Police Chief Orde produces no evidence for bank robbery allegations
Will Orde also accept political responsibility for his statement?
The current crisis echoes previous episodes in the peace process, notably the 'Bogusgate' searches of Sinn Fein offices at Stormont, the Castlereagh 'raid' at their heart of police headquarters in Belfast, and the arrest of the Colombia 3 on charges of training rebels in the country's civil war.
In each case, peace talks collapsed amid wild media allegations of IRA activity. But in each case, the allegations were disproven, despite months or years of anti-republican publicity.
See past Updates: 20.9. to 14.10.2002 17.10. to 2.11.2002 2.5. to 11.5.2003 21.2. to 10.3.2004
Articles obtained from the following sources:
(1) Irish Republican News, (2) Troops Out Movement, (3) Irish Abroad (USA)
Thursday, 30 December - Wednesday, 5 January, 2004
Thursday, 6 January, 2005
Friday, 7 January, 2005
Saturday, 8 January, 2005
Thursday, 30 December - Wednesday, 5 January, 2004
Orde gets DUP grilling over raid
By Irish Republican News
The North's PSNI police chief, Hugh Orde, is to be questioned by Ian Paisley's DUP about its handling of the Northern Bank raid.
The DUP is insistent that the Provisional IRA carried out that the theft of an extraordinary 30 million Euros from the bank's vaults in central Belfast on December 20, and have suggested that the PSNI 'bungled' the incident.
But there have also been suggestions that disaffected members of the PSNI itself may have been involved in the theft, which would have required high-level and inside knowledge of security and banking protocols.
The IRA has dismissed allegations of being linked to the heist.
The DUP's Sammy Wilson, a member of the board, said there were many questions which the police must answer, including:
how did the numerous CCTV cameras in the area not pick up any activity?
And at the Policing Board meeting later this month Mr Wilson is to ask about any IRA involvement in the bank raid.
"There must be no holding back by the Chief Constable for fear of the political consequences," Mr Wilson said.
The theft, the actions of the PSNI, and the allegations of IRA involvement dominated the political landscape over the Christmas holiday.
Sinn Fein has denounced heavy-handed PSNI raids in west Belfast, including pre-Christmas searches of republican homes and the raid on commercial premises before the New Year.
Republicans denounced the searches as politically motivated "stunts" designed to felon-set the west Belfast community.
The latest raids took place at the Dairy Farm complex on the Stewartstown Road following operations the day before at the Blackstaff industrial complex on the Springfield Road. A recycling site at Kennedy Way was also searched.
Sinn Fein accused the PSNI of a campaign of intimidation. Local Assembly member Michael Ferguson said the raids were "completely unacceptable".
He said: "Given the failure to uncover any evidence it is clear that the purpose of this operation is not to find bank robbers but to attempt to derail republican efforts to see the peace process put back on track.
"The operations against the republican and nationalist community over Christmas in Belfast demonstrate once again the distance which we still have to travel in order to see a proper democratically accountable policing service delivered.
"There have been searches at business premises and at community projects. This behaviour is completely unacceptable."
Depite the ongoig furore over the bank raid, Sinn Fein chairman Mitchel McLaughlin called on the British and Irish governments to move quickly to build on the progress made in talks involving the DUP last year.
"Sinn Fein are eager to get back down to the business of seeing a deal done and the progress made last year built upon," he said. "This can only happen on the basis of equality and mutual respect. Sinn Fein are not interested in long fingering this process until after elections. We believe that the job can be completed and completed quickly if the necessary political will is there."
Adams warns over efforts to destroy process
By Irish Republican News
The peace process is facing another severe crisis as the PSNI chief Hugh Orde comes under intense pressure to blame the Provisional IRA for a bank raid in Belfast.
About 30 Million Euro was stolen from the Northern Bank in central Belfast on 20 December.
Mr Orde is due to brief senior members of the Policing Board about the raid on Friday.
Ian Paisley's DUP have insisted that the IRA were responsible, although no evidence has yet emerged to back the claim.
The mainstream media has also broadly proclaimed the guilt of the IRA, while there have been other suggestions that current or former members of the British Crown forces may have been involved.
