Sunday, 14 February, 1999
Tuesday, 16 February, 1999
Wednesday, 17 February, 1999
Thursday, 18 February, 1999
Friday, 19 February, 1999
Weekend, 20/21 February, 1999
Monday, 22 February, 1999
Wednesday, 24 February, 1999
Thursday, 25 February, 1999
Friday, 26 February, 1999
Sunday/Monday, 14/15 February, 1999
Ahern gaffe ignites peace process furore
In one of the most difficult days yet for peace efforts, the Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern spent Sunday disowning a report in a London newspaper which claimed he wanted Sinn Fein „barred“ from the new power-sharing Executive unless IRA decommissioning takes place.
The Sunday Times report, based on an interview with the Taoiseach on Thursday, prompted intense alarm among nationalists and unabashed glee among unionists. And despite Ahern‘s claims that his comments were misinterpreted, there remained a sense of widespread confusion and unease over both the tenor of the interview and the direction of the peace process in general.
For months, both Ahern and Britain‘s governor in Ireland Mo Mowlam have treaded a line between the nationalist pursuit of radical change and the unionist refusal to accept any dilution of their power in the north of Ireland.
But Ahern‘s interview appears to have been a clumsy mis-step which could have major repercussions for the peace process. While admitting that there was no pre-condition on Sinn Fein‘s participation in the new Executive, Ahern said—possibly more out of hope than conviction—that some kind of decommissioning „has to happen“. The failure to begin decommissioning was „not compatible“ with being a part of a government, claimed Ahern, despite the fact that his own party never disarmed before moving into politics at the end of the Irish Civil War.
Ahern‘s contradictory comments were not dissimilar to his previous remarks on the issue, which have routinely taken both sides of the argument. But his failure to present a clearly balanced position on this occasion was a clear invitation to the notoriously anti-Republican Sunday Times, which happily distorted the interview into a page 1 „exclusive“.
„No power-sharing before arms handover, Ahern tells Sinn Fein,“ screamed the headline which accompanied the report, replete with glowing praise from David Trimble.
„I am obviously very pleased that the Taoiseach has gone public on this. I always knew this would be his bottom line,“ said the UUP leader.
It was all hands to the pump on Sunday morning, and there was tangible relief when Ahern distanced himself from the report.
„Like a lot of extended interviews, people focus in on one line and it was reported in a headline that I said they would be barred from participation,“ Ahern said.
„I never used the word ‚barred‘. I think the circumstances are very clear and I have so many meetings with Sinn Fein that they know precisely what the Government‘s position is.“
With on the eve of a week which should see a dramatic transformation in Irish society with the creation of the new political institutions, unionists were sadly assured that their policy of total intransigence was paying rich dividends. Indeed, Ahern seemed to indicate in the interview that he had given up trying to convince Ulster Unionist leader David Trimble to drop his decommissioning precondition.
„it is my view and the view of all those who are working with me that we are not going to get David Trimble to agree to the establishment of an Executive or the formulation of the Executive until we actually deal with the decommissioning issue in some form, even if that is in some fairly minor way,“ he said.
Such an abject acceptance of the unionist veto yielded praise even from the most bitter opponent of the peace process, Ian Paisley. He said Ahern‘s comments represented a „late-in-the-day conversion“ to his own viewpoint. „The Irish government ought to have taken up this stance from day one,“ he added.
The Sinn Fein chairman, Mr Mitchel McLaughlin, urged Ahern to clear the matter up quickly because the proposal attributed to him „would mean tearing up the Good Friday agreement“.
„It is very serious, if this is confirmed by the Irish government,“ he warned on breakfast television. Sinn Fein leaders were on the phone to Dublin in short order. The party‘s chief negotiator Martin McGuinness said he had been in direct contact with Ahern. „He assured me that these comments are inaccurate and that they do not reflect the position of the Irish government,“ said McGuinness.
„Mr Ahern made it clear that he had not said, as was reported, that Sinn Fein should be barred from the Executive and he also told me that he had made it clear in the interview that there are no preconditions in the agreement.“
Mr McGuinness said he also received assurances that Mr Ahern stands by the Agreement as negotiated on Good Friday and is opposed to any renegotiating of the agreement or ‚parking‘ the process.
He added: „There are no preconditions to Sinn Fein‘s entry in the agreement which we all signed up to on Good Friday. The Agreement needs to be implemented. It cannot be rewritten, renegotiated or re-interpreted.“
Today, nationalists were facing the task of coping with a reinforced unionist ‚ubermensch‘ mentality with or without Ahern, whose government in Dublin is—perhaps not coincidentally—threatened by a growing corruption scandal. Ahern has appeared distracted from the peace process by the continuing revelations over payments by builders to Ahern‘s colleagues in return for the award of lucrative Dublin city planning permission.
Meanwhile, in Belfast, Assembly members today prepared for a crucial vote which will pave the way for devolution of power from London.
David Trimble and the Deputy First Minister-designate Seamus Mallon, are putting forward proposals for a 10-member ruling Executive and six cross-border bodies. The proposals are certain to be passed, but the subsequent formation of the Executive—including two Sinn Fein members—is certain to be opposed by unionists. The dispute will see attention focus on Mo Mowlam, who is certain to face strong pressure from Sinn Fein to end the stalemate and back the creation of the new bodies.
Two members of Trimble‘s party have said they will vote against the proposals, leaving the unionist vote split down the middle with 29 in favour of the plans, and 29 against. Some have argued that Ahern‘s interview with the Sunday Times was a misguided attempt to win Trimble a majority of unionist votes in the crucial division.
But Loyalist spokesman David Ervine said he saw no advance planning in the chain of events.
„I like the idea of a peace process and I fear there is no choreography going on anywhere within the process.
„It‘s come as shock to the leadership of the IRA and Sinn Fein, what the Taioseach has said. Therefore I think it could in effect be very, very, very destabilising,“ he warned.
Analysis: What can be done about Paisley
By Des Wilson
The action of the clergyman Paisley in naming individuals in the British House of Commons was a callous action typical of his party. What can be done about it? The law in Britain protects him by parliamentary privilege, which means he cannot be sued for what he said. But this privilege was meant to be used only on rare occasions and in very restricted circumstances. It was not meant to be used as a weapon against political and religious enemies of MPs.
