News Round-up

Orde - 'face of cover-up'

PSNI Chief Huge Orde has become the face of the ongoing cover-up at Castlereagh, Sinn Féin MLA Conor Murphy said on Tuesday. Murphy made his remarks after the PSNI Chief Constable was quoted in the Irish News as saying it was 'not sinister' that documents had gone missing from the security complex. The missing documents are believed to contain the details of up to 400 republicans, none of which have been warned that they may be in danger. Murphy said the whole affair reeked of collusion.

Sinn Féin welcomes Black Preceptory move

Sinn Féin Deputy Mayor of Belfast, Joe O'Donnell, welcomed the decision of the Royal Black Preceptory to board buses rather than parade past the nationalist Short Strand area on Sunday last.

"Hopefully we can now build on this decision of the Black Preceptory to voluntarily re-route this parade away from a contentious areas," he said. "It is encouraging to see any of the Loyal Orders abandon so-called traditional routes in favour of pragmatism.

"It is important that the Loyal Orders look at how they can move away from creating contentious parades and damaging community relations. "Where Loyal Orders have engaged in genuine dialogue with residents' groups there has been progress and where the Loyal Orders take the mature decision to stay away from nationalist areas, obviously there is also progress."

Ardoyne Parade DPP failure

The Belfast DPP has predictably failed the people of Ardoyne after it praised the PSNI for its handling of the Orange Order 12th parade through the area, Sinn Féin North Belfast MLA Kathy Stanton said this week.

Stanton reacted with horror when it emerged that at a recent DPP meeting, the PSNI were allowed produce a list of people they intend to arrest and charge after the events in Ardoyne, after they forced the supporters of the parade through the area in direct contravention of a Parades Commission decision.

Stanton pointed out that no members of the PSNI, the Orange Order or their followers, will be arrested.

CS Gas challenge

Hugh Orde was subjected to ridicule this week after he attacked Caitríona Ruane for her comments on the use of CS gas on the same day that the London Medical Toxicology Unit published similar fears about the gas in the Emergency Medical Journal.

Ruane, pointing out Orde's blunder, said that CS gas is a repressive policing option and Orde should not underestimate the negative impact of its use against a community that has already suffered from repressive policing for decades.

Catholics not second class

Unionist politicians in Lurgan have been challenged to tackle sectarian attitudes within their community, after a young Catholic teenager was the subject of a sectarian attack in the area last week.

Sinn Féin's John O'Dowd said that given many of the area's politicians coat trail Orange Order parades through nationalist parts of the town for most of the summer, it wasn't surprising that Protestant youths were attacking Catholics. He called for unionists to stop acting as if Catholics and nationalists were second-class citizens and start taking responsibility for the sectarian acts in their communities.

UDA set houses on fire to stop Catholics moving in

A NUMBER of houses vacated by Protestants in the Torrens Estate off the Oldpark Road in North Belfast were burned down on Saturday 21 August to prevent Catholic families from moving into them.

Over the last decade, the Torrens area has gradually become more nationalist and after the last few remaining Protestant families moved out, the UDA burned the houses so no Catholics families would move in.

Much of the loyalist population from the Torrens area have moved to the loyalist Glenbryn and Ballysillan areas.

Sectarian tensions in the Torrens estate have been rising over the past number of weeks, with attacks on Catholic homes and cars. On Friday 20 August, a Catholic man had the windows of his home smashed by a gang of loyalists and earlier in the week, UDA members from Ballysillan threatened a Catholic man and his son as they walked their dogs.

Oldpark Sinn Féin Councillor Eoin O'Broin told An Phoblacht the naked sectarianism emulating from unionist paramilitaries is frightening.

"Everyone is aware of the huge housing needs in nationalist parts of Belfast and in particularly Oldpark and Ardoyne. The burning of much needed homes to prevent Catholics from moving in has to be condemned from every quarter and unionist politicians need to ensure that similar sectarian attacks of this nature do not occur ever again."

Meanwhile, in County Armagh, a 15-year-old Catholic youth was beaten by a group of loyalists after he failed to sing the loyalist anthem The Sash.

The teenager was walking along Sloan Street in Lurgan town centre on Friday night 20 August when he was approached by four loyalists, who asked if he was a Protestant.

He told them he was but when asked if he could sing The Sash, he was unable to and the four loyalists began beating him with sticks.

The Catholic teenager suffered bruising to the inside of his mouth.

Sinn Féin Assembly member for Upper Bann John O'Dowd claimed unionist politicians were ignoring the issue of sectarianism and sectarian attacks coming from within their community.

