judge ordered the British army board to reconsider its decision to retain the two in the army.
A copy of the letter was originally handed in to Downing St in April of this year, but the family were recently informed that they had received no reply because the original letter had been lost. To ensure that this does not happen again an A0 (approx. 1mx1m) sized letter was handed in (copy below). Jean, accompanied by Paul O'Connor of the Pat Finucane Centre and Jeremy Corbyn MP handed the letter in to No 10 Downing St at 11.30am, before moving across to the headquarters of the MoD, where they met with an official and demanded that a meeting be arranged with John Spellar, Minister for the Armed Forces. The official indicated that this might be possible in the near future.
Letter to Prime Minister Jean and Peter McBride c/o Pat Finucane Centre 1 Westend Park Derry To Prime Minister Mr Tony Blair MP, Dear Prime Minister,On April 10 of this year members of our family travelled to London to lobby your Government regarding the death of our teenage son Peter. We handed a letter in to No 10 Downing St but received no reply. We have since been informed that our letter to you had been 'lost'. This week marks a number of painful anniversaries for our family. On September 2 1998 the two Scots Guards convicted of the murder of our son Peter were granted early release outside the terms of the Good Friday Agreement. On September 4 1992 Peter, our only son, was murdered.
Peter was the father of two young children, Kirsty Lee and Mairead. He was a brother to Roisin, Kelly and Martha. Exactly a year ago today, September 6, a Belfast court ordered the Ministry of Defence to reconsider the decision to retain the two guardsmen, Mark Wright and James Fisher, convicted of Peter's murder.
The Irish Government, Amnesty International, the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission, the Committee on the Administration of Justice and Dr Mo Mowlam have all expressed their opposition to the decision to retain the two soldiers in the British Army. The Independent Assessor on Military Complaints reported serious disquiet "by a large number of people at all levels within the community" following the Army Board ruling. We judicially reviewed the decision and the court ruled that an Army Board should again reconsider the case. One year on and the Army Board has yet to inform us of their decision. Eight years on from Peter's death and his murderers remain members of your armed forces.
It is deeply hurtful and insulting that we should have to plead for justice for our son and family. No democratic society should even consider employing convicted murderers in the armed forces. You are on record as having demanded the dismissal of members of the armed forces guilty of football related hooliganism in France. According to recent media reports soldiers found to have taken illegal drugs will be dismissed. What crime can be judged more serious than the murder of another human being? Can you justify the retention in the armed forces of the two men who murdered our son?
We are asking that your Government makes clear once and for all that murder is the most serious crime of all, regardless of the nationality of the victim or the perpetrators. We are asking that Mark Wright and James Fisher be dismissed from the British Army. To allow them to remain makes it impossible for our family to find closure on our loss. The state has a vital role to play in the process of healing. It is up to you Mr Blair. Peter's family, his sisters and his daughters, expect justice. No more and no less.
Yours, Peter and Jean Mc BrideSydney
To coincide with Jean McBride's visit to Downing St, supporters in Australia organised a picket of the British Consulate in Sydney, planning to hand in a letter also demanding the immediate dismissal of Guardsmen Fisher and Wright. The letter was signed by eight Australian MPs and a number of senior Trade Union officials. Following the picket, a delegation led by the President of Australian Aid for Ireland attempting to hand the letter in was stopped by a number of security men. The delegation was eventually allowed in, followed by the security guards, only to find that the entire floor containing the British consulate had been closed. The group remained in the building, refusing to leave until the letter was delivered. The police were called, and arrived with the British Deputy Consul. They insisted that the leader of the delegation open the letter himself, 'for security reasons'. The letter (copy below) was eventually delivered. Further protests are planned for Melbourne, Brisbane and Adelaide.
