IFC NewsList  -  March 2001

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03 29 01 - Washington State Unit IFC - Film Screening 

03 21 01 - Irish Freedom Committee in Providence, RI 

03 19 01 - Boston Unit IFC - Chairman's Report of St. Patrick's Day Activities 

03 18 01 - "They settled for continued British rule"-- Boston IFC pickets Crown Minister 

03 17 01 - 'SECOND POLICE FORCE' - Sinn Fein's All-Ireland vision 

03 17 01 - "What does it really mean to be Irish?" - Essay from Worcester MA IFC Chairman

03 15 01 - ROSEMARY NELSON ASSASSINATED 2 YEARS AGO TODAY 

03 13 01 - IFC UPCOMING NATIONAL EVENTS

03 10 01 - National St. Patrick's Day Events - IFC

 

From: Irish Freedom Committee News List 
Sent: Thursday, March 29, 2001 7:38 AM
Subject: WASHINGTON STATE IFC - FILM SCREENING


IRISH FREEDOM COMMITTEE NEWSLIST
www.irishfreedomcommittee.net
-----------------------------

Subject: WASHINGTON STATE IFC - FILM SCREENING
Date: March 29, 2001

A reminder to those in the Tacoma or Seattle area of Washington State--

There will be a film screening this weekend of "Invasion Lower Ormeau
Road", hosted by the Washington State Chapter of the Irish Freedom
Committee. Details are posted below. 

The Irish Freedom Committee
www.irishfreedomcommittee.net
************************************************
FILM SCREENING - "INVASION LOWER ORMEAU ROAD"

The Washington State Chapter of the Irish Freedom Committee will host a
film screening of "Invasion Lower Ormeau Road" on SATURDAY MARCH 31, at
6:00 PM. The screening will be held at the Sprinkler Recreation Center,
14824 South Coast, Tacoma WA. A short discussion will follow. Admission
is free.

"Invasion Lower Ormeau Road" vividly portrays the brutality of British RUC
police, unleashed in full force against the residents of the Lower Ormeau
Road in August of 199, as they peacefully protested the annual incursion
of an Orange Order march into their community. 

For more information please contact bree59@webtv.net.
************************************************
© The Irish Freedom Committee NewsList - IFC Updates

Permission to re-publish any article from this post is granted provided
signature is attached and the active link back to this site is included.

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From: Irish Freedom Committee News List 
Sent: Tuesday, March 20, 2001 6:07 PM
Subject: IFC IN PROVIDENCE, RI


IRISH FREEDOM COMMITTEE NEWSLIST
www.irishfreedomcommittee.net
-----------------------------

Subject: IFC IN PROVIDENCE, RI
Date: Wednesday March 21, 2001

A reminder to those in the Providence RI area--

Seoirse McLaughlin of the Providence RI Chapter of the Irish Freedom
Committee will host an informal discussion on the Irish Freedom Committee
tomorrow evening, Thursday March 22, at 7PM.

For further details and location please email seoirse48@netzero.net.

The article below was published in "Fourthwrite". 

D. Fennessy
Irish Freedom Committee
P.O. Box 11417
Chicago, IL 60611
deemail@msn.com
www.irishfreedomcommittee.net

************************************************
Fourthwrite - The journal of the Irish Republican Writers Group
http://rwg.phoblacht.net/fw3letter.html
Issue no.3 Autumn 2000 


Dear Editor

"...and supported by her exiled children in America..."

The above words from the the Proclamation of 1916 are often not emphasised
and sometimes forgotten by republicans when discussion moves toward the
reason for our movement’s existence and guidelines for principles and
behaviour. Since the Good Friday Treaty, we are living in such a time, a
gruelling time of ambiguity and uncertainty, a time when one’s validity as
a republican is constantly called into question. While we are trying to
voice our views, there is one thing worse than being an Irish republican,
and that is being an Irish-American one.

Irish-American republicans opposed to the treaty have become accustomed to
being verbally attacked or ignored: the unionists say we’re still naive
deep-pockets who want more of their blood spilled; the English warn of our
continued romantic and antiquated commitment to militancy; the Free State,
Fianna Fail, Fine Gael and the SDLP discredit us by making us invisible;
and Sinn Fein, now having used us up, discard us as "dinosaurs" and part
of their historical rubbish. Ironically, we have seldom been sought out
for our views by those republicans in Ireland who oppose the treaty. 

