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| IRISH FREEDOM COMMITTEE® NEWSLIST http://www.irishfreedomcommittee.net/ ----------------------------- Subject: Statement - FREE SEAMUS DOHERTY CAMPAIGN Date: August 27, 2004 For more information on the FRAME-UP and deliberate forensic evidence tampering in Seamus Doherty’s case please see the additional links -- below today's Press Release from the Spokesperson for the FREE SEAMUS DOHERTY CAMPAIGN. The Irish Freedom Committee® ************************************************ Statement by the Spokesperson for the FREE SEAMUS DOHERTY CAMPAIGN, Derry August 27, 2004 ------- FREE SEAMUS DOHERTY CAMPAIGN “Denis Bradley is a liar, a collaborator and an RUC apologist; he has become an instrument of state repression in the occupied six counties. Denis Bradley, in a recent debate into the new beginning to policing, denied to the people of the Bogside and all those in attendance at the Gasyard Feile that he was aware of the circumstances surrounding the case of Seamus Doherty, the local man from the Brandywell area of the city who is being detained on stat-manufactured evidence. Denis went as far as to attempt to manipulate his family into believieving that he could provide them with answers as to whether Seamus would be released from Jail or not. This was a clear attempt by him to mislead the family and direct them away from the course of action which they had embarked on, namely draw attention to the people who continue to hold him and the attempts by the NIO, the state, and the independent forecic science lab to concoct a conviction against him. Denis could never have provided this family with these answers because this would have provided the ‘required answer’: Seamus was guilty even before he came to trial. Denis Bradley informed all in attendance that the reason for his participation on the policing board is to offer a degree of accountability to the Republican and Nationalist communities. The Free Seamus Doherty campaign has recently came into possession of documentation which challenges the integrity of Denis Bradley and the public statements which he has made. Denis Bradley has misled the people and has attempted to manipulate a family under very difficult circumstances. The Free Seamus Doherty Campaign Would Like To Ask The Following Questions? - On the 5 July 2004 did you not receive a correspondence from Kevin R. Winters & Co. Detailing the case of Martin Brogan and Mark Carroll in relation to their arrest on the Omeath Road Newry? - Was it not pointed out to you in this correspondence that a British agent who they tried to conceal was heavily contaminated and was never brought to trial, Kevin Byrne? - Was it not also pointed out to you that these individuals or other State agencies could have been responsible for the gathering and planting of DNA against Seamus Doherty? - Is it not true that on the 6TH of July, you requested a meeting with the Doherty Family, once you discovered that Seamus’s legal team was prepared to meet you, you withdrew the request? Conclusion Denis Bradley and Sam Kinkaid in collaboration with other State agencies are trying to concoct a story against Seamus Doherty, this may be because he is an ex-republican prisoner, and as such, is seen as an easy target. The case against him is corrupt and flawed and we will continue to campaign for his unconditional release. Denis Bradley also indicated at this event that he had passed his sell-by date. We would like to point out that all DPPs have passed their sell-by date and that their continued collaboration with state agencies that continue to carry out a campaign of selective internment against anyone opposed to the Belfast Agreement is as unjustified as it is unrealistic. These people are trying to promote themselves within our communities by stating that their participation on these redundant bodies is to give the people a degree of accountability. We would like District Policing Partnership members to ask themselves the question why has Denis passed his sell-by date? Is it because he is now aware that a campaign of selective internment is being carried out against a number of individuals and that it is about to blow up in your faces. On the 28th November 2003 Gordon Kerr QC, on behalf of the Crown informed Belfast Laganside court that no further evidence was to be offered against two South Down men - Martin Brogan and Mark Carroll. Both were pronounced not guilty and freed as a result. The background to their case is that on the 17th September 2002, Martin and Mark were arrested on the Omeath Road, Newry, and charged, several days later with possession of explosives with intent. Martin Brogan was also charged with membership of the Real IRA but this charge was dropped at the PE hearing on the 28th August 2003. Both men have consistently denied involvement with the explosives which were uncovered in an abandoned vehicle close to where they were stopped at a road check on the 17th September 2002. The case against both Martin Brogan and Mark Carroll was dropped by the Crown after a routine visit to the Forensic Science Laboratory in Carrickfergus on the 27th October 2003 discovered that forensic evidence in the case linked a British agent, Kevin Byrne, who was driving the bomb car. Specifically, traces of explosives were found on his trousers, shirt, Jacket, right hand and finger nails. The most senior Detective in charge of the case, Newry based Chief Inspector Derek Williamson covered up for the agent by instructing Dr Gerard Murray to ‘modify’ his forensic report which was served on their legal team in August 2003. The Assistant Director of the DPP, Glenn Irwin requested Dr Murray to remove crucial evidence of this cover-up from his file after it had been discovered that their legal team had discovered it. Dr Murray conceded that forensic protocol was interfered with in the case whenever a British army search team opened bags in the exhibits room of Newry RUC Station