Homes and businesses in republican areas of Belfast have been searched by the police, but the raids did not appear to be a genuine attempt to trace the heist gang or the stolen cash.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair said today he would not prejudge the result of police inquiries.
But Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams warned that the intensive efforts to revive the 1998 Good Friday Agreement were being undermined by hardline unionists and hostile elements in the British system.
"We continued to work right up to Christmas to plot a course forward with the two governments," he said today.
"Now it looks like the ground is being laid to thwart these efforts. The two governments need to think long and hard about whose agenda is being served by accusations, mainly from the DUP, attacking Sinn Fein and seeking to link our party to allegations of IRA involvement in the Northern Bank robbery."
However, speculation has grown today that the PSNI chief Hugh Orde could tomorrow blame the IRA, a move which is certain to precipitate the collapse of peace efforts in the near term.
The current crisis echoes previous episodes in the peace process, notably the 'Bogusgate' searches of Sinn Fein offices at Stormont, the Castlereagh 'raid' at ther heart of police headquarters in Belfast, and the arrest of the Colombia 3 on charges of training rebels in the country's civil war.
In each case, peace talks collapsed amid wild media allegations of IRA activity. But in each case, the allegations were disproven, despite months or years of anti-republican publicity.
The IRA has denied any suggestion or allegation that it was involved in the bank raid.
In a New Year statement, the organisation said: "We reject recent attempts to criminalise our Volunteers.
"Through two decades, central to Britain's policy in Ireland was the strategy of demonising and criminalising republicans. In prisons and on the streets, similar attempts and tactics were smashed, most notably by our comrades on hunger strike in 1981.
"Current attempts by those hostile to republicanism will also fail.
"We commend our Volunteers and our support base. Their patience and discipline have been among our greatest strengths. We share a vision for the future."
The IRA said they had also been prepared, in the event of a comprehensive agreement, to move into a new mode -- effectively, to stand down.
The organisation accused others in the process of rejecting this initiative by demanding acts of humiliation and said this had caused deep anger in the republican and nationalist community.
"We set out the contribution we are prepared to make to a comprehensive agreement to resolve all outstanding issues," the statement said.
"This included moving into a new mode which reflects our determination to see the transition to a totally peaceful society and also concluding the process to completely and verifiably put all our arms beyond use.
"All of this is being prevented by an unachievable demand for humiliation.
"The rejection of our substantial contributions has created a deep anger within the republican and nationalist communities and indeed, it has generated significant frustration.
"We want to see peace on the island of Ireland and among all the Irish people. But a just and lasting peace is only possible on the basis of equality.
"The days of inequality and of discrimination are over. There must be an end to bigotry, sectarianism and racism."
'DUPLICITY'
But hardline unionsts have ratcheted up the pressure over the holiday period.
DUP deputy leader Peter Robinson has pushed for the PSNI to 'name and shame' the IRA and, by extension, Sinn Fein.
DUP deputy leader Peter Robinson warned: "Let no one be in any doubt, the consequences of mainstream republican participation in this colossal crime will be far reaching.
"The IRA could not have carried out a crime of the magnitude of the Northern Bank robbery without the sanction of its so-called Army Council.
"Everyone knows that the Army Council contains within its ranks senior members of Sinn Fein.
"The planning and preparation of the heist would have coincided with the participation of some of those individuals in a talks process that was aimed at ending such activity for good.
"Such downright duplicity would not only call into question the commitment of republicans to the talks process but could not be ignored by the British Government."
In response to these developments, the following statement was made by Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams today. We carry the statement in full. He said:
"Republicans made a huge effort last year to achieve a comprehensive agreement which would resolve all the outstanding issues in the peace process.
"When this failed the Sinn Fein leadership did not give up. We continued to work right up to Christmas to plot a course forward with the two governments.
"Now it looks like the ground is being laid to thwart these efforts. The two governments need to think long and hard about whose agenda is being served by accusations, mainly from the DUP, attacking Sinn Fein and seeking to link our party to allegations of IRA involvement in the Northern Bank robbery.
"From the beginning I held the view that the IRA was not involved in that robbery. The IRA has said it wasn't involved. I believe that to be the case.
"In recent weeks we have witnessed a brazen attempt to undermine the peace process by those elements of the British system - the securocrats - who have opposed the peace process since its inception, and in particular the republican contribution to it.
