Il Police Service of Northern Ireland ha avviato indagini dopo i disordini che hanno scosso Portadown nelle prime ore di domenica

La PSNI ha avviato un’indagine dopo che 10 agenti della PSNI sono rimasti feriti nei disordini scoppiati in Mandeville Street e West Street a Portadown nelle prime ore di domenica 29 novembre.
Durante i disordini le forze di sicurezza sono state bersagliate da lanci di razzi e bottiglie; dannaggiati anche alcuni veicoli.
Due gli arresti. Un ragazzo di 19 anni comparirà il prossimo mese davanti alla Craigavon Magistrates Court per rispondere delle accuse di aggressioni ai danni di agenti di polizia e per reati di ordini pubblico.
Un altro uomo di 31 anni è stato rilasciato su cauzione in attesa di ulteriori indagini.
Dolores Kelly (SDLP), ha affermato che il tutto ha avuto origine da una serie di sms circolati nelle ultime 2 settimane, che invitavano tutti i lealisti a riunirsi per fornire una dimostrazione di forza nel centro città, alla chiusura dei pubs.

“Due to recent beatings of Protestants, we’re asking all loyalists who don’t want to be beaten, walked over and treated like scum to gather at 12.45am (…). This is to show republicans we will not tolerate their behaviour or presence in our area. Pass this to all loyalists you know.” (“A causa di recenti pestaggi contro i protestanti, stiamo chiedendo a tutti i lealisti che non vogliono essere picchiati, e trattati come feccia di riunirsi alle 12:45 (…). Questo è per mostrare i repubblicani che non si tollera il loro comportamento o la loro presenza nella nostra zona. Passate questo messaggio a tutti i lealisti che conoscete. “)

“Da quanto ho capito, la polizia era preparata e sono stati in grado di respingere la folla e così controllare la situazione. Ma il punto fondamentale è che un gruppo molto consistente di persone era determinate nel negare a tutti l’accesso al centro della città”, ha aggiunto Dolores Kelly, per poi concludere sostenendo come sia necessario convenire con i leaders unionisti e delle fazioni lealiste, inclusi gli Ordini delle parate.

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Police probe loyalist violence (NewsLetter)
Police have launched an investigation after 10 officers were injured in Portadown.
The trouble began when a large crowd of “loyalists” gathered in
the early hours of Sunday in the Mandeville Street and West Street
area where missiles, including bottles, were thrown.
A number of vehicles were also damaged during the trouble.
A 19-year-old man is expected to appear at Craigavon Magistrates
Court next month charged with assault on police and public order
offences.
A 31-year-old also arrested was released on bail pending further
inquiries.
A PSNI spokeswoman said police were “working with the public and community representatives to resolve the situation”.
SDLP Upper Bann MLA Dolores Kelly claimed the trouble was related to text messages which were circulated two weeks ago calling for all loyalists to gather for a show of force in the centre of town at pub closing times.
She said: “This was incredibly stupid, incredibly provocative and
the purpose was made absolutely clear in the texts, which we forwarded
to the media – to intimidate nationalists and lay claim to ownership of the town centre.
“As far as I have heard, the police were prepared and were able to move the mob back and control the situation. But the fundamental point is that a very substantial group of people are determined to deny access to the town centre for all.”
Mrs Kelly added: “This is naked bully-boy sectarianism and it cannot
just be left to the police to deal with the inevitable consequences.
We need to hear from the leaders of unionism and the many variations
of loyalism, including the marching orders.”
UUP councillor for the area Ronnie Harkness condemned the trouble and the attacks on police officers.
He said it had been a move backwards for the town which has been “so peaceful in recent months”.
“I would call for a return to calm in the weeks coming up to Christmas in the hope that those involved will see some sense.”

Il primo ministro inglese renderà nota la proposta finanziaria offerta ai leaders di governo nordirlandesi

Il primo ministro britannico sta per pubblicare la proposta finanziaria per il trasferimento di poteri in materia di polizia e giustizia a Stormont.
Ciò fa seguito ai colloqui di ieri tenutisi a Downing Street.
Il piano finanziario, che dovrebbe aggirarsi intorno a  800 milioni di sterline, è stato da subito accettato dal Sinn Fein, mentre Peter Robinson non si esprimerà in merito fino a quando non sarà sicuro della piena fiducia degli unionisti e soprattutto fino a quando Gordon Brown non avrà fornito una risposta ad un paio di questioni tutt’ora in sospeso.

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PM to publish justice budget (NewsLetter)
Prime Minister Gordon Brown is due to publish the budget for the devolution of policing and justice.
The move follows talks with the First Minister and Deputy First Minister on Tuesday night.
First Minister Peter Robinson has said he will discuss the budget with his political colleagues.
He said he hoped Mr Brown would clarify two outstanding issues relating to the finances.
Last week, Mr Robinson and Mr McGuinness briefed other parties on outline proposals for the transfer.
Sinn Fein has accepted the financial settlement, believed to be about £800m, but the DUP is insisting on further clarification on some aspects of the package.

Prima notte di disordini a East Belfast

Riots tra gruppi rivali stanno infiammando l’area di East Belfast da due notti consecutive

Dallo scorso lunedì notte (ultimo giorno di servizio di Sir Hugh Orde in  qualità di Chief Constable del PSNI) l’area di Albertbridge Road è scenario di disordini a sfondo settario, che vedono contrapposti fazioni repubblicane e lealiste. Il tutto sarebbe nato dopo una manifestazione organizzata dal Sinn Fein per celebrare la chiusura della stazione di polizia di Mountpottinger.
Coinvolti 200 rivoltosi che hanno lanciato molotov, sassi e razzi contro la polizia che ha reagito sparando proiettili di gomma finendo subito sotto accusa.
Lo stesso scenario, anche se di dimensioni ridotte rispetto alla notte precedente, si è ripetuto ieri 1 settembre a partire dalle 18.45. I disordini sono stati sedati dal PSNI intorno alle 2.30.
Un poliziotto è rimasto ferito al volto dopo essere stato colpito con una pallina da golf.
Tre gli arresti. ‘Questo comportamento è ancora del tutto inaccettabile’, ha dichiarato l’Area Commander CI John McKeag.
“Gli abitanti della zona meritano di vivere in pace e posso assicurare alla comunità che stiamo continuando a lavorare per portare i responsabili davanti ai tribunali alla prima occasione. Un team di agenti appositamente preparati, è stato istituito per raggiungere questo obiettivo e sono sicuro che ulteriori arresti saranno compiuti nel corso dei prossimi giorni”.
Gli unionisti si interrogano ora sulle eventuali responsabilità del Sinn Fein, ritenuto colpevole di aver organizzato una manifestazione nell’area di Short Strand a soli 200 metri dal territorio lealista.
Robin Newton del Democratic Unionist Party ha dichiarato: “Vorrei sapere se questo è stato un evento che ha avuto la benedizione del Sinn Féin, o se  è stato qualcosa di organizzato da una o due persone”.
“Perché se si è trattato di una manifestazione organizzata dal Sinn Fein, credo che sia  stato imprudente da parte loro. Ovviamente, l’evento si è sviluppato in una sommossa che non sono stati in grado di controllare”.

U TV – Dibattito sul settarismo

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Sectarian riots erupt in Belfast on police chief’s last night in charge (The Guardian)
Scenes reminiscent of dark days of the Troubles as Sir Hugh Orde steps down as Northern Ireland chief constable
The Police Service of Northern Ireland fired baton rounds into crowds to quell sectarian rioting in Belfast last night, on the last day of Sir Hugh Orde’s tenure as the region’s chief constable.
Sinn Féin and local unionists argued over how the violence escalated in east Belfast. Unionists blamed republicans for holding a rally outside a police station in the nationalist Short Strand area 200 yards from a loyalist area of east Belfast.
Rival groups pelted each other with bottles and stones and missiles were thrown at police and passing motorists at the junction of Albertbridge and Castlereagh Roads.
The Democratic Unionist councillor Robin Newton said he wanted to know who was behind the organisation of the rally marking the closure of Mountpottinger police station. “I would like to know if this was an event with the blessing of Sinn Féin, or whether this was something organised by one or two individuals,” he said.
“Because if it was a Sinn Féin-organised event, then I think it was something that was reckless on their part. It obviously developed into a riot that they were unable to control.”
Dawn Purvis, the leader of the Progressive Unionist party, said Sinn Féin bore some responsibility for bringing crowds on to the streets close to a sectarian interface.
The east Belfast Sinn Féin representative, Niall O’Donnghaile, said the use of plastic bullets was “completely unjustified” and the event and the trouble afterwards were not connected.
“Trouble has been ongoing in this area over the past number of weeks and has been flagged up by community workers and statutory bodies from both sides of the community,” he said. “The PSNI would have been made well aware of these problems and, in my opinion, have failed to deal with the situation adequately.”
No arrests have been made in connection with the violence. During the disturbances, a police helicopter hovered over the crowds warning rioters that they would be arrested. Several hundred youths on either side of the sectarian divide were involved in the trouble, which lasted for several hours.
The rioting followed several days of clashes in the area, including an attack on two Protestant teenage girls and the stoning of a minibus taking children from the Short Strand.
In a night of violence across Belfast, dissident republicans were blamed for shooting a teenager in the legs at his home in the west of the city. Meanwhile, the home of the daughter of a loyalist killed in a paramilitary feud nine years ago was vandalised. Tracy Coulter accused members of the Ulster Volunteer Force for wrecking her home in the Lower Shankill Road, and vowed to continue to try to bring her father Jackie’s killers to justice.

