>> changing political situation in Northern Ireland and the Good
>> Friday Agreement, which clearly indicates the difference between
>> political prisoners and ordinary criminals".
>>
>> The UN report went further, calling on the British government to
>> publish the Stevens inquiry into crown force collusion with
>> loyalist death squads, and the Stalker and Sampson report into
>> summary executions by crown forces. The UN official said that the
>> victims of state violence should have access to the reports.
>>
>> On the issue of contentious marches, he described the freedom of
>> expression and assembly as "core human rights" but he also
>> recognised the need to guarantee that "the rights of others are
>> not violated in the process".
>>
>> He also urged the British government "to stop the use of
>> excessive force against peaceful demonstrators, in particular the
>> indiscriminate use of life threatening plastic bullets, as
>> recommended by the Committee Against Torture in 1998".
>>
>> Commenting on the UN report, Laurence McKeown said: "Abid Hussain
>> has vindicated our challenge to the attitude of the BBC towards
>> republican ex prisoners. The UN report places the media's denial
>> of political prisoners' rights to freedom of expression within
>> the wider context of attempts by the British state to suppress
>> the truth about their role in the conflict. It also places the
>> onus on all of us to move into a new period of change based on
>> truth and justice."
>>
>>
>> ----------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>>
>> >>>>>> Ardoyne loyalist threat
>>
>>
>> Fears that loyalists are about to carry out attacks on
>> nationalists in North Belfast were heightened at the weekend
>> after an Ardoyne man received a bullet through the post.
>>
>> The man, who wishes to remain anonymous, is a republican ex-POW
>> and says he is "very shaken".
>>
>> Within hours of this threat, known loyalists were spotted near an
>> ex-prisoners' resource centre in Ardoyne.
>>
>> The bullet, inside a sympathy card signed by the Red Hand
>> Defenders, arrived by post at the man's house on Friday 13 May
>> and warned him that he would not get any more warnings.
>>
>> The card also contained information about the man's movements.
>>
>> This latest threat comes just two weeks after crown force
>> montages with the personal details of nationalists, mostly from
>> the north of the city, were found in a loyalist dump in the
>> Highfield Estate.
>>
>> Calling for an inquiry, Sinn Fein councillor Gerard Brophy said
>> the information was recent: "These are files on nationalists that
>> have been drawn up over the last 18 months and then handed over
>> to loyalists," he said.
>>
>> In March of this year a list containing the details of 27
>> nationalists was found in a community centre on the Shankill
>> Road. This list was handed over to UDP councillor Frank
>> McCoubrey.
>>
>> Detailed information contained in that list was thought to have
>> been used, at that time, to target some of the people named.
>>
>> At the time, Sinn Fein's Gerry Kelly accused councillor McCoubrey
>> of attempting to cover up the existence of the list.
>>
>> Speaking about last Friday's threat, Kelly accused loyalists of
>> trying to, "wreck the Good Friday Agreement".
>>
>> Meanwhile, veteran Ardoyne republican Martin Meehan has revealed
>> that the RUC warned him twice last week that his life is in
>> imminent danger.
>>
>> According to Meehan, the RUC came to his house on 5 May to warn
>> him of a loyalist threat against him.
>>
>> "They came again on 12 May to say that a coded threat against
>> myself and my son, Martin junior, had been phoned through to the
>> Samaritans from a loyalist grouping."
>>
>> Meehan criticised the RUC, who refused to give him any more
>> information about the nature of the threat or which loyalist
>> group was involved.
>>
>>
>> ----------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>>
>> >>>>>> RUC 'lose' gun, ammo
>>
>> An RUC gun and ammunition were declared missing by the force in
>> west Tyrone on Friday.
>>
>> In the past guns belonging to the Crown Forces have conveniently
>> been mislaid or stolen only to fall into the hands of the
>> loyalist death squads. One of the most recent examples of this
>> occurred last year when at the inquest into the killing of Terry
>> Enright we heard how a gun, which the RIR said was stolen from
>> one of its soldiers, was used in the LVF killing of Terry
>> Enright.
