PARCEL BOMBS IN SCOTLAND | REPUBLICANS URGED TO BE VIGILANT

Device aimed at Cairde na hÉireann like bomb sent to Celtic manager

Cairde na hÉireann picket on May 5th to commemorate the sacrifice of the H-Block Martyrs

REPUBLICANS in Scotland have been urged to be vigilant after police revealed that a parcel sent through the Post Office and intended for Sinn Féin support group Cairde na hÉireann was a bomb that could have caused “real harm”.
The device was one of a series of five targeting high-profile people in Scotland, including Glasgow Celtic manager Neil Lennon. Others were prominent Celtic supporters, one a top lawyer and another an outgoing Member of the Scottish Parliament.
Police said the devices are similar in make-up and capable of killing anyone who opened them.
The one sent to Cairde was discovered after it was undelivered in Scotland and redirected to the Returned Letter Centre in Belfast on April 12th.
Cairde National Organiser Franny McAdam said:
“Neil Lennon doesn’t open his mail but we open stuff that comes to the shop. We get packages coming from all over the place and we were expecting a batch of badges.
“The police told us in no uncertain terms that it was a viable device.”
Cairde has made a formal complaint to the Chief Constable of Strathclyde Police that although other high-profile figures and Irish-linked organisations in Scotland were alerted by police about being possible targets, Cairde was not amongst them. This is despite Cairde receiving a host of violent threats via the internet as the most active organisation on Irish issues and against racism and sectarianism.
Cairde is supportive of Sinn Féin and the Peace Process and is the national umbrella body in Scotland for other groups such as the James Connolly Society.
Franny McAdam added:
“For too long now, people in authority have refused to recognise any attacks on the Irish community as anti-Irish racism. Indeed, some councils, like Kirkintilloch and Falkirk, deny it even exists.
“People in positions of power need to stop burying their head in the sand and they need to stand up against racists.
“We at Cairde na hÉireann will continue to fight against racism and sectarianism wherever we encounter it.”
Sinn Féin’s Fra McCann, who will be speaking in Scotland later this month, said:
“For many years, Cairde has been at the forefront of highlighting and protesting the anti-Irish racism which exists in Scottish society.
“It is a disgrace that a potentially lethal device was intended for their Glasgow office which could have been opened by any of the young people who staff the office and shop.
“This discovery comes as part of the investigation into parcel bombs sent to Celtic manager Neil Lennon and others. People of influence should speak out to condemn these actions and to help to eradicate the sectarianism and racism which clearly exists and is quietly tolerated by many within society in Scotland.”