There seems to be an underlying prejudice towards us in all these camps.
When we can be of service to the current political line, we are listened
to, even applauded, but when we have our own ideas, we are ignored. And
why is this? Could it be that there is no understanding or appreciation of
the immense historical links between republicans and the value of their
discourse for two hundred years on both sides of the Atlantic? I think so.
For, after all is said and done, it is the strongest revolutionary
political link in the vast world of the Irish diaspora. This is not random
or coincidental. It is firmly built on two centuries of camaraderie,
sacrifice and struggle together. The lives of Larkin, Connolly,
Boyle-O’Reilly, O’Donovan-Rossa, Mitchel, Meagher, the Emmets and Tone
head the list of countless lives that attest to it. A one-dimensional pop
notion of Irish-America has been carefully nurtured and fed to the masses
in Ireland by the thought police of television and the Free State’s
tourism godfathers, and this stereotype has generally been accepted
tongue-in-cheek by most. We are not Irish-Americans after all, just Yanks.
Sadly, many Irish republicans have also accepted this notion, being
ignorant of or forgetting that in Irish-America there has always been a
huge historical heart attached to anti-imperialism in Ireland.

We are your cousins. Why else did we not forget you? Why else did so many
of us work to support the civil rights movement, the political status
campaign for prisoners and armed resistance? We are your long lost
cousins, indeed, and we won’t go away. So, shouldn’t we be part of
discussions which journals like this one are fostering?

As for me, I am against the Good Friday Treaty, about which, like so many
of you on the ground at home, Irish-American republicans were never
consulted, just "informed." I am against it because it negates the basic
principles which give the republican movement its identity and undermines
any chance of an unfettered, united Ireland outside the framework which
England has erected, and it brings us back to accepting a revised
perception of the struggle as "ethnic," "religious" and "a conflict of
traditions."

I am for any republican who is against it. I am for any republican
prisoner who sits in a cell because of his opposition to it. But I am
worried, worried about our commitment to discourse, a discourse which will
liberate us from past forms which led some of our comrades to accept the
unthinkable. We must have this discourse, but it must produce action, not
talking heads. We need both— talk and action— for England is still the
problem, not us. So let us clear the path as we go down it, and let us
move together, republican brothers and sisters. And, oh yes, cousins. 

Yours sincerely, 
Seoirse McLaughlin
Irish Freedom Committee,
New England, U.S.A.

************************************************
© The Irish Freedom Committee NewsList - IFC Updates

Permission to re-publish any article from this post is granted provided
signature is attached and the active link back to this site is included.


************************************************

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From: Irish Freedom Committee News List [deemail@msn.com]
Sent: Monday, March 19, 2001 3:23 PM
Subject: BOSTON IFC ST. PAT'S WEEKEND ACTIVITIES


IRISH FREEDOM COMMITTEE NEWSLIST
www.irishfreedomcommittee.net
-----------------------------

Subject: BOSTON IFC ST. PAT'S WEEKEND ACTIVITIES
Date: Monday March 19, 2001

The report below comes from Irish Freedom Committee National Chairman Joe
Dillon of Boston MA.

The Irish Freedom Committee
www.irishfreedomcommittee.net

************************************************

The Irish Freedom Committee
Kerins-O'Neill Cumann, Boston MA
Joe Dillon, Boston MA - National Chairman
Monday March 19, 2001
---------------------

BOSTON IFC ST. PAT'S WEEKEND ACTIVITIES

Members of Boston's Kerins-O'Neill Cumann of the Irish Freedom Committee
productively utilized the St. Patrick's Day weekend when on Saturday,
March 17, a contingent stationed themselves at both sides of the only
driveway leading to the Doubletree Hotel, Lowell MA; to greet the
Stormont Minister of Education, Martin McGuinness, and his host U.S.
Congressman Martin Meehan.

The contingent held large posters carrying the messages; "TRAITOR, IS
YOUR BRIT PAYCHECK WORTH IT?", "BOBBY SANDS DIDN'T DIE FOR A BRIT-RULED
IRELAND", "MCGUINNESS, MINISTER OF THE CROWN"
, and "PROVOS BROUGHT THE
STRUGGLE BACK TO 1967!"


A number of individuals stopped to inquire about our presence there,
including a reporter from the Boston Herald, who included our reason for
being there in the Sunday edition of that newspaper (See IFC NewsList post
03/18/01).


Our sunny, but chilly visit to this site was satisfactorily topped off by
the fact that our presence delayed the British Minister's appearance at
the hotel for one and one-half hours; thereby throwing his schedule out
of kilter.

The following day, on Sunday March 18th, an enthused group representing
the Boston Chapter of the Irish Freedom Committee participated in the
three-mile long South Boston Parade, proudly displaying a beautiful banner
at the head of the contingent; as well as new magnetized signs affixed to
the sides of a van. 