and rubbed a gloved hand over the surfaces of the contents, in this case items of clothing. Since the release of Martin and Mark, their story has received considerable media attention despite the fact that the case was deliberatively dropped on the second day of counting in last year’s Assembly elections. Based on revelations made in a UTV insight broadcast on the 23rd of February 2004 the case is now under investigation. At the time of this incident on the Omeath Road, Hugh Orde was flown to the scene to declare that massive resources were put into what he described as a massive operation. A third man, Seamus Doherty remains on remand in Maghaberry prison having been charged on the 13th June 2003 as part of the same RUC operation. His DNA was allegedly found on components of one of the two booby-traps that were uncovered in the abandoned vehicle close to where Martin and Mark were stopped by the RUC. Since the 17TH September 2002, Seamus Doherty has consistently denied involvement with the explosives and contends that he is also the victim of a miscarriage of justice similar to that of his co-defendants. Seamus Doherty believes his DNA was deliberately planted by an agent/or agencies of the state, on one of the two improvised explosive devices. It is important to note that a forensic report dated 25th April 2003 but only received by his defense team on the 14th June 2004, confirms that Kevin Byrne’s DNA was discovered on the front of the other improvised explosive device. Michael Appleby also discovered that Kevin Byrne’s DNA was present on the steering wheel, gear stick knob, handbrake and the ignition key recovered from the abandoned bomb car. This information has been provided to Denis Bradley and copies have been provided to the press. Denis, how dare you try and undermine this family and their supporters? We will continue our campaign until we secure the unconditional release of Seamus and end the continued campaign of selective internment against our communities. You should go away and bury your head in the sand as you have been exposed and have no credibility within our communities.” ENDS ************************************************ FURTHER READING: (copy and paste url to browser if link does not display as active) IFC NewsList – August 6, 2004 Free Seamus Doherty Campaign Protests http://members.freespeech.org/irishpows/NEWS/august_2004.htm#seamusdoherty_derryjournal IFC NewsList – July 30, 2004 Seamus Doherty case: Call For Forensic Laboratory Inquiry http://members.freespeech.org/irishpows/NEWS/july_2004.htm#seamusdoherty_forensic IFC NewsList – March 5, 2004 Seamus Doherty - Appeal from his family http://members.freespeech.org/irishpows/NEWS/march_2004.htm#seamus_doherty_appeal IFC NewsList – January 30, 2004 Derry POW Seamus Doherty seeks Judicial Review http://members.freespeech.org/irishpows/NEWS/january_2004.htm#seamus_doherty_judicialreview ************************************************ SUPPORT IRISH REPUBLICAN PRISONERS OF WAR!! JOIN THE IRISH FREEDOM COMMITTEE http://www.irishfreedomcommittee.net/ ************************************************ © The Irish Freedom Committee® NewsList - IFC Updates |
| IRISH FREEDOM COMMITTEE® NEWSLIST http://www.irishfreedomcommittee.net/ ----------------------------- Subject: Police ‘admit to SAS role in IRA deaths’ Date: Saturday, August 24, 2004 +++++++++++++++++++ For further reading see "Loughall - A Truth To Remain Untold " - Anthony McIntyre, The Blanket August 23, 2004 ++++++++++++++++++ Irish Examiner ************************************************ |
| IRISH FREEDOM COMMITTEE® NEWSLIST http://www.irishfreedomcommittee.net/ ----------------------------- Subject: Cops To Swoop On Riot Ringleaders Date: Saturday, August 21, 2004 For more on this story see: IFC NewsList July 15, 2004
IFC NewsList July 14, 2004 ****************************************** ************************************************ |
| IRISH FREEDOM COMMITTEE® NEWSLIST http://www.irishfreedomcommittee.net/ ----------------------------- Subject: IRISH REPUBLICAN POW BIRTHDAYS - SEPTEMBER Date: Saturday, August 21, 2004 Please send birthday cards to the following Irish Republican prisoners whose birthdays are in the month of SEPTEMBER: Patrick Blair, September 3, 1955, serving 3 Years, from Dundalk, Portlaoise Prison (E-4) Frank Nolan, September 10, 1962, serving 3 years, from Dublin, Portlaoise Prison (E-2/E-3) John Martin Swift, September 11, 1965, serving 13 years, from Fermanagh, Maghaberry Prison Tony Hyland, September 13, 1972, serving 25 years, from Dublin, Portlaoise Prison (E-2/E-3) Declan Carroll, September 14, 1976, serving 5 years, from Dublin, Portlaoise Prison (E-2/E-3) Liam Campbell, September 26, 1962, serving 5 years, from Dundalk, Portlaoise Prison (E-4) Prison addresses are printed below. Airmail postage for a card from the United States costs 80 cents. For more information please contact us at: IFCPOWDept-at-irishfreedomcommittee.net (copy to email and replace "-at-" with "@") +++++++++++++++++++++ PRISON ADDRESSES: PORTLAOISE PRISON, Dublin Road, Portlaoise, Co. Laois, Ireland (Please indicate wing #) MAGHABERRY PRISON, Upper Ballinderry Road, Lisburn, Co. Antrim, BT 28, Ireland Go raibh maith agat; The Irish Freedom Committee® ************************************************ SUPPORT IRISH REPUBLICAN POWS JOIN THE IRISH FREEDOM COMMITTEE! http://irishfreedomcommittee.net ************************************************ © The Irish Freedom Committee® NewsList - IFC Updates |
| IRISH FREEDOM COMMITTEE® NEWSLIST http://www.irishfreedomcommittee.net/ -----------------------------
Subject: Prisoners Sue State
over Slop-Out Irish Echo
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| IRISH FREEDOM COMMITTEE® NEWSLIST http://www.irishfreedomcommittee.net/ ----------------------------- Subject: Anger at Irish prisoner 'Interned on Remand' Date: August 19, 2004 Ulster Herald Carrickmore Parish Priest Monsignor Denis Faul attended the bail hearing.