Paisley abused British parliamentary privilege. If he had tried to abuse fellow members of the legislature, he would have been stopped. Nevertheless, even if he had succeeded, this would not have been so serious, because members of the British legislature are protected by internal rules.
For example, members cannot call each other liars or killers, even under parliamentary privilege. This means that members of the British House of Commons are protected from such abuse, although members of the public who elect them are not. This should not be.
Paisley could say anything he liked about good persons in Ireland, but he would be absolutely forbidden to say that a fellow member of Parliament was a liar. The difference in rights is obvious. Parliamentary privilege should be examined and if necessary changed. It has now become a weapon in the hands of any person in the British House of Commons who wants to use it against his—or her— political and religious enemies. This should be of concern to the Speaker of the British Commons, but of course since only Irish are involved, it is of less concern than if the people of Birmingham, or Israel, or Washington were involved. Irish democrats, then, should tell the Speaker of the British House of Commons that this is an abuse of privilege and remind her that she is not powerless in this matter.
She cannot take away parliamentary privilege no matter how much it may be abused by clergymen—but she can rule out of order anything that is an abuse of the privilege. This is what she should have done already, and this is what she must do in the future. No parliamentary privilege can be used to put the lives and future of individuals in danger, individuals for whom the House of Commons has responsibility, whether Irish democrats like it or or not. A letter should be sent to her from Irish democrats in which her powers in the matter should be pointed out to her. She has the power to rule Paisley or any other members out of order because they are abusing privileges and procedures. She should act accordingly within her own House rules.
But democrats should have gone much further than this, years ago. Complaints about Paisley‘s behavior through the years should have been given to the European Parliament.
He engaged in campaign after campaign against the Catholic Church, against the religious beliefs and practices of a majority of the inhabitants of this country and in the European Union. In his campaigns, he was supported by over 40% of the Protestant voting population. This does not make the matter more excusable: It makes it even less so.
His was a voice of anti-Catholicism and anti-democracy in this country, in Canada, in the United States, in the European Parliament. He should have been curbed and disciplined long ago, but because neither the British parliament nor the European parliament were willing to tell him to go, ordinary people were powerless. British law was made in such a way as to make Paisley not just an opponent of good government but a powerful instrument of bad government.
The European legislature should be asked to examine the words and deeds of Paisley with a view to deciding whether his conduct is unworthy of a member of it. His action in naming individuals in such a dangerous situation as ours should leave the legislature in no doubt.
The ordinary person has not the same protection against the Paisleyites as Paisley‘s fellow member of the House of Commons has. This should not be so. Everyone is entitled to equal protection. In this column some time ago it was said that abuse of this privilege could result in the House of Commons becoming a playground for bullies. The authorities over there have to decide now whether they want it to or not.
Landmark meeting as assembly hands Mowlam the key
Following a substantial vote by the members of the Belfast Assembly yesterday to move ahead with the creation of new inclusive political institutions, Britain‘s governor in Ireland Mo Mowlam is now being urged to finally set up the shadow Executive for the administration of the Six Counties.
As expected, almost three-quarters of the Assembly—some 77 members -- backed the details of a deal to set up the Six County administration, the all-Ireland Ministerial Council, all-Ireland implementation bodies, and a Six County Civic Forum. Mowlam now has her finger on the trigger—the final standing orders which will allocate the northern Ministries to the parties by the d‘Hondt voting system.
Like a preliminary vote last month, yesterday‘s critical motion was opposed by 29 unionists, or exactly half their total number. One member of David Trimble‘s Ulster Unionist Party, David Weir, again voted against the deal.
Yesterday‘s strong positive vote, while no surprise, showed Trimble‘s hold over his party was „rock solid“ according Sinn Fein negotiator Martin McGuinness.
Ian Paisley‘s failure to convince a majority of unionist members to oppose the motion left him visibly crestfallen, yet typically defiant. He claimed that he had the support of „the majority in the assembly of the ordinary unionist elected people - and I am leaving out the [loyalist] PUP.“
HISTORIC DIALOGUE
Broad negotiations continued today to find a means of overcoming Trimble‘s implacable insistence that IRA weapons decommissioning must take place before the new institutions are set up.
In a first for peace efforts, Sinn Fein and the Ulster Unionist Party were having their first full head-to-head meeting at Stormont today. All of the matters impinging on the implementation of the Good Friday Agreement were set to be discussed by party delegations including Gerry Adams, Martin McGuinness and Bairbre de Brun from Sinn Fein and David Trimble, John Taylor and Michael McGimpsey of the UUP.
The UUP had refused to meet Sinn Fein on this level for years, even throughout the political negotiations which led up to the Good Friday Agreement. Although one-to-one meetings have taken place between the party leaders last year, today‘s move was seen as a breakthrough by Republicans who believe the UUP are now beginning to accept Sinn Fein‘s democratic elected mandate—an issue at the heart of the current guns-for-government standoff.
Dublin Foreign Minister David Andrews said there would be „a wide welcome for today‘s important development.“ He said the development marked the normalisation of politics in the North, with both sides involved deserving credit „for the constructive approach they are adopting in seeking to ensure the future is very different from the past.“
The Irish minister added: „This is the kind of politics—the politics of dialogue an inclusion—the people voted for, north and south, in referendums on the Good Friday agreement.
The Stormont meeting came between discussions by the two respective party leaders with the British Prime Minister in London.
Mr Adams, speaking after his Downing Street meeting with Tony Blair yesterday afternoon, said he was positive that the current difficulties could be overcome—it was now time for David Trimble to face down the „wreckers“ in unionist ranks, he said.
Welcoming yesterday‘s vote, Mr Adams said he expected the British and Irish governments to push ahead with implementing the agreement and transferring powers to the assembly by March 10.
