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17 July, 2003 |
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Seán Ó Muireagáin, the Belfast man wrongly arrested in Israel on suspicion of being a 'Real IRA' member training Palestinian militants, was finally released yesterday when Israeli security officials admitted it was a case of mistaken identity. Now you see it - now you don't The newspaper headlines read "Sunshine greets 12th Marchers" and "A peaceful but intensely political event". There were full colour, front page photos of Orange marches with the occasional special pull-out section several pages long. Marchers were "blessed" with blue skies, and there were pictures of smiling children dressed in Orange regalia marching proudly beside their fathers and grandfathers. It only seems like yesterday that Johnny Adair and his cohorts were strutting around outside Drumcree Church, while young loyalists hurled stones and fireworks at the lines of police and soldiers drawn up below. How often did Orangemen portray Drumcree as their Alamo, a last stand in which their whole tradition was at stake? Today, that bluster has been replaced by farce. If Drumcree was the Orange Order's chosen battleground, it has turned out not their Alamo, but their Waterloo. Arsonists destroy children's playground Two malicious fires have left children in the New Lodge/Duncairn area of North Belfast without a playground. Building the left republican alternative Sinn Féin must play a key role in the emerging global movement for change to secure a global context for our national agenda for change and ensure that national independence does not arrive in a context that reduces it to corporate subservience, argues COUNCILLOR EOIN Ó BROIN Chilcot report sheds no light on raid Responding to a written comment from British Secretary of State Paul Murphy in the House of Commons, revealing a limited summary of the Chilcot report into the raid on the Special Branch offices at Castlereagh, Sinn Féin Policing spokesperson Gerry Kelly said "this summary sheds no light on who was responsible. It has been a bad few weeks for those within the British Intelligence and military community who are sympathetic to the unionist/loyalist/British Army cause. The activities of the UDA and its political masters have, at last, been subjected to a degree of media scrutiny; the Orange Order has been daily revealing itself in all its unpleasantness on Channel 4; while in Iraq the occupying British Army has been repeating all the vile behaviour it displayed in Ireland. Also on Channel 4, the criminality of many British soldiers, and the tolerance of it by the authorities, was revealed in a damning documentary about the horrific murder of Danish tour guide Louise Jensen by three drunken soldiers in Cyprus. Spellar agrees to meet McBride family Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams has welcomed the news that John Spellar is to meet with the family of Peter McBride, the teenager shot dead by two British soldiers. Sinn Féin calls on anti-social elements to stop attacks A five-year-old Protestant boy sustained serious eye injuries in a sectarian attack at the weekend. In a separate incident, there was an arson attack on a Presbyterian hall in County Donegal. Sinn Féin launches Charter on Racism Sinn Féin Councillors Alex Maskey and John O'Dowd last week launched an anti-racist charter for local councils and their members to sign up to. This initiative follows an increasing number of violent racist attacks in recent times and is an attempt to present a united political front to challenge those involved in these attacks. Auctioneers and Valuers show no social responsibility Sinn Féin Dáil spokesperson on Housing, Arthur Morgan, has accused the Auctioneers and Valuers Institute (IAVI) of having no sense of social responsibility. Dáil Committee exposed rip-off by banks Irish banks have failed to pass on European Central Bank interest rate cuts and people with loans, overdrafts and credit cards are being ripped off as a result. This was clearly exposed at the Oireachtas Committee on Finance and the Public Service last week, which met all the main banks and the senior state official charged with looking after the consumer's interest. The special meeting was held on the proposal of Sinn Féin Dáil Finance spokesperson, Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin. Sinn Féin representative Gerry Kelly has demanded that the BBC be designated as a public body and therefore subject to equality proofing. Tragic death of Derry republican Mid-Ulster MP Martin McGuinness has expressed his shock and sadness at the tragic death of a lifelong friend Paddy Mullan in a fishing accident. Bastille Day celebrated in Dublin for first time since 1803 On Sunday 13 July the people of Dublin were treated to an impressive parade of hundreds of marching Pikepeople who were commemorating both Bastille Day (albeit a day early) and the 1803 Robert Emmet Rising. The last time Bastille Day was publicly celebrated in Dublin was in 1803, when the United Irishmen gathered in Smock Alley and Coal Quay (now Wood Quay). This was seen as subversive by the crown forces and a major riot followed, alerting the authorities to the possibility of further unrest. At the time, Emmet was finalising his plans for his abortive Rising, which he launched on 23 July 1803. In their quest to create a United States of Europe, the powers that be have come up with a new EU Constitution - in draft form at the moment - aimed at finally putting the nail in the coffin of its members' national sovereignty. Funding crisis for summer festivals For the first time in nine years, the New Lodge and Ardoyne Festivals in North Belfast have been refused funding. Putting private property rights first We at An Phoblacht's Parnell Square HQ had new neighbours this week, albeit very briefly, when a group of squatting anarchists with a point to make about the housing crisis moved into a building several doors down. £20,000 for the Colombia 3 campaign The Bring them Home campaign, organised to secure the release of Niall Connolly, Martin McCauley and Jim Monaghan, who are currently held in a Colombian prison, has raised £20,000 during a series of fundraisers held in Dungiven and East Derry. Kieran Doherty commemoration weekend It's time once again for the annual Kieran Doherty commemoration weekend. The celebrations, in memory of H-Block martyr Kieran Doherty, are set to begin in Ballyconnell, Co Cavan, at the start of August, with all the proceeds going to the Footsteps Down's Syndrome Ireland Charity. New Sinn Féin office in Galway city Sinn Féin last Friday formally opened its new office in Galway City. The official opening was performed by Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin TD, who said Sinn Féin is the fastest growing party in the West of Ireland and "offers the only real alternative to the failed polices of the establishment parties who have let down the people of the West". Paying tribute to Civil Rights veteran Paddy Douglas, who has died, West Tyrone Sinn Féin MP Pat Doherty extended his sympathy to his immediate family and extended family circle in the Castlederg area. |
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