East Belfast violence condemned (U TV)
Politicians have condemned the violence which broke out in East Belfast on Monday night.
Around 200 republicans and loyalists clashed after trouble flared at an event to celebrate the closure of a police station.
Missiles and other objects were thrown between opposing gangs and at PSNI officers during the violence on the Albertbridge Road in east Belfast.
The road was closed as police tried to restore calm.
Tensions surfaced when a group of republicans gathered at Mountpottinger police station to mark its final day in operation.
The station was one of 26 the Policing Board agreed earlier this month to sell off to the private sector on the recommendation of Chief Constable Sir Hugh Orde.
The building is near a notorious interface between the republican enclave of Short Strand and the loyalist Newtownards and Albertbridge Road areas.
Residents in Short Strand have long been campaigning for the station’s closure and had hailed the Policing Board’s decision as a great victory.
‘Reckless’
Police come under attack during rioting in east Belfast
Speaking on U105, DUP MLA Robin Newton said: “Bringing people on to the streets in this foolhardy and reckless manner, the excuse being the celebration of the closure of a police station, has led to the riot and indeed a situation that has got out of control.”
But Sinn Fein representative Niall Ó Donnghaile has denied claims that the rally led to the trouble.
“The logic of the rally was explained well in advance, the PSNI were aware of it, and it was also held in the middle of the area, as opposed to an interface,” he said.
“I believe and stand over the fact that the people are entitled to celebrate the closure of Mountpottinger given its legacy.”
‘Unjustified’
A police spokesman said officers had discharged a number of baton rounds during the disturbances. He said no arrests had been made and there were no reports of injuries.
Mr Ó Donnghaile said that the use of plastic bullets by the PSNI was completely unjustified.
He also spoke out about an attack on his family home by, what he referred to as “anti-social elements from within the Short Strand community”.
He added: “These are the same anti-social elements who were involved in the interface trouble, which has been ongoing for the past number of weeks. Those involved in such activity are serving no purpose other than attacking the Short Strand community.”
SDLP Deputy Leader Alasdair McDonnell has launched a scathing attack on the decision by Sinn Fein to hold a protest in the area on a Bank Holiday, saying it was “madness”.
He added: “Now Sinn Fein spokesmen are claiming the protest had no connection with the rioting. This is nonsense, the same sort of pernicious nonsense we used to hear from the marching orders after their coat-trailing parades led to violence. Not only could this violence be predicted, it was predicted.”
‘Kiddy rioting’
“If Sinn Fein is once again sponsoring interface kiddy rioting in order to compete with the dissidents for community control, we are in a very dangerous situation. It would send a strong signal that they have abandoned even the lip service they have paid to the concept of a shared future and settled once more for ghetto politics.” he said.
Mr McDonnell also said: “More than two years into devolution, Martin McGuinness and Peter Robinsion are still blocking publication of the Shared Future (Cohesion, Sharing and Integration) strategy. Hugh Orde was right to raise this failure by Sinn Fein and the DUP in his last word on policing.
“It may suit the DUP to block progress, but why is Sinn Fein playing along while local spokesmen are trotting out all the old lines about heavy-handed policing?” He asked.

L’omicidio di Kevin McDaid a Coleraine ‘non ha fatto niente per il lealismo’

Questa le parole pronunicate dal leader terrorista Jackie McDonald, che è stato co-protagonista di una conferenza prevista dal programma del West Belfast Youth Talks Back.
Con lui il repubblicano Sean Murray, il sovraintendente capo del PSNI  Mark Hamilton e il sindaco di Belfast Naomi Long.
All’ordine del giorno diversi punti, trai quali: l’assassinio di Kevin McDaid, l’utilizzo dei proiettili di gomma, le forze di polizia, la controversia sulle marce orangiste, il razzismo e il settarismo.
Il brigadiere dell’UDA non ha fatto parola della dichiarazione rilasciata dall’Ulster Political Research Group (UPRG) di North Antrim/Derry, sul ritiro del proprio supporto dalla polizia e dalle istituzioni politiche.
Jackie McDonald ha affermato che il lealismo di oggi si trova ad ‘vivere’ in una ‘terra di nessuno’ e ha accusato gli unionisti di non saper come trattare con i lealisti, non sapendo decidere se considerarli come un bene o come un problema.
“I repubblicani hanno teso la mano in segno di amicizia più di quanto abbiano fatto i partiti unionisti”, ha dichiarato MdDonald non nascondendo la speranza di in un avvicinamento delle istituzioni unioniste alla classe operaia lealista.
Danny Morrison del West Belfast Festival ha definito la presenza del leader lealista come un passo molto positivo ed ha dichiarato al Belfast Telegraph: “Penso sia stato produttivo, e  segno di progresso – non solo la sua presenza, ma il fatto che  giovani provenienti da Sandy Row e Lisburn si siano seduti accanto a giovani provenienti da Ballymurphy e Twinbrook”.

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Loyalist chief appears at west Belfast festival (Belfast Telegraph)
Terrorist leader Jackie McDonald has told an audience in west Belfast that the murder of Coleraine community worker Kevin McDaid “did nothing for loyalism”.
The UDA ‘brigadier’, speaking at a festival event, said he had “every sympathy” for the McDaid family.
McDonald was part of the panel in an event billed West Belfast Youth Talks Back.
The senior loyalist was joined on the platform by republican Sean Murray, PSNI Chief Superintendent Mark Hamilton and Belfast’s Lord Mayor Naomi Long.
There were questions on a range of issues including the McDaid murder, plastic bullets, policing, contentious marches, racism and sectarianism.
On the parades controversy, McDonald claimed Sinn Fein “had a lot to do with orchestrating and organising people into being annoyed”.
There were no questions from the floor on splits within the UDA, nor the recent statement issued by the linked Ulster Political Research Group in north Antrim/ Londonderry withdrawing support for policing and the political institutions.
But McDonald described loyalism as being in a “no man’s land”.
“Unionist politicians don’t know how to deal with loyalists,” he told his audience.
“Republicans have extended the hand of friendship more than the unionist parties,” he said.
Speaking to the Belfast Telegraph afterwards he added: “Unionists don’t know what to do with us.
“They don’t know whether we’re an asset or a problem. People are afraid to make us respectable.
“We are telling unionist politicians that they are going to have to become more involved with loyalist working class people.
“The days of arriving on the doorsteps three weeks before an election are over,” he said.
The loyalist leader continued: “We are telling people they have to register to vote and when it comes the time they have to go out and vote.”
Commenting on the presence of the leading loyalist at yesterday’s event, Danny Morrison of the West Belfast Festival told this newspaper: “I thought it was productive, and a sign of progress — not only his presence but the fact that there were young people from Sandy Row and Lisburn sitting beside young people from Ballymurphy and Twinbrook.
“It’s encouraging that the young audience were prepared to engage,” he said.

Come già anticipato in un articolo pubblicato ieri, il PSNI ha confermato di aver avviato le indagini per stabilire se la protesta lealista che si è tenuta lo scorso giovedì a Derry, abbia violato la legge.
In quell’occasione circa una folla di 150 persone si è riversata per le strade del Waterside di Derry, sfilando per un paio di ore prima di disperdersi.
Il PSNI ha affermato di essere al vaglio di più opzioni. L’indagine infatti potrebbe concretizzarsi nella raccolta di prove utili ad un procedimento penale o potrebbe essere presa in considerazione “una risposta più diretta e immediata”.
La protesta del Waterside è oggetto di un rapporto stilato dal Public Prosecution Service.
L’UPRG (Ulster Political Research Group), legato al gruppo paramilitare lealista dell’UDA (Ulster Defence Association) ha tenuto a ribadire che quella di giovedì scorso è stata una protesta contro l’operato degli unionisti e non voleva essere una dimostrazione di forza.