The appearance of the words "Irish Freedom Committee" evoked considerable
attention and applause as we made our way along the parade route, and we
believe that the very noticeable inclusion of the web-site information
will be of great value.

As the Kerins-O'Neill Cumann of the Irish Freedom Committee plans for our
inclusion in the June "Dorchester Days" parade here in Boston, we are
convinced that our public display of support for current Republican
political prisoners, as well as our commitment to a truly independent
Ireland, will ultimately promote ever stronger support for our
organization and its mission. 

Tiochfaidh ár Lá !

Joe Dillon, Boston MA
The Irish Freedom Committee - National Chairman
P.O. Box 182
Boston, MA 02122
Email: mjoyce9999@hotmail.com
--------------------------------

ENDS
************************************************
© The Irish Freedom Committee NewsList - IFC Updates

Permission to re-publish any article from this post is granted provided
signature is attached and the active link back to this site is included.

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From: Irish Freedom Committee News List
Sent: Sunday, March 18, 2001 9:47 AM
Subject: THEY SETTLED FOR CONTINUED BRITISH RULE


IRISH FREEDOM COMMITTEE NEWSLIST
www.irishfreedomcommittee.net
-----------------------------

Subject: "THEY SETTLED FOR CONTINUED BRITISH RULE"
Date: Sunday March 18, 2001


************************************************


The Irish Freedom Committee was in Lowell, MA yesterday as British Crown
Minister Martin McGuinness rallied American support for continued British
rule in Ireland.  

The Republican voice is alive and well in the United States, asking new
British Ministers the uncomfortable question, " is your Brit paycheck
worth it?"

The Irish Freedom Committee
www.irishfreedomcommittee.net

************************************************
Boston Chapter of the Irish Freedom Committee pickets Crown Minister - 

------------------------------------


The Boston Herald

Sinn Fein leader speaks in Lowell
by Marie Szaniszlo 
Sunday, March 18, 2001


Sinn Fein deputy leader Martin McGuinness painted an optimistic picture
yesterday of the Northern Ireland peace process, saying he sees a ``new
sense that we're moving forward.''

At a St. Patrick's Day breakfast that drew more than 600 people in Lowell,
McGuinness said he saw a new opportunity for Catholics and Protestants to
diffuse the anger and bitterness that have divided them for centuries.

``We see those as difficulties to be overcome, that can be overcome,'' the
North's education minister told a standing-room-only crowd at the Double
Tree Hotel.

The support of people in Congress has had a ``huge impact'' on the peace
process, he said, a trend he hoped would continue.

U.S. Rep. Martin Meehan (D-Lowell) praised former President Clinton for
his role in the peace process, and said members of Congress have been
``concerned'' that the Bush administration maintains that momentum.
President Bush recently nominated Richard Egan of Hopkinton, founder of
technology giant EMC, to be the next ambassador to Ireland.

``Just in case (Bush) wavers from that,'' he said, ``there's a bipartisan
group of us to make sure (he keeps his word).''

Meehan also praised McGuinness for understanding that ``education is the
key to peace,'' and for working to ensure that all sides live up to the
1998 Good Friday accord, a power-sharing arrangement meant to end decades
of sectarian violence.

Not everyone, however, saw McGuinness as a hero. People entering the hotel
had to pass a half-dozen protesters holding signs that read, ``McGuinness,
minister of the crown'' and ``Traitor, is your Brit paycheck worth it?''

``When they say peace, it's just pacification,'' said Joe Dillon, chairman
of the Irish Freedom Committee, which raises money to support the families
of Irish political prisoners. ``They settled for continued British rule
and signed away their country. Our Catholic population who want Ireland
reunited have no say.''

In October, pro-British Ulster Unionist Party leader David Trimble, who
heads the North's Cabinet, barred Sinn Fein's two ministers from a key
council because of the Irish Republican Army's refusal to discuss its
disarmament.

The IRA has since re-established contact with the disarmament commission,
but Trimble won't lift his ban until those talks show results.

A final showdown isn't expected until after a British general election,
planned for May 3.

McGuinness has insisted the IRA won't let others dictate the terms of its
disarmament.

But he has also said that the IRA dissidents who oppose the peace process
have no popular support and that a Sinn Fein government leader in the
North is a probability in the future.


************************************************
© The Irish Freedom Committee NewsList - IFC Updates

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From: Irish Freedom Committee News List 
Sent: Saturday, March 17, 2001 6:05 PM
Subject: WHAT DOES IT REALLY MEAN TO BE IRISH?