„It was a good meeting. We covered a whole range of issues. I raised concerns about the continued siege of the Garvaghy Road and how that was corroding confidence - not just among people in that area but also in the wider nationalist community.“
Mr Adams said he also raised concerns about the continued bombing campaign by loyalists and showed Mr Blair part of a grenade produced in the Assembly the day before by Martin McGuinness. Adams also raised the role of British intelligence agents in loyalist assassinations, particularly Brian Nelson‘s role in the murder of Pat Finucane.
„The new political landscape emerging is along pro- and anti-agreement lines, so David Trimble should take strength from today‘s vote and Dr Mowlam should trigger d‘Hondt and move the institutions which have been delayed for a very long time into shadow formation and then transfer powers by March 10.
„There is a clear understanding that neither one of us is going to let this agreement go. It was hard fought for, hard won, and we need to face up to the reactionaries.“
Asked if Mr Blair gave him any indication if he would push ahead with forming an executive, Mr Adams said: „It‘s not for me to put words into the mouth of the British Prime Minister but it‘s my expectation that the British government will move within the terms of the agreement.
„This marks the beginning of a new phase of the process which was brought about, belatedly, by this vote.
„There are obviously many difficulties which have to be overcome but if there is the political will, if the government and all the parties uphold the agreement, if people keep their nerve and don‘t acquiesce to the agenda being set by the wreckers then I think that all of these things are possible.“
Working together the goal - Sinn Féin
Irish republicans and Ulster Unionists have to get it into their heads that they are now on the one side on the basis of the Good Friday Agreement, Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams said yesterday following historic discussions between Sinn Fein and the Ulster Unionist Party at Stormont Parliament Buildings in Belfast.
Mr Adams said this „was daunting and challenging“ and the first full bilateral meeting between the two parties „is just the beginning of what needs to be done“.
And Sinn Fein‘s Martin McGuinness said he wanted to do everything in his power „to extend the hand of friendship to unionists“.
There were no photographs of the meeting and no public handshakes, but participants were on first name terms at a meeting which had fixed agenda.
Adams and McGuinness described the 90-minute encounter as „frank, good and useful“, but the UUP leader and First Minister, Mr David Trimble, said that both sides had merely restated familiar positions.
The line-up across the table was: Ulster Unionists—David Kerr, Michael McGimpsey, Ken Maginnis, David Trimble, John Taylor, Reg Empey; and for Sinn Fein were Richard McAuley, Siobhan O‘Hanlon, Martin McGuinness, Gerry Adams, Lucilita Bhreathnach, Mitchel McLaughlin, and Bairbre de Brun.
Speaking after the meeting, Mr Adams said there was now a new geography and a new political potential, with well over three-quarters of members represented in the northern Assembly wanting to see the agreement work.
UUP leader and First Minister David Trimble said that he „very much hoped“ that decommissioning of IRA weapons „will take place over the next few weeks“ but he could not say that anything said in yesterday‘s meeting gave him any reassurance.
Trimble is refusing to take part in a power-sharing Executive with Sinn Fein unless the IRA first hands over weapons.
Trimble said he was not concerned about the mechanics of it „provided there is a credible beginning of a process of decommissioning“.
At a separate press briefing Mr Adams pointed out that decommissioning had been dealt with by the Good Friday agreement.
„The agreement is clear about how this issue should be resolved. „We‘re honouring that and we want to see it resolved and dealt with and want all to join with us in seeing it resolved and dealt with,“ Mr Adams said.
He said that the governments should now move to transfer powers by March 10.
„For one party (the unionists) to pluck out a position and to try and put it up as a precondition goes against the spirit and letter of the agreement,“ Mr Adams said.
Sinn Fein‘s Martin McGuinness said: „This was a useful meeting and people who voted for the agreement last year will take great heart from the fact this meeting takes place. There also need to be more meetings.
„You can‘t get around the table for an hour and a half, with two political parties that have never met one another before and hope to resolve all the difficult issues which lie at the heart of this conflict.
„There are many issues. The decommissioning was but one of many issues discussed. We took the opportunity to talk about the reality that we understood there were perceptions on the unionist side about us—but that they had to understand that within the nationalist community there were also many perceptions about unionism about British governments, about British military intelligence, and about the fact that civilians have been killed.
„There is a shared responsibility amongst all of the political parties and the two governments to deal with and tackle the issues which arise from a conflict which has been so much to the detriment of all of our people. And there needs to be the building of a relationship.
„Can we be friendly with the unionists—of course we can. I am prepared to do everything in my power to extend the hand of friendship to unionists and to the political leadership of unionism. „It is absolutely essential that we all work together,“ Mr McGuinness said.
A week of decisive political activity
When roaming the corridors of Stormont this week, it was impossible to not be hit by the electricity in the air. Yes, once again, something was happening. Cameras lined under the Grand Hall steps and polished shoes kept on rapping the marble. The 15 February date was seen as a landmark of the peace process. And it would receive the appropriate attention.
Even if the vote was inevitably delayed, the latest efforts to clear the ultimate hurdle to the setting-up of the Assembly executive were finally rewarded on Tuesday. After two days of sometimes heated debates, a watershed vote in favour of the structures of the new bodies provided for in the Agreement unfolded.
The overwhelming backing for the Final Document puts pressure on British Secretary of State Mo Mowlam to trigger the establishment of the shadow Executive. It is now expected that Mowlam will move to issue the standing orders which will allocate the Ministries to the various parties under the d‘Hondt attribution system.
The vote also paved the way for the first substantial meeting between a Sinn Fein and an Ulster Unionist Party delegation. That meeting was held on Wednesday morning at Stormont. Talking afterwards, Gerry Adams said, „this is about pro-Agreement and anti-Agreement parties. The majority of the people of the island have voted in support of this Agreement. Irish republicans and Unionists have to get it in our heads that we are on the same side. That‘s challenging. Today‘s meeting is just the beginning to scratching the surface of what needs to be done.“
LANDSCAPE VICTORY
On Tuesday, during the long-awaited vote, a clear majority of the Assembly backed the Final Document that outlined the technical details of the setting-up of the Assembly Executive, the all-Ireland Ministerial Council, all-Ireland implementation bodies and the Civic Forum.