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Loyalist ‘protest’ investigated (BBC News Northern Ireland)
Police in Londonderry are investigating if laws were broken when 150 loyalists took part in a demonstration in parts of the Waterside last Thursday.
The group walked around mainly loyalist housing estates for two hours before dispersing.
Police say a number of options are open to them, including gathering evidence for a prosecution, or a “more direct and immediate response”.
A report has been compiled for the Public Prosecution Service.
The Ulster Political Research Group said the incident in Derry was a protest at unionist leadership, not a show of strength.

Gerry Adams, durante la conferenza di ieri sera a Westminster, ha dichiarato dovranno far parte dell’Irlanda Unita.
Il leader del Sinn Fein ha affermato che il controllo politico del Regno Unito sull’Irlanda resta la causa del conflitto.
Sulla scia delle violenze che hanno caratterizzato la Twelfth Parade di Belfast del 13 luglio, ha sostenuto che il rispetto delle varie culture, compresa quella della comunità unionista, deve essere la chiave per un nuovo futuro.
“Sono assolutamente contrario all’unionismo, ma credo che i democratici debbano ascoltare ciò che gli unionisti ritengono che il loro movimento possa offrire ai cittadini”.
“Un dibattito pubblico su tali questioni-chiave può essere soltanto un passo positivo in avanti.”
“Abbiamo bisogno di guardare a ciò che gli unionisti intendono per senso di britannicità ed essere disposti a esplorare e ad essere aperti a nuovi concetti.”
Egli ha affermato che l’Irlanda Unita dovrà rispettare le diversità culturali.
“Questo significa che le marce orangiste, anche se sulla base del rispetto e della cooperazione, continueranno in una Irlanda Unita, se questo è il desiderio degli orangisti”, così come lo stesso Adams ha sostenuto che anche i simboli e gli emblemi dovranno riflettere le difersità della società irlandese.

Orange parades have place in a united Ireland, says Gerry Adams (Belfast Telegraph)
Orange Order marches and respect for diverse cultures must form part of a future united Ireland, Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams told a special event at Westminster last night.
The republican leader addressed an audience in the Grand Committee Room in the House of Commons as part of an international campaign to kickstart a debate on achieving Irish reunification.
Mr Adams said Britain’s political control over part of the island of Ireland remained the underlying cause for conflict.
And in the wake of violence around an Orange Order parade in Belfast, he argued that respect for Ireland’s various cultures, including that of its unionist community, must be key to a new future.
“I am totally opposed to the union but I believe that democrats must listen to unionism about what they believe the union offers citizens,” he said.
“A public debate around these key issues can only be a positive step forward.
“We need to look at what unionists mean by their sense of Britishness and be willing to explore and to be open to new concepts.
“So, there are many issues for republicans and unionists to talk about.”
He said a united Ireland must respect cultural diversity.
“This means that Orange marches, albeit on the basis of respect and cooperation, will continue in a united Ireland if that is the wish of the Orange,” said Mr Adams.
“So, as part of this, in a united Ireland the agencies, management, symbols and emblems need to reflect the diversity of our society. This is a daunting challenge.”
Mr Adams has addressed two similar events in the US in recent weeks and his party is planning a major conference in Britain in February.

E’ questo dei messaggi che si è tentato di far passare durante la manifestazione contro il razzismo organizzata dai leaders unionisti e tenutasi quest’oggi a Belfast.
Peter Bunting dell’Irish Congress of Trade Unions (Ictu), ha però rilevato un fatto non trascurabile. Sono in tanti a condannare il razzismo, aggiungendo sempre un ‘ma..’.
“Questo è il razzismo soft. Questo razzismo passa attraverso la codardia. Persone senza convinzione le altre, del male.”
“I lavoratori immigrati non ‘rubano’ i nostri posti di lavoro. I lavoratori immigrati non sfruttano i nostri benefici. I lavoratori immigrati non ci tolgono i nostri alloggi sociali”.
“I lavoratori immigrati sono giovani, e altamente produttivi e fanno figli in contrapposizione ad una popolazione che invecchia. I figli di lavoratori immigrati eviteranno la chiusura di alcune scuole’.
Anche il servizio sanitario nazionale non potrebbe funzionare senza l’apporto di personale immigrato.
Bunting si augura che quella di oggi sia stato solo l’inizio di una campagna anti razzista all’interno della comunità senza distinzioni di credo e/o estrazione sociale.

‘We owe’ migrant workers, Belfast rally told (BreakingNews.ie)
Migrant workers are essential to the North’s economy and enrich life in the region, a public rally against racism was told today. Trade union leaders organised the protest in the centre of Belfast to speak out against a spate of racist attacks in the city. More than 100 Romanians were forced from their homes in the most notorious recent incident, but the rally heard condemnations of “soft racism” which it was claimed feeds the actions of a violent minority. Irish Congress of Trade Unions (Ictu) assistant general secretary Peter Bunting hit out at those who said they opposed racist attacks, but who always added the word “but”. “These are the remarks you hear on radio phone-in shows. ’I condemn this, but …’,” he said. “This is soft racism. This is racism crossed with cowardice. People without conviction accusing others of evil. “The facts cannot be clearer, in research report after research report. “Migrant workers are not taking our jobs. Migrant workers are not taking our benefits. Migrant workers are not taking our social housing. “In fact, migrant workers are filling jobs which need to be done, and paying taxes which pay for public services. They are collecting far fewer benefits than they are entitled to, such as universal child benefit. “Migrant workers are young, and highly productive workers and are having children among a general population which is getting older. The children of migrant workers are reversing plans to close schools in certain areas. “The health service could not function without skilled immigrant labour. Our most vulnerable, our aged and our ill, are being cared for by migrants. “We owe them.” Several hundred people attended the event, despite poor weather conditions. Mr Bunting told the audience outside Belfast City Hall: “This event today ought to be the launch-pad for a new campaign for sufficient resources for anti-racism champions in every community, across the creeds and the classes.” Threats were made this week against Polish and Islamic centres in Belfast. More than 100 Romanians were forced from their homes in the city last month in an incident that attracted widespread condemnation. Polish families in Co Tyrone were attacked, as was an Indian centre in Belfast. Police have said the spate of attacks was not co-ordinated, but the increased attention on the issue sparked an Assembly debate on racism on Monday at which the violence against minorities was widely condemned. Police have also warned Alliance party politician Anna Lo – the only member of the Northern Ireland Assembly from an ethnic minority background – that she was also under threat.

Il Londonderry Sentinel ha pubblicato ieri un articolo sulle osservazioni di Gregory Campbell, ministro del DUP, dopo il meeting ‘What’s the truth behind the 1981 hunger strike?’ organizzato dal Republican Network for Unity, lo scorso week end al Gasyard Centre di Derry.
Campbell ha dichiarato come sia risultato chiaro al termine dell’incontro in cui è stato dimostrato che lo sciopero della fame avrebbe potuto essere sospeso prima della morte del 5° prigioniero, che il Seinn era disposto a tutto pur di perseguire una strategia politica.
La documentazione presentata e le dichiarazioni che ne sono seguite hanno infatti dimostrato l’esistenza di una proposta del governo Thatcher che avrebbe soddisfatto 4 delle 5 richieste degli hunger strikers. Proposta che sarebbe stata accettata dai prigionieri, nella persona dell’allora OC Brendan ‘Bik’ McFarlane (che continua a negare il fatto), ma rigettato dalla leadership dell’IRA all’esterno. Tutto questo non può che confermare quanto già rivelato da Richard O’Rawe, ex prigioniero dell’IRA, nel suo libro del 2005.
Brendan Duddy (Mountain Climber), ha affermato la veridicità del relazione equa e precisa presentata al meeting da Liam Clarke (giornalista del Sunday Times). Il documento sostiene che l’IRA ha accolto la sostanza di una offerta di fine sciopero della fame, ma ha contestato il tono.
Anche Gerard Clarke, uno IRA prigioniero, si è sentito in dovere di prendere la parola e sostenere che la conversazione tra O’Rawe e McFarlane ha avuto luogo. Egli ha detto: “Io non avrei dovuto sentire quella conversazione, ma mi trovavo in una cella vicina. Non ho detto nulla per quasi trenta anni. Ma,  lo dico ora che la conversazione si è svolta”.
Willie Gallagher, dell’IRSP, ha inoltre affermato che rilascerà presto la registrazione di un colloquio tra due fonti ‘anonime’, a conferma che quella conversazione è realmente avvenuta.
Tra le conclusioni di Gregory Campbell rilasciate al Londenderry Sentinel, trova spazio anche questa: “Avrebbero potuto essere molti di più di dieci morti, visto che i prigionieri aderivano allo sciopero della fame in onda dopo onda. Non sapevamo che dieci sarebbe la cifra finale”.