>>
>> Sinn Fein Vice-President and West Tyrone Assembly member Pat
>> Doherty called for an immediate explanation from British Security
>> Minister Adam Ingram.
>>
>> "Given the past history of collusion between the RUC and loyalist
>> death squads, nationalists have a right to have their concerns
>> addressed. How did this gun go missing? Who do they believe has
>> possession of this gun now? Are the nationalist population now
>> under threat from those who hold this gun?"
>>
>>
>> ----------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>>
>> >>>>>> Bloody Sunday soldiers prevented wounded receiving aid
>>
>>
>> Day 20 of the Bloody Sunday inquiry heard how British soldiers
>> used abusive and threatening language on running into a house
>> where a woman shot on Bloody Sunday was being treated.
>>
>> Anna Nelis, who lived in the house at Chamberlain Street, said
>> one soldier said: "Let the whore bleed to death" on seeing the
>> injured mother-of-14 Peggy Deery lying in the house. Mrs Deery,
>> 38 at the time and now deceased, was shot and wounded in the leg.
>>
>> The inquiry also heard evidence of soldiers threatening to kill
>> other people and boasting about the people they had already
>> killed.
>>
>> Mrs Nelis's brother, George, said he was confronted by a Para who
>> threatened to shoot him. The Para told Mr Nelis he had been in
>> shot in Belfast and was seeking revenge.
>>
>> Mr Nelis said the soldier claimed to have shot four people on
>> Bloody Sunday, two through the head, one in the chest and one in
>> the testicles. He told the Derry man he watched the man he shot
>> through the testicles dying slowly. The Derry man said the
>> soldier also claimed he would shoot him.
>>
>> He subsequently made a complaint to the RUC who interviewed the
>> soldier in March 1972. The soldier claimed he had identified Mr
>> Nelis throwing stones at the British army barrier at William
>> Street.
>>
>> But in a separate statement in November the same year, the
>> soldier denied killing four people or threatening to kill Mr
>> Nelis. He also said he could not confirm that Mr Nelis was
>> throwing stones.
>>
>> Inquiry counsel, Christopher Clark QC also outlined evidence of
>> an attack on an elderly man and a Knights of Malta first-aid
>> worker.
>>
>> In a statement to the inquiry, first-aid worker Mr Glenn recalled
>> witnessing a soldier beating an elderly man over the head with a
>> gun. He shouted at the soldier, "I order you to stop", whereupon
>> another soldier hit the first-aid worker on the chest with a gun.
>> Yesterday's hearing was shown a picture of Mr Glenn lying on the
>> ground moments after he was assaulted by the soldiers.
>>
>> Earlier in the inquiry Soldier V gave evidence - in a statement -
>> of holding Mr Glenn against a wall by pinning his rifle across
>> his chest.
>>
>> Soldier V claimed he saw men in uniform and respirators - first
>> aid workers - when he deployed in Bogside and thought the Derry
>> nationalists were "well organised".
>>
>> One elderly man also gave evidence of being beaten as he was
>> chased by Paras to an armoured car.
>>
>> Meanwhile, despite the fact that the Saville inquiry has
>> completed its fifth week, lawyers representing the Bloody Sunday
>> families still do not have statements from all the soldiers who
>> opened fire.
>>
>> The matter was raised yesterday on day 20 of the Bloody Sunday
>> inquiry by Michael Mansfield QC, who represents the family of
>> victim Bernard McGuigan.
>>
>> Mr Mansfield also raised the question of security force risk
>> assessments which are necessary before a decision is taken as to
>> where former soldiers should give their evidence.
>>
>> He said: "We still do not have the lettered soldiers' statements
>> to the inquiry.
>>
>> "They are very key people obviously, those who are still alive."
>>
>> The QC also pointed out that the families' lawyers had yet to
>> receive any statements from Lieutenant Colonel Derek Wilford, one
>> of the key Parachute commanders on Bloody Sunday.