'It was blatantly obvious the prosecution was doing anything they could In a statement to the UH, Brendan O'Connor's parents said 'On Sunday
February 17, 2002 our son Brendan was arrested and framed by the RUC. He
************************************************ IFC NewsList August 2004 - Brendan O'Connor Refused Bail IFC REPORT FROM MAGHABERRY - February 27, 2004 see "SNIFFER DOGS – PSYCHOLOGICAL INTIMIDATION OF FAMILIES"
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| IRISH FREEDOM COMMITTEE® NEWSLIST http://www.irishfreedomcommittee.net/ ----------------------------- Subject: Tampered evidence challenged – SEAN GERARD HOEY trial Date: Thursday, August 19, 2004 Republican prisoner Sean Gerard Hoey (Remand, Maghaberry Gaol) has called a DNA expert witness to his defense to address police bias and evidence tampering in his case. Allegations of BLATANT FORENSIC EVIDENCE TAMPERING continue in the cases of several Irish republican political prisoners. For more see: Seamus Doherty case: Call For Forensic Laboratory Inquiry http://members.freespeech.org/irishpows/NEWS/july_2004.htm#seamusdoherty_forensic UTV "Insight' Documentary exposes widespread RUC/PSNI Evidence Tampering http://members.freespeech.org/irishpows/POWs/utv_abovesuspicion.htm The Irish Freedom Committee® ************************************************ UTV News August 19, 2004 Omagh Accused DNA Expert An electrician accused of making the Omagh bomb is bringing in a DNA expert in a bid to prove police bias, a court heard today. Sean Gerard Hoey, 34, denies plotting a string of terrorist attacks leading up to the Real IRA massacre in August 1998. He faces a total of 18 charges involving explosives and membership of the dissident republican organisation behind the Omagh outrage when 29 people and unborn twins were murdered in the worst single act of Northern` Ireland`s Troubles. But at Craigavon Magistrates` Court today a defence solicitor demanded to see notes made by the prosecution forensic scientist based on police briefings. Peter Corrigan, for Hoey, alleged the report was not impartial, violating his client`s human rights. He said: "We have instructed a defence DNA expert to comment in particular on whether or not the prosecution biologist`s report is partisan and biased. "This may provide the defence expert with evidence that police exerted undue influence on the scientist." Hoey`s alleged offences include possession of a timer power unit between March 1997 and August 16 1998 - the day after terrorists devastated the County Tyrone market town. He is also accused of conspiring to cause explosions at a police station in Armagh, in nearby Blackwatertown and in Banbridge, County Down in the run-up to the Omagh attack. Hoey, of Molly Road, Jonesborough, County Armagh, has already had a High Court bail application rejected. During today`s hearing prosecution representatives argued that a magistrates` court was not the right setting for the defence to put their case. But as the accused listened from prison via a video link, magistrate Alan White urged investigating officers to provide an update on the state of the case. Remanding Hoey in custody until September 16, he said: "I want a full explanation made to me. "I will include this issue of access by the defendant to forensic records. Why, if they are not being allowed access, what are the reasons for that. "I`m not saying I`m going to order it, I`m going to look at the issues. I have a duty to monitor the progress of the case." ************************************************ SUPPORT IRISH REPUBLICAN POLITICAL PRISONERS JOIN THE IRISH FREEDOM COMMITTEE!! http://www.irishfreedomcommittee.net ************************************************ © The Irish Freedom Committee® NewsList - IFC Updates |
| IRISH FREEDOM COMMITTEE® NEWSLIST http://www.irishfreedomcommittee.net/ ----------------------------- Subject: Occupation Police issued Glock .22’s Date: Thursday, August 19, 2004 --------------- Interesting side note: The paper that carried this story, the Andersonstown News, has recently begun running recruitment advertisements for the Occupation Police Forces RUC/PSNI. More: "Don't Buy a British Lie" IFC NewsList – July 8, 2004 http://members.freespeech.org/irishpows/NEWS/july_2004.htm#andytoutnews_britishlies -------------- http://www.irelandclick.com/news/news.cfm?id=15099&CFID=63124&CFTOKEN=31738474 Glock This: SOB Get New Guns By Jarlath Kearney PSNI Special Operations Branch (SOB) members have been stopped from carrying machine guns in their vehicles, the Andersonstown News can disclose. SOB specialises in tactical weapons support for the PSNI, including VIP close protection, armed surveillance and "dynamic intervention". Known within the force as the 'Spar Squad' (because they work "eight 'til late"), VIP close protection units operate on a round- the-clock shift to bodyguard prominent official figures. Armed surveillance units operate in a covert manner against targeted suspects who are believed to be in possession of weapons. And "dynamic intervention" units operate in hostage-type environments. It had been standard practice for SOB members – including bodyguards and surveillance units - to carry a Heckler and Koch MP5 9mm sub-machine guns in their vehicles. Members would also be routinely armed with 9mm automatic pistols and mini sub-machine guns on their persons. However, the Andersonstown News has learned that in a major change of policy one hundred and twenty MP5 sub-machine guns were removed from the Special Operations Branch in July and placed in storage at a PSNI facility in Ballykinlar, Co Down. To compensate for the withdrawal of the MP5s, the SOB vehicles have now been issued with powerful .40 calibre semi-automatic Glock 22 pistols. The replacement Glock pistols carry a fifteen-round magazine and cost over £400 per piece. They have considerably more 'stopping power' than standard PSNI sidearms. The Glocks are now being fitted to SOB vehicles in expensive custom-made holsters that fit under the dashboard for easy access. Journalist:: Jarlath Kearney ************************************************ © The Irish Freedom Committee® NewsList - IFC Updates |