"It is obvious that the series of raids, house searches and confiscation of property directed at republican activists, that have taken place in recent weeks, have had nothing to do with tracking down those responsible for the bank robbery. Instead this has been a contrivance aimed at pointing the finger of guilt at republicans - even in the absence of any evidence.
"No one should doubt the significant damage done to all of this by these raids, by the conduct of the PSNI, and by the political opportunism of some.
"In this the enemies of the process have been aided by irresponsible reporting by some sections of the media and scurrilous and opportunistic attacks on Sinn Fein by political opponents.
"Peter Robinson's accusation of duplicity by the Sinn Fein negotiating team is outrageous and I reject it. Mr Robinson should review the DUP's conduct in the recent talks before making unsubstantiated charges.
"I have spoken to the British and Irish governments. I told both that Sinn Fein will not countenance any attempt by the DUP, or by the governments or by anyone else, to demonise and criminalise this party.
"Sinn Fein has a political mandate achieved at the ballot box. We will resist any attempt to marginalise, criminalise this party.
"The campaigns to smash Sinn Fein all failed. Sinn Fein represents the majority of nationalists in the north. The DUP needs to come to terms with this political reality."
Process wrecked as Orde blames IRA
By Irish Republican News
The PSNI police chief Hugh Orde has said, in his opinion, the Provisional IRA was behind the Belfast bank raid last month.
Mr Orde's statement came despite affirmations by Sinn Fein's Martin McGuinness and Gerry Adams that they had been told that the IRA were not involved.
Speaking in Belfast this morning Mr. McGuinness reiterated his view that "there are clearly elements within the British system and unionism intent on wrecking the peace process and of using the robbery in Belfast as a pretext for this. They must not be allowed to succeed."
No one has been arrested or charged in connection with the robbery, and Mr Orde provided no evidence to justify the claim.
However, his declaration appears to have prompted the collapse of peace efforts in Ireland, with Sinn Fein being vilified on both sides of the border.
In the talks, the IRA had offered to stand down and fully disarm in a verifiable manner. However, the talks broke down over unionist demands, backed by the Dublin and London governments, for symbolic 'humiliation' photographs of IRA disarmament.
Speaking at a press conference in Belfast, Mr Orde said it now made "operational sense" to attribute blame. He insisted his statement was not in response to political pressure.
He told a news conference in Belfast: "In my opinion the Provisional IRA were responsible for this crime and all main lines of inquiry currently undertaken are in that direction."
The 26-County Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, immediately accepted the PSNI's judgement. He said it was "a serious setback" to the peace process and that politicians would have to deal with that reality.
Mr Ahern claimed that the robbery could have been planned while he was in negotiations with people who would know the leadership of the Provisional IRA.
The DUP's Ian Paisley Jr. said the revelation over the bank raid justified his party's refusal to broker a deal last month. He claimed that Sinn Fein had not been sincere in its exchanges and that Sinn Fein should now be excluded from the political process.
In London, the British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, said he took the development "very seriously".
Mr Orde said that the amount taken in the raid was greater than previously estimated, at 26.5 millions pounds sterling, or almost exactly 50 million US dollars. He also said Northern Bank intended to withdraw all their bank notes and re-issue them in a different style and colour. It has been reported that most of the notes taken were in the Northern Bank's own style of sterling currency.
Mr Orde said the bank's move made the robbery the "largest theft of waste paper in the living history of Northern Ireland".
The process of printing new notes will take up to eight weeks and they will be put into circulation as soon as possible after that. The existing stock of notes will be phased out.
Orde Produces No Evidence For Political Allegations
Responding to politically biased allegations made today by the PSNI Chief Constable Hugh Orde linking the IRA to the recent robbery in the Northern Bank in Belfast, Sinn Féin Chief negotiator Martin McGuinness MP said:
"Hugh Orde's comments today are nothing more than politically biased allegations. He has not produced one scrap of evidence. Within days of the robbery at the Northern Bank, and following media speculation and PSNI briefings, which suggested IRA involvement, I asked the IRA about this and was assured that they were not involved.
PSNI Campaign Against The Nationalist Community Ongoing West Belfast Sinn Féin Assembly member Michael Ferguson has branded the ongoing PSNI operation against the republican and nationalist community in North and West Belfast as 'political in motivation and violent in nature'.
