PART 2 > IRISH NEWS ROUND-UP > http://irlnet.com/rmlist/ > > Monday/Tuesday, 3/4 July, 2000 > > > --------------------------------------------------------------------- > > > >>>>>> Adams hails SF's council 'hat trick' > > > The election of three Sinn Fein council chairmen on Monday was a > sign of the party's rise as an active campaigning alternative in > Irish politics, Gerry Adams said yesterday. > > Mr Adams was speaking after the election of Alderman Sean > MacManus as mayor of Sligo. > > It is the first time Sinn Fein has held the position of mayor > anywhere in the 26 Counties since 1967. > > "This is a tremendous achievement and an indication of the growth > of Sinn Fein as a radical, active, campaigning alternative to > politics in the 26 counties. > > Last night Sinn Fein councillors Michael Colreavy and Brian > McKenna were elected chairmen of Leitrim and Monaghan county > councils. > > Accepting his position as cathaoirleach of Monaghan county > council Mr McKenna said: "Sinn Fein often had to struggle to > ensure that the rights of our electorate were vindicated on local > authorities. We often found ourselves excluded by other parties. > > "The presence of such a strong Sinn Fein group on this council > and my election to the position of cathaoirleach shows clearly > that the way forward is through co-operation and inclusiveness." > > Sinn Fein's Cavan and Monaghan TD, Caoimhghin O'Caolain, said: "I > am confident that Councillor Brian McKenna will make an excellent > chairperson of Monaghan county council. Our elected team in > counties Monaghan and Cavan, and throughout the 26 counties, are > increasing the political strength of Sinn Fein all the time." > > > > --------------------------------------------------------------------- > > > >>>>>> Paisleyites confronted > > > Efforts by hardline unionists to have Sinn Fein expelled from the > Executive fell flat on Tuesday when the majority of Assembly > members refused to back their motion. > > Two ministers of Ian paisley's Democratic Unionist Parfty (DUP) > are to quit tonight following the vote. Peter Robinson and Nigel > Dodds will be replaced by two other DUP Assemblymen, Gregory > Campbell from Derry and Maurice Morrow from Dungannon. > > Sinn Fein West Belfast Assembly representative and local > Councillor Alex Maskey accused the DUP of "brazen hypocrisy" and > of "whipping up sectarian tensions at the most dangerous time of > the year". > > Mr Dodds insisted they would be sticking to their pledge to > resign, a strategy intended to disrupt the operation of the > power-sharing Executive. > > He said: "This is a momentous day for anti-Agreement unionists, a > massive boost and it completely demonstrates that the so-called > confidence building measure of the arms inspections is regarded > by the community out there as meaningless. > > "The reality is support will continue to seep away from David > Trimble on a steady basis because he continues to seep away from > election commitments and promises." > > Earlier, DUP leader the Rev Ian Paisley claimed it was vital for > unionists to stand up against the "triumph of fascism." > > Four members of David Trimble's UUP - Derek Hussey, Roy Beggs > jnr, Pauline Armitage and Peter Weir voted for the motion, giving > Paisley the support of 32 out of a total of 108 Assembly members. > > Mr Trimble, who did not vote, said: "This debate is > irresponsible. Is this debate not going to increase the tension > in our society?" > > Alex Maskey, who was shot and seriously wounded shortly after the > DUP launched their 'Smash Sinn Fein' campaign in the 1980s > described the DUP motion as "the tired but dangerous hypocrisy of > the past". > > Maskey said: > > "There are those within unionism who aren't just opposed to the > notion of a united Ireland but who fear the fundamental political > and constitutional change which the peace process is bringing to > Ireland and to our relationship with Britain. > > "The DUP are against equality, they are against human rights and > justice for nationalists and republicans. They against the truth. > They prefer to live in the lies of the past. And of course they > are quite prepared to stand history on its head by denying their > involvement in violence and in the incitment of violence. > > "From the Malvern Street killings of the 60s, through the UVF and > UDA in the 70s, and Ulster Resistance and the LVF in the 80s and > 90s, the DUP has encouraged and advocated violence. > > "As a political party it has nothing constructive and positive to > add to society. As a secret, fundamentalist