Questo ed altri articoli a venire, nsieme alle documentazioni attualmente rivelate, li potrete trovare nella sezione “The Truth behind the 1981 Hunger Strike“.

Republicans rocked by hunger strike claim (Londenderry Sentinel)
Londoderry’s DUP minister, Gregory Campbell has said a republican meeting at which claims were made that the 1981 hunger strikes could have been halted before the fifth man died, shows the length to which the republican movement were prepared to go to pursue a political strategy.
Mr Campbell was speaking after a meeting at the Gasyard Centre last weekend heard allegations that an offer, alluding to granting four of the five demands of the hunger strikers, was communicated to the IRA inside the Maze, days before the death of Joe McDonnell.
But, there are allegations that the offer was rejected by the external leadership of the IRA despite being accepted within the prison. In the event, five more hunger strikers died.
Bobby Sands, Francis Hughes, Raymond McCreesh and Patsy O’Hara had died before Joe McDonnell-Martin Hurson,Kevin Lynch,Kieran Doherty,Thomas McElwee and Michael Devine, died after McDonnell.
The claims are centred on a 2005 book by Richard O’Rawe-an ex-IRA prisoner, who acted as public relations officer in the Maze. He has contended for many years that he and the IRA commander inside Long Kesh, Brendan ‘Bik’ McFarlane, discussed the government’s document and agreed there was enough content to halt the strike. McFarlane susequently denied that such a conversation ever took place.
The weekend debate was also attended by businessman, Brendan Duddy, said to be the ‘Mountain climber’, who ferried messages between the IRA and the government.
Mr Duddy was asked by journalist Liam Clarke if a document he had obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, outlining what would happen if the IRA called off the protest, was one of the communications he passed to the IRA.
Brendan Duddy said: “What Liam Clarke has is a fair and accurate report. I don’t disagree with the content.”
The document claims that the IRA had accepted the substance of an offer to end the hunger strike but objected to the tone.
The audience and panel also heard from Gerard Clarke, an IRA prisoner, who claimed the conversation between O’Rawe and McFarlane took place. He said: “I wasn’t supposed to hear that conversation, I was in a cell nearby. I haven’t said anything for nearly thirty years. But, I am saying now that conversation took place.”
Another former IRA prisoner, Gerard Hodgkins said that after initial scepticism he has become convinced by Richard O’Rawe’s claims.
Leading IRSP member, Willie Gallagher, said that his organisation were also initially sceptical. But, after approaches from members of the INLA hunger strikers’ families and ex-prisoners the party has come to believe the conversation about the acceptance of an offer took place. Mr Gallagher also said that he will release a taped conversation in the near future between two, as yet, unnamed sources, that will bolster claims the conversation took place.
Gregory Campbell told the Sentinel: “Being from the unionist community I was unfamiliar from a republican perspective about what went on at that time. But, from what I have read about this meeting and the wider subject, it demonstrates to me is that the republican movement were prepared to sacrifice their own people because they were viewing a long term strategy.
“They were prepared to put them out on a limb, which should tell a few people that may be prepared to get involved what they may face.
“It was a very traumatic time. They were attempting to hold the government and Margaret Thatcher to ransom. It could have been many more than ten that died, after all they were joining the hunger strike in wave after wave. We didn’t know that ten would be the final figure.
“It was a state quite close to anarchy. There was widespread rioting and mayhem on a daily basis. It got worse as these guys died. The tension was horrific.”

Parlando ad una commemorazione in memoria degli Hunger Strikers tenutasi nella contea di Derry, Martin Mcguinness ha dichiarato che l’alternativa ad un paternariato con il Sinn Fein è in fase di stallo.
Il vice Primo Ministro è del parere che alcuni membri del DUP credono si possa “cominciare a invertire il modello del Good Friday Agreement, con il suo “tutto compreso” in relazione alla condivisione dei poteri, i suoi responsabili di istituzioni politiche, e il suo fondamento di uguaglianza e tutela dei diritti umani per tutti”, ma in tutta risposta ha dichiarato “porteremo l’ala Afrikaner dell’unionismo in un posto dove non avrebbe mai voluto essere” ed ha aggiunto “la soluzione migliore per gli unionisti è, a mio avviso, di aderire – in regime di  parità di condizioni, influenza e partecipazione – al proseguimento del cammino verso l’unità dell’Irlanda intera e la riconciliazione nazionale”.
McGuinness ha poi concluso con un monito: “Il mio messaggio per loro è chiaro: i vecchi modi sono scomparsi – non ritorneranno”.
Egli ha poi criticato anche i dissidenti repubblicani, definendoli come “demolitori che stanno cercando di sfruttare le piccole sacche di disagio”.

Martin McGuinness called for unionists to embrace ‘all-Ireland unity’ (BBC News Northern Ireland)
Northern Ireland’s deputy first minister Martin McGuinness has warned unionists that the alternative to partnership with Sinn Fein is deadlock.
Mr McGuinness said some DUP members believed they could “reverse the Good Friday Agreement”.
“The hard lesson of the peace process is, some day soon, even the Afrikaaner wing of unionism will be brought to a place it never wanted to be,” he said.
He was speaking at a hunger strike commemoration in County Londonderry.
“In the time ahead the best option for unionists is, I believe, to join – as equal, and influential, participants – in the onward march towards all-Ireland unity and national reconciliation,” he said.
In a speech billed in advance as significant by Sinn Fein sources, Mr McGuinness said: “There are clearly some senior members of the DUP – and some in the civil service and British system – who miss playing the ‘Orange card’.
“Others think that they can start to reverse the template of the Good Friday Agreement, with its all-inclusive power-sharing structures, its accountable political institutions, and its bedrock of equality and human rights for all.
“My message to them is clear: the old ways are gone – never to return.”
The deputy first minister also criticised dissident republicans as “wreckers who are seeking to exploit tiny pockets of disaffection”.

Gli Unionisti attaccano il Craigavon Borough Council per aver concesso l’utilizzo del North Lurgan Community Centre in occasione del meeting organizzato in supporto di Colin Duffy, che si terrà questa sera. Riunione in cui verrà annunciata la candidatura o meno del prominente repubblicano alle elezioni europee.
Stephen Moutray, leader del gruppo DUP nel Consiglio, ha dichiarato che potrebbe verificarsi un oltraggio alla riunione di stasera, non importa se avrà luogo in una delle sedi del Consiglio.
“Capisco il motivo per cui le persone saranno indignate per la concessione a Duffy di tenere il meeting nel loro centro comunitario. E’ molto discutibile  che eventi come questi, possano tenersi nelle proprietà del Consiglio”.
Moutray ha dichiarato di essere contrario alla normativa che consente una riunione quale è questa, in una sua struttura.
“La proprietà del Consiglio è disciplinata da una serie di regole e  chiunque affitti l’immobile, deve attenersi a quelle regole. Il consiglio detiene un numero significativo di strutture che possono essere utilizzate dalla comunità per una vasta gamma di scopi, comprese le riunioni di partito. Tuttavia, questo evento ha chiaramente connotazioni molto significative. Come leader del gruppo DUP in seno al Consiglio, cercherò di attuare una profonda revisione delle linee guida che disciplinano le modalità  di affitto e di gestione delle strutture stesse”.
In una dichiarazione, il Consiglio ha affermato: “Chiunque prenoti una sala, in una qualsiasi delle strutture del Consiglio, è ben consapevole dei nostri termini e condizioni.
I funzionari del Consiglio sono stati rassicurati sul fatto che questo incontro non sarà politico e come negli altri casi, ci fidiamo sulla parola. Se scopriremo il contrario, saremo in grado di intraprendere ulteriori azioni”.
Stephen Moutray ha espresso forte preoccupazione sulla possibile candidatura di Colin Duffy alle europee, invitando la polizia ha attuare una forte presa di posizione contro i dissidenti repubblicani che hanno come unico scopo, distruggere Stormont e i progressi fatti in Irlanda del Nord fino ad ora.
Duffy o chi per lui, ha tempo fino a giovedi (7 maggio ndr) per presentare i documenti di nomina e di £ 5000 a titolo di  deposito presso l’ufficio elettorale.