| IRISH FREEDOM COMMITTEE® NEWSLIST http://www.irishfreedomcommittee.net/ ----------------------------- Subject: 'Thuggish intimidation' - Broy Harriers in Rathenraw Estate Date: Thursday, August 19, 2004 1. "In Support of Rathenraw Residents" - Statement from ANDY MARTIN 2. "Repression in Rathenraw" - ANTHONY McINTYRE, The Blanket For more go to: GFA ENFORCERS http://members.freespeech.org/irishpows/NEWS/GFA_ENFORCERS/provo_broy_harriers.htm ********************************** In Support of Rathenraw Residents" - Statement from ANDY MARTIN in Belfast 18/08/2004 "(We) would like to lend support to the community in Rathenraw following the recent intimidation in the area by outsiders pushing their own agenda. "The incidents leading up to the intimidation are well documented, with a small unrepresentative clique trying to impose their will on the community. "That community has suffered intimidation from Loyalists and drug dealers in recent years and has battled valiantly to overcome these scourges, it would be a tragedy if they were forced undo all their good work by threats from those who they believed were on their side. "We also reject the slander machine that has seen these community representatives became “rogue elements” and “anti social” over night or more accurately since they left Sinn Fein. "(We) support the right of community associations to act in the interests of their community and to be free to act independent of political bias. "We are aware that many of the residents in Rathenraw would not share our political perspective but we support their right to organize free from intimidation regardless. It is essential that ALL republicans face down such intimidation, silence will surely lead us into a provisional dictatorship." MESSAGE ENDS. ********************************** The Blanket August 16, 2004 Repression in Rathenraw Anthony McIntyre • 16 August 2004 To many of us who live in Belfast, the Rathenraw Estate in Antrim town for long conjured up the image of a drugs bazaar where various substances were bought and sold on the open market. It had the feel of a mini-Amsterdam. In recent years a vigorous community response has changed Rathenraw completely. The transformation there has been more than a mere face-lift. Talking to the residents who live there, a strong vibrancy and confidence is exuded. Once the estate to escape from it has become a sought after place of residency for many families eager to ensure their young grow up free from the menace of serious drug abuse. Of the numerous residents I have spoken to over the past month none dissented from the view that Sinn Fein played a major role in the clean-up campaign. A large measure of the party’s electoral success in Antrim town and the surrounding area can be explained by the hard work put in on the ground and in particular the zero tolerance displayed towards drug dealers. In Rathenraw, many of those people who were at the coal face of community activism, now find themselves seriously at odds with the party on whose behalf they laboured so strenuously. In fact the entire Rathenaw Sinn Fein cumann has resigned. Some of those who stepped outside of the tent had given much of their time and energy to promoting republican politics. In the case of Paddy Murray who chaired the cumann, most of the 1990s imprisoned did little to subdue his commitment to the political vision that drives him. Aine Gribbon, a mother of eight, was a three times candidate for the party in local council elections. Having made many trips to the estate over the past month in response to requests by residents who felt they were voiceless, I quickly detected the frustration experienced by people who were convinced they were being given grossly inadequate political representation by the two Sinn Fein politicians on Antrim Council. From house to house, the message was the same – ‘useless.’ This held true for Sinn Fein voters, former party members and residents with no party affiliations, alike. Underlying tension between Rathenraw republicans and the Sinn Fein bureaucracy first exploded when a local republican band was prevented from taking part in a South Armagh hunger strike commemoration in May. It was accused of having a reputation for being ‘rowdy.’ New Sinn Fein, wanting to appear respectable, decided that much of its previous earthy character would have to be jettisoned. The response of the Rathenraw cumann was to resign. Since then, the former cumann members have claimed that in a bid to isolate and undermine them, the two local councillors and unelected party apparatchiks have engaged in a campaign of vilification. When the estate was subjected to sectarian attack, the former party members who rallied to its defence were accused by their former colleagues of having provoked the loyalists. Since then they have been described as gang leaders and 'Fagin' type characters. In recent weeks the campaign against Rathenraw republicans was intensified and extended to community workers. This has culminated in committee members of the Rathenraw Community Association, a democratically constituted body, being intimidated and told to stand down from the committee. What for long may have been a manageable tension suddenly exploded into serious confrontation in the wake of a planned PSNI operation which led to the interception of a car leaving the estate in which a large consignment of drugs was discovered. The Community Association was aghast. Its community image promotion campaign had sustained a considerable dent. The person arrested allegedly in possession of the drugs was only accepted into the community, against the wishes of those who lived there, on the insistence of a local Sinn Fein councillor who vouched for the good character of the person. The residents’ objections were based on a strong belief that the man would bring the drugs trade into the estate. After the arrest the Community Association told the partner of the man in custody that she would no longer be welcomed in the estate. Such an approach has many drawbacks and community associations must tread very carefully in order to ensure that an injustice is not created. A prominent Belfast Sinn Fein member tried to pressurise the Association to rescind its decision to ask the woman to leave. With little headway having been made, a leading figure in the Provisional IRA