driven, > quasi-paramilitary organisation it stands for conflict. > > "Sinn Fein will challenge and confront and oppose the DUP > wherever it exists". > > > > --------------------------------------------------------------------- > > > >>>>>> March concerns in South Antrim > > > Fears are growing that hardline loyalists are set to hijack a > controversial parade in the nationalist village of Crumlin in > South Antrim on Friday night. Nationalists have warned that > Stoneyford Orangeman Mark Harbinson, who declared 'war' over the > parades issue at the weekend, has been spotted in the town in the > countdown to the march. > > Three bands and hundreds of supporters are expected to parade > through Crumlin to mark the construction by loyalists of a > sectarian arch over the main road into the town. > > Last night a spokeswoman for Crumlin Concerned Residents warned > nationalists to be vigilant claiming that loyalist extremists > were intent on "stirring up tensions". > > The spokeswoman, who did not wish to be named, said: "We want to > make sure that residents here are aware of the situation and > realise that known loyalists are moving into the town. > > "Although this town is 80 per cent Catholic, we are feeling very > isolated and very worried, particularly after the statement made > by Harold Gracey in Drumcree. > > She added: "People like Mark Harbinson who are not from Crumlin > were seen erecting an Orange arch in the town this week - > tensions are on the rise and there could be a backlash." > > Although the residents' group will not be staging a protest on > Friday night, they have invited a team of international observers > to monitor the parade. > > > > >>>>>> British helicopter crashes in South Armagh > > The latest British Army helicopter to crash in South Armagh went > down on Saturday evening last week at about 6pm. > > The low-flying Lynx hit telephone wires near Corliss, two miles > outside Crossmaglen, and went down "about 30 yards from the road, > where it lay for over an hour and a half", said South Armagh > Assembly member Pat McNamee. > > He has demanded that these aircraft be grounded. > > Six British soldiers in the helicopter suffered slight injuries > and were treated at the scene. According to Toni Carragher of the > South Armagh Farmers and Residents Committee, "the helicopter > narrowly missed a house and farm buildings as it made an > emergency landing". > > Just last week, Sinn Fein's Conor Murphy accused a British Army > pilot of flying, "dangerously low" when a helicopter followed a > woman as she collected her children from school. > > The woman had just been waved through a crown forces' checkpoint > when the aircraft flew in low behind her car. > > In a second incident, 75-year-old Charlie McGinnis from Camlough > described how a helicopter hovered over his house before banking. > "It was so low that the gravel in the lane outside my house was > lifted up," he said. "I don't know why they did it, whether it > was for thrills or to terrify people on the ground." > > Two months ago the British Ministry of Defence admitted that > there was a problem with its Lynx and Puma helicopters and said > they would be withdrawing a number of the aircraft from service > due to a fault in the tail rotor shafts. > > On 2 March, a British Army Lynx crashed just 50 yards from a > farmhouse in Mullaghbawn. The British army claimed at the time > that a number of British soldiers were injured in this crash, > although local people suspected that two of those on board died. > > > --------------------------------------------------------------------- > > > >>>>>> RUC's lies on state violence > > > Nationalists have accused the RUC of telling "a tissue of lies" > after RUC attacked a peaceful protest at an Orange Order parade > in County Down. > > The RUC baton-charged nationalists residents in Annalong after a > loyalist march entered a predominantly nationalist cul-de-sac on > Saturday night. > > RUC superintendent Raymond McGreevy said the protesters attacked > the police. > > "Force was directed by the protesters at the police lines. As a > result it is believed two people may have been struck by police > batons," he said. > > Responding to Superintendent McGreevy's statement, Sinn Fein > South Down assembly member, Mick Murphy said: "It is evident to > all that were present at Saturday night's parade that the RUC is > telling a tissue of lies in an attempt to cover up the sectarian > behaviour of their own officers who assaulted several > nationalists." > > Mourne Nationalists for Equality spokesman Martin Connolly said > the RUC assaulted a number of protesters who were standing > peacefully on private property. > > He said the assaults were captured on camera by international > observers who were present to monitor the parade. > > Mr Connolly said: "The Mourne Nationalists for Equality have > available video footage that clearly shows the aggressive nature > of the RUC on Saturday night in marked contrast to their failure > to police the [St Patrick's] oparade on 17 March." > > > --------------------------------------------------------------------- > > > >>>>>> No letup in child poverty > > > > Western states are quick to set development and economic > standards for other countries, but life in the USA, Europe and > Japan is not easy for all. The latest report from UNICEF reveals > that the families of more than 47 million children, who live in > the "rich" western world, cannot guarantee their health and/or > well being. The report points out that one in every six children > in Europe, USA and Japan lives in poverty. > > UNICEF's findings show that a very significant percentage of > minors in 29 of the member states of the OECD (Organisation for > Economic Co-operation and Development) "are at risk" as their > basic needs cannot be guaranteed by their families. Though some > of those 29 countries have seen their economies flourish, many > children are still living in destitute conditions. > > The proportion of children living below the national poverty line > in Ireland is 16.8%. Of the 23 countries surveyed, Ireland ranks > the sixth worst, with Turkey at 19.7%, Britain (19.8%), Italy > (20.5%), the USA with 22.4% and Mexico (26.2%). > > In September 2001, the United Nation Special Session on Children > will take place to review progress and shortfalls in protecting > children over the last 10 years. A preparatory meeting was held > in New York on 30 May. In September 1990, 71 heads of state and > government met at the World Summit for Children and adopted a set > of goals to improve children lives. The following are some of the > issues that will be highlighted at the meeting, promises to > children still unkept by those in positions of power. > > Over the last 20 years, as the world economy flourished, the > number of people living in poverty has grown to more than 1.2 > billion - one in every five people - including 600 million > children. Globalisation is not making the lives of the majority > easier. > > Even in countries with robust economic growth, poverty is > increasing. In Latin America, the poorest 20% of people share > less than 3% of national income. > > Every day that governments fail to meet their obligations, 30,500 > boys and girls under the age of five die of preventable causes, > and even more succumb to illnesses, neglect, accidents and > assaults that could have been prevented. > > Every month that an awareness campaign is postponed, 250,000 > children and youths become infected with HIV/AIDS. Every day, > 8,500 children and young people around the world are infected > with HIV and 2,500 women die from AIDS. In 1998 alone, the number > of women killed by HIV/AIDS was 900,000 - more than three times > the death toll of the war in Bosnia. An estimated 200,000 > Africans, most of them women and children, died as a result of > conflicts in 1998, while 2 million people were killed by AIDS. > > Every year, 585,000 women die of complications of pregnancy and > childbirth that could have been prevented. > > In the last year alone, nearly 31 million refugees and displaced > people were caught in conflicts that ravaged the world. > > Every year that governments neglect their duty to spend what is > needed to support basic social services and that development > assistance is reduced, millions of children throughout the > developing world suffer. They are deprived of access to safe > water and sanitation facilities, and of the health and > educational services that are vital for them to survive and > develop. > > According to estimates by the International Labour Organisation > (ILO), some 250 million children between the ages of 5 and 14 > work in developing countries, and some 60 million do so in > hazardous circumstances. > > More than 2 million children have been killed in the last 10 > years, and more than 6 million have been injured or disabled in > armed conflicts. > > > --------------------------------------------------------------------- > > > >>>>>> Analysis: Europe - The land of no opportunity > > > And 58 people died. By the middle of the week no one was really > interested anymore. They were really only interested in > Snakesheads, Triads, smuggling routes and $7 billion profits. And > so the story died too. They were, after all, 'illegals', probably > Chinese, and with that died what some might remember as Jack > Straw's radical pretensions, and New Labour snuggled up covertly > with the deranged mentality of William Haig's refugee toryism. > > 58 'sans papiers' were dead at Dover on Monday morning, 19 June, > because applying for asylum in Britain has deteriorated to the > point where those who seek asylum are left without basic human > rights, forced into dispersal and detention in jails, > discriminated against with vouchers and inadequate Welfare > payments. Political asylum has been so restricted by legislation > that there is scarcely any way to claim it in England. > > Those who were taught the eternal virtues of English democracy, > an English parliament and Christian charity, as they slaved to > hand over their mineral wealth, resources and primary > commodities, found, when they came back looking for those > virtues, that they weren't there after all. Only death. > > As possibilities for legal entry for refugees and migrants are > increasingly restricted, as borders are made increasingly > impermeable, people are forced to take increasingly dangerous > routes into 'Fortress Europe'. And getting into Fortress Europe > for most is a matter of life or death. > > Last week the number of refugees who have died, since 1993, > through these policies of the EU reached 2,000. > > One of them was in Dublin. A 22-year-old young woman from Nigeria > called Pat committed suicide last Friday. Allegedly, she had > received a deportation order, though the Department of Justice > does not confirm this. Allegedly her dole had been cut off. > Gabriele Olu Ohkenle of the Pan African Organisation says they > are trying at the moment to locate her parents at home to break > the news gently to them. > > These deaths can be put down to border militarisations, asylum > laws, detention polices, deportations and carrier sanctions; to > institutional racism in creating second class non-citizens > without rights. > > The mesmerising hypocrisy of Dublin Justice Minister John > O'Donoghue, who, as he cleared up the last stages of the Illegal > Immigrants (Trafficking) Bill last Wednesday, described himself > as deeply saddened and in revulsion at those found trafficking at > Dover. The Bill aims to introduce the very same strictures which > led to the deaths at Dover. It aims to make it yet more difficult > for refugees who want to seek asylum here to do so. > > The Bill's very title is a misnomer. There is nothing whatever > illegal about a person who lands in this country and seeks > asylum; in fact a person's right to do so is guaranteed in the > 1951 UN Convention. The very day after the Dover tragedy, Jack > Straw took the opportunity to suggest at the Lisbon EU Summit > that this convention would have to be changed: that there just > won't be any sanctuary for refugees at all any more. > > Minister O'Donoghue is racing with fistfulls of legislation to > catch up. Far from limiting itself to measures to deal with the > 'traffickers', the 'Trafficking' Bill has become just another > opportunity to further widen a gulf between those persons who are > citizens, and a sub class of persons living in Ireland who are > not. > > The Bill limits the legal and constitutional rights of this sub > class, who may be arrested without charge and held in custody; > who do not have the same rights to judicial review or of appeal > to the Supreme Court. > > Last week, it was announced that President Mary > McAleese has convened a meeting of the Council of State to > consider whether this bill, as well as the highly contentious > Planning Bill, should be referred to the Supreme Court for a > ruling on their constitutionality. Shades of O Dalaigh? Can the > Constitution admit to two classes of people living in the state? > Citizens and not citizens? Time will tell. Does our Constitution > allow us to be part of 'Fortress Europe', especially when we're > in the market for 285,000 immigrant labourers for the next four > years? > > > > > > > c. RM Distribution and others. Articles may be reprinted with credit. > > =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= > RM Distribution > Irish Republican News and Information > http://irlnet.com/rmlist/ > > PO Box 160, Galway, Ireland Phone/Fax: (353)1-6335113 > PO Box 8630, Austin TX 78713, USA mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > > =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= > > > RMD1000705143213p4 >
