> >> IRISH NEWS ROUND-UP >> http://irlnet.com/rmlist/ >> >> Sunday/Monday, 11/12 June, 2000 >> >> >> 1. PARA'S VISION OF BLOODY SUNDAY HELL >> 2. Second church burned in wave of sectarian attacks >> 3. Man critical after racist attack in Dublin >> 4. Derry politics changed forever >> 5. I will fight Derry exclusion >> 6. McBride family highlights British Army 'hypocrisy' >> 7. Sinn Fein excluded by SDLP's 'cosy arrangement' >> 8. Death of May Kavanagh >> 9. Feature: Celtic's image wars >> 10. Analysis: The marching issue needs an honest approach >> >> ------------------------------------------------------------------ >> >> >>>>>> PARA'S VISION OF BLOODY SUNDAY HELL >> >> >> A dramatic account in which a British soldier reveals how his >> colleagues shot unarmed civilians, killed a wounded man and then >> immediately engaged in a cover-up has been laid before the new >> Bloody Sunday tribunal. >> >> A superior's call to get "some kills" was eagerly answered by >> paratroopers who had been hyped up with hate propoganda. High on >> the thrill of killing, the soldiers fired on terrified men and women >> even as their hands were raised in submission, according to the >> breakthrough account from inside the ranks of the soldiers involved >> in Bloody Sunday. >> >> Fourteen civilians were killed when British soldiers fired upon a >> civil rights demonstration in Derry on January 30, 1972. After >> the original Widgery tribunal was widely discredited as a >> cover-up, the new Bloody Sunday Tribunal under Lord Saville was >> ordered and is currently on the 33rd day of hearings. >> >> Soldier 027, as he is denoted by the Saville tribunal, He also >> revealed his colleagues used their "personal supply" of illegally >> altered dum-dum ammunition instead of regular ammunition. >> >> Counsel to the tribunal Mr Christopher Clarke QC read out >> extensive passages of the document, which he said was submitted >> in a dossier from the Irish government but was also in >> circulation from other sources. >> >> The document is a continuous narrative beginning with the >> soldier's arrival in Belfast in 1971 and leading up to Bloody >> Sunday. >> >> Soldier 027, described in the document as a radio operator with >> 1-Para, was aged 20 at the time of Bloody Sunday. In it he says: >> "One night in January 1972, I was sitting with the rest of my >> muckers of the Anti-Tank Platoon in the barracks when our >> lieutenant came in and informed us that we were due for an >> operation in Londonderry (sic) the following day. >> >> "He said that the heart of Derry had been bombed out. Several >> hundred soldiers had been hospitalised and that not one arrest >> had been made. We knew that the Creggan estate was an IRA >> fortress, conning towers, machine-guns and barbed wire, as well >> as landmines guarding its approaches. >> >> "The people of the Creggan had not paid rent and had highjacked >> (sic) all their food for several years. >> >> "As I looked at my friends I could see that after all the abuse >> and nights without sleep, frustrations and tension, this is what >> they had been waiting for. We were all in high spirits and when >> our lieutenant said `Let us teach these buggers a lesson; we want >> some kills tomorrow', to the mentality of the blokes to whom he >> was speaking this was tantamount to an order (i.e. an exoneration >> of all responsibility)". >> >> He describes the journey to Derry, taking up position near >> William Street, and "being filled with an indescribable feeling >> as I heard the awesome fear of hatred and defiance which a >> riotous crowd of 15,000 can summon." There was excitement in the >> air, the narrative says, and "I know I speak for the majority >> when I say that the common feeling among us was `please let us be >> called in, we will go nuts if we miss a chance like this'. In >> retrospect I can see that what followed was only a natural >> conclusion to the foundations and dictates of fate laid down over >> the previous months." >> >> On the order to move in, they swept into Rossville Street "with >> visions of Gross Deutschland". About 100 yards short of the >> crowd, his colleagues F and G opened fire, and he saw two bodies >> fall at the barricade. >> >> "I raised my rifle and aimed, but on tracking across the people >> in front of me could see women and children, although the >> majority were men, all wildly shouting, but could see no one with >> a weapon so I lowered my rifle. >> >> "I can best describe my feelings as amazed, although this is very >> inadequate. I remember thinking, looking at my friends who had >> now grown to half a dozen in a line side by side, `Do they know >> something I do not know? What are they firing at?' " He could see >> members of another platoon opposite also "pumping off rounds at >> quite a rapid rate - in the initial 30 seconds I would say that >> 100 rounds were fired at the crowd". >> >> After "an eternity of timeless moments and sights" an officer's >> voice on the radio ordered a ceasefire. At this stage "blokes >> were getting in while the going was good" and "people with >> gleeful expressions" were running up from the rear and pushing >> their way through to get into the firing line. >> >> He says that he and four others, H, E, G and F, then ran