IRISH FREEDOM COMMITTEE NEWSLIST
www.irishfreedomcommittee.net
-----------------------------

Subject: WHAT DOES IT REALLY MEAN TO BE IRISH?
Date: Saturday March 17, 2001

************************************************
What does it really mean to be Irish?

by John King
Irish Freedom Committee, Worcester MA
Henry Joy McCracken Chapter
March 10, 2001 

March is upon us and we are all looking forward to the spring thaw, if it
should ever get here, flowers blooming and more sunlight. Of course there
is St. Patrick's Day, a day in which many misinformed Irish-Americans will
get out there and tout their Irishness, although most have no clue as to
what it is. They think that drinking green beer, wearing green clothes and
eating corned beef and cabbage, which is an American dish, is what it's
all about. Ask them anything about Ireland and most have no idea. Ask them
to point it out on a map and they are probably even more clueless. Ask
them where exactly their family originates in Ireland and you've hit the
jackpot: CLUELESS.

Let's go back in time for our first phase of Irish history. The British
have been oppressing the Irish for hundreds of years. One of the more well
known rebellions against the Brits came about in 1798 in the form of the
United Irish uprising. The United Irishmen were a group of mainly well off
Irishmen, most who weren't catholic, who felt that what the Brits were
doing to the Irish Catholics was wrong. Theobold Wolfe Tone sought the
help of the French. Unfortunately a storm off the southern coast of
Ireland caused them to turn back. Eventually another attempt was made,
this time with less help, and the rebellion was squashed. All those taking
part in it were tortured and executed. That has basically set the
precedent for all future uprisings: the Brits torture and execute those
involved.

Another sad moment in Irish history would be the Irish genocide,
affectionately known as the "famine." The Ancient Order of Hibernians
calls it An Gorta Mor, the great hunger. Another misinformed bunch. It was
a holocaust in which over four million innocent Irish people were starved
to death by the British government. This was an attempt to end the Irish
race once and for all. There are well documented papers in which messages
were sent back to England from British government officials stating that
the death rate was too slow for them to gain what they wanted, an end to
the Irish race. Tons of food were being exported to England from Ireland
everyday. The food could have fed millions of people. Great hunger, huh?

Easter 1916, another attempt to overthrow the British government in
Ireland, and another massacre of Irishmen and women at the hands of the
Brit war machine. This is where most people make the mistake and believe
that at about this time Ireland gained her independence from England. That
happened, let's see, NEVER.

1922, Ireland is partitioned which leads to a bloody civil war in which
the horror and torture are unimaginable. Ever drink a black and tan? You'd
never ask for one in a real Irish pub. These men were brought from England
to wipe out the Irish. They wore rag tag uniforms of black pants and tan
shirts or vice versa, hence the name black and tan. They executed many
innocent Irish men, women and children.

Much to the amazement of these "proud" Irish, there have been over sixty
fire bombings on innocent Irish families in the north of Ireland since the
beginning of this year. All of these are done by British loyalist death
squads, with the cooperation of the British Army and the Royal Ulster
Constabulary (that would be the Crown Forces police in the north). 

How about assassinations? Don't quite agree with the illegal British
occupation of the six counties in the north of Ireland and chances are
you're a marked person. A list of over 500 names was recently found to be
in the possession of a loyalist death squad. That list contained the names
of Irish nationalists. I don't think the list was intended to by used as a
mailing list for Christmas cards.

Hunger Strikes? This year marks the 20th anniversary of a hunger strike in
which ten brave Irishman gave their lives for the basic rights of Irish
political prisoners. Danny McAlister, currently a political prisoner in
Portlaoise Prison, Co. Laoise, Ireland went on a hunger strike at the
beginning of this year in an attempt to win rights for his fellow
prisoners, the rights which have been surrendered under the sellout Good
Friday Agreement. 

Another anniversary in Irish history is January 30, 1972. Known as Bloody
Sunday, this is the day when the British Army decided to execute 14
innocent Irishmen who were taking part in a peaceful demonstration against
internment. This was a well planned military maneuver. To this day no one
has ever been charged with these deaths. Most of the soldiers who took
part in this massacre have been made into heroes for their actions and
have been promoted or retired with pensions. By the way, there were two
previous Bloody Sundays in Irish history, one of them happening at a
Gaelic Athletic Association football game in 1922 in which the Black and
Tans came onto the field in an armored car and opened fire. True heroes. 

Then of course there is the so called Celtic Tiger, that wonderful economy
in Ireland which everyone speaks so highly of. Ever been to Ireland to see
it in action? I often wonder why there is still so much poverty there if
the economy is so good. The unemployment rate isn't something to be happy
about either. Go to the north and you'll really witness some unemployment.
Of course if you're a loyalist you have no problem working. Especially if
you're young and your father is retiring, as you can automatically receive
an apprenticeship in his profession, just to make sure no Irish
nationalist or catholic gets the job.