Tuesday‘s most important motion, on the Final document, was accepted by a total of 77 members of the Assembly and opposed by 29 Unionists. Only one member of the Ulster Unionist Party voted against the motion. It came as no surprise as Peter Weir had already signalled his opposition to the deal. 100% of the nationalist members backed the document and 50% of Unionists.
In other terms, the vote signalled a clear victory to the pro-Agreement parties and totally crushed the anti-Agreement party‘s potential.
The highly positive vote proved that David Trimble‘s hand over his party was „rock solid“, as indicated by Martin McGuinness.
Talking after the vote, Martin McGuinness said: „this is another good day for the peace process“. He however stressed that the responsibility now lay on the Irish and British governments to set up the shadow executive in time for the transfer of powers from London to Belfast on 10 March.
HEATED DEBATES
The vote came after a number of heated debates. Progressive Unionist Party member and UVF political representative Billy Hutchinson opened a heated debate when he accused Sinn Fein of damaging pro-Agreement unionists by presenting the Agreement as the road to a United Ireland.
„I‘m quite prepared to accommodate Sinn Fein, DUP or anyone else, but the point is, there is no united Ireland. There was never going to be any united Ireland,“ he said. He also criticised Martin McGuinness for bringing part of a loyalist grenade into the chamber the previous day.
On Monday, the debate was marked by some angry comments from the DUP directed at Sinn Fein. During his speech, Martin McGuinness stressed that, during this time of political vacuum, nationalists are continuing to be targeted by loyalist death squads.
Barry McElduff also intervened to remind the Assembly of the thousands of legally held loyalist and unionist guns. Dara O‘Hagan highlighted the ongoing siege of the Portadown nationalist residents. Mitchel McLaughlin talked about the „new political dispensation“ that was promised by the Good Friday Agreement and the new partnership that had to be built with unionism.
Loyalist attempts to abduct Nationalists
Two attempts by loyalists to abduct nationalists in Belfast in the past two days have been ignored in the mainstream media.
In the first incident on Wednesday morning a delivery driver stopped on the Ormeau Embankment was approached by an armed and masked man. Only the man‘s quick thinking ensured that he was able to escape to safety. The man drove to the Donegal Pass RUC station and reported the incident. The RUC did not inform the media of the incident and have subsequently denied to the media that any serious incident occurred.
Then last night the Red Hand Defenders organisation admitted the bomb attack on a nationalist resident living in the Greymount area. They also admitted having to abandon an attempt to abduct a leading Republican on the Whitewell Road last night. Sinn Fein Councillor Danny Lavery was on constituency business in thie area at the time and it appears that this planned abduction was to be directed at him.
Sinn Fein Assembly member for North Belfast Gerry Kelly has urged nationalists to take precautions after what he described as „sinister developments“.
„Almost daily attacks are taking place on nationalists across the Six Counties,“ he said. „It started off with pipe bombs, moved onto grenades and now we see armed and masked loyalists back on the streets. It has only been through good fortune that numerous people have not been killed. These are sinister developments and I would urge nationalists across the six counties to remain vigilant in the days and weeks ahead.“
Mother‘s Shock At Guards' Possible Nato Role
By Rosie Cowan and Nick Drainey, PA News
The mother of a murdered Belfast teenager is „shocked and disgusted“ at reports that the two soldiers responsible for his killing could join a peace-keeping force in Kosovo.
Father-of-two Peter McBride, 18, was shot dead during a confrontation with an army patrol in the republican New Lodge area of north Belfast on September 4 1992.
Scots Guards Mark Wright, then 19, and James Fisher, then 24, were jailed for life for his murder in February 1995, but were freed on September 2 1998. In November, the Army Board decided they could resume their service careers.
Now it has emerged they could be part of a unit sent to Kosovo as part of a Nato peace-keeping force.
The Sunday Mail today reported that the two guards had been transferred to the Irish Guards and deployed to Germany as part of a planned peace-keeping mission to go to Kosovo.
Jean McBride said: „I‘m disgusted and really shocked to hear this. That country has enough problems without convicted murderers running around armed.
„When Peter was shot I was told it was because tensions were running high on the streets of Belfast. If those two could not keep their heads in Northern Ireland, how on earth will they keep them in Kosovo.“
Mrs McBride recently launched a legal battle to have the two men thrown out of the army. Now she is set to consult her solicitor again to see if there is any further action she can take if they are sent to Kosovo.
„One of the few things that gave my mind some ease was that I believed at least they would never be involved in duties similar to those in Belfast. This would prove me wrong. If my solicitor thinks there is any action I can take, I will take it.“
A Ministry of Defence spokesman denied any decision had been taken on which units could go to Kosovo.
„We do not reveal the movements of individual soldiers“, he said. „But if these two were to go to Kosovo, there would be nothing unusual in that. As soldiers, they can be sent anywhere the army chooses.“
Wright, from Arbroath, and Fisher, from Ayr, were the subject of a high-profile campaign for their release.
In August 1997, the Belfast Appeal Court upheld Ulster Secretary Mo Mowlam‘s appeal against the ruling that the two men be considered for immediate release from prison. Last September, Ms Mowlam was reported to be urging the army to discharge them.
Copyright 1999 PA News in Belfast
Analysis: Standing on the threshold
Gerry Adams gives an overview on the current state of Irish peace efforts in article published in the Sydney Morning Herald to coincide with the start of his visit to Australia.
In the opening line of the diary he kept during the first three weeks of his hunger strike, republican prisoner Bobby Sands, who died after 55 days on the strike, wrote: „I am standing on the threshold of another trembling world.“
We in Ireland also stand on the threshold of a new beginning.
History occasionally grants us an opportunity to contribute to the future well being of our family and friends and neighbours, and of the children yet unborn. We are at a defining point in our history and everything depends on how we respond to the opportunities and difficulties before us.
In developing its peace strategy, Sinn Fein has recognised that progress requires honest dialogue between the participants and good faith in seeking agreement. Irish republicans have had to become agents for change and have had to work to manage that change in the interests of all.
The peace process is about tearing down the physical, psychological and political barriers which divide the people of Ireland and raising our common humanity above the prejudices and divisions of our past.