Mr Ferguson said:
"Since Christmas Eve the PSNI have been involved in an ongoing operation against the nationalist and republican community in North and West Belfast. The guise for this campaign has been their investigation into the robbery at the Northern Bank.
" It has involved raids on scores of businesses and homes in the majority of cases without any form of warrant. Health Board and Education Board offices have been raided along with a children's play group. Unsurprisingly nobody has been arrested and nothing linking any of these raids to any robbery has been uncovered.
"This campaign is not about solving a robbery. It is about pointing the finger at republicans and it is about trying to frustrate efforts to see a comprehensive political deal agreed. This operation is clearly political in motivation and violent in nature and is causing widespread anger within the broad nationalist and republican community. We are witnessing a renewed attempt to undermine the peace process. We need to think long and hard about whose is setting this agenda and why? This is more to do with halting the process of change which Sinn Fein has been driving forward than with anything that happened at the Northern Bank.
"Sinn Féin has a substantial electoral mandate achieved at the ballot box. We will resist any attempt to marginalise, criminalise this party. We have told both the British and Irish governments that Sinn Féin will not countenance any attempt by the DUP, or by the governments or by any one else, to demonise this party. Campaigns to smash Sinn Féin, to criminalise and marginalise the republican struggle all failed. Sinn Féin represents the majority of nationalists in the north. The securocrats and the DUP need to come to terms with this political reality."
Adams - Securocrats Aiming To Undermine Peace Process
Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams MP has told the two governments that Sinn Féin ‘will not countenance any attempt by the DUP, or by any one else, to demonise and criminalise this party.’
Mr. Adams was responding to unfounded accusations, mainly from the DUP politicians, attacking Sinn Féin and seeking to link the party to politically motivated and unsubstantiated allegations of IRA involvement in the Northern Bank robbery.
Mr. Adams said: Republicans made a huge effort last year to achieve a comprehensive agreement which would resolve all the outstanding issues in the peace process. When this failed the Sinn Féin leadership did not give up. We continued to work right up to Christmas to plot a course forward with the two governments. Now it looks like the ground is being laid to thwart these efforts. The two governments need to think long and hard about whose agenda is being served by accusations, mainly from the DUP, attacking Sinn Féin and seeking to link our party to allegations of IRA involvement in the Northern Bank robbery.
From the beginning I held the view that the IRA was not involved in that robbery. The IRA has said it wasn’t involved. I believe that to be the case. In recent weeks we have witnessed a brazen attempt to undermine the peace process by those elements of the British system - the securocrats - who have opposed the peace process since its inception, and in particular the republican contribution to it.
It is obvious that the series of raids, house searches and confiscation of property directed at republican activists, that have taken place in recent weeks, have had nothing to do with tracking down those responsible for the bank robbery. Instead this has been a contrivance aimed at pointing the finger of guilt at republicans – even in the absence of any evidence.
No one should doubt the significant damage done to all of this by these raids, by the conduct of the PSNI, and by the political opportunism of some. In this the enemies of the process have been aided by irresponsible reporting by some sections of the media and scurrilous and opportunistic attacks on Sinn Féin by political opponents.
Peter Robinson’s accusation of duplicity by the Sinn Féin negotiating team is outrageous and I reject it. Mr. Robinson should review the DUPs conduct in the recent talks before making unsubstantiated charges.
I have spoken to the British and Irish governments. I told both that Sinn Féin will not countenance any attempt by the DUP, or by the governments or by any one else, to demonise and criminalise this party.
Sinn Féin has a political mandate achieved at the ballot box. We will resist any attempt to marginalise, criminalise this party. The campaigns to smash Sinn Féin all failed. Sinn Féin represents the majority of nationalists in the north. The DUP needs to come to terms with this political reality."
Troops Out Movement PO Box 1032 Birmingham B12 8BZ Tel/Fax 0121 643 7542 Email: tom@sparkle123.freeserve.co.uk Website: www.troopsoutmovement.comCops Bungle Robbery Investigation
By Brendan Anderson, Irish Abroad, USA
THE North’s police force has come under heavy criticism for its Keystone Cops-style handling of one of the world’s biggest bank robberies.