Unionist anger at Duffy ‘meeting’ (NewsLetter)
UNIONISTS have hit out at a council’s decision to allow its property to be used by dissident republican supporters.
Wednesday night’s meeting at the North Lurgan Community Centre, run by Craigavon Borough Council, will announce whether prominent republican Colin Duffy, who is on remand in Maghaberry prison charged with the murders of two soldiers in Antrim two months ago, will stand in the European election next month.
DUP group leader on Craigavon council Stephen Moutray said there would be outrage at the meeting, never mind it being held on council property.
“The people of Northern Ireland will be rightly repulsed by the views held by Duffy and his supporters,” he said.
“It takes a strange and sick logic to support the stance which Duffy has adopted on the recent attacks in Northern Ireland.
“I understand why people will be outraged that Duffy was able to hold a meeting in their community centre. It is very questionable how appropriate it is for such events to be held in council property.”
Mr Moutray said he would be challenging the rules allowing such a meeting in a council-owned facility.
“Council property is governed by a set of rules and anyone hiring the property must adhere to those rules. The council holds a significant number of facilities which can be hired by the community for a wide variety of purposes, including party political meetings.
“However, this event clearly has very significant connotations. As the DUP group leader in the council, I will be seeking a thorough review of the guidelines governing how facilities are hired and managed.”
He said supporters of the dissident republican had nothing to offer any voters and they should be opposed at every turn.
“Duffy and Co want to destroy Stormont and the progress we have made in Northern Ireland. His supporters want to drag us back to the past.
“The suggestion of people voting for Duffy-style politics is deeply worrying and should highlight the need for the police to take a strong stand against dissident republicans.”
The council defended its decision to permit Mr Duffy’s family to use the facilities, saying if they were used for political purposes, they could take further action.
In a statement, the council said: “Anyone booking a room at any of the council’s facilities is made very aware of our terms and conditions.
“Council officials have been reassured that this meeting will not be political and as with all other bookings, we have to take people’s word on this. If we find out to the contrary, then we can take further action”.
Last month, the Republican Network for Unity (RNU), an umbrella organisation representing a number of dissident republican groups, told the News Letter that Mr Duffy would stand for election.
Ciaran Cunningham, an RNU member from Belfast, said that Mr Duffy would stand as an independent candidate.
“Colin Duffy intends to stand as a candidate in the upcoming European elections,” he said.
“He will be standing on an end-28-day-detention ticket and an anti-internment ticket. A steering committee has been set up to direct the election campaign and RNU fully endorses that committee.”
However, since then there have been conflicting messages about whether Mr Duffy will indeed stand.
He has until Thursday to submit nomination papers and a £5,000 deposit to the Electoral Office.

Il PSNI e l‘Orange Order hanno ricevuto segnalazioni di manaccie per mano dissidente in relazione alla prossima stagione delle parate orangiste.
Gli unionisti sono preoccupati per l’eventuali di attacchi dissidenti in aree particolarmente ‘calde’,  con lo scopo di provocare ritorsioni lealiste.
Un portavoce del PSNI ha auspicato il ripetersi  della precedente stagione delle marce, svoltasi pacificamente.
L’Orange Order stesso, ha affermato che “non verrebbe distratto” dall’ intento da parte di coloro che vogliono causare  il conflitto.
Diane Dodds, candidato del DUP alle elezioni europee, ha dichiarato che le attuali speculazioni nascono dalla recenti dichiarazioni rilasciate dai portavoce dei gruppi dissidenti e dai recenti attacchi alle Orange Halls sparse nel territorio.
Jim Allister, leader del TUV, ha ricordato che le violenze dirette alle parate dell’Orange Order non è una tattica nuova , ma già utilizzata nel passato dal Sinn Fein.
Un portavoce dell’Orange Order placa i timori: “La situazione della parate in Irlanda del Nord è stata in costante miglioramente negli ultimi anni, anche se vi sono ancora problemi fondamentali nella legislazione in tema di parate”.
“L’istituzione orangista e tutti i Loyal Orders hanno lavorato sodo per rendere le nostre sfilate, eventi accoglienti,  familiari e amichevole.
“E’ quello che noi continueremo a fare e non saremo distratti da minacce da parte di persone il cui unico interesse è quello di creare conflitti settari”.

Dissident threat to Orange parades played down (News Letter)
THE PSNI and the Orange Order have played down warnings of a dissident republican threat to parades by the Loyal Orders over the summer.
Unionists are concerned republican splinter groups plan to target parades in flashpoint areas in an effort to provoke loyalist retaliation.
Some commentators have expressed fears of what could happen if even a single renegade gunman or bomber managed to attack a parade.
DUP European election candidate Diane Dodds said she was worried dissident republican groups are planning to provoke riots at flashpoint parades in order to cause public panic and create division.
A PSNI spokesman said police were hoping for a repeat of the previous peaceful marching season and hoped to build on the “significant progress” made.
The order itself said it “wouldn’t be distracted” by those intent on causing strife.
Mrs Dodds said: “Recent speculation about a dissident republican campaign to cause civil strife around parades has been fuelled by the public comments of the mouthpieces of these terrorist criminal gangs.
“It shows us that there is a clear and present danger posed to the Loyal Orders in general and the Orange Order in particular by the dissident republican terrorists.
“We have already seen these cowards resorting to arson attacks on halls throughout the country. Now it would appear they intend to step their wicked campaign up a gear.
“I would appeal to rank-and-file unionists and members of the Loyal Orders to stand together and refuse to be intimidated by these murdering thugs.”
Sitting MEP Jim Allister said republican violence directed at Orange Order parades was not a new tactic and had been used by Sinn Fein in the past.
The TUV leader said that the dissidents must not be allowed to succeed where other republicans had attempted to disrupt parades.
“Any attempt by so-called dissidents to continue that work should be resolutely opposed,” he said.
A spokesman for the Orange Order played down the fears: “The parading situation in Northern Ireland has been improving steadily for a number of years, although there are still fundamental problems in the legislation surrounding parades
“The Orange Institution and indeed all the Loyal Orders have been working very hard to make all of our parades welcoming and family-friendly events.
“We will continue to do that and we will not be distracted by threats from people whose only interest is to create sectarian strife.”
The PSNI said that it was hopeful the work of recent years to reduce tensions surrounding parades would be built upon.

Passi da gigante, ma con la retromarcia inserita.
In 33, tra politici, accademici, scrittori e attivisti delle comunità di entrambo i lati del confine, hanno firmato ieri una dichiarazione sostenendo che i tempi di una  “reunion” della Repubblica di Irlanda al Commonwealth (lasciato 60 anni fa), sono maturi.
“E’ giunto il momento per l’Irlanda di ristabilire legami con questa importante organizzazione internazionale di 53 Stati moderni impegnati per la pace, la democrazia e i diritti umani.” Il piano sarebbe mosso dal proposito di dare ossigeno ad un Paese messo in ginocchio dalla crisi economica ed al tempo stesso,  offrirgli un maggior spessore internazionale.
Secondo quanto riportato nella dichiarazione, “l’adesione della Repubblica di Irlanda  sarebbe accolta con favore dalla comunità unionista in Irlanda del Nord, come un significativo gesto di riconciliazione e  importante passo avanti,  lungo la strada per un’Irlanda pluralista, riconoscendo e rispettando le diverse identità”
32 dei 53 Stati che appartengono al Commonwealth, sono repubbliche moderne come l’Irlanda.
Il progetto sarà oggetto di discussione del Reform Group a Dublino.

Petition urges Republic to rejoin Commonwealth (Newsletter)
POLITICIANS from both sides of the border have issued an urgent call for Ireland to rejoin the Commonwealth.
They say the move would be a conciliatory gesture to unionists, help the Republic to weather the economic storm and give it greater international influence.
A total of 33 politicians, academics, writers and community activists yesterday signed a statement saying it was time for a “reunion” in the run-up to the 60th anniversary of the Republic leaving the Commonwealth.
They included Assembly members David Burnside (UUP), Dawn Purvis (PUP) and Alliance leader David Ford.
“The time has come for Ireland to establish links with this important international organisation of 53 modern states committed to peace, democracy and human rights,” their petition declared.
“Ireland’s membership would strengthen our links with a vast network of countries, communities, civic associations and professional bodies at a time when we need all the friends and connections we can get to weather the worst economic crisis since the founding of the State.”
It added that it would also give Ireland’s athletes the right to compete in the 2010 Commonwealth Games.
“Ireland’s membership would be welcomed by the unionist community in Northern Ireland as a significant gesture of reconciliation and an important step along the road to a pluralist Ireland, recognising and respecting different identities,” it said.
A total of 32 of the 53 states in the modern Commonwealth are republics like Ireland.
The plans will be discussed in a public debate run by the Reform Group today in Dublin.