I could go on and on. I'll end it with the myth of the Sinn Fein party.
Most Irish-Americans hear Sinn Fein or Gerry Adams, Sinn Fein's president,
and they picture a group fighting on for the Irish people and their quest
for a reunited 32 County Ireland. Hate to break the news to you, but
they've sold the Irish people down the Liffey and have solidified English
rule in Ireland. They first did this in 1986 when they broke their own
constitution and accepted seats in Leinster House, the parliament in the
south of Ireland. Now they have accepted seats in the Stormont Assembly,
the British run parliament in the occupied six counties of the north. They
receive a British paycheck for helping the Brits rule Ireland and even get
to fly the union jack from their office. They have officially recognized
British rule in Ireland, and are helping to keep it there. 

So just remember, on St.Paddy's Day, March 17th, when you're out there
making a fool out of yourself and claiming to be proud to be Irish, the
people in Ireland are probably at mass, as it is a holy day, or are
probably fearing for their lives. In case you haven't caught on yet, being
proud to be Irish in certain parts of Ireland could get you in a lot of
trouble.

************************************************
For more articles by John King:
http://www.themestream.com/gspd_browse/browse/view_article.gsp?c_id=379651

************************************************
© The Irish Freedom Committee NewsList - IFC Updates

Permission to re-publish any article from this post is granted provided
signature is attached and the active link back to this site is included.

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From: Irish Freedom Committee News List
Sent: Saturday, March 17, 2001 10:03 AM
Subject: 'SECOND POLICE FORCE' - Sinn Fein's All-Ireland vision

IRISH FREEDOM COMMITTEE NEWSLIST
www.irishfreedomcommittee.net
-----------------------------

Subject: 'SECOND POLICE FORCE' - Sinn Fein's All-Ireland vision
Date: Saturday March 17, 2001

Stormont Troopers in action South and North of the Border.  Provo attacks in the news

************************************************
The Irish Times
Saturday, March 17, 2001
SF AND ROBBERY VICTIMS

Sinn Féin is going all out to win a Dáil seat in Kerry North in the next
general election. It is using its own system of law and order to help.
Alison O'Connor reports. 
http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/newsfeatures/2001/0317/newsfea5.htm

************************************************
Irish Independent
Wednesday January 31, 2001
Tom Brady, Security Editor

ARMED MEN 'PART OF IRA SQUAD ON WAY TO BEATING'

FOUR armed men stopped at a garda checkpoint are suspected of being in an
IRA "punishment" squad on their way to target a victim.

The four are all believed to have links to the Provisional movement and
some are known Sinn Fein activists in the Cork region where they were
stopped.

Last night garda anti-terrorist officers were trying to establish if the
group was involved in an operation that had been sanctioned by the
Provisional leadership or were taking part in a personal vendetta.

The intended target, detectives believe, was a local drug dealer, but this
could not been confirmed last night.

The four, who are all aged between 33 and 40, are from Midleton, Youghal,
Ballyvolane and Passage West in Cork. One previously served a seven-year
sentence for IRA activities.

They were travelling in a Ford Escort car, which had been stolen in
Waterford and fitted with false plates, when they were spotted on Monday
night by gardai who became suspicious about the way the vehicle was being
driven.

A search of the car revealed three fully loaded semi-automatic pistols and
two baseball bats.

************************************************
BBC
15 March 2001

FAMILY BLAME IRA FOR ATTACK

The man was dragged from his Ballymurphy home

The family of a west Belfast teenager whose finger was cut off in a 
paramilitary-style attack have blamed the IRA.

The man is the cousin of Joe O'Connor, a member of the dissident 
republican Real IRA, who was murdered in the same area of Ballymurphy 
last year.

The Real IRA splinter group opposes the IRA and Sinn Fein's strategy 
in the Northern Ireland peace process and there is bitter rivalry 
between the two groups.

Francisco Notarantonio, 17, was with his girlfriend and their baby at 
home on the Ballymurphy Road when a masked gang forced their way into 
the house on Wednesday night.

His girlfriend Michaela McGuigan said: "We heard two shots fired 
outside the door.

"The door was booted in and three big guys ran in.

"They shouted 'Provisional IRA', and kicked my child's pram out of 
the way, while he was in it, to get at Francie."

The gang took Francisco Notarantonio to an alley off the Whiterock Road.

They then beat him with claw hammers, breaking bones in his hands and 
one of his ankles. They also cut off one of his fingers.

