26 February 2004 Edition

It's getting hot in here

26 February 2004

In 2001, in one of his first acts as President of the United States, George W Bush pulled out of the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, an agreement drawn up by industrialised countries to regulate the first real cuts of CO2 emissions. Now, a secret report prepared by the Pentagon is warning that climate change - caused by greenhouse emissions - may lead to a global catastrophe costing millions of lives. Free article

McGuinness calls for statement on Brian Nelson

26 February 2004

Sinn FÉin Chief Negotiator Martin McGuinness has called for full publication of the Stevens Reports following revelations by a Belfast journalist that "based on Stevens' reports accessed by us and confirmed by authoritative sources" he could now detail those who died as a "direct or indirect result" of Nelson's activities. Free article

Cormac

26 February 2004

Loyalist lip service as Catholic families are targeted

26 February 2004

Over the past week, a 105-year-old grandmother and a four-month-old baby were among the targets of unionist paramilitaries operating in North Belfast, as loyalists embarked on yet another series of sectarian attacks directed at Catholics and their homes. Seven homes were damaged when a unionist mob broke windows and lobbed paint and petrol bombs at houses on Clifton Park Avenue on last Wednesday 18 February. The attacks, which have been linked to the UDA, took place over a three-hour period. Free article

Catholic driver attacked

26 February 2004

A Catholic bus driver has been threatened that he will be shot by the Orange Volunteers if he ever returns to Milltown in Dunmurry, near Lisburn, after being beaten by loyalists who boarded the bus he was driving on Tuesday afternoon 10 February. The man suffered head injuries and bruising to his body in the sectarian attack, which began when he collected two men at a bus stop at the Milltown Estate. Free article

Page 1 of 2

Nationalists protest 'aggressive' RIR searches

26 February 2004

Nationalists in Roslea, County Fermanagh, held a protest outside Roslea PSNI Barracks on Friday 13 February in response to the increased harassment of nationalists by Royal Irish Regiment patrols (RIR). The protest, organised by Farmers and Residents Against Military Bases (FARM), took place outside the joint British Army/PSNI base because of the ongoing harassment of the local community by members of the RIR. Free article

SDLP slammed over CS gas

26 February 2004

Sinn Féin spokesperson on Human Rights Issues Caitríona Ruane has accused the SDLP of 'arming the PSNI with weapons of repression'. Ruane's comments come after the SDLP supported the issuing of CS gas to the PSNI. "Anybody with a passing knowledge of human rights and civil liberties will well know that arming the PSNI with yet another means of repression is a recipe for disaster," the South Down MLA said. Free article

Heavy handed PSNI raid

26 February 2004

South Belfast MLA Alex Maskey has hit out at the heavy-handed nature of a PSNI raid on a home in the Markets area of Belfast on Wednesday morning. The family were at home at around 10am when three PSNI Land Rovers and a transit van arrived outside. During the raid, which lasted several hours, the family's bathroom was extensively damaged and an elderly woman was taken to hospital by ambulance. Free article

Worldwide support for Belfast Patrick's Day Carnival

26 February 2004

Support for Belfast's St Patrick's Day Carnival is quickly gaining international momentum.Organisers recently posted a public petition in support of the carnival online and were delighted to discover that in only one week, the petition has become one of the most popular on the web - ranking eighth around the world in number of visits. Free article

Dunloy remembers Hogan and Martin

26 February 2004

In one of the largest turnouts of republicans seen in North Antrim in recent years, upwards of 1,000 people, including nine bands, marched through the village of Dunloy to mark the 20th anniversary of the deaths of Volunteers Declan Martin and Henry Hogan. Among the crowd was the Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams, who delivered the main address at the Carness Drive memorial to the two Volunteers. Free article


An Phoblacht
44 Parnell Sq.
Dublin 1
Ireland