Sinn Fein‘s political objective is a united Ireland free of British interference. Everything we do is intended to advance that legitimate and realisable goal. We see a 32-county republic as the best way to eradicate political, social, economic and other inequalities.
On April 10 last year, a step forward was taken with the so-called Good Friday Agreement. It was the result of many years of hard work and months of difficult negotiations. It was painstakingly and exhaustively put together and was the best deal the participants in those negotiations could reach. No-one got everything they wanted, but we secured enough to give the agreement a fair wind.
The agreement is not a peace settlement. But it is an important staging post in the peace process which can, like others before it in recent years, create the conditions for further movement in that direction.
Most importantly for nationalists, the Good Friday Agreement recognises that discrimination against Catholics is no longer an option and that change must be fundamental and comprehensive. The agreement and the ensuing referenda endorsed a wide-ranging agenda for change - political, social, economic and cultural. Human rights, policing, justice, equality, decommissioning and demilitarisation are all dealt with under the agreement.
Sinn Fein believes that inequality and social exclusion are the enemies of peace. We need a partnership based on equality to to improve the quality of life of all citizens by being open, inclusive and democratic. In the search for a just settlement, parity of esteem, equality of treatment and full human rights protection must be guaranteed.
Regrettably, in the 10 months since the agreement was signed, unionists have sought to minimise the intent and potential of the agreement, exclude Sinn Fein from its rightful positions on the executive and reshape the agreement in a way which would continue inequality and exclusion for nationalists.
We have also witnessed a period of deterioration, with the loyalist UVF saying it is re-arming and retraining; almost daily sectarian attacks against Catholics (with one Belfast Catholic killed); and an increase in British Army and RUC raids. There has been daily intimidation by loyalists of nationalist residents of Garvaghy Road in Portadown. They are all worrying signs that the old agenda prevails.
While Sinn Fein appreciates that the Ulster Unionist Party leader, David Trimble, has problems within his own constituency, it is becoming clear that he sees the impasse and his refusal to implement the next stage of the agreement as an opportunity for unionism to rewrite the Good Friday Agreement. But the agreement is not solely a unionist agreement, it is the collective product of inclusive negotiations. It is premised on a willingness to accept our political opponents on their own terms - as they are, rather than we want them to be. The agreement cannot be retrospectively rewritten on the basis of, unionist demands, preconditions or vetoes.
Therefore the next steps in the implementation of the Good Friday Agreement are clearly visible. The executive must be set up and the all-Ireland Ministerial Council established. There can be no further equivocation.
David Trimble has so far successfully delayed the process. His use of the decommissioning issue is probably the most obvious example of this. Sinn Fein wants to see a total demilitarisation of the situation, and all of the guns taken out of Irish politics. The mechanism to achieve this is in the Good Friday Agreement. However, there is nothing in the agreement which requires the IRA to decommission before Sinn Fein or the other parties with the required mandate, can take up the ministerial positions which are the entitlement of their respective electorates.
What concerns people now is that the peace process should continue and that the guns are not used; that the agreement is built upon, and that we continue on the road to a lasting peace. The Sinn Fein leadership and our party are totally committed to pursuing our objectives and peace strategy. We will promote the republican agenda and defend our mandate in the positive and constructive way that has marked our contribution to the search for a lasting peace.
Seamus Heaney described this new situation several years ago, „a space in which hope can grow“. It is our responsibility to widen that space, to deepen it, and to nurture that hope. There will be many difficulties ahead but we must look forward with confidence and optimism.
The decisions and actions of the next few months will determine whether we move forward. History has placed a challenge at all our doors. We must succeed in this for all our people and for the generations yet to be born.
UDR soldiers acted as covert Death Squad
Members of the British Army‘s locally recruited Ulster Defence Regiment [UDR] were hired by British army special forces to assist in covert assassinations and bombings in the 1970‘s, it has been revealed.
John Weir, a former RUC police sergeant, has previously detailed how he and other RUC members had colluded with loyalist killers. Weir also claimed that a number of UDR members had been recruited by British special forces for covert operations.
John Weir, a serving RUC officer of ten years standing at the time, was convicted in 1980 of the murder of William Strathearn, a Catholic pharmacist shot dead in Ahoghill, County Antrim. The killing was claimed by the UVF. According to Weir an informer working for the RUC had revealed to him that a British undercover soldier, Robert Nairac, was a frequent visitor to his home. Weir claims that Nairac had named those responsible for a series of loyalist attacks at the time, including the names of members of the UDR who were ‚helping‘ British army special forces.
In a curious twist, Weir‘s allegations have been confirmed by relatives of two UDR members who were later killed by the IRA. A group based in Armagh and including prominent members of Families Acting for Innocent Relatives, (FAIR) an anti agreement victims‘ group closely associated with Ian Paisley‘s DUP, are to ask Amnesty International to investigate the circumstances of their relatives deaths. These were members of the UDR, who were recruited to act as members of covert death squads by British special forces, and were executed by the IRA. The families believe that Robert Nairac, in a bungled attempt to infiltrate the IRA, passed the names of those responsible for a series of gun and bomb attacks on nationalists and republicans at the time.
14 INTELLIGENCE
Captain Robert Nairac was attached to the British army‘s 14 Intelligence Unit, working closely with the SAS. The unit had a cover name of 14 Field Survey and the British House of Commons was told in 1987, that all records of the unit had been destroyed. The unit‘s commander was Julian ‚Tony‘ Ball who died in Oman in 1981. The second-in-command was Robert Nairac. Nairac was abducted outside a bar in County Armagh in 1977 and is presumed dead. Nairac, who role in Britain‘s ‚dirty war‘ may never be fully exposed, has been implicated in some of the most dastardly acts of this period. The Dublin/Monaghan bombings of May 1974, the murder of IRA Volunteer John Francis Green in Monaghan in January 1975, the Miami Showband massacre in July 1975.
