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15 November 2001 Edition

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Tensions remain high at Holy Cross

The RUC/PSNI changed its policing arrangements this week to allow the parents of Holy Cross pupils walk to school in their own time rather than in convoy as has been the case until Monday.

Parents welcomed the move as it means they don't have to wait around in the rain and the cold until everyone is together, which is an added burden in an already tense situation.

This change, and the RUC\PSNI's decision to wear a "soft uniform" rather than the riot gear, were supposedly designed to make the journey to Holy Cross better for the pupils. However tension remains high.

Loyalist protesters are still able to get within yards of the parents and pupils and there has been some kind of incident every day this week.

A nationalist was arrested by the RUC\PSNI because he was using a video recorder and on Wednesday 14 November, a loyalist threatened a mother and her two children. This led to an altercation between the loyalists and the RUC\PSNI (see pic).

However, support for the Holy Cross children and their parents is growing. On Friday 9 November students from St Mary's Teacher Training College staged a white line picket on the Falls Road. Up to 100 students attended.

And a packed audience in the Andersonstown Social Club heard representatives from the Right to Education Group outline their plight at a meeting on Monday 12 November.


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An Phoblacht
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Ireland