His mother, Rose Notarantonio blamed the IRA for the attack.

She said: "The rats and vermin that did my son have done all the 
off-licences over Christmas and all the building sites. The evidence 
is at their own front doors."

Reacting to the attack, Sinn Fein councillor Michael Browne said: "I 
wouldn't like to think that whole families were being singled out for 
intimidation.

"If that were the case it would be totally reprehensible."

Mr O'Connor's grandfather, Francisco Notarantonio, was shot dead by 
loyalists in a house on the same street almost 13 years ago.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/uk/northern_ireland/newsid_1222000/1222547.stm

************************************************
London Sunday Times
Sunday January 21, 2001

IRA SHOOT BOY FOR BREAKING WINDOW
Liam Clarke

IRA target: Eamon McAuley recovers from a second operation on his feet at
Belfast's Royal Victoria hospital
Photograph: Cathal McNaughton


THE Provisional IRA is suspected of shooting a 17-year-old boy in both
feet last week, as a punishment for breaking windows in west Belfast. 

Eamon McAuley, who this weekend underwent a second operation on his feet,
is the latest victim of gun law in Northern Ireland which punishes anyone
who opposes west Belfast's Sinn Fein and IRA elite. 

Last October, McAuley's cousin, Joe O'Connor, a local hard man who was
briefly associated with the dissident Real IRA, was shot dead by
Provisionals. O'Connor, who was not suspected of involvement in terrorism,
sealed his fate when he told a leading IRA figure that his son was a drugs
dealer. 

His killers walked up to O'Connor as he sat in his car and shot him 10
times. Up to eight IRA "volunteers" took part in the terrorist attack. RUC
sources believe that a relative of Gerry Adams, the Sinn Fein president,
was part of the gang that murdered O'Connor. 

McAuley threw stones at the windows of a number of houses in protest at
his cousin's murder. In an interview with The Sunday Times yesterday, he
said: "They saw me but couldn't catch me. I ran." 

Soon afterwards the IRA came looking for McAuley, who lives with his aunt,
Anne McManus. In late October three masked terrorists burst into McManus's
bedroom demanding to see McAuley. 

A few days later a well-known IRA man from the Turf Lodge estate called to
McManus's house and said he was from the Community Restorative Justice
programme. She said: "He told me he knew Eamon was angry but he said that
these people whose windows were broken wanted justice. So he asked Eamon
to meet him the next night at seven o'clock to get his hands broken. Eamon
said 'Okay' but he never went." 

Instead McAuley fled the area and stayed with friends. This month he felt
it was safe to return but last Monday, three masked men came to McManus's
house. One pinned the 43-year-old woman to the wall, while another ran
upstairs in search of McAuley who eventually. At first he jammed his door
but hearing his aunt being manhandled as they were trying to lock her in
the kitchen, he gave himself up. 

He was first taken to a house where he was made to lie on the floor. "They
asked me if I wanted a job as a glazier because I was so fond of breaking
windows," McAuley said. "They asked if I wanted to be known as the hard
man who took on the IRA single-handed. 'This will teach you not to f**k
with the IRA', one of them said." One terrorist sang I Did it My Way while
another threatened to kill McAuley. 

After an hour of taunting he had a towel tied over his face and was taken
to waste ground, where he was shot in both feet. He had no socks on and
his wounds were complicated by powder burns as the hot gun was forced into
them. 

McManus said: "Tony Blair and Peter Mandelson don't seem to care. They
tell us there is a peace process, but where is it, when these people are
being allowed to have guns and to go out and treat kids like that." 

Anthony McIntyre, a former IRA commander in the Lower Ormeau area of
Belfast, agrees that west Belfast is turning into a one-party police
state. "If the RUC was coming round and doing this to people, Sinn Fein
would be up squealing about it," he said. 

Police and local people expect the tempo of attacks to increase in the
coming months as Sinn Fein and its IRA backers gear up for the local
council elections. 

An RUC officer in west Belfast said: "On one side it's a grip of fear -
they are telling people here what happens when you stand up to them. On
the other hand it's a populist thing, rallying mobs to drive people out of
their homes."

************************************************
© The Irish Freedom Committee NewsList - IFC Updates

Permission to re-publish any article from this post is granted provided
signature is attached and the active link back to this site is included.