Rt Hon Tony Blair, MP, House of Commons, London.6 September 2000
Prime Minister,
In February 1995, two British soldiers, Mark Wright and Jim Fisher from the Scots Guards, were convicted of the wilful murder of an 18-year old Belfast father of two, Peter McBride, in September 1992. They were convicted by Lord Chief Justice Kelly and sentenced to life in prison. Their final appeal against the sentence was rejected by the House of Lords.
However, just three years after their conviction they were not only released but reinstated to the British Army. Their release was not part of the Good Friday Agreement but followed a public campaign headed by the archconservative Daily Mail. Both convicted murders were even sent to Kosovo as part of the British Army's peace-keeping force.
Why is it that two convicted murderers continue to serve in the British Army when others convicted of football hooliganism and drug abuse have been dismissed? Is the cold-blooded murder of a young Irishman considered less of a crime than those?
Prime Minister, last year, on September 6, Judge Kerr recommended the dismissal of Wright and Fisher from the British Army. Since then, nothing has happened. We urge your immediate intervention in this matter to ensure at least some form of justice for the family of Peter McBride.
Yours sincerely,
Sunday-Monday, 17/18 September, 2000
Video Review: 100,000 Years
Coiste na n-Iarchimi
By Fern Lane
There are some startling statistics contained in 100,000 Years, the video produced by Coiste na n-Iarchimi, the co-ordinating body for the 20 or so ex-republican prisoner support groups in the Six and 26 Counties.
The first such statistic is the number contained within the title, representing the total number of years which 15,000 republicans have cumulatively spent in prisons in Ireland, England, the USA and various European countries between 1969 and 1999. The second is the figure of 20 years, the total number of years spent in prison by members of the Crown forces convicted of murder over the same period. In addition, unemployment figures amongst ex-prisoners are revealed and are equally appalling; around 75% in most areas and up to 81% in parts of Belfast.
100,000 Years also raises and begins to explore some of the problems encountered by ex-prisoners - and their partners and children - in their efforts to reintegrate into family life. Familiar faces such as Seanna Breathnach and Caral Ni Chuilin articulate very well the daunting task of reassuming responsibility for others after so long in prison. Inside, as Seanna Breathnach comments, one could, when things got difficult, retreat into the cell for time alone, a luxury not usually available to parents outside. Caral Ni Chuilin speaks about the often unarticulated hurt of children who have been deprived of a parent for reasons they do not fully understand and which can manifest itself years later in resentment and anger.
This documentary, written and directed by former prisoner and hunger-striker Lawrence McKeown together with Coiste na n-Iarchimi Project Manager, Mike Richie, also concentrates on more positive aspects of post-prison life. Encouragement is manifested in the success of self-help projects such as Tar Anall in Belfast and Tar Abhaile, the health and fitness suite in Derry now run as a viable company, offering solid employment opportunities. Its founders, including another hunger-striker, Ray McCartney, raised £60,000 to start it up.
This is, despite the depressing lists of figures, an essentially optimistic view of the possibilities of life after prison and the practical ways in which the psychological, social and economic difficulties of ex-prisoners are being tackled. It concentrates on the historical ability of the republican community throughout Ireland to support its prisoners (and their families), both in jail and today in the new, post-conflict situation.
100,000 Years is available for the price of £5 from Coiste na n-Iarchimi, 10 Beechmount Avenue Belfast BT12 7NA (telephone +1232 200770, or 40-41 Lower Dominick Street, Dublin 1 (telephone +3531 8733199).
Tuesday/Wednesday, 19/20 September, 2000
Rocket Attack on Headquarters of MI6 in London
In what would be their most high-profile attack to date, Republican dissidents opposed to the Irish peace process are thought to be behind a rocket attack on the headquarters of Britains's MI6 military intelligence division in the heart of London, just a few hours ago.
A large explosion ripped through the eighth floor of the building at Vauxhall Cross on the banks of the River Thames just before 10pm Wednesday night. Eyewitnesses described hearing two loud bangs in quick succession. As smoke billowed up, buildings and the ground in the area shook and a crane tipped over. Sheets of smashed glass came crashing to the ground for minutes afterward. There has been no claim of responsibility for the attack.