Il Republican Sinn Fein, braccio politico del Continuity IRA, ha tenuto pochi giorni fa la prima conferenza stampa dopo gli attentati delle ultime settimane.
Netto il rifiuto di condanna degli atti di violenza, anzi, la consapevolezza che seppur spiacevoli, si tratta di ‘inevitabili atti guerra’.
La conferenza stampa è stata incentrata sui raids della polizia e sulle detenzioni preventive dei presunti colpevoli degli attacchi alla base armata di Massereene e Craigavon.
Richard Walsh, del RSF, ha accusato Adams e McGuinness di essere loro i veri traditori del popolo di Irlanda e di essere ormai alla stregua degli unionisti.
Durante la conferenza, hanno fatto la loro apparizione anche tre uomini di Craigavon con il volto coperto, che hanno denunciato aggressioni ed atti intimidatori esercitati dal PSNI.
A sorvegliare la zona ed i partecipanti alla conferenza stampa, un landrover della polizia parcheggiato fuori la sede del Republican Sinn Fein a West Belfast.

Dissidents defend use of violence (BBC News Northern Ireland)
The party generally believed to be the political wing of the Continuity IRA has held its first news conference since the recent killings in N Ireland.
Republican Sinn Féin refused to condemn the attacks describing them as regrettable but inevitable “acts of war”.
Two soldiers and a policeman were shot dead by dissident republicans earlier this month.
The news conference was called to complain about police raids.
The party’s publicity director, Richard Walsh. also used the press conference in Belfast to complain about the detention of suspects at Antrim police station.
Mr Walsh responded to the Deputy First Minister Martin’s McGuinness’s description of those behind the recent killings as “traitors to the people of Ireland. “
He said Martin McGuinness and Gerry Adams had been guilty of “severe treachery” and the Provisional IRA were now unionists.
“We have always upheld the rights to the Irish people to use any level of controlled and disciplined force to drive the British out of Ireland. We make no apology for that,” he said.
The party has no plans to run in forthcoming elections and refuses to say how much support it has.
Three young men from Craigavon also appeared at the news conference.
The men, who did not want to be identified, complained that their homes had been raided and one man said the police had taken all his clothes.
One of the people detained by the police in Antrim police station was present in the building whilst the news conference was taking place but declined to be interviewed.
A police landrover parked outside the party’s office in west Belfast kept an eye on those leaving the building after the news conference.
Constable Stephen Carroll was shot dead on 9 March. The Continuity IRA said it killed him. Two men have been charged with his murder.
Sappers Mark Quinsey and Patrick Azimkar were shot dead by the Real IRA two days earlier.

Vi riporto la lettera aperta di un “repubblicano” pubblicata da Belfast Media, converrete con me che non e’ necessario aggiungere altro.

“Scrivo questa lettera non come membro di un gruppo politico o militare, ma come un impenitente repubblicano irlandese.
Gli eventi degli ultimi giorni hanno scosso tutti noi, chi in un modo, chi nell’altro, ma penso che ci abbia anche portato al punto in cui alcune importanti questioni devono essere risolte.
Non posso inserire tutte le domande in questa lettera, ma a mio parere la nostra gente è saggia e ha il coraggio di esprimere le proprie opinioni. Qui ci sono le mie.
Proprio come nel 1916 e in tutti gli altri decenni fino ad oggi, i soldati britannici sono ancora sul suolo irlandese e non siamo ancora eguali cittadini nella nostra isola.
Ci venne detto che, ai sensi del GFA (Good Friday Agreement, n.d.r.) le cose sarebbero cambiate, ma cosa e’ cambiato? Ci sono ancora un gran numero di soldati britannici e  l’ultima volta che ho guardato Stormont, c’erano ancora due bandiere unioniste sul tetto. Ci era stato detto che avremmo avuto il controllo del nostro destino. Le dichiarazioni del Sinn Féin vengono ancora scritte dai britannici.
Negli anni ‘70 i britannici hanno cercato di introdurre l’Ulsterizzazione e la normalizzazione politica. marchiandoci come teppisti e criminali, senza sostegno, e la nostra risposta e’ arrivata attraverso il carcere e le proteste in strada, attraverso lo sciopero della fame e la perdita di molte persone coraggiose. Quindi, cosa c’è oggi di diverso?
L’unica differenza che vedo è che gli ex repubblicani  ora fanno lo sporco lavoro dei britannici. Non abbiamo imparato le lezioni dal passato? Non etichetteranno mai la nostra lotta di liberazione, come criminale. Queste non sono le mie parole, ma quelle di Bobby Sands.
I leaders del Sinn Féin ci hanno raccontato che ci sono state due comunità in guerra.
La guerra, per quanto mi riguarda, è stata contro l’occupazione britannica e non settaria come ora si tenta di dipingerla. Dobbiamo guardare indietro per guardare avanti.
Dobbiamo imparare dai nostri errori del passato, non dobbiamo permettere loro di usarci per fare il loro sporco lavoro.
Potrete anche non essere d’accordo con la lotta armata, ma potete condannare o appellare come criminali e traditori coloro che scelgono questa strada?

Chi ha detto che i Provos hanno il diritto di esclusiva sulla lotta armata? Ricordate ciò che dichiaro’ Padraig Pearse: “gli stupidi, gli stupidi, hanno abbandonato i nostri feniani morti, e mentre l’Irlanda ne detiene le tombe, l’Irlanda occupata non sara’ mai in pace”.
Così, mentre ci avviciniamo alla Pasqua, non sentite di stare ancora seguendo le orme della nostra caduta?
Ricordate, anche loro sono stati chiamati criminali e traditori da alcune persone; ci sono stati, e sempre ci sara’, irlandesi coraggiosi che hanno lottato contro l’ingiustizia e hanno dato la vita per noi.
Ricordiamo con orgoglio i loro nomi.
Infine, per la leadership del Sinn Féin – quando i britannici premieranno la vostra fedeltà alla corona concedendovi il potere di polizia, vi sentirete dei traditori? E chi sono i traditori? Io, forse, per aver osato parlare?

(lettera cosi’ firmata) Repubblicano

Segue testo in versione originale.

Will Sinn Féin move to put the ‘traitors’ behind bars? (Belfast Media)
I write this letter not as a member of any political or military grouping but as an unrepentant Irish republican.
The events of recent days have shaken and moved us all in one way or another but I think it has also brought us to the point where some important questions need to be answered.
I may not put all the questions in this letter but I do think our people are wise and courageous enough to put their own points. Here are mine.
Just as in 1916 and every other decade until this one, British soldiers are still on Irish soil and we are still not equal citizens on our own island.
We are told that under the GFA things would change, but what? There are still large numbers of British soldiers here and the last time I looked Stormont still has two union flags on the roof. We were told that we would now control our own destiny. The Brits are even writing the statements for Sinn Féin.
In the 70s the Brits tried to introduce the Ulsterisation and Normalisation policy branding us as thugs and criminals with no support, our reply through prison and street protest, through hunger strike and the loss of many brave people, exposed this lie. So what is different today?
The only difference that I can see is that former republicans are now doing the Brits’ dirty work. Have we not learned any lessons from the past? Never will they label our liberation struggle as criminal. These are not my words, but those of Bobby Sands.
Sinn Féin leaders have been telling people lately that we were two communities at war.
The war, as far as I was concerned, was against British occupation and not sectarian as they now try to portray it. We must look back to look forward.
We must learn from our past mistakes, we must never let them use us to do their dirty work.
If you don’t agree with armed struggle you should say so, but can you condemn or even call those who choose that path criminals or traitors?
Who said that the Provos held the franchise on armed struggle? Remember what Padraig Pearse said: “The fools, the fools, they have left our Fenian dead and while Ireland holds these graves Ireland unfree shall never be at peace.”
So as we approach Easter do you feel you are still following in the footsteps of our fallen?
Remember, they too were called criminals and traitors by some people; to us they were, and always will be, brave Irish people who fought against injustice and gave their lives for us.
Let us remember with pride their names.
Finally to the Sinn Féin leadership – when the Brits reward your loyalty to the crown by giving you policing will you be interning traitors? And who are now the traitors? Me, maybe, for daring to speak up?
Republican

All’incontro del Derry City Council di martedì, è stata approvata la mozione a favore del boicottaggio contro Israele, nonostante l’opposizione unionista.
La mozione, presentata congiuntamente da Sinn Fein e SDLP, richiede l’immediato cessate il fuoco e il ritiro delle truppe israeliane dalla striscia di Gaza.
Gerry McLaughlin, consigliere del Sinn Fein, spera in un sostegno da parte della popolazione per dimostrare il proprio appoggio agli abitanti della striscia di Gaza, condannando la violenza nei loro confronti.