Willie Frazer, a spokesperson for FAIR, whose father Robert was a UDR soldier executed by the IRA in August 1975, claims his father had „worked closely with 14 Intelligence.“ Frazer claims „it was those who were helping the SAS and special forces who were selected for killing by the IRA“. Said Frazer, „other members of the UDR weren‘t assassinated. The IRA drove past the homes of other UDR members to get him [Robert Frazer]. The IRA picked a group of people who had been in something together. It was not just any member of the security forces.“ Frazer‘s comments not only acknowledge the quality of IRA Intelligence at the time, they also confirm what Republicans and nationalists have known for a long time. British Crown forces have been actively engaged in the operation of sectarian death squads, either with the collusion of loyalists or under loyalist flags of convenience.
The allegation that UDR members were acting as part of a covert group
involved in assassinations and bombings under the command of British special
forces has been reiterated by another relative, Brian
McConnell, a nephew of UDR member Robert McConnell. According to FAIR
member Brian McConnell, his uncle ‚liaised‘ between British special forces
and loyalist killers in the UVF and whose ‚information‘ would
have led to the deaths of IRA members. Robert McConnell, a member of
the UDR was shot dead by the IRA in April 1976. FAIR‘s cosy image of Robert
McConnell as a sort of Ulster „Dirty Harry“ in the words of his nephew
a „dedicated soldier“ who „would have defended his country at all costs“
is at best only a partial truth. Robert McConnell did not just engage his
enemy in the IRA but was also linked to random sectarian killings and mass
sectarian atrocities. In a documentary by Yorkshire television screened
in 1993, „Hidden Hand-the Forgotten Massacre“ Robert McConnell was named
as one of the prime suspects in the Dublin Monaghan bombings. The programme
named three other leading members of the gang, Billy Hanna and Harris Boyle
both UVF leaders in Portadown and a loyalist assassin known as the Jackal
[Robin Jackson]. According to the programme makers, the four prime
suspects had one thing in common, they were all former or serving members
of the UDR. Incidentally Harris Boyle was one of two loyalists killed
a year later by their own bomb as they were planting the device on the
Miami Showband‘s minibus. Robert McConnell has also been linked to the
killing of IRA Volunteer John Francis Green.
In July 1987, during his inaugural speech as a newly elected MP in the British House of Commons, Ken Livingstone accused Robert Nairac of murder, claiming that the then British Tory government benefited from killings by MI5 officers in the North of Ireland in the 1970‘s. According to Livingstone, Nairac and loyalist paramilitaries had murdered John Francis Green with the same gun that was later used in the Miami Showband murders a year later. The British MP was reiterating earlier claims by Fred Holroyd, a former British military intelligence officer who said he had spoken to Nairac shortly after Green‘s murder. Holroyd claimed that Nairac had graphically recounted details of the Monaghan farmhouse killing and showed him a picture of the victim lying in a pool of blood. A polaroid picture was later recovered by the RUC who claimed it had been taken by the Garda after they arrived at the murder scene. According to John Weir, the same gang named by Yorkshire Television as prime suspects in the Dublin/Monaghan bombings carried out the Green murder, eight months later.
A source, described in the Sunday Times as „a man acting as a loyalist assassin at the time and who has since served a life sentence“, said that in the early 1970‘s a section of the British army had wanted to use loyalist paramilitaries as „a kind of unofficial SAS“ but it had failed. He described UDR member Robert McConnell as „part of that abandoned strategy.“ A second source, described as a UDR officer at the time, claims in 1974 Nairac‘s 14 Intelligence unit began recruiting members of the UDR. „There were interviews. There was talk of Operation Big Sleep, a mission to take out the IRA. When the interviews were all over we were told it had been called off.“ The UDR source said some UDR members and civilians did continue to work with the SAS and other covert groups within the British army. According to a friend Robert McConnell was one. „They [British soldiers] used to call at Robert‘s house for him after he had finished his normal duties and he often crossed the border with them, „ he said.
KEY FACTS ABOUT THE UDR
The Ulster Defence Regiment was established in April 1970. In the first month almost half of the applicants to join the UDR came from the notorious B Specials, a brutal and openly criminal militia deployed by the Crown forces. By May 1972 almost two and a half thousand former B Specials had been recruited into the UDR. Between 1970-75 over 500 nationalists were killed in sectarian gun and bomb attacks.
In the first ten years of the UDR‘s existence nearly 200 members were convicted, many for offences linked to a sectarian murder campaign. In the 1980‘s, following recommendations by Maurice Oldfield, former head of MI6 and Intelligence co ordinator in the Six counties, the UDR was given its own comprehensive intelligence department. By the mid 1980‘s over 120 members of the UDR were convicted of a range of offences including supplying information to loyalist death squads.
Collusion within the UDR became so blatant that the British government was forced to implement the Steven‘s inquiry in October 1987. During the course of that inquiry it was estimated that the personnel details of over 2,000 nationalists had passed into the hands of loyalist killers. The vast majority of these document had gone ‚missing‘ from UDR bases. In the early 90s public disgrace forced the British government to rename the UDR. It is now known as the RIR, the Royal Irish Regiment.
Garvaghy residents look to Dublin as tension mounts
Nationalists in Portadown are seeking support across Ireland in an effort to end the nightmare of eight months of sectarian violence against their community.
And a rally in Portadown tonight could lead to yet more violence in the town, it is feared.
Independent nationalist councillor Breandan Mac Cionnaith said last night that he was concerned at the decision of anti-Agreement hardliner Ian Paisley to address a meeting in the town tonight. He said that following Paisley‘s speeches in the past, the loyalist siege of the nationalist enclave had become more violent and threatening. „Every time Paisley has come to Drumcree in the past it has inevitably resulted in trouble afterwards,“ he said.
Sinn Fein assembly member Dara O‘Hagan described the event as a „Drumcree support rally“.
She added: „This confirms the widely held belief that the siege of the Garvaghy Road is being maintained by the Orange Order and those within the no camp of unionism to help gain electoral support in their bid to undermine the Good Friday agreement.“
ONE SHORT
Violence flared after a rally last Friday at which Orange District spokesperson David Jones threatened his men would escalate their protests in the coming months and demanded two marches down the Garvaghy Road. Even if an Orange march was forced down the Garvaghy Road this year, Orangemen would still be „one short“ said Jones. „If they don‘t let us down the road before July, „ said the Orange leader, „then the situation is going to get very serious.“ After the rally a hundred strong loyalist mob attacked RUC lines at the junction of Corcrain Bridge and Craigwell Avenue, throwing fireworks and using catapults to fire ball bearings.
