Conflict – Page 34 – Slugger O'Toole

Some questions, some answers.. and some hyprocrisy

Pete Baker on July 1, 2006, 12:51 am

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The Downing Street website has the transcript of the press conference yesterday following the joint statement from Taoiseach Bertie Ahern and Prime Minister Tony Blair. And, among the muted sounds of hope over history, there were a few answers that, in particular, deserve to be highlighted.From the transcript: Question: Taoiseach, first of all the question of policing seems to be a major issue for the DUP, in the sense that they expect anyone going into Cabinet with them, or Executive …

Remembering men of Ulster and Ireland…

Mick Fealty on June 30, 2006, 4:21 pm

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In the past the commemoration of the Somme has been an all Unionist affair in Ireland. Bertie Ahern is determined to follow up the full on commemoration of the Rising with a rather more sobre recognition of the Irishmen who died in the same battle alongside the 36th (Ulster) Division, featured in this Irish stamp and which was launched on Monday. An Post had been lobbied by the Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland. Mick FealtyMick is founding editor of Slugger. …

Media ban on revealing Scap’s whereabouts….

Mick Fealty on June 30, 2006, 1:59 pm

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Not sure what’s behind this, but the High Court has slapped a ban on anyone publishing material that could lead to the whereabouts of Freddie Scappaticci, the man accused of being Stakeknife, a British informer at the heart of IRA operations. In the past the British government has refused to confirm or deny whether Scappaticci was an agent for them. Though Scappaticci has strenuously denied it, with the tacit support of Sinn Fein, despite some damaging revelations on his part. …

Faul sent Paisley message of support…

Mick Fealty on June 29, 2006, 10:30 pm

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Interesting snippet from the press conference at Stormont today. Ian Paisley claimed to have had a message of support from Denis Faul, in pursuit of those bodies disappeared by the IRA: “One of the last things he did from his death bed was that he sent me a personal message that said Ian do not give in,” the DUP leader said. “He said he had represented those families who wanted the bodies of their loved ones returned by the IRA. …

Not such an historic snapshot in time after all?

Pete Baker on June 29, 2006, 2:19 am

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Three weeks ago, when charges of membership of paramilitary groups, the UDA and the UFF, were dropped against Ihab Shoukri, Judge Thomas Burgess commented that when deciding what evidence to put forward, the prosecution “may have to consider wider issues than those before the court.” Since then there has been an attempt to expel the Shoukri brothers from the UDA, which prompted this response, and now, according to the BBC, Ihab Shoukri is to appear in court on “terrorist offences” …

the best we can hope for?

Pete Baker on June 29, 2006, 12:08 am

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Over at the Guardian’s Comment is Free blog, John Lloyd has been taking issue with the Ken Loach film that has been causing a few heated moments among even our own level-headed commenters, but that’s not the aspect I wanted to focus on *ahem* There’s one section of his article that I think is worth highlighting in particular, during what he describes as “the second reason the film’s real significance lies in the present”.It’s his description of what has happened …

Ex SF worker convicted of extortion…

Mick Fealty on June 28, 2006, 4:36 pm

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The DUP’s Jim Wells picked up on the conviction of a former Sinn Fein election worker for his part an attempt to extort £300,000 from an attempted blackmail of a Co Down businessman. Richard ‘Dickie’ O’Donnell was first charged back in October 2004, when the DUP were in negotiation with the British and Irish governments for what was known as a ‘comprehensive agreement’. Update: As Pete points out the PA report goes much further: After the original £300,000 demand was …

Defending an indefensible Parades Commission?

Mick Fealty on June 28, 2006, 3:32 pm

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So far the summer has had mixed results for the new (and controversial) Parades Commission. Last night’s disturbances in Glengormley follow peaceful parades and protests in Ardoyne and Springfield. However there is still some unhappiness over the make up of the commission, which had pro-actively recruited from the Orange Order (a protagonist in some of the disputes). We have these critical thoughts from a writer under the nom de plume of ‘Aisling’.By ‘Aisling’ It might be worth putting Burrowes’ alleged …

Paisley calls for apology over Wrightbus

Mick Fealty on June 27, 2006, 12:12 pm

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Gonzo’s thread on Ballymena was eventually dominated by speculation, sparked originally by a statement from North Antrim Sinn Fein MLA Philip McGuigan, that Ballymena based Wrightbus discriminated against Catholics. In the Newsletter, Ian Paisley Junior has refuted the allegation citing employment figures that seem to contradict the two per cent Catholic employment figure mentioned by McGuigan. Paisley went on to suggest it had been an attempt to put in jeopardy a multimillion pound contract Regional Transportation Commission in Southern Nevada. …

Blogging on Faul…

Mick Fealty on June 27, 2006, 1:23 am

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The last I’ll mention Denis Faul is a quick blog round up. Beano has some interesting comments from a Unionist perspective on Denis Faul. Also Magic Stats. Saoirse32has the Bel Tel obit from David McKittrick. Other blog pieces from James O’Fee, El Blogador, Free Stater, short pieces from David Vance, Jim Tucker, Donal Kennedy, Martin Kelly, Marcella. Mick FealtyMick is founding editor of Slugger. He has written papers on the impacts of the Internet on politics and the wider media …