Unionists oppose Israeli boycott
Despite joint opposition by Unionists, councillors pushed through a boycott against Israeli produce at a meeting of Derry City Council on Tuesday.
The Motion in favour of the boycott was jointly tabled by the SDLP and Sinn Fein, and also called for an immediate ceasefire and withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza.
Despite Unionist opposition, the Motion was passed by majority vote.
Speaking afterwards, SF councillor Gerry McLaughlin said he hoped people would support the move adding it was his opinion that people were ‘crying out’ for a practical way to show support for the people of Gaza and their condemnation of the violence visited upon them.

Il vice Primo Ministro Martin McGuinness ha dichiarato al Derry Journal, che il 2009 sarà l’anno di Derry.
I prossimi dodici mesi infatti, saranno dedicati alla riqualificazione delle aeree di Ebrington e Fort George, e soprattutto alla costruzione di un ponte pedonale sul fiume Foyle.
A quest’ultima opera, il vice Primo Ministro dell’Irlanda del Nord, conferisce un’enorme importanza sociale, perchè dovrebbe riunire quelle che sono le realtà nazionalista e unionista. “Avremo una comunità, non più due”, ha dichiarato McGuinness, che ha aggiunto: ‘Derry ha un ruolo decisivo nella rigenerazione, non sono del Nord, ma di tutta l’isola’.
L’Esecutivo stanzierà 20 miliardi di sterline nei prossimi dieci anni, per la costruzione di nuove infrastrutture e per l’ampliamento di alcune già esistenti.
E’ già iniziata la costruzione di due nuovi stabili adibiti a scuole nel centro della città, e è in programma lo sviluppo dell’Altnagelvin Hospital.

‘An excting year for Derry’, predicts McGuinness
2009 could be one of the most exciting years in Derry’s history, Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness has told the ‘Journal’.
Mr McGuinness says the next twelve months will be “critical” for the redevelopment of the city with work getting underway at both the Ebrington and Fort George sites and the construction of a footbridge across the River Foyle.
The Sinn Féin MP is convinced these redevelopment projects will help unite nationalists and unionists in the city, insisting that, in the future, we will have “one community rather than two.”
“As an Executive, we are going to spend upwards of £20 billion in the next ten years on infrastructural projects; these are going to be exciting times, particularly for this city,” he told the ‘Journal’ yesterday. “Derry has a critical role to play in the regeneration of not just the North but the entire island.
“We will have developments at Altnagelvin Hospital and work has already begun on two new school buildings in the city.
“By the end of next year, we will see the first manifestations of Ilex’s work in the city with the redevelopment of the sites at Fort George and Ebrington. The new pedestrian bridge will be a major development for the city, both in terms of infrastructure and symbolism. Physically, by uniting the city, the bridge will consign all the nonsense about having a separate city in the Waterside firmly in the past.
“We are in a position now where we need to be talking about the community rather than communities because the reality is that we are all one community,” Mr McGuinness said.
The Deputy First Minister, while acknowledging the difficult economic climate, maintains there is cause for optimism.
“We are facing into an economic storm but it is one we can weather and it will not last forever,” he said. “During the course of the past year, my colleague Martina Anderson brought key figures from the American business world to the city and before Christmas I met with some of them and they are still looking for new places to invest.”
Mr McGuinness says other Executive members are now committed to the redevelopment of Derry.
Agree economically
“We are now in a position where Executive ministers – while we may differ politically – agree on economic terms, and we are determined to show them that the world does not begin and end in Belfast.”

Gerry Adams Belfast Parade 2 november 2008

3 Novembre, il giorno seguente alle parate che hanno sfilato ieri nel centro città di Belfast. Giorno in cui molti repubblicani avevano riposto fiducia, la fiducia in un orgoglio repubblicana che purtroppo stando ai fatti è rimasto confinato in un angolo.
Molto eloquenti sono le parole di Anthony McIntyre, ex volontario dell’IRA, ex prigioniero che ha speso 18 anni della sua vita a Long Kesh. 4 anni di blanket e no wash/no work protest sfociata poi negli hunger strikes degli anni ‘80. Abbandonato il movimento repubblicano a manifestazione di disapprovazione del Good Friday Agreement, è diventato giornalista ed uno dei fondati di The Blanket.
In un articolo apparso quest’oggi sul suo blog (The Pensive Quill n.d.r.) raccoglie i suoi sentimenti, le sue sensazioni e l’estrema amerazza suscitata dalle immagini di quanto è successo ieri a Belfast. Descrive quanto sia stato imbarazzante vedere sfilare il British Army regiment, il Royal Irish Regiment, per le vie del centro città.

“Il disegno che pretende di dimostrare l’uguaglianza e lo spazio condiviso, dai colori arancio e verde in pari quantità…un colore deve essere sbiadito…C’è stato poco verde e ma al contrario ricchezza di arancione a Belfast oggi (2 novembre 2008 n.d.r.)”

“Lo spazio che è stato condiviso, nel centro della città,  equamente tra Unione Jacks e Red Hand of Ulste”

“Parlando ai media il leader dello Sinn Fein Gerry Adams ha detto che è stato riprovevole che ad un reggimento britannico sia stato consentito di sfilare per le vie di una città irlandese. Alcuni ritengono più riprovevole il fatto che lui e il suo movimento si siano ridotti ad una tale impotenza politica non essendo in grado di fare nulla”.

…questi sono solo alcuni degli spunti di riflessione di Antony McIntyre, forse un mera e triste presa di coscienza…

V Day

Anthony McIntyre

The resonance of cheering voices and stomping boots drowned out the sound of angry voices and marching feet. It was embarrassing to watch. The triumphalism of the British Army regiment, the Royal Irish, on public display in the heart of Belfast this morning punched yet another gaping hole in the approved narrative of the peace process. In that narrative a draw is projected as the outcome of decades of armed political conflict. The sketch of that draw purports to show equality and shared space, orange and green in equal amounts intermingled and daubed all over the place. One of the colours on the palette must have faded. There was little green and plenty of orange in Belfast today. The space that was shared, the city centre, was carved up equally between Union Jacks and Red Hand of Ulster flags. The equality on display was one of the RIR being on a par with political legitimacy. No chance of the Provisional IRA been allowed to march in uniformed formation past the City Hall. In the official pecking order it is the child of a lesser god.
Even if a yearning for the improbable is set aside and the IRA is taken out of the equation, look at the equality issue in another way. The Irish Army, if it sought to and was backed by Sinn Fein, would not be allowed to march through the country’s second largest city when it returns from peace keeping duties abroad. If there really was parity of esteem why would it not? It’s the unionists, stupid. They would never allow it and have been gifted the political clout to thwart it. They demonstrated today that Belfast is a British city where British troops not Irish soldiers, have the honour of marching through.
The RIR admired and respected within unionism, marched by the City Hall, enthusiastically cheered and warmly welcomed by a very large unionist gathering estimated at between 30,000 and 50,000 strong. The imagery on television was powerful. There is no doubting the strength of feeling in the unionist community for their troops. If numbers on the streets tell us anything the passion for the regiment is heartfelt in a way that opposition to it is not. Tens of thousands turned out to greet the British regiment while those either genuinely protesting out of conviction or going through the motions of protesting out of pressure or the need to politick have been numbered no higher that thirteen hundred.
Looking at the televised event it bore all the hallmarks of one of the participants to the Northern conflict, the RIR, flaunting the victory the British and unionists secured over their nationalist adversaries. The IRA, for its part, was forced to stand on the margins of the city centre, holding placards. It would have been much better for the counter assembly not to have proceeded. In that way the impotence of its Catholic organisers would not have been so pronounced.
I cannot recall the last time I witnessed such a public display of unionist confidence. Usually they gather in large numbers proclaiming themselves the underdogs and protesting some perceived advantage to nationalism. Today they gathered in celebration. It came on the back of a very upbeat DUP conference where Peter Robinson, brimming with confidence, promised no Irish Language Act, Ian Paisley junior swore that Gerry Kelly would never be policing and justice minister, and Willie McCrea stood up to sing ‘There will always be an Ulster.’ These people know the union with Britain is absolutely secure. A united Ireland does not figure in the slightest on their horizon.
Speaking to the media Sinn Fein boss Gerry Adams said it was reprehensible that a British regiment should be allowed to parade through the streets of an Irish city. Some will consider it more reprehensible that he and his movement are reduced to such political impotence they were unable to do anything about it. They fashioned the outcome that made partition legitimate. They gave support to the partition principle aka consent. They declared IRA arms illegal, the IRA redundant and crafted a political settlement that hegemonises unionism and legitimises the RIR. What else could they expect other than a victorious unionism saluting its troops?
If ever there was a political statement that graphically, accurately and concisely summed up the outcome of the conflict it was today’s British Army parade. A British Army homecoming parade to Ireland? Defeated imperial armies don’t march victoriously through the territory of their opponents. Triumphant national liberation armies don’t sit still and allow it.