Ruane slams Orange Hall vandals

THE vandalising of Dysart Orange Hall in South Down during the early hours of Monday morning 23 August was "a despicable attack that besmirches the name of republicanism," says South Down MLA Caitríona Ruane.

Sinn Féin's spokesperson on Equality, Human Rights and Women has called on the people responsible "to consider their actions and desist immediately from this type of activity.

"The people who daubed IRA and Sinn Féin slogans on the Orange Hall do not represent republicanism," she said.

"Regardless if it is slogans painted on a hall used by the Protestant community or the destruction of republican headstones, such wanton acts of vandalism are fuelled by bigotry and sectarian hatred. All communities in the North have a right to celebrate their culture and these type of incidents do nothing but fuel existing divisions within our society. It is unacceptable and must stop immediately."

And an attack on a Protestant graveyard in Armagh City has been termed "an absolute disgrace by Sinn Féin Assembly member for Newry and Armagh, Pat O'Rawe.

"Republicans in Newry will empathise with those whose graves have been desecrated given that a similar outrageous attack took place on the republican plot in Newry last week," she said.

"I sincerely hope that we are not now going to see a wave of similar incidents at other churches and graveyards. All of us must unite to ensure that this disgraceful attack in an Armagh Cemetery is the last."

Newry graves appeal launched

Chairperson of the Newry National Graves Association John Stewart has launched an appeal for funds to help restore the recently desecrated Republican Plot in the town.

In the early hours of Friday 20 August the graves and surrounding monuments of Newry's republican dead at St. Mary's Cemetery on the Warrenpoint Road were attacked. The site was completely destroyed, resulting in huge distress for relatives and comrades of the Volunteers interred or remembered on this site and causing damage estimated at thousands of pounds.

A restoration and rebuilding programme for the site is now being launched. "Along with the relatives," says Stewart, "we intend to put in place a fitting and robust monument that will give the Volunteers and their families the respect and honour they deserve and will withstand this form of assault if it were to ever be attempted again.

"We have advanced plans to raise funds in a variety of ways and we have no doubt that with the support of the population of Newry we can achieve our objectives."

Any donations should be sent to The Treasurers, Newry National Graves Association, 1b Kilmorey Terrace, Patrick Street, Newry, County Down. BT35 8DW.

Woman hit on head with loyalist flute

A YOUNG Catholic woman was struck on the head with a flute during a loyalist band parade in Rasharkin on Friday 20 August.

Twenty seven loyalist bands, many carrying loyalist paramilitary flags, took part in the triumphalist parade in the Catholic town.

Supporters of the loyalist bands gathered across the road and launched a barrage of verbal sectarian taunts at residents who had gathered for a dignified protest.

Among the loyalist supporters was the North Antrim and County Derry UDA commander, Billy McFarlane.

A band member from the Moneydig flute band attacked the young woman in full view of PSNI members. The woman was brought to hospital, where she received two staples to a gaping head wound.

North Antrim Sinn Féin MLA Philip McGuigan said the parade was the worst display of sectarianism he had ever seen.

"Local people are angered by the decision of the Parades Commission to allow this blatantly sectarian parade to go through this town. It is disgraceful that members of the PSNI stood idly by and watched an assault on a local resident take place. The organisers of this parade in Rasharkin need to get a clear message that what went on on Friday night is unacceptable and will no longer be tolerated by the nationalist community."

Sectarian websites should be closed down

Loyalist web sites which are encouraging attacks on Catholics wearing Celtic and GAA tops should be closed down, says Sinn Féin Lisburn Councillor Paul Butler. These sites are provocative and they should not be allowed to promote this type of sectarian hatred, he says.

"Sectarian comments posted on the official website for the Lisburn and Dromore UDA constitutes incitement to hatred and are clearly encouraging attacks on Catholics and nationalists living in the Lisburn Road and Dunmurry areas," Butler points out.

"These areas have witnessed a surge in loyalist attacks in recent years. Only recently, loyalist bandsmen attacked Catholic youths in Dunmurry after returning from an Apprentice Boys parade. We have also had the attack on the young Catholic wearing a Celtic top at a golf course in Lisburn last year. More recently, we had an attack on two women in Drumahoe when they were seen wearing GAA tops.

Catholic-owned businesses have been attacked in the village and loyalists have bedecked the mixed village with loyalist flags, in full view of the PSNI station, whose officers provided no hindrance to these intimidatory actions.

"When one considers that the UDA in Lisburn have been implicated in the murder of the young Catholic, James McMahon, who was beaten to death in the centre of Lisburn last November, the seriousness of these threats posted by UDA members on a UDA website becomes clear.

"There is an onus on the British Government to act against these individuals and organisations. Clearly this site has been developed and maintained by the UDA and must be closed down."