Ulster Unionist leader and First Minister-designate David Trimble has repeatedly refused to meet nationalist residents‘ representatives to discuss the Drumcree crisis. County Armagh Orange grand master Denis Watson has ruled out further proximity talks in a letter to British PM Tony Blair last month.
FORCED OUT
So far, the British and Irish governments have failed to fulfil their duty and committment under the Good Friday Agreement to ensure freedom from sectarian harassment. In Portadown, over 150 illegal Orange marches have witnessed repeated violations of the Parade Commission‘s directives.
At a time of so-called peace, families living on the interfaces have been forced out of houses they were born in. Catholic schoolchildren continue to be harassed and targeted in the town centre. Catholic houses and businesses are bombed, attacked and burnt. As the marching season dawns closer, the tension is rising. The youth of the Garvaghy Road, despite the campaign of targeted provocation and growing frustration have managed to avoid retaliating.
More so-called Orange protest marches are planned for this Saturday, March 6th and 13th. Members of the Portadown Orange Lodge have also signalled their intention to „strike“ on March 10th, the date set for devolution of powers from London to the Stormont Assembly.
DUBLIN SUPPORT
On Tuesday, a delegation representing the Garvaghy Road Residents Coalition (GRRC) lobbied members of the Dublin parliament. There they sought support for the British government to end the eight-month-old siege, which began following the Orange Order‘s failure to force the annual Drumcree march down the Garvaghy Road last July.
Many of the TDs [members of Parliament] expressed their surprise at the extent and intensity of intimidation and harassment ongoing in the town. The lack of political support from the major parties was highlighted during the meetings. Since this summer, only one TD has visited the area. „There is a need for more TDs to come into Portadown and see what it is really like to be living there as a Catholic“, said Breandan MacCionnaith. The idea of an all-party delegation visit was put forward.
Dublin Sinn Fein Councillor Christy Burke then accompanied the Garvaghy Road representatives to the Mansion House were they held a meeting with Lord Mayor Joe Doyle. The delegation later met Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern and took part in a public meeting at Liberty Hall.
The aim of the day‘s activities was to inform the people of Dublin and political representatives in the 26 Counties of the ongoing siege in Portadown and the consequences which the heightened tension, ongoing harassment and daily attacks is having in social terms for the 7,000 nationalist residents of the town.
„Little media or political attention has so far been focused on the situation in Portadown since July. If such an organised campaign of violent intimidation had been waged in Britain, mainland Europe or the United States in the same manner as that directed against Portadown‘s Catholic and nationalist community, an international outcry would have ensued“, said Breandan MacCionnaith.
The Dublin visit was also designed to broaden the network of cooperation the GRRC is building across the island. A solid link-up with community activists from Belfast has already been established and this week-end, Garvaghy Road community activists will meet with counterparts from Derry in Portadown. The aim is to engage in a series of projects on an all-Ireland basis with which skills, facilities and information can be shared.
In the afternoon, the delegation met with local drugs community activists. „People here can easily identify with the feeling of siege of the Garvaghy Road residents as we have been described as a marginalised and isolated community for years, said Vincent Doherty, coordinator of the South Inner City anti-drugs task force. „We have very common experiences.“
Confession sheds light on UDR murder
The confession of a former UDR soldier, who was present the night in 1974 when an independent nationalist councillor was killed, has finally broken the silence surrounding the murder.
The brutal sectarian killing of Patsy Kelly in the County Tyrone village of Trillick is one of several which are believed to have been carried by soldiers of the locally-recruited UDR but which have never been resolved.
The story of this confession was first exposed in Ireland on Sunday and the family of Patsy Kelly have since appealed to the former UDR man, who had no direct involvement in the killing and broke down as he recalled the events of the fatal encounter, to come forward and make a full statement. They say Patsy met his killers as he was returning home after working in the Corner Bar in Trillick, when his car was stopped by a UDR patrol.
A source said that the UDR patrol consisted of „notorious loyalists“ who were locally known to be „involved in paramilitary activity“. Patsy was taken from his car and shot at least six or seven times. The former UDR man, who made the confession, named six UDR soldiers who were present that night. The named killers included a currently prominent unionist politician in County Tyrone, who shot Patsy „at least two times“, and another man who fired four shots into Kelly.
Patsy‘s younger brother, Peter, recalls how „thousands of local people were involved in the search for Patsy“. Bloodstains, shirt buttons and cartridge cases were discovered along the roadside one mile from Trillick, at the place Patsy is believed to have been murdered. His car was also found, burnt out, the day after his disappearance in Colebrooke, County Fermanagh ten miles away. Three weeks later a fisherman came across Patsy‘s body floating in the remote Lough Eyes, also in Fermanagh.
The killers may have hid the body to conceal the fact that their victim had been killed with a legally held weapon. Patsy was shot with a Smith and Wesson revolver, standard issue to the UDR at the time.
The former UDR man told his story to a local man. The two men were watching the news in a public place, when Gerry Adams‘s picture appeared on the television. The eyewitness to the confession said, „I think the troubles are over“, to which the ex-soldier replied, „It‘s too late for poor Patsy. I was there the night they killed Patsy“. The UDR man admitted he was in the back of a van with other UDR men, and witnessed the killing through the open back door. He described how Patsy‘s body was taken to Lough Eyes, attached to two 56lb agricultural weights, and dropped into the lough.
Meanwhile, a County Derry man whose brother and a companion were shot dead in 1975 believes members of a UDR patrol where responsible for the killings.
GAA fans Colm McCartney and Sean Farmer, returning to Derry from a football match in Dublin, were found dead at the side of a road near Newtownhamilton in County Armagh. Both had been shot.
Speaking last week, Sean McCartney, a brother of Colm, said that his family believe the pair were killed by members of a UDR patrol which was in the area at the time.
