Top Issue 1-2024

17 February 2005 Edition

Democracy up in smoke

17 February 2005

Sinn Féin has stepped up its campaign to prevent waste incinerators being forced on communities throughout the 26 Counties. As city managers throughout the South, along with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), continue with their attempts to implement the disastrous Fianna Fáil/Progressive Democrats incineration waste policy, Sinn Féin councillors have been engaged in battles to have the massive public opposition to incinerators in Dublin, Cork and Meath recognised. Free article

IRA statement on McCartney killing

17 February 2005

The following statement from Óglaigh na hÉireann was received by An Phoblacht on Wednesday as we go to print. Free article

Sinn Féin anger over IMC fine

17 February 2005

Sinn Féin's Gerry Kelly, speaking outside Belfast's High Court on Monday 14 February, slammed the court's decision to refuse the party leave for a judicial review into last year's decision by the Independent Monitoring Commission (IMC), which sanctioned the party over the alleged abduction of Belfast man Bobby Tohill from a bar in Belfast in February 2004. Free article

Process in crisis

17 February 2005

Speaking on Wednesday in London before travelling on to Oxford, where he addressed a seminar along with the DUP Deputy Leader Peter Robinson, Sinn Féin Chief Negotiator Martin McGuinness warned that the process is in deep crisis. Free article

Focus must be on implementing the Agreement - Taoiseach needs to stop playing dirty politics

17 February 2005

As I said last week, Sinn Féin is opposed to a return to conflict and our attention in the time ahead will be fixed on resolution politics to deal with the present impasse. That is not to say that we will not defend our party's' integrity and that of our electorate. Free article

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Complaints of PSNI raids to be lodged with Taoiseach

17 February 2005

Last week's highly-publicised crown forces' raid on the homes and business premises of Liam and Michael Donnelly near Beragh in County Tyrone, just 24 hours before the latest IMC report was due for release, has been described by Sinn Féin MLA for West Tyrone, Barry McElduff, as "a political charade". Free article

Hypocrisy as City Hall bigots deny Carnival funding

17 February 2005

Unionist and Alliance councillors on Belfast City Council, voted against funding this year's St Patrick's Day Carnival for the second time in two weeks during a special meeting on Monday 14 February. Free article

Ahern evades question on Orde and Northern Bank

17 February 2005

In the Dáil on Tuesday, Sinn Féin's Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin put to the Taoiseach Hugh Orde's statement in an Irish News interview last week that he had 'no idea' whether the Sinn Féin leadership knew in advance of the Northern Bank robbery. Despite the fact that Ahern himself made this claim, he evaded the question. We carry here the Dáil exchange. Free article

Hall of mirrors

17 February 2005

At one time a hall of mirrors was a standard funfair spectacle as familiar as the ghost train and helter-skelter to our parents and grandparents. Anyone entering a hall of mirrors faced multiple distorted images of themselves and others. Faces were elongated or squashed flat, thin people became fat, tall would be transformed into small, beautiful into ugly. Mirrors reflected into mirrors reflecting into mirrors until everyone became lost in a maze of images and no one could be certain of the way out. Free article


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