I familiari delle vittime dei Troubles hanno chiesto che venga annullata la parata in onore dei reduci dalla missione in Afghanistan che si terrà domenica 02 novembre 2008.
Si ritiene che tale avvenimento potrebbe essere la motivazione di disordini sia per il Sinn Fein che per la protesta contro il processo di pace voluta dai repubblicani.
Sinn Féin, che si è opposto alla presenza delle forze britanniche in Iraq e in Afghanistan, ha evidenzialo l’insensibilità che scaturisce da un tale evento, visto soprattutto il coinvolgimento del British Army nel conflitto nel Nord.
Clara Reilly, della United Campaign Against Plastic Bullets , un gruppo che rappresenta i parenti delle persone uccise e ferite dalle armi, ha detto che sarebbe più opportuno se il British Army organizzasse un evento privato.
“Noi non siamo contro tutti coloro che vogliono festeggiare il ritorno dei loro cari da questi conflitti”, ha dichiarato ma “Si offenderebbero molte, molte persone nella comunità nazionalista che hanno sofferto per mano del British Army”.
Bairbre de Brun, deputato del Sinn Fein, ha detto che non è troppo tardi per annullare l’evento, ma in risposta è giunta conferma cheil British Army non più nulla da aggiungere in merito alla questione in questo momento.
Gli Unionisti invece sostengono che fonte di disordini potrebbe essere la parata contro il processo di pace prevista per il medesimo giorno. Mentre il Sinn Féin assicura che la sua protesta sarà pacifica,  il primo ministro Peter Robinson (DUP) accusa il partito, di agire temerariamente ed in modo irresponsabile portando la gente in strada.
Gli Unionisti hanno inoltre criticato la Parades Commission – l’organo che decide in merito ai contenziosi sulle parate – per non aver applicato restrizioni più severe nel caso del Sinn Féin, ma come ha sottolineato la commissione “tutti nella società ha il diritto di protestare”.
E’ prevista una forte presenza delle forze dell’ordine alla parata organizzata dei repubblicani, vista soprattutto l’attività lealista nel reclutare persone attraverso comunicati internet e l’invio di sms.

Troubles victims call for axing of army homecoming parade
Families of people killed by British soldiers during the North’s Troubles urged the British army today to call off a contentious parade for troops returning from Afghanistan.
Fears are mounting that Sunday’s homecoming event in Belfast could be a potential flashpoint with both Sinn Féin and anti peace process republicans organising separate marches.
The parade is being staged to welcome back soldiers from the Royal Irish Regiment after their six month deployment in Helmand province.
Sinn Féin, which is opposed to the presence of British forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, said holding such an event was insensitive, given the involvement of the British army in the conflict in the North.
Party representatives joined relatives of people shot dead by the British army during the Troubles in urging the UK’s MoD to call off the event.
Clara Reilly, of the United Campaign Against Plastic Bullets, a group that represents relatives of those killed and injured by the weapon, said it would be more appropriate if the British army held an event in private.
“We are not objecting to anyone wanting to celebrate the safe return of their loved ones from these conflicts,” she said
“We are anti-war but we don’t have an issue with families wanting to welcome back their sons, husbands or dads.
“But it should be a dignified civic reception or church service, holding a march through the city centre is insensitive, divisive and indeed sectarian.
“It will offend many, many people in the nationalist community who have suffered very badly at the hands of various regiments of the British army.
“Within that community the hurt is still very raw.”
Sinn Féin MEP Bairbre de Brun said it was not too late for the MoD to cancel its plans.
“Sinn Féin are today calling for the British Ministry of Defence to call off the British army parade planned for Belfast this weekend,” she said.
“To date the MoD have been invisible on this contentious and divisive march, failing to put up any spokespeople or address the wider public concerns.
“This parade is insensitive, rash and completely unnecessary.”
An MoD spokesman in the North declined to be drawn on the comments and said the British army had nothing more to add on the issue at this time.
Unionist politicians say it is right and proper to hold an event to welcome back the troops and have accused republicans of creating a recipe for public disorder, claiming they could have held a march to express their opposition at another time.
While Sinn Féin has pledged its protest will be peaceful, DUP First Minister Peter Robinson accused the party of acting recklessly and irresponsibly by bringing people on to the streets.
There will be a heavy police presence amid fears of clashes between dissident republican elements, who have organised their own protest march, and loyalists who have been using text messages and the internet to call on supporters to attend.
Mr Robinson yesterday expressed his fears about the event.
“I just believe that people in Northern Ireland believed that we had moved away from this kind of tit-for-tat parading where a deliberate attempt was being made to run a counter parade and protest in order to disrupt the activities of the Army, in order to intimidate and to provoke,” the East Belfast MP said.
“And I just don’t think that in the new society that we are trying to create in Northern Ireland that that was a sensible step to take and I don’t think it can be justified.”
Unionists have also criticised the Parades Commission – the body that adjudicates on contentious marches in the region – for not placing tighter restrictions on the Sinn Féin event.
The commission has stressed that everyone in society has the right to protest.

La prima piantina dettagliata di oltre 130 murales della parte ovest di Belfast è la nuova frontiera del turismo politico in Irlanda del nord. Dopo i sempre più popolari taxi neri usati per portare i turisti a visitare quelli che furono i luoghi del conflitto, dopo i ‘maiali’ (i veicoli blindati dell’esercito inglese) convertiti a mezzi goliardici per feste e cerimonie, ecco arrivare la mappa per orientarsi nel variegato universo artistico dei muri della città. Per ora l’iniziativa riguarda solo l’area nazionalista di West Belfast (la pianta in distribuzione gratuita è stata prodotta dal Failte Feirste Thiar, l’ufficio turistico di Belfast ovest), ma c’è da scommettere che presto nascerà anche la versione ‘bipartisan’. Specie dopo l’avvio del processo di trasformazione in corso in alcuni quartieri unionisti, che ha visto sostituire i murales più violenti e settari con immagini molto più rassicuranti di scrittori (come C.S. Lewis) e personaggi dello sport (come George Best).

“I muri di Belfast”: galleria di foto dei murales della città

Chiunque abbia visitato Belfast in tempi recenti non può non essersi imbattuto nella cosiddette “peacelines”, denominazione eufemistica e involontariamente ironica per definire le terrificanti barriere di cemento e lamiera che continuano a dividere i quartieri cattolico-nazionalisti da quelli unionisti-protestanti). Dieci anni dopo la firma dell’Accordo che ha concluso il conflitto, pur di fronte a una pace effettiva ed ‘esemplare’, la città continua a essere divisa da una quarantina di questi veri e propri “muri”, indispensabili per evitare violenze tra le due comunità (lanci di sassi e bottiglie incendiarie sono tuttora all’ordine del giorno).

Il primo fu eretto nel 1969, l’ultimo appena questa estate per proteggere la scuola elementare mista di Hazelwood. Secondo politici, amministratori locali e vari opinion leader la popolazione continuerebbe a volerli per motivi di sicurezza. Eppure alcune settimane fa un sondaggio indipendente effettuato da un’organizzazione di irlandesi d’America ha ribaltato completamente questa convenzione: l’80% degli intervistati dice che è l’ora di eliminare gli ultimi muri che ostacolano la pace. Dimostrando che forse sono proprio queste barriere fisiche e culturali a inibire l’integrazione.