into >> Glenfada Park and saw a group of some 40 civilians running in an >> effort to get away - "H fired from the hip at a range of 10 >> yards. The bullet passed through one man and into another and >> they both fell, one dead and one wounded. H then moved forward >> and fired again, killing the wounded man ... E shot another man >> at the entrance to the park ... a fourth man was killed by either >> G or F. >> >> "I can no longer recall the order of fire or who fell first, but >> I do remember that when we first appeared, darkened faces, sweat >> and aggression, brandishing rifles, the crowd stopped immediately >> in their tracks, turned to face us and raised their hands. This >> is the way they were standing when they were shot. Men and women >> whimpering and crying and trembling with fear with their hands on >> their head ... " >> >> He describes the ill-treatment of people arrested, and goes on: >> "When we finally got into the Pig, everyone including myself was >> laughing and joking on an intense wave of excitement as we worked >> out how many rounds we had fired. >> >> "Several blokes had fired their own personal supply of dumdums. >> (Soldier) 635 fired 10 dum-dums into the crowd, but as he still >> had his official quota he got away with saying he never fired a >> shot in the subsequent investigations. This happened with several >> people in my vehicle. >> >> "H fired 22 rounds but was stupid enough to boast about it within >> the sergeant's hearing before he could spread them out - i.e., >> add a few to each of our tallies." >> >> Later he says: "When the Widgery tribunal got under way, this was >> a personal affront and the common feeling among us was `who the >> hell's side is the British government on?' " >> >> When army investigators spent time going over aerial photographs >> with them, trying to establish which shots had been fired by whom >> and from where, "we were all grinning at each other and drawing >> lines haphazardly all over the place with the result that the >> authorities finished up with a series of photographs of >> sophisticated looking spiders' web which bore no relation to >> fact." >> >> When interviewed by officials for the Widgery tribunal, he says >> he "rattled off everything I had seen and had done. The only >> thing I omitted were names and the manner in which people had >> been shot. Apart from that I told the truth. >> >> "Then, to my utter surprise, one of the doddering gentlemen said: >> `Dear me, Private 027, you make it sound as though shots were >> being fired at the crowd. We cannot have that, can we?' He then >> proceeded to tear up my statement. >> >> "He left the room and returned 10 minutes later with another >> statement which bore no relation to fact, and I was told with a >> smile that this was the statement I would use when going to the >> stand. >> >> "What a situation: the Lord Chief Justice for Great Britain, the >> symbol of all moral standing and justice, having his minions >> suppress and twist evidence - with or without his knowledge, who >> can tell? I was amazed. Who was right and who was wrong - beyond >> any individual's judgment and certainly mine." >> >> He says he subsequently had many conflicting and contradictory >> attitudes: "It certainly would not have been right to have >> offered up the small group of soldiers responsible as a sacrifice >> and thereby bring the entire army into disrepute . . . "The >> actions of my friends on Bloody Sunday which at first astonished >> me became more and more justified in my eyes." >> >> >> ------------------------------------------------------------------ >> >> >> >>>>>> Second church burned in wave of sectarian attacks >> >> >> A Catholic church in County Antrim was badly damaged in an arson >> attack early Monday. >> >> Tyres were piled up outside the door of St Mary's church in >> Cushendall before being set alight. The blaze spread into the >> sacristy, causing part of the roof to fall in before it was >> spotted around 4am. >> >> Loyalists have been blamed for the attack, the second burning of >> a Catholic church in a week. Last Wednesday, St John the Baptist >> Catholic Church on the Garvaghy Road was also damaged in an arson >> attack, which damaged the foyer. >> >> Yesterday concerned parishioners gathered at St. Mary's to clean >> up the debris left by the arson attack. >> >> One said: "It would make you weep - and I did weep - to see the >> way the house of God had been vandalised." >> >> Meanwhile, a young West Belfast man beaten by a loyalist gang has >> described himself as 'lucky'. >> >> He was walking along Blacks Road in the loyalist enclave of >> Suffolk towards the Stewartstown Road in the early hours. The >> West Belfast man noticed a two groups of about 20 men in all. >> "Someone came up from behind me. He shouted 'you fenian bastard' >> and struck me across the right side of my face." As the victim >> staggered from the blow, the assailant repeatedly hit him about >> the head. "I fell to the ground where I was kicked in the ribs." >> >> Loyalist gangs routinely gather along the Blacks Road >> particularly at the weekend. It's a short distance from the >> Balmoral Hotel, a Catholic-owned business on the outskirts of the >> loyalist Suffolk estate, to the Catholic