************************************************

 

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From: Irish Freedom Committee News List [deemail@msn.com]
Sent: Thursday, March 15, 2001 12:05 PM
To: List Member
Subject: ROSEMARY NELSON ASSASSINATED 2 YEARS AGO TODAY

IRISH FREEDOM COMMITTEE NEWSLIST
www.irishfreedomcommittee.net
-----------------------------

Subject: ROSEMARY NELSON ASSASSINATED 2 YEARS AGO TODAY
Date: March 15, 2001

Two years ago today, following several years of death threats against her
by members of the British security forces, well-loved Human Rights
attorney Rosemary Nelson was assassinated with a highly sophisticated car
bomb which was placed inside her car following an "unprecedented" level of
security forces activity in her community.

Rosemary Nelson spent her professional life defending the rights of
members of the Nationalist community living in the cross-hairs of an
oppressive British State. She represented the families of those murdered
with the complicity of security forces; like Robert Hammill, kicked to
death by a mob of Loyalists in full view of an armed RUC Land Rover only
200 yards from a fully manned RUC station. She advised BBC producer Sean
McPhilemy as he exposed high-level British Government involvement in the
assassinations of Irish Nationalists in his documentary and follow-up
book, "The Committee". She represented the community of the Garvaghy
Road, forced to endure RUC-escorted Orange Order marches through their
quiet communities year after year. 

Rosemary Nelson, a wife to Paul Nelson and mother to 3 children, had
testified six months previously before the United States Senate describing
years of death threats, verbal abuse, and physical assault at the hands of
the British RUC police force. 

Rosemary Nelson never flinched in her determination to secure rights for a
rightless people. Despite the daily hostility she faced in making her way
through a British system on behalf of others, she never wavered and never
placed her own security before the safety of her clients.

The Irish Freedom Committee joins in the world-wide call for a fully
independent, International inquiry into the assassination of Rosemary
Nelson.


The Irish Freedom Committee
www.irishfreedomcommittee.net

************************************************
BREAKDOWN OF BRITISH SECURITY FORCES ACTIVITY (British Army and British
RUC police force) beginning with "marked increase in security presence in
area" two to three months prior to Rosemary Nelson's assassination:

http://www.serve.com/pfc/rosemary/security.html
(Link from The Pat Finucane Center, "Rosemary Nelson - the life and death
of a human rights defender")

************************************************
MAP OF LURGAN:

http://www.serve.com/pfc/rosemary/map.html
(Link from The Pat Finucane Center, "Rosemary Nelson - the life and death
of a human rights defender")

************************************************

THE ROSEMARY NELSON CAMPAIGN:

http://www.rosemarynelsoncampaign.com/

DOWNLOAD FLIER for St. Patrick's Day distribution here.

************************************************
© The Irish Freedom Committee NewsList - IFC Updates

Permission to re-publish any article from this post is granted provided
signature is attached and the active link back to this site is included.

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From: Irish Freedom Committee News List
Sent: Tuesday, March 13, 2001 3:12 PM
Subject: IFC UPCOMING NATIONAL EVENTS


IRISH FREEDOM COMMITTEE NEWSLIST
www.irishfreedomcommittee.net
-----------------------------
Subject: IFC UPCOMING NATIONAL EVENTS 
Date: Tuesday March 13, 2001
-----------------------------

CHICAGO, IL - SATURDAY MARCH 17, 2001 
The Chicago Chapter of the Irish Freedom Committee will have several
members circulating along the Downtown parade route, distributing
information on its upcoming Spring fundraiser. Raffle tickets for the May
12th event will be available for sale.

LOWELL, MA - SATURDAY MARCH 17, 2001 
Representatives from the Irish Freedom Committee, along with other
republican organizations, will be on hand to protest British Crown
Minister Martin McGuinness as he drums up support for British rule in
Ireland at a speaking engagement at the Doubletree Inn, Lowell MA. 
For more information please contact IFC National Chairman Joseph Dillon
via mjoyce9999@hotmail.com.

SOUTH BOSTON, MA - SUNDAY MARCH 18, 2001 
The Boston Chapter of the Irish Freedom Committee will have a contingent
marching with a large banner in the South Boston St. Patrick's Day Parade.

PROVIDENCE, RI - THURSDAY MARCH 22, 2001 
The Providence RI Chapter of the Irish Freedom Committee will host an
informational evening meeting on the failure of the Stormont Treaty, and
the growing numbers of Anti-Treaty republican POWs. 
For further details email George McLaughlin at seoirse48@netzero.net.

ROY, WA - SATURDAY MARCH 31, 2001 
The Washington Chapter of the Irish Freedom Committee will host a film
screening of "Invasion Lower Ormeau Road", a film exposing RUC brutality
unleashed upon peaceful community protest; as an unwanted Orange Order
parade is forced by the RUC through the Nationalist Lower Ormeau Road.
The screening will be held at the Sprinkler Community Center, Alder Room,
14824 South Cst., at 6:00 PM. Admission is free. 
For more information please contact bree59@webtv.net. 