informed the Residents Association chair that the woman would be staying and there would be no further questioning of the decision. Unhappy with the manner in which the issue was being dealt with the Association called a meeting last Wednesday in the local community centre. The meeting was publicly advertised and the hall was packed. There seemed to be a cross representation of views and while the discussion that took place gave rise to disagreement on a range of issues there was little sign of rancour. What was evident was that the Rathenraw Community Association had the confidence of the body of the hall. Many of those who spoke did not pull their punches when it came to being critical of Sinn Fein. While allegations of threats, bullying and intimidation all surfaced, the general critique seemed to be one of no proper political representation. Sinn Fein clearly not happy with the stand taken by the Community Association, moved muscle into the estate on Friday. Two Sinn Fein councillors accompanied by seven carloads of people weaved their way through the streets. In some cases homes of those who had been critical of the party were photographed. A female youth worker claims to have been told she would have to leave Antrim for good. Other reports indicate that one man who came out to complain about the heavy-handed approach was told he would have every bone in his body broken if he did not go back into his home. Most sinister of all was the charge that the home of the chairperson of the Community Association was the site of a ‘visit’ by seven men who banged loudly on the door and peered through the windows. At one point one of the ‘visitors’ was said to have pulled a balaclava over his face. If these reports are true – and they are coming from more than one source – then Sinn Fein is engaged in thuggish intimidation of those who challenge the party’s writ. It now seems clear what one local party councillor meant when he told both the Antrim Guardian and the Antrim Times that the Republican Movement would deal with those it had taken umbrage with. The Rathenraw Community Association should be free to make decisions about its own community without the threat of force being hurled in its direction. If it makes the wrong decision, bullying its members is not the way to rectify matters. The bulk of these people, republicans included, do not oppose the peace process and have no allegiance to any other republican group. The former Sinn Fein members stayed with the party through thick and thin. They did not quit over strategic disagreements. Many of them would be happy to be back in Sinn Fein if the party was to function with more accountability and deliver effective representation. What the people of Rathenraw need is to be listened to not threatened. They are not pawns in some strategic game that demands of them that they give up their concerns and aspirations for their own community as part of a bigger picture that none of them are allowed to shape or critique. If what is happening in Rathenraw is weighed up in a context of Sinn Fein trying to achieve power, what will the party do in order to hold on to that power? Thoughts of it ever acquiring control over justice or policing must invoke images of the Broy Harriers. ************************************************ © The Irish Freedom Committee® NewsList - IFC Updates |
| IRISH FREEDOM COMMITTEE® NEWSLIST http://www.irishfreedomcommittee.net/ ----------------------------- Subject: Derry The Imperfect Peace: Terence O'Neill's Day Has Come Date: Thursday, August 19, 2004 ************************************************ WHAT’S WRONG WITH THE STORMONT TREATY?? http://members.freespeech.org/irishpows/HISTORY/StormontTreaty/1998_stormont_treaty.htm ************************************************ http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/features/story.jsp?story=552753 Belfast Telegraph 18 August 2004 The Imperfect Peace: Terence O'Neill's Day Has Come By Dr Anthony McIntyre, who runs the republican website, The Blanket --------------- Ten years ago as August drew its last breath a buzz of excitement swept through west Belfast. The Provisional IRA had just declared its first major ceasefire in 19 years. Later in the day Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness would be feted with flowers at Connolly House. The Falls was awash with anticipation, the Shankill subdued by suspicion. The mood in both communities would have been vastly different had anyone suggested on that day that a full decade later the British would still be here; that the consent principle, which republican volunteers had fought, killed and died to usurp, would reign supreme; that IRA weaponry would be decommissioned; that Sinn Fein leadership would be worshiping at Temple Stormont and that it would be openly stating as its objective the reform of the RUC and the disbandment of the IRA. As one-time republican prisoners we had spent decades inside dreading such an outcome, seeing in it only defeat. Yet hardly a word of protest from within Provisional ranks: David Aaronovitch of The Independent, apparently hitting the bull's-eye when he later wrote: 'It has taken 3,500 deaths and 30 years for republicans to understand that John Hume was right all along.' Sometime in the afternoon of that 'historic' day, I was with one of those former republican prisoners, Tommy Gorman, when he phoned Bernadette McAliskey to endorse her BBC Talkback comments that 'the war is over and the good guys lost.' As we made no attempt to conceal our affirmation of her view the leadership thought police soon came to learn of it. They were not enamoured towards us. What did they expect? Because they were fluent in gibberish and had the most amazing capacity to absorb nonsense that everyone else should be the same? Days earlier, when a senior IRA member had 'briefed' me that there would be a ceasefire, my first comment was 'the leadership might h ave surrendered but we haven't.' The vacant look on his stunned face was so bottomless, revealing a cerebral nothingness, I wonder if the realisation has sunk in even today. After his call to Bernadette, Tommy Gorman and myself walked down a sun-carressed Whiterock Road. We had not covered any great distance before being