A case for 007?
The fortress-like cream and green building on the south bank of the Thames in London is home to Military Intelligence, section six—or MI6 for short—which is engaged in foreign espionage and intelligence activities. The building also houses MI5 agents who are involved in internal espionage and efforts to counter Irish Republicanism.
There was surprise at the apparent ease with which the attack was mounted on the billion-pound complex, which featured in the last James Bond film, 'The World is Not Enough'. Ironically, part of the building was shown in one scene being blown up by a bomb.
The hi-tech HQ building bristles with security features, including an extensive CCTV system, and is constructed of reinforced bomb-proof walls and triple-glazed, bullet-proof windows. Much of the top-security complex is below street level to protect the most sensitive areas from attacks, and lies at the heart of what was considered to be one of the most secure areas in the world.
British authorities have sought to play down the attack and have absurdly insisted that there has been no disruption to MI6 activities. An extensive police search operation is continuing, involving the closure of several nearby roads and railway lines.
Scotland Yard police chief Alan Fry said the MI6 headquarters was struck by "some form of small missile". He claimed there had been only "minimal damage" to the outside of the building.
Speaking to reporters on the scene at around 3am on Thursday morning, he would not confirm who had carried out the attack, nor the number or type of the rockets fired. Unlike the daylight rocket attack by the IRA on the British War Cabinet at Downing Street in 1991, there was no indication that any vehicle was used to launch the assault.
Political crisis
Attacks by republican dissidents opposed to the Irish peace process have previously been mounted at times of political difficulty in Ireland. This attack appears to be no exception.
Nationalists are increasingly outraged at the failure of the British government to implement policing reform as set out by the Patten Commission, and the intransigence of British Secretary of State Peter Mandelson on key equality issues.
The bombing took place within hours of the start of polling in a critical Westminster by-election in the South Antrim constituency. The attack may be intended to undermine the peace process by encouraging support for unionist hardliner Willy McCrea of the DUP, who is hoping to win a symbolic victory over the candidate of David Trimble's party, David Burnside.
In recent months, dissident Republicans were blamed for a bomb attack on Hammersmith Bridge, which caused wide disruption of traffic in recent months. Last week, the so-called 'Real IRA' mounted a mortar bomb on Wednesday morning at the Newry Road RUC barracks in Armagh. It exploded just inside the perimeter fence.
Thursday-Saturday, 21-23 September, 2000
Soviet-Style Censorship protects Crown Force Killers
The London Sunday People newspaper said today it had been gagged by the British government and intelligence services -- and it was not allowed to say why.
Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon went to the High Court during the week after the paper ran a report in its Irish edition last Sunday alleging a top army officer had ordered the murder of an innocent Catholic pensioner to protect an IRA mole.
The story also alleged a number of officers at the highest level were currently under investigation for "orchestrating dozens of other loyalist killings". A similar report has appeared in other newspapers.
Condemning the British government move, the Sunday People said: "Earlier this week and without notice, the British Secretary of State for Defence, at the behest of the security services, tried to silence us by taking us to the High Court in London. He won."
On Friday, the paper applied to the same judge to change the order. The paper was not allowed to say anything about his latest judgment.
Editor Neil Wallis said: "I cannot believe that I can't tell my readers what happened in court yesterday. The article published last week clearly contains matters of enormous public interest... And this is just the latest security services gagging attempt over this issue. The MoD has also sought to silence the Sunday Times over this story."
Mr Wallis added: "The whole thing reeks of an establishment stitch-up. The judge has got his priorities all wrong. But we will make further shocking revelations in tomorrow's paper."
The paper said it would publish "new allegations in tomorrow's edition concerning the murder of West Belfast pensioner Francisco Notorantonio, shot by the Ulster Freedom Fighters in October 1987.