At the inquest into the deaths three RUC members made statements saying they were on patrol in the area just before the two men were killed and were themselves stopped by armed men who spoke to them „with Ulster accents“.
„These RUC men put the UDR patrol in the area at about 11.45pm on Sunday night and at about quarter past midnight the bodies were found. The time of death was put at about midnight“, says Sean McCartney. He continued: „There has never been an adequate investigation into the deaths of the two men. As far as I am concerned it was brushed under the carpet.“
Lawrence inquiry report speaks to RUC
The publication of a report into the racist murder of black teenager Stephen Lawrence in London has led to calls for a full independent inquiry into sectarianism within the RUC.
The lawyer for the family of murdered Portadown Catholic Robert Hamill has particularly welcomed the report by William MacPherson, who found the London Metropolitan Police guilty of „pernicious and institutionalised racism“ which resulted in a catalogue of police errors and incompetence leading to the Lawrence murderers walking free.
MacPherson states: „[Institutional racism is] the collective failure of an organisation to provide an appropriate and professional service to people because of their colour, culture or ethnic origin. It can be seen or detected in processes, attitudes and behaviour which amounts to discrimination through unwitting prejudice, ignorance, thoughtlessness and racist stereotyping which disadvantages minority ethnic people.“
PARALLELS
The results of the Lawrence inquiry obviously has implications for the RUC and will undoubtedly influence the forthcoming report of the Patten Commission on policing in the North of Ireland. There are clear parallels between the Lawrence murder and the sectarian murder of Robert Hamill, who was kicked to death by a loyalist mob as an RUC patrol looked on.
London police in the Lawrence case were accused of deliberately neglecting their duties to assist the dying man and of failing to make a serious effort to investigate the murder—charges which also been levelled in the Hamill case.
The MacPherson Report reveals a shocking series of errors, including the absence of any notes from the scene, failure to follow up key witnesses, the discarding of the evidence of a key police informant, failure to administer first aid at the scene of the crime and unexplained delays in making the initial arrests of the five suspects.
Rosemary Nelson believes the findings of the Inquiry Report have „profound implications“ for the Hamill case and increase the pressure for an independent inquiry into the murder of the father of two.
„Like the Lawrence family, the Hamills have been strongly critical of the police investigation into their sons death. Both these investigations have been inept and inadequate“, Nelson said.
Witnesses said in court this week that four heavily armed RUC officers in a Land Rover watched on and failed to intervene as Robert Hamill (25) was beaten to death by a 30-strong crowd of loyalists as he walked home in the early hours of 27 April, 1997. The Hamill family has also criticised delays in the investigation which has resulted in the loss of forensic evidence. This resulted in the release of five Portadown men who were charged with murdering Robert Hamill.
CONTACTS
Similarities in the plight of the families of the two murdered men have led to contact between the Hamill family and the Lawrence campaign. Members of the Lawrence campaign are to help the Hamill family prepare the legal action against the RUC and those they believe murdered him. Rosemary Nelson has also written to the legal representatives of Neville and Doreen Lawrence, Stephen‘s parents, to ask for help.
Hamill‘s family is considering suing the four RUC officers who were on duty just yards from where he was killed, and taking action against five men who were charged with his murder but later released. They are also considering private criminal prosecutions.
A support group will be established in London next month to help raise funds needed for private legal proceedings and to lobby for a public inquiry. The Hamill‘s will also be asked to join a new civil rights organisation being launched in London on March 26 by Michael Mansfield QC, who represented the Lawrence family. It will campaign on behalf of the victims of racial attacks and miscarriages of justice.
Michael Mansfield, who also represented the Birmingham Six, has agreed to represent the Hamill‘s in any legal proceedings. Nelson has asked him to come to the north of Ireland after Easter for discussion on how to proceed. Suresh Grover, a prominent member of the Lawrence campaign, has also offered to attend the discussions. He has spoken to Diane Hamill, Robert‘s sister, at a number of meetings in London and Diane has also met with Neville Lawrence.
Rosemary Nelson said : „We believe we can learn from the experiences of the Lawrence family. They brought private prosecutions against those responsible and while that did not result in convictions, it did lead to a public inquiry and exposed the failure of the police involved.“
NEW ROLE
The link between London police and the RUC was further underlined yesterday when it was revealed that the most senior uniformed officer to attend the scene in south-east London where Lawrence was killed is now an RUC superintendent. Jonathon McIvor, based in Fermanagh, is currently tasked with training other RUC members.
The inquiry team concluded that McIvor deserved criticism for failures on five key areas of his responsibility.
The report highlighted his „failure to obtain full information on the incident“. It found he had failed to co-ordinate activities at the scene of the crime and to „command and direct resources“. He was criticised for his „failure to record activities personally and to ensure that there was some form of log of activities taking place for those who would subsequently take command“.
RUC Chief Ronnie Flanagan said yesterday that Mr McIvor had always fulfilled his duties with distinction.
Sinn Fein said it was not surprised that Mr McIvor was now a senior RUC officer. Referring to the inquiry report, the party‘s spokeswoman on policing, Ms Bairbre de Brun, said: „Jonathon McIvor‘s mismanagement of the Stephen Lawrence investigation has left him open to accusations of racism. What better qualifications for membership of the RUC?
„Racism and sectarianism are two sides of the same coin. What is all the more worrying is that Mr McIvor has responsibility for training. This is yet another glaring example of why the RUC should be disbanded.“
ACCEPTABLE
Ronnie Flanagan, speaking at a lunch of the Publicity Club of Ireland, said yesterday that he anticipated „major and significant change“ to the force in the wake of the Patten commission on policing.
„Few“ organisations were as open to change as was the RUC, he claimed.
But when asked how the RUC could change to make it more acceptable, Sir Ronnie‘s display of reformist zeal slipped. „The RUC is an acceptable force,“ he said, to titters among the audience.
Ogra Shinn Fein, the youth wing of the party, mounted a protest outside the Dublin hotel where Flanagan was speaking.
Spokesman Matt Carty said: „The RUC are a totally discredited force with a history of serving the interests of the British government and the unionist people.
„They are a unionist militia and have been the main protagonists of this conflict.“