approached by an excitable but solid local Sinn Fein member who invited us to join him on the party cavalcade that would shortly wind its way through west Belfast. My respons, 'Turkeys celebrating Christmas', seemed to offend him. He genuinely believed that something was coming. We sensed we were about to be shafted. And we were. At the time, the defeat of the Provisional IRA was hushed up by all sides. It suited. If fudge and ambiguity allowed the leadership to deceive its grassroots about the enormity of the climb-down it was preparing to make, then London, Dublin and the other main players would provide cover. Only now, when all but the recalcitrant few believe the IRA can go back to an armed campaign, are observers prepared to acknowledge that the IRA lost the war. Before he died Joe Cahill was openly likened to Comical Ali for being sufficiently immune to public common sense to have been able to say the Provisional IRA had won the war and now it was time to win the peace. Few thought to ask, if the war was truly won, why so much difficulty in announcing that it was over? After our initial forays into that dangerous realm of independent thought, it soon became clear that the bearers of dissent were to be identified as prime candidates for the persona non grata award. Furious party apparatchiks would froth at the mouth at the slightest sign of a hand they did not control going up at a meeting. 'At the end of the day, Gerry is right', the tautological mantra. As the years have passed and everything that was not supposed to happen has happened, it is now clear why the leadership was determined that its strategy would not be questioned. It was based on an utter falsehood. The struggle to achieve 'national liberation' was being abandoned - traded in for an internal solution. In order to protect this falsehood our leaders ruthlessly pursued a policy of organised lying, methodical lying. It took the endeavour of Ed Moloney via his discerning tome, A Secret History of the IRA, to bring it home to greater numbers. Before the Provisional IRA was founded the Unionist Prime Minister of Northern Ireland, Terence O'Neill, pompously stated that if the unionist community would only treat Catholics well and allow them some prosperity, they would stop having 17 children and come to live like Protestants. His day has come. ************************************************ © The Irish Freedom Committee® NewsList - IFC Updates |
| IRISH FREEDOM COMMITTEE® NEWSLIST http://www.irishfreedomcommittee.net ----------------------------- Subject: AIDAN HULME TRANSFERRED Date: Saturday, August 14, 2004 The Irish Freedom Committee has received news that Irish republican prisoner AIDAN HULME has been transferred to FULL SUTTON PRISON. Please send a card to welcome him to his new surroundings. Aidan has endured abysmal medical neglect since his imprisonment, and with this latest development, has been transferred away from his brother Robert. Both are appealing sentence on the grounds that they are totally innocent men. Write to Aidan at: AIDAN HULME Full Sutton Prison Moor Lane, Stamford Bridge York, YO41-IPS, England For a list of Irish Republican POWs please visit the Irish Freedom Committee website – Click on POW DEPT. on the top menu bar or click here: http://members.freespeech.org/irishpows/POWs/IPOWS_LIST.htm For more information on medical neglect suffered by Aidan Hulme during his forced internment in Britain see the news digest on his case at: http://members.freespeech.org/irishpows/POWs/aidan_hulme_news.htm The Irish Freedom Committee® ************************************************ © The Irish Freedom Committee® NewsList - IFC Updates |
| IRISH FREEDOM COMMITTEE® NEWSLIST http://www.irishfreedomcommittee.net/ -----------------------------
Subject: Torture allowed by British judges Evidence gained by torture allowed by British judges From Lord Justice Laws' judgement: 'I am quite unable to see that any ...principle prohibits the Secretary of State from relying ... on evidence ... which has or may have been obtained by torture by agencies of other states over which he has no powers of direction' By Robert Verkaik 12 August 2004 The use of torture to obtain evidence against suspected terrorists was endorsed yesterday by the Court of Appeal in a ruling that has brought Britain into conflict with international human rights campaigners. Two of the country's senior judges granted the Home Secretary the right to hold terror suspects on the basis of intelligence from tortured prisoners at Guantanamo Bay and other US detention camps. Human rights groups and experts on international law said Britain had, in effect, been given the green light to trawl for evidence from torture victims across the world. The controversial guidance emerged in the court's decision to reject appeals from 10 foreign nationals held for more than two years without charge or trial in British prisons under emergency terror laws introduced by David Blunkett after the 11 September attacks. None of the men is accused of terrorist acts, only that they belong to banned terrorist organisations. Two of the 10 have voluntarily left Britain and are bringing their appeals from abroad. But Mr Blunkett, writing in today's Independent, says yesterday's judgment on the fate of the detainees is a clear vindication of his policy on terrorism. "As Home Secretary. I must balance legal theory with the practical job of protecting people," he says. In yesterday's ruling, Lord Justice Laws and Lord Justice Pill upheld the decision of the special immigration appeals commission to authorise the detention of the suspects, although it was alleged the only evidence against them came from men tortured by American security officers at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba or Bagram air base in Afghanistan. In a 190-page judgment, Lord Justice Laws said he was "quite unable" to see why the Home Secretary could not rely on evidence "coming into his hands which has or may have been obtained through torture by agencies of other States over which he has no power of direction". The judge added: "If he has neither procured the torture nor connived at it, he has not offended the constitutional principle which I have sought to outline." He said