"We will allege that his murder was set up by rogue elements in the army's undercover Force Research Unit to protect an agent inside the Provisional IRA."
Sinn Fein's Gerry Kelly said the bid to silence investigation into "collusion between the shadowy FRU and loyalist death squads" highlighted the need for an independent inquiry into the British 'Dirty War' campaign.
The North Belfast Assembly member said that, while he had no specific details of the case involving the Sunday People, Sinn Fein had consistently campaigned for a full international independent inquiry into these killings and specifically into the murder of Belfast civil rights lawyer Pat Finucane and the role of British agent Brian Nelson.
Mr Kelly said: "The action of the British MoD in silencing any investigation into their collusion with loyalists highlights just how afraid they are of any of the details of the British 'Dirty War' campaign coming to light.
"The whole issue of the British military in the passing on of information to, and the training and arming of, loyalist death squads needs to be brought into the open."
He added: "The targeting and murder of nationalists and republicans by loyalists acting at the direction of British securocrats needs to be exposed if we are to cement the new political dispensation created by the Good Friday Agreement." The Irish secretary of the National Union of Journalists, Eoin Ronayne, also condemned the High Court injunction.
He said: "This is an outrageous interference in press freedom and smacks of former Eastern Bloc-style media censorship."
The NUJ would support all efforts by the Sunday People to overturn "this gross interference", he said.
Dublin man convicted of racial abuse
By Staff reporter, Irish News
A DUBLIN bus driver was yesterday fined IR£900 after becoming the first person to be convicted under Irish race hate laws.
Gerry O’Grady was also given 12 months probation after Dublin district court heard that he racially abused Gambian-born Matthew John and told him to “go back to his own country”.
Witnesses said an argument broke out after Mr John brought food onto O’Grady’s bus in Celbridge, Co Kildare, last summer. They said O’Grady told Mr John: “We don’t eat on the buses in this country.”
O’Grady denied racially abusing Mr John or using the word ‘country’.
He was convicted under the Prohibition of Incitement to Hatred Act last Thursday and sentenced yesterday.
The Republic has seen an upsurge in racial tension in the last few months following a dramatic rise in the number of immigrants and refugees.
Copyright © 2000 Irish News
Hamill family to meet PM
From The Rosemary Nelson Campaign
BBC: http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/uk/northern_ireland/newsid_936000/936899.stm
The family of a Catholic who died after being kicked and beaten by a loyalist gang in Portadown are to meet Prime Minister Tony Blair. The meeting between the relatives of Robert Hamill and Mr Blair is understood to have been arranged following a request from Irish prime minister Bertie Ahern.
The Hamill family have said a nearby RUC patrol did nothing to intervene in the unprovoked attack in Portadown town centre on 27 April 1997. They are seeking a public enquiry into the killing.
Nobody has been convicted in connection with the death of Mr Hamill and the Greater Belfast coroner John Leckey decided not to hold an inquest due to the security risk to some witnesses.
In a letter to Labour MP Jeremy Corbyn (Islington North), Mr Blair confirmed he would meet the Hamills.
This meeting would give the family "the opportunity to explain why they think a judicial inquiry should be set up into the circumstances surrounding the tragic murder of Robert Hamill".
Mr Blair is already considering family demands for a full judicial investigation in the loyalist murder of Belfast solicitor Pat Finucane who was who dead in front of his family more than 10 years ago. His relatives claim security force collusion. Before the talks with Mr Blair, the Hamill family is expected to meet Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Mandelson on 2 October. Mr Corbyn said he hoped Mr Blair would order an inquiry.
"The most fundamental human right is the right to life. All Robert Hamill's family want to know is why he was allowed to be killed, and why his murderers escaped justice."
For more information visit the Campaign site at: http://www.RosemaryNelsonCampaign.com/
Please write British PM Tony Blair in support of the Hamill family
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