>>
>>
>> ----------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>>
>> >>>>>> Loyalists threaten Connolly marchers
>>
>> The annual James Connolly commemoration march, due to take place
>> in Edinburgh on 10 June, is being threatened by loyalists.
>>
>> The march, organised by the James Connolly Society, takes place
>> annually on the birth date of Connolly, who was born in
>> Edinburgh. This year, loyalists, using the internet, are
>> attempting to organise, "direct action" against the march.
>>
>> Calling on their fellow loyalists to assist in the "destruction
>> of the IRA" in Scotland, the loyalists are describing the
>> marchers as "scum" and "filth".
>>
>> The loyalists have singled out Jim Slaven of the Connolly Society
>> and posted a photo of him on their web site. They also published
>> the phone number and address of the James Connolly Bookshop in
>> Edinburgh, which Slaven manages.
>>
>> Slaven says loyalists were to blame for an attack on the shop
>> just before Easter.
>>
>> Slaven was also one of a group of republicans who carried out a
>> spectacular anti-RUC protest on the day of the opening of the
>> Scottish parliament. As Elizabeth Windsor's carriage made its way
>> along High Street, the protesters leaped across crash barriers
>> with Disband the RUC posters.
>>
>> The march itself assembles at King Stables Road at 1pm on
>> Saturday 10 June, and a prominent Sinn Fein figure will speak.
>>
>>
>> ----------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>>
>> >>>>>> Book Review: A Pocket History of Gaelic Culture
>>
>> Book Review: A Pocket History of Gaelic Culture
>> By Alan Titley
>> The O'Brien Press, Dublin
>> #4.99
>>
>> I'm very fond of books; I've had some books now for over 35
>> years. I am painfully aware of this because I have just moved
>> house and put my back beyond use carting the bloody things to the
>> new billet!
>>
>> Suddenly, the portability of a book is important. I must say I'm
>> particularly found of pocket books. My all time favourite
>> republican publication is "Notes For Revolutionaries", which came
>> out in the early 1980s. This little book reminded me of it. As
>> books went, it was a great wee short. So is this one. Titley is
>> head of the Irish department in St.Patrick's College, Dublin City
>> University.
>>
>> Although he has an academic's grasp of his subject, he gets it
>> across like he was explaining it to you over a pint. That's quite
>> a skill.
>>
>> It is fitting that Titley chose the pocket book format to sketch
>> a history of Gaelic culture. Monks of the celtic church, long
>> before the printing press, invented the pocket book so that they
>> could take their beloved words into Dark Age Europe. They walked
>> as far as Krakow and Kiev, the real border of western Europe --
>> beyond that lay Byzantium.
>>
>> It is instructive to remember what our culture bequeathed to
>> modern Europe. He brings the story right up to date with the
>> establishment of the cross-border body Bord Na Gaeilge/An Foras
>> Teanga.
>>
>> He concludes: "Whatever long list makes Ireland distinctive, all
>> owe something to the Gaelic tradition. It is not just the ghost
>> at the feast but the very shape of the room we live in."
>>
>> BY MICK DERRIG
>>
>>
>> ----------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>>
>> >>>>>> Analysis: Warning -- slippery when wet
>>
>>
>> BY ROBBIE MacGABHANN
>>
>>
>> The difficulty faced by the Tribunal format for uncovering
>> political corruption in Irish politics was very apparent this
>> week when former assistant Dublin city and county manager George
>> Redmond was in the witness box.
>>
>> Redmond has wriggled back and forth during his testimony at the
>> Tribunal over the last eight days. He couldn't remember who he
>> met, what they said, who gave him money and how much money. When
>> he could remember, it was in small snippets of information, with
>> vital elements of testimony forgotten.
>>
>> Redmond has already been found to have over 35 bank accounts,
>> with deposits running into hundreds of thousands of pounds. Many
>> of the accounts were opened in the Isle of Man and other offshore
>> locations. He was arrested last year after a visit to the Isle of
>> Man saw him returning to Ireland with nearly #300,000 in his
>> luggage. The Revenue Commissioners are taking a case against
>> Redmond for unpaid tax. This, however, is small fish compared to
>> the revelations in the Flood Tribunal last week.