Many people are claiming the investigation into the theft of at least £22 million from the Northern Bank in Belfast city center five days before Christmas has turned into a comedy of errors.
The raid, which had to involve a huge intelligence-gathering operation, was apparently carried out with military precision and led to the families of two bank employees being held hostage for 24 hours. So large was the haul of dollars, sterling and euros that the robbers had to make two trips from the bank to their hideout. Police have closed-circuit footage of the gang’s distinctive white truck and its registration plates but despite extensive searches, have failed to find it.
Banks in Ireland are permitted to design their own bank notes and police immediately requested the serial numbers of all new Northern Bank bills taken by the gang. There was, however, a considerable delay before the numbers were provided.
Meanwhile, it was reported that a traffic warden (civilian officers who monitor illegal parking) called in to report two men acting suspiciously beside a white truck at the bank’s side entrance on December 20, the date of the robbery.
It was at this stage that the investigation began to go downhill. Police initially acknowledged the warden’s warning as correct but hours later rubbished his claim.
The call, they said, had come on Sunday and was not therefore connected with the robbery. Two hours later, that statement was withdrawn and a fresh admission made that the warden’s information was accurate.
Subsequent scrutiny of call records showed that two police officers were sent on foot to investigate the suspicious activity. They arrived at the bank at 17:18 p.m., three minutes after the truck had left with its second cargo of loot.
Speculation was intense as to which organization had carried out the robbery. The IRA, anxious not to damage the peace process at a delicate stage, felt it necessary to have a spokesman deny they were involved.
Under heavy pressure from politicians and the media to obtain results, police ignored the denial and, on Christmas Eve, launched a series of searches on homes and businesses in Nationalist areas.
The raids provoked widespread protests. The homes of several prominent Republicans were among those searched amid claims that gift-wrapped presents were taken from below Christmas trees and opened.
In one case a computer belonging to the student daughter of one Republican was taken away for scrutiny. Within minutes protestors were on the streets carrying hastily written placards proclaiming, “Police have wrecked our Christmas.”
In Ballymurphy, a strongly Republican area of west Belfast, the police raids were perceived as heavy-handed and led to scuffles and angry exchanges.
In this case, however, the police left with less than they arrived with; a handgun and ammunition were taken from one of their vehicles. The incident led to one prominent broadcast journalist muttering cryptic comments about “reverse decommissioning.”
Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams immediately protested strongly to Northern Secretary Paul Murphy. Afterwards Adams told reporters, “This is a clearly-orchestrated effort by the securocrats in the British system who are intent on wrecking the peace process. Journalists were tipped off earlier today in advance of the raids taking place in order to maximize the negative media spin surrounding them.
“There is widespread anger among Nationalists and Republicans at today’s events. The objective of those who ordered these raids, and the heavy-handed and aggressive manner in which they were carried out, is deliberately intended to further destabilize the political situation.”
It seemed police made an important breakthrough shortly after Christmas. The bank had eventually provided some serial numbers and two £20 Northern Bank notes turned up at the cash desk of a skating rink in Loyalist east Belfast.
Weary officers, however, revealed that the notes were legal tender. The bank had given incorrect serial numbers leading, as one senior officer said, to “a number of other misleading lines of investigation.”
“Not all the serial numbers supplied by the Northern Bank have turned out to have been part of the robbery. This has led to some unfruitful lines of inquiry, but as the investigation is ongoing it is not possible to comment further on specific cases,” he said.
The notes were duly returned to the skating rink management.
Further criticism came from Ulster Unionist Assembly member Sir Reg Empey, who said, “The fact that the bank issued some wrong numbers is doubly embarrassing for them and creates a further loss of confidence.
“I think most people find it astonishing that not only can they have their vaults cleaned out without any technology intervening, but they can’t even get the numbers of the notes right. I think this is discouraging for the public.”
Political pressure has now been transferred to Chief Constable Hugh Orde, who goes before his Police Board management committee later this month to defend his officers. Several Unionist members of the board have already announced their intention to grill Orde on which organization he believes carried out the robbery.
Late Tuesday it was revealed that Orde will brief the chair and vice-chair of the board on the state of the investigation later this week. He is expected to make his first public comment on the robbery shortly afterwards.
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