Faul and the rights of the individual…

Mick Fealty on June 26, 2006, 6:42 pm

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Tom McGurk handles the ‘split’ between Dennis Faul and the Republican Movement as deftly as anyone writing in the Sundays. When the Irish government took the British government to the European Court of Human Rights on torture allegations following internment, Fr Faul did the early ground work. His dossier of statistics on prisoner abuse, including long lists of those with perforated eardrums, led to the Lord Gardiner Report. And of course he was central to ending the 1981 Hunger Strike …

IRA and Sinn Fein both at protest…

Mick Fealty on June 26, 2006, 6:36 pm

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In marked contrast to last year, the Orange parade on the Springfield Road passed off without serious incident. As Susanne Breen notes, there were some prominent figures in both Sinn and the IRA to make sure the protest remained quiet and dignified. As Breen notes, “The cost of policing the march and the subsequent rioting was over £3m”. Mick FealtyMick is founding editor of Slugger. He has written papers on the impacts of the Internet on politics and the wider …

Faul on the British…

Mick Fealty on June 26, 2006, 1:17 pm

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Dean Godson had an interesting line on Denis Faul last week, in which he notes the consistency in his anti British and then anti IRA stance on Human Rights. He also recalls Faul’s words on how the British love of cricket reflected their approach to deal with armed insurrection by the IRA: “One thing about the Brits,” he would say. “Just remember, they play cricket. Nice and long and slow.” This observation brought him little pleasure: he felt that though …

Dying wish for the Disappeared

Miss Fitz on June 25, 2006, 11:11 pm

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I am normally sceptical about stories of dying wishes, but this particular one rings true. The Telegraph is reporting that: The final wish of a priest known for his civil rights campaigns was that the IRA reveal where it had buried the bodies of the Disappeared, mourners at his funeral heard yesterday. Fr Denis Faul’s dying goal was revealed by the Auxiliary Bishop of Armagh, Bishop Gerard Clifford, during the homily at Mgr Faul’s funeral Mass at St Columcille’s Church …

Commission must put residents first

Mick Fealty on June 23, 2006, 3:43 pm

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Sticking with the parades issue for a while, Jim Gibney has an interesting piece in yesterday’s Irish News. It’s uncompromising in calling for a ban on marches in Catholic areas, pending “meaningful dialogue”, rather than “low level contact”. For Poole the “shared future” is allowing unwanted Orange parades to march through Catholic and nationalist areas. In what can only be described as a bout of wishful thinking to bolster his decision Poole described low-level contact between both sides as “courageous, …

Springfield still in dispute…

Mick Fealty on June 23, 2006, 3:05 pm

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This You Tube video shows the extent of the territory in dispute for the weekend march. It begins where the Orange want to come out, and ends where Nationalists want the parade to come out. Nationalists are to mount a challenge to the Parades Commission ruling. But it is also worth highlighting something extraordinary about this situation. This video shows the Catholic housing facing the gates the Orangmen want to march out of, constructed with just one tiny window facing …

Denis Faul: Nationalism’s moral conscience?

Mick Fealty on June 22, 2006, 4:58 pm

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Over on the Guardian site I’ve tried to unpack the role of Monsignor Denis Faul, who died yesterday. In contrast to Charlie Haughey he has no political legacy to be fought over or argued about. Even so he had a strong sense of moral values and consistently interpreted their implication for a wider society in a way that did not simply derive from his own avowedly strong Catholic faith, but from a solid grounding in classical learning. Mick FealtyMick is …

Shoukris reject UDA expulsion call

Pete Baker on June 21, 2006, 7:10 pm

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The UTV website is reporting a statement in response to yesterday’s statement from the UDA expelling Andre and Ihab Shoukri. Which provides an answer to the question posed at the end of this assessment of the situation by the BBC’s Vincent Kearney.. to which I’ll just add the two items I noted in the comments on the previous thread – the comments of Judge Burgess at the trial of Ihab Shoukri on the dropping of UDA/UFF membership charges.. and the …

A game of two halves…?

Mick Fealty on June 20, 2006, 2:05 am

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There’s a few things worth returning to in Drew Nelson’s Irish Times interview. This statistic is one of them: “In the first 20 years of the Troubles four Orange halls were burnt, one of which was in Cavan. But since 1989 there were 240 burnt. It is significant that at around the same time the republican movement started to oppose our parades. There was occasional bother before that but not to this extent.” So is it a meaningless coincidence? Does …

10 arrests in police and security services operation

Pete Baker on June 19, 2006, 6:21 pm

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The BBC report 10 arrests as a result of the searches of 8 properties in Armagh and Fermanagh today in a combined operation by PSNI Crime Operations Department and the British Security Service. Not many details yet although the report has a quote from Detective Chief Superintendent Norman Baxter – “We believe that this operation has disrupted a potential major terrorist conspiracy”. A brief PA report here Update I missed this from the BBC report – “PSNI detectives were also …