>>
>> Redmond had by 1997 amassed wealth far in excess of his total
>> income. By the beginning of the 1980s, he had deposits of over
>> #500,000, even though his actual income for the 1970s was a
>> fraction of that.
>>
>> The proceedings at the Flood Tribunal this week are focusing on
>> just one year in the life of George Redmond -- 1988. The reason
>> being that for Redmond's 40-year working career in Dublin
>> Corporation, the only record of his activities is one diary found
>> found by the Criminal Assets Bureau when they searched his house
>> last year.
>>
>> Even though it only gives a hint of one year in the 40, it has
>> provided remarkable insights into his activities. But his
>> prevarication when being questioned on the information in his
>> diary led to a warning from Justice Flood. Flood threatened
>> Redmond with having to pay his own legal costs and those of the
>> whole tribunal for the days he was in the witness box if he did
>> not cooperate.
>>
>> The diary lists contacts with two developers who Redmond admits
>> gave him money. Last week, Redmond told the Tribunal that he
>> received between #8,000 and #10,000 from two building developers.
>> This week, the figure rose to #20,000 from each developer.
>>
>> Other elements of the Redmond testimony showed a very busy man
>> who was paid handsomely for his advice. One developer wanted to
>> get land for a road in the Castleknock area and Redmond was paid
>> for his advice. Another paid him #5,000 when Redmond oversaw the
>> sale of council land for a bargain price of #10,000.
>>
>> Redmond also had problems remembering why so many politicians
>> dropped by his office. All he could remember before the threat of
>> costs was conversations on tennis and golf.
>>
>> Last week, Redmond had told the Tribunal about his relationship
>> with another building developer, Matt Gallagher whom Redmond said
>> was a "wonderful man". "He wanted to do so much good. He just
>> wanted to build houses... low-cost houses, good houses. I
>> idolised the man." George Redmond received between #10,000 and
>> #15,000 per annum from companies associated with Gallagher.
>>
>> Redmond also gave details on two Christmas gifts of #10,000 and
>> #5,000 from a developer and a landowner. The gifts were made "in
>> the spirit of the season".
>>
>> Deceased hotel owner P V Doyle gave Redmond and another person,
>> Paddy Treacy, a "couple of hundred pounds" to spend at the
>> greyhounds in Shelbourne Park.
>>
>> Another developer, Tom Brennan, paid Redmond around #15,000 a
>> year for 20 years. Redmond usually travelled once a week to
>> Brennan's home and horse stud and received #400 a visit. "It was
>> never taken as read... whenever he had it, I would take it. That
>> is my crime."
>>
>> Redmond's evidence is set to continue, but to what avail? His
>> selective memory is hampering the tribunal and costing the
>> taxpayer hundreds of thousands of pounds.
>>
>> It is clear that he took money systematically for decades from
>> people that his professional work decisions would significantly
>> enrich. Surely the questioning of Redmond would be more
>> productive in the central criminal court or some other court
>> rather than the relaxed atmosphere of a Tribunal.
>>
>> Every day, individuals with such selective memories are cited for
>> contempt in courts all around Ireland. Why is there such a
>> special case being made in Dublin Castle for people who have
>> clearly been involved in malpractice and corruption in their
>> professional lives?
>>
>> This week, the Leinster House parties have been angsting over the
>> issue of political funding and trying to find a way to gloss over
>> their recent past of corrupt payments for political favours. Will
>> they find the time now to take a step further and act to ensure
>> that proper legal proceedings are taken against those involved in
>> the corruption uncovered by the Flood and Moriarty?
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> c. RM Distribution and others. Articles may be reprinted with credit.
>>
>> =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
>> RM Distribution
>> Irish Republican News and Information
>> http://irlnet.com/rmlist/
>>
>> PO Box 160, Galway, Ireland Phone/Fax: (353)1-6335113
>> PO Box 8630, Austin TX 78713, USA mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>>
>> =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
>>
>>
>> RMD1000520172543p2
>>
>
>
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