housing estate of >> Lenadoon. >> >> It is a notorious spot for sectarian attacks. Most Catholics >> enjoying an evening out at the Balmoral avoid the 400-yard walk >> and take a taxi into nationalist West Belfast rather than risk >> sectarian attack along Blacks Road. "I was lucky," he says, "I >> was conscious and able to get back up on my feet." Before the >> gang could gather around him, he fled. "Woodbourne RUC barracks >> stands at the top of Blacks Road," he says, "yet despite the >> amount of surveillance in the immediate area, loyalists appear to >> think they can attack Catholics with impunity." >> >> >> ------------------------------------------------------------------ >> >> >> >>>>>> Man critical after racist attack in Dublin >> >> >> >> An English tourist was stabbed repeatedly in a racially motivated >> attack in Dublin at the weekend. >> >> Mr Richardson, his wife Laverne and son Christian were attacked >> by a group of six or seven youths as they walked to their son's >> home in Ringsend after a meal in a city centre restaurant. They >> had been celebrating their wedding anniversary and their son's >> 24th birthday. It was the couple's first visit to Dublin >> together. >> >> They had been unable to hail a taxi, and were attacked after the >> gang began shouting racial abuse at them. Mr Richardson is white >> and his wife and son are black. >> >> Christian said the gang were shouting: "Niggers out", "black >> bastards" and "monkeys", and throwing beer cans at them. >> >> He said they left him alone but went for his parents. >> >> "One was trying to grab my mum's bag. I was trying to defend them >> both. Then I heard my mum scream: `He's got a knife.' Suddenly >> there was blood everywhere. It was awful." >> >> HUMAN RIGHTS AT ISSUE >> >> The attack has provoked calls for the monitoring of such hate >> crimes and for drastic changes to the Dublin government's >> draconian policy on asylum-seekers, blamed by many for >> encouraging a wave of racism in the 26 Counties. >> >> A recently published survey by the African Refugee Network found >> that more than a third of African refugees in Dublin had >> experienced verbal or physical abuse. >> >> But the Dublin government is currently pushing oppressive >> legislation through parliament to increase the powers of the >> Minister for Justice and the Irish garda police to deal with >> asylum-seekers. The measures already passed include one to >> blanket fingerprint all asylum-seekers and to pass this >> information to the British authorities. >> >> Minister John O'Donoghue, claimed yesterday the fingerprinting >> "would not criminalise or stigmatise" asylum-seekers. But the >> measures have been widely criticised and Sinn Fein TD Caoimhghin >> O Caolain spoke in opposition to them in the Dail last week. >> Responding to a question posed by the Minister as to the rights >> of unsuccessful asylum seekers, O Caolain said they at least had >> human rights. >> >> "There is in the commentary of the Minister and others a very >> harsh and dismissive attitude to unsuccessful applicants which I >> believe is dangerous. There is a suggestion, utterly false, that >> unsuccessful applicants are criminals. >> >> "The Minister and others have repeatedly referred to unsuccessful >> applicants, or to those not entitled to asylum under present >> rules, as 'abusing' the asylum system. This is also a dangerous >> fallacy. If a person is entitled to apply how can that person be >> justly accused of abusing the system? Such descriptions of people >> who come to this country do nothing to inform the ignorant and >> the prejudiced. On the contrary they feed prejudice." >> >> O Caolain said it was "scandalous" that the Dublin government had >> welcomed police from the repressive regime in Nigeria to become >> involved in the asylum process. This turned the whole notion of >> asylum on its head, he added. "It's like inviting the Gestapo to >> assist in identifying Jews or the British army to identify >> republicans. Yet in this context we are asked to further tighten >> the deportation procedure. I cannot support that." >> >> Mr O Caolain called again for fair asylum procedure, the right >> to work and study for asylum seekers and proper immigration >> legislation which will allow economic migrants to help meet the >> labour needs of our economy. >> >> >> >> ------------------------------------------------------------------ >> >> >> >>>>>> Derry politics changed forever >> >> >> The election of Sinn Fein councillor Cathal Crumley as Mayor of >> Derry on Monday 5 June changed the face of politics in Derry >> forever. The political significance of the event was historic as >> it marked the end of Sinn Fein's exclusion from the top post in a >> city that has an overwhelming nationalist majority. The >> nationalist SDLP, as the largest party in Derry for years, chose >> to elect unionist candidates for the mayoralty rather than >> support a Sinn Fein nominee. Also Crumley's election saw Sinn >> Fein's first mayor in a major city in Ireland since the election >> of Terence MacSwiney in Cork in 1920, before the country was >> partitioned. >> >> Sitting in the Mayor's office with Cathal Crumley was a curious >> experience. The walls were decorated with the portraits of all >> the city's 'First Citizens' since local government was reformed >> in 1973 and elections held on the basis of proportional >> representation (PR) returned a majority nationalist council. >> >> Prior to that PR election unionists had dominated local >> government in Derry, despite being in a minority, by >> gerrymandering the electoral system. The unionists, not >> surprisingly, introduced a majority first past the post system of >> elections after partition as PR elections only provided >> nationalists with opportunities to take political power in some >> councils, including Derry. In 1920 HC O'Doherty was elected as >> the first nationalist Mayor of Derry since 1688, the next would >> only be elected 53 years later. >> >> "Sinn Fein's political growth and the negative reaction the SDLP >> were getting from the electorate meant that sooner or later the >> SDLP would have had to support a Sinn Fein candidate for mayor", >> Crumley said. >> >> "It is a pity it took so long in coming, but the reality is that >> the politics of exclusion have ended forever and the face of >> politics has changed fundamentally in Derry". >> >> Derry, long categorised as an SDLP city, has now seen its >> republican core highlighted and the Sinn Fein mandate recognised. >> >> However, it is not the "trappings of the mayoralty" that taxes >> the mind of the new mayor but the fact that as part of his >> political programme he intends to be a mayor for the people of >> the city. >> >> That political message stood out against the "pomp and finery" of >> the previous office holders. >> >> In the run up to his election the DUP run a campaign that was >> aimed at vilifying Crumley so much that the SDLP would renege on >> their commitment to the d'Hondt system and their pledge of >> support. >> >> However Crumley shrugged of the DUP campaign saying that "the >> people of Derry were not going to get involved in anything that >> was going to damage the city". >> >> "Also if the DUP walk away from civic functions and other events >> aimed at promoting the city and exclude themselves from the >> cultural and economic life of Derry they will have to accept >> responsibility for the and their actions cost of that strategy". >> >> Crumley believed their electorate would not tolerate the DUP >> undermining itself and them. >> >> As we spoke requests for interviews came in from the media with >> most wanting to know the mayor's attitude to DUP calls for >> loyalists to boycott the Civic Parade due to start in the >> Waterside area of the city on Saturday. >> >> Crumley vowed to attend the parade despite the DUP's >> scaremongering. He did and although a small protest took place >> the parade passed off peacefully. >> >> "There is no doubt that Sinn Fein faces a big challenge but we >> can run this city in partnership with all the other political >> parties", said Crumley. >> >> He stressed however that he would endeavour to promote and >> include equality for women in his programme and that he wanted to >> work on developing a youth forum, "to ensure that young people >> and women will play a full and complete role in the political, >> social and cultural life of the city". >> >> >> >> ------------------------------------------------------------------ >> >> >> >>>>>> I will fight Derry exclusion >> >> ----------------------------------------------------------------- >> Sinn Fein's Cathal Crumley writes on his recent historic election >> as Mayor of Derry and his plans for his term of office. >> ----------------------------------------------------------------- >> >> >> My election as the Mayor of Derry last Monday was a significant >> occasion not only for my family and myself but also for Sinn Fein >> and the republican community throughout Ireland. >> >> It marked the first time a member of Sinn Fein has gained the >> position of "first citizen" of any major city anywhere in Ireland >> since the great Irish patriot and Sinn Fein mayor of Cork, >> Terence MacSwiney. >> >> I am very proud that this honour was bestowed on me by my >> colleagues on Derry City Council and by Sinn Fein as a party. >> >> If one wishes to gauge the significance of the election of a Sinn >> Fein mayor in Derry you would have to look at the history of this >> statelet and Derry's role within it. For over 50 years Derry was >> subject to unionist misrule despite being a majority nationalist >> city. >> >> The abolition of the old Derry corporation removed unionist >> misrule but did not eliminate political discrimination. The >> politics of exclusion were perpetuated by the majority >> nationalist party, the SDLP, in its refusal to support Sinn Fein >> councillors for the positions of mayor and deputy mayor as well >> as for the other major chairs and appointments to outside bodies. >> >> So, in a sense, the SDLP must share the responsibility for >> creating the conditions whereby the DUP, in the guise of Gregory >> Campbell and Willie Hay, feel confident that they can create >> controversy around my election as mayor. >> >> I am saddened that any party would seek to inflame division and >> sectarian tension around position which is supposed to be a civic > __________________________________ KOMINFORM P.O. 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