15 January 1998 Edition

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Nationalists under threat

NATIONALIST residents from Whitewell in North Belfast, talking to An Phoblacht after a series of loyalist attacks on the area have identified a leading UDA man from Tiger's Bay as a main instigator of the attacks from the loyalist White City estate.

And in the latest incident on Tuesday night, a resident from the area has accused the RUC of running amok and beating residents indiscriminately.

The violence started on Friday night 9 January at about 10.30pm when a gang of 30 to 40 loyalist youths who had been drinking in the derelict Tudor Bar chased two Catholic youths along the Serpentine Road before turning on a Chinese takeaway.

As this was happening the RUC were around the corner in Whitewell Road operating a road block. Concerned local residents approached the RUC who claimed they were monitoring the loyalist gang. However it was only after two phone calls to the local RUC barracks that RUC units were eventually sent to the Restaurant at 10.45 pm, 15 minutes later and after the loyalists had made their getaway.

White City sits high above Serpentine Gardens and the top of the Whitewell Road, the houses protected by a steel fence and a large tract of waste ground. On Saturday, as on many other nights since the first Drumcree crisis three years ago, bottles and bricks started to rain down on to the homes of nationalist residents. As a well-orchestrated gang of loyalist men and women rioted at the top of the Whitewell Road, men with cudgels and bats were seen talking to the RUC.

During this rioting residents heard the unmistakable crack of a blast bomb - the explosion was also heard across in Bawnmore.

The most sickening of the weekend attacks occurred in the early hours of Sunday morning when the bungalow of a 72 year old pensioner, Mrs Sloan, was attacked.

The bungalow is the most easily accessible Catholic home from White City. The attack, the third in under a year, has left the woman too frightened to stay in her home during the night.

In the first attack last summer, the subject of an official complaint against the RUC, every window in the bungalow was smashed as the RUC sat by in a landrover positioned at Mrs Sloan's gateway. Mrs Sloan's daughter expressed fear that the escalating intimidation of nationalists in Greymount would be repeated in Whitewell.

In Greymount it started with stone throwing but then progressed to a gun attack at the end of last year. Now with threats issued to Catholic residents and businesses in Greymount there is clear evidence of a growing loyalist paramilitary threat, mainly from the UDA. Last Wednesday, 7 January, a hoax call warning of an undercar bomb in Greymount was phoned in to the Derry Samaritans.

According to residents, Tuesday night's incident began when groups of loyalists blocked the Whitewell Road at Gunnell Hill near White City for over two hours.

One resident said: ``The RUC came down our end of the road and directed traffic through our estate away from the protest. I went to them to find out who was in charge to complain and was told to `Fuck Off'.

``We decided to mount a token protest ourselves at the RUC inaction and the fact that most the redirected traffic was going to White City and the occupants of the vehicles were abusing local people.''

The man, a spokesperson for the Whitewell Residents Association said that their protest had lasted only 25 minutes. He continued, ``DMSU squads sped into the area, jumped from their jeeps and laid into people for no reason''.

``People were hit with batons. One man had to receive staples for a head wound and a woman who gave birth recently was beaten about the body.

``It was that at this point that SDLP councillor Martin Morgan was also beaten about the legs.

``We have reports that some of the RUC members smelled of drink. A number of people said that to me.''

The man said that RUC patrols stayed in the area until 2am and beat a Protestant man who lives on the Catholic part of the road.''


An Phoblacht
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Ireland