he could not believe "that the law should sensibly impose on the Secretary of State a duty of solemn inquiry as to the interrogation methods used by agencies of other sovereign states". But in the two-to-one judgment, the dissenting judge, Lord Justice Neuberger, warned that by "adopting the fruits of torture" Britain would be weakening its case against terrorists. All three judges said there was no evidence to show that any intelligence had been gathered from victims of torture, only that this had been alleged by the men's lawyers. The men's solicitor, Gareth Peirce, described as "terrifying" the suggestion in the judgment that evidence obtained through torture could be admissible. "It shows that we have completely lost our way in this country legally and morally," she said. "We have international treaty obligations which prevent the use of evidence obtained by torture in any proceedings." Shami Chakrabati, director of the human rights group Liberty, said the effect of the judgment would encourage the police and security services to adopt a policy of "hear no evil, see no evil". She said: "As long as the Home Secretary does not inquire into how the information was obtained he can use it in any way he wishes. This would surely make Britain complicit in international acts of torture." Kate Allen, director of Amnesty International in the UK said she was appalled. "The rule of law and human rights have become casualties of the measures taken in the aftermath of 9/11. This judgment is an aberration, morally and legally." Peter Carter QC, chairman of the Bar's human rights committee, said the ruling meant the Government was being allowed to "connive in torture". He added: "Under international law there is an absolute prohibition on torture. This is not just because it is an inhumane act but because of the rationale that the fruits of torture are very likely to be wholly unreliable and so it is irrational to rely on information obtained by torture." Lord Justice Neuberger said that "democratic societies, faced with terrorist threats, should not readily accept that the threat justifies the use of torture, or that the end justifies the means. It can be said that, by using torture, or even by adopting the fruits of torture, a democratic state is weakening its case against terrorists, by adopting their methods, thereby losing the moral high ground an open democratic society enjoys." Source: Independent
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| IRISH FREEDOM COMMITTEE® NEWSLIST http://www.irishfreedomcommittee.net/ -----------------------------
Subject: BRIT ASSASSINS WIN U.S. SECURITY CONTRACT A $293 million dollar US security contract for Iraq has been awarded to Aegis Defense Services, a private company headed by retired British Army commander Lt. Col. Tim Spicer. 2 articles follow:
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| IRISH FREEDOM COMMITTEE® NEWSLIST http://www.irishfreedomcommittee.net/ ----------------------------- Subject: IFC Speech from Chicago POW event Date: August 9, 2004 There is a copy of the speech given at Colm Mitchell's event last Sunday posted on our website under the POW Dept. index. The event was well attended by a variety of political persuasions including prominent Chicago Adams supporters. A large contingent of traditional republican supporters there as well. All credit to Colm Mitchell for a well-organized and well-presented event. http://members.freespeech.org/irishpows/POWs/speech_abbey.htm
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| IRISH FREEDOM COMMITTEE® NEWSLIST http://www.irishfreedomcommittee.net/ ----------------------------- Subject: "Disbanding the Provos" - Tommy McKearney Date: August 9, 2004
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| IRISH FREEDOM COMMITTEE® NEWSLIST http://www.irishfreedomcommittee.net/ ----------------------------- Subject: Free Seamus Doherty Campaign Protests - Derry Journal Date: August 6, 2004 ------------------ Derry Journal NewsFree Seamus Doherty Campaign ProtestsFriday 6th August 2004 The Derry branch of the Irish Republican Prisoners Welfare Association have been holding a number of protests in the city this week to highlight the plight of Derry man Seamus Doherty who is currently on remand in Maghaberry Gaol on what have been described as 'trumped up charges'. The culmination of events will include a cross border protest at the Buncrana road on Saturday 7th August at 2.00pm. A spokesperson for the group said: "We would like to encourage everyone to come out in support of Seamus and this blatant attempt to convict him of a crime which he has strenuously denied since his incarceration. "Seamus' case is not an isolated case, in so far as manufactured evidence and attempts to frame young nationalists and Republicans, a number of which remain on remand as a result of state attempts to secure convictions against them.' The prisoners welfare group went on: "The I.R.P.W.A intends to take their cases to the streets and will exhaust every possible avenue until we secure their release without condition. "The collapse of a number of cases recently is testament that a policy of selective internment still remains very much in evidence." The group added: "We would call on all ex-Republican Prisoners to come out and support this campaign and future campaigns. "We would also like to call on the Derry communities who have been passionate in the past regarding Prisoners issues, to come out and show their support, regardless of their political affiliation or association. "This campaign is not about which organisation that an individual belongs to, but the possible miscarriages of justice which can result from it. "It is important that we as Nationalists and Republicans come out and support this campaign without prejudice, intimidation or repercussions. We have a duty to ensure that Seamus and his comrades do not languish in gaol." The
Irish Freedom Committee® For further info see Seamus Doherty case: Call For Forensic Laboratory Inquiry IFC NewsList July 30, 2004 ************************************************ |
