3 September 1998 Edition
Anger flares at politicians and Gardaí in Tallaght
By Michael Pierse
The anger, sadness and frustration felt by the Tallaght community and others at the murder of 14 year-old Ben Smith and the inaction of relevant authorities, was exposed at a public meeting organised by Killinarden Action Against Drugs (KAAD) and the Coalition Of Communities Against Drugs (COCAD) on Tuesday night.
Ben, in his father's words, was a bright, intelligent and talented boy. He had everything to offer to society, he embodied that which we all aspire to emulate in all children and in ourselves. His brutal death was marked at the meeting with a minute's silence followed by a submission by his father Pete. ``Their condolences and their compassion helped us no end,'' he said of those people throughout Dublin who had offered comfort and friendship to the family. ``If the powers that be had listened to the community,'' he said, ``this horrific death could have been averted''.
André Lyder outlined briefly the progression of COCAD's community policing policy since 1996, when besieged communities, neglected by Gardaí and local authorities, were left with no choice but to police their own community through patrols and vigils. Gardaí, which he said are driven by a political agenda, intimidated anti-drugs activists while launching a series of what he termed ``PR exercises''
Noel Mulligan of KAAD said that three COCAD members, recently arrested but then cleared, had been sent to court on ``spurious allegations'', and he castigated the ongoing harrassment of anti drugs activists. The harrassment which occurred throughout Ben's stay in hospital and most ignobly at his funeral by the Garda Special Branch, was outlined by a woman in the audience who was visibly moved by the Grada actions.
In the face of this public anger Garda Superintendent Conway and Jim Byrne, a senior executive in South Dublin County Council's Housing Division, in reply to questions from the audience, denied that they or their organisations had any responsibility for Ben Smith's death.
Dublin South West SF representative, Seán Crowe, recounted an anecdote which conveyed the travesty of County Council policy towards anti social behaviour. One woman, a lone parent with a young child, he said, had been transferred out of her house, due to the threatening and abusive behaviour of her male next-door neighbour. ``Rather than the perpetrator being evicted, the victim was moved,'' he said.
Leaving the meeting, one felt a sense of momentum achieved. That this would be a new beginning. This feeling was dampened when the van in which this reporter was travelling was stopped and its occupants harrassed by Gardaí.
The anger, sadness and frustration felt by the Tallaght community and others at the murder of 14 year-old Ben Smith and the inaction of relevant authorities, was exposed at a public meeting organised by Killinarden Action Against Drugs (KAAD) and the Coalition Of Communities Against Drugs (COCAD) on Tuesday night.
Ben, in his father's words, was a bright, intelligent and talented boy. He had everything to offer to society, he embodied that which we all aspire to emulate in all children and in ourselves. His brutal death was marked at the meeting with a minute's silence followed by a submission by his father Pete. ``Their condolences and their compassion helped us no end,'' he said of those people throughout Dublin who had offered comfort and friendship to the family. ``If the powers that be had listened to the community,'' he said, ``this horrific death could have been averted''.
André Lyder outlined briefly the progression of COCAD's community policing policy since 1996, when besieged communities, neglected by Gardaí and local authorities, were left with no choice but to police their own community through patrols and vigils. Gardaí, which he said are driven by a political agenda, intimidated anti-drugs activists while launching a series of what he termed ``PR exercises''
Noel Mulligan of KAAD said that three COCAD members, recently arrested but then cleared, had been sent to court on ``spurious allegations'', and he castigated the ongoing harrassment of anti drugs activists. The harrassment which occurred throughout Ben's stay in hospital and most ignobly at his funeral by the Garda Special Branch, was outlined by a woman in the audience who was visibly moved by the Grada actions.
In the face of this public anger Garda Superintendent Conway and Jim Byrne, a senior executive in South Dublin County Council's Housing Division, in reply to questions from the audience, denied that they or their organisations had any responsibility for Ben Smith's death.
Dublin South West SF representative, Seán Crowe, recounted an anecdote which conveyed the travesty of County Council policy towards anti social behaviour. One woman, a lone parent with a young child, he said, had been transferred out of her house, due to the threatening and abusive behaviour of her male next-door neighbour. ``Rather than the perpetrator being evicted, the victim was moved,'' he said.
Leaving the meeting, one felt a sense of momentum achieved. That this would be a new beginning. This feeling was dampened when the van in which this reporter was travelling was stopped and its occupants harrassed by Gardaí.