16 January 1997 Edition

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Newsletter accused

BREANDAN MacCIONNAITH of the Garvaghy Road Residents Association has accused some members of the media of being involved in an ``on-going smear campaign'' against the group in the aftermath of last year's Drumcree stand off and in the build up to this year's marching season.

The latest example of this, according to MacCionnaith, was an article that appeared in this Tuesday's Belfast Newsletter written by Richard Sullivan. A front page story claimed that residents are ``spurning peace plans and drawing up a `battle plan' for this year's campaign''.

Said MacCionnaith: ``We challenged the Newsletter and the journalist in question said he stood by his story but acknowledged that his source was `not the residents group but extremists'. Then on BBC's Talkback Programme, on Tuesday, the presenter questioned the journalist who admitted that his source was `one person' with no connection to the residents association.

``In the past the media has run stories that were damaging to the position of the Garvaghy Residents and biased towards the Orange Order with effect that efforts to find a solution were undermined. This seems to be the case again,'' MacCionnaith said.

He also refuted the Newsletter article which reported Robin Eames as saying: ``Considerable efforts were being made to ensure Drumcree `97 passed off without incident''.

``We have received a letter from Church of Ireland Archbishop Robin Eames which the committee will be discussing on Wednesday 15 January. We have not had any other contact with Archbishop Eames since last summer,'' said MacCionnaith.

MacCionnaith said the residents group are concerned that dialogue could resolve the Drumcree situation for 1997 and that they had already met Archbishop Sean Brady with whom they had ``a frank and productive meeting'' and would also be meeting Patrick Mayhew next Monday.


An Phoblacht
44 Parnell Sq.
Dublin 1
Ireland