DORCHESTER, MA - SATURDAY MAY 12, 2001 
The Boston Chapter of the Irish Freedom Committee will host its 3rd Annual
Evening of Irish Music, to benefit the dependents of Irish Republican
Political Prisoners. The event will be held at the Lounge at the Teachers
Union Hall, Columbia Circle, Dorchester MA; from 8 PM to Midnight.
Featuring the popular Dan Hallissey's Music. Cash Bar, Expanded Dance
Floor. $10 Donation at the door. There will be a raffle with a First
Prize of $500 in Lottery Scratch Tickets, with 90 chances to win $1
Million! 2nd Prize is a beautiful leade Tyrone Crystal vase. Many other
prizes. Raffle Tickets $2.00 ea., or 6 for $10.00. 
For directions or more information please contact mjoyce9999@hotmail.com.

FOREST PARK, IL - SATURDAY MAY 12, 2001 
The Chicago Chapter of the Irish Freedom Committee will host its Annual
Spring Fundraiser, to benefit the dependents of Irish Republican Political
Prisoners, at Murphy's, 7414 West Madison, Forest Park IL, from 8PM to
Midnight. Guest Speakers and Musical Guest to be announced. $10 Donation
at the door. Raffle Drawing for a First Prize of Two Round-Trip Tickets
to Ireland. 2nd and 3rd Prizes of republican prisoner craftwork. Many
Door Prizes. Raffle tickets $10 ea, 3 for $25.00. 
For directions or more information please contact deemail@msn.com.

WORCESTER MA - DATE TBA
The Worcester MA chapter of the Irish Freedom Committee will hold a
drawing for Two Round-Trip Tickets for an All-Expenses paid trip to
Ireland. Drawing date TBA. Tickets are $25 ea, only 300 to be sold.
For more information please contact BritFree32@aol.com.

-------------------------

For more information about how you can help support the growing number of
POWs now being criminalized and denied political status by the British and
Irish Governments, please contact us at the address below.

Go raibh maith agat;

The Irish Freedom Committee
www.irishfreedomcommittee.net

************************************************
© The Irish Freedom Committee NewsList - IFC Updates

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From: Irish Freedom Committee News List 
Sent: Saturday, March 10, 2001 1:44 AM
Subject: National St. Patrick's Day Events - IFC


Irish Freedom Committee
National St. Patrick's Day Events
-----------------------------------------

Saturday March 10, 2001 - Providence, Rhode Island

The Providence RI Chapter of the Irish Freedom Committee will march with
the city parade, and meet with the community at a reception at the State
House to discuss upcoming events on the East Coast. For more information
contact George McLaughlin.


------------------------------
Saturday March 10, 2001 - Chicago, Illinois

The Chicago Chapter of the Irish Freedom Committee will have several
members circulating along the West Side parade route, distributing
information on its upcoming Spring fundraiser. Raffle tickets for the May
12th event will be available for sale.  For more information contact here.

------------------------------
Sunday March 11, 2001 - Worcester, Massachusetts

The Worcester MA Chapter of the Irish Freedom Committee will be
represented in the Worcester city parade, weather permitting. For more
information please contact BritFree32@AOL.com.
------------------------------
Sunday March 11, 2001 - Chicago, Illinois

The Chicago Chapter of the Irish Freedom Committee will have several
members circulating along the South Side parade route, distributing
information on its upcoming Spring fundraiser. Raffle tickets for the May
12th event will be available for sale.  For more information contact here.

------------------------------
Saturday March 17, 2001 - Chicago, Illinois

The Chicago Chapter of the Irish Freedom Committee will have several
members circulating along the Downtown parade route, distributing
information on its upcoming Spring fundraiser. Raffle tickets for the May
12th event will be available for sale.  For more information contact here.

------------------------------
Sunday March 18, 2001 - Boston, Massachusetts

The Boston MA Chapter of the Irish Freedom Committee will march with the
South Boston city parade. For more information please contact Irish
Freedom Committee National Chairman Joe Dillon via mjoyce9999@hotmail.com.
------------------------------

Beannachtaí na Féile Pádraig oraibh! 
(BAN-uhkh-tee nuh FAY-luh PAW-rihg O-rihv) 
- Happy St. Patrick's Day to You All! -

The Irish Freedom Committee
www.irishfreedomcommittee.net

************************************************
© The Irish Freedom Committee NewsList - IFC Updates

Permission to re-publish any article from this post is granted provided
signature is attached and the active link back to this site is included.

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