| IRISH FREEDOM COMMITTEE® NEWSLIST http://www.irishfreedomcommittee.net/ ----------------------------- Subject: Event Sunday For IPOWs - Chicago Date: Wednesday, August 04, 2004 The Charlie Kerins Unit of the Irish Freedom Committee encourages your support for this event. Please contact Colm Mitchell at the email address below for more information. +++++++++++++++++ A Chara, This Sunday from 12:30 to 2:00 PM There will be an event at the Abbey Pub for the POWs. Please Join us to raise awareness for the prisoners. Go to www.upthera.cjb.net/chicago for more info Slán, Colm Mitchell www.upthera.cjb.net ************************************************ © The Irish Freedom Committee® NewsList - IFC Updates |
IRISH FREEDOM COMMITTEE® NEWSLIST http://www.irishfreedomcommittee.net/ ----------------------------- Subject: “The UnHung Hero” – Dolours Price on Joe Cahill Date: August 3, 2004 The Blanket http://lark.phoblacht.net The UnHung Hero Dolours Price • 3 August 2004 I have no memory of a time when I did not know who Joe Cahill was. In the micro-group of Republicans holding firm through the fifties and sixties everyone was known to everyone else. As a child I was taken to Bodenstown, to Edentubber, to commemotations around the country and always on the buses there was great fun to be had, rebel songs to be sung and I got to know them all. "Brave Tom Williams we salute you, and we never shall forget, those who planned your brutal murder, we vow we'll make them all regret...." We sang about Tom Williams on our journey from Brixton Prison to Winchester where we were to go on trial for having attempted to blow up symbols of the British Establishment. "We vow we'll make them all regret." The year was 1973, the day was the 2nd of September. Tom Williams was hanged in Crumlin Road Prison on the 2nd of September 1942. My father had told me of that day. How he and other Republicans inside the Crumlin jail had sat in stoney silence in their cells until the execution time came and went, then as one man they screamed and banged and vented their anger and frustration on anything to hand until eventually exhausted they wept. On the road to Winchester Prison I remembered all this and I remembered too the men who had been sentenced with Tom Williams to hang. One was Joe Cahill. "Tom Williams bravely claimed responsibility for the raid," wrote one of the most virulently anti-Republican journalists in Ireland last Sunday. Joe Cahill did not have to die; who could blame us as children for looking up to this man with awe and respect. To us he was 'The Unhung Hero'. As I grew older and wiser Joe Cahill became a very ordinary Republican in my eyes. My aunt Bridie and her sisters had no time for Joe Cahill, but then my aunts demanded Olympian standards from anyone who called themselves Republican. I never asked the reason for their dislike, perhaps it was Joe's claim to have "fired the fatal shot" that reduced him in their eyes, in Bridie's case no eyes. As regards the fatal shot comment my father often remarked "Why didn't he tell that to the judge when he was in the dock?" My father was always direct and to the point. I have studied the incident in detail and to this day and forever more it will remain unclear as to who fired the fatal shot. I am reminded of the title of a wonderful book written by Ernie O'Malley, 'On Another Man's Wound'. Over the years Provisional Sinn Fein have perfected the publicity stunt. Walking up the steps of Stormont, smiling "rhubarb, rhubarb, rhubarb...." walking down the steps of Leinster House, smiling "rhubarb, rhubarb, rhubarb...". Any old gimmick for a good shot (photographic, of course!). The first stunt Joe Cahill was involved in was the press conference given in 1971 in Ballymurphy. Then the 'most wanted' man in Belfast he sat on the platform while the streets outside heaved with Brits. Joe duped them all and before the day was out he would be sitting safely in Dublin. We young ones loved it all, getting one over on the Brits. Over the years and all through this phase of the struggle Joe has been produced like a rabbit from a hat. He the veteran I.R.A man, the elder of the tribe, the wise one, the one who knew the right way forward. Indeed, knew so much that he was able to assure us all that Tom Williams would be fully behind the Good Friday Agreement. Now if things had only been reversed in 1942 we could have heard Tom Williams say that for himself! Joe Cahill was still duping but this time it was not the Brits, it was other Republicans. Speaking for the dead as Joe did must be the reserve of a very elite or gifted Provisional member. Gerry Adams speaks for Bobby Sands; Bobby, he told us, would be fully behind the Peace Process. I often wonder who would speak for me had my circumstances in Brixton Prison reached their expected conclusion? What praises would I be singing of the Good Friday Agreement? My eventual and total loss of respect for Joe Cahill (the Oliver Plunkett's head of Provisionalism) was the way he allowed his partially invented status to sell a 'sell-out' to the naive but sincere Irish Americans. Always keep the eye on the money, right boys? "We have won the war....now let us win the Peace", another off the cuff declaration by Joe. Correct me if I am wrong but my understanding of winning a war is when the Victor accepts the symbolic sword of surrender from the defeated who then sits down to be told the conditions they will accept. No ifs or buts if you are the losers. Why then if "we (Provisionals) won the war" are the Provisional Sinn Fein Party still begging the 'defeated' (Brits I suppose) for more talks, for the re-establishment of the British Assembly at Stormont, for money and, oh yes please, their jobs back! Not my idea of having won a war. Suppose they had lost the war, where would we all be today? Doesn't bear thinking about! In fairness to Joe Cahill who is now dead, I see a puppet master behind the way he was used, perhaps even abused by those more cunning than himself. Had Joe lived longer then his necessary appearances to keep the doubtful convinced might have seen him driven about in a sort of 'Provo Mobile' amongst the flock (most of whom failed to turn up to his funeral despite a big drive by the 'puppeteers'). He was a big asset to the Provisional Movement. He was "The Unhung Hero". ************************************************ © The Irish Freedom Committee® NewsList - IFC Updates |