Human Rights – Page 31 – Slugger O'Toole

“achieve the regulation that the industry wants..”

Pete Baker on October 9, 2008, 12:50 am

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Northern Ireland Justice Minister, Paul Goggins, MP, has made a couple of announcements recently – A timetable for the regulation of the private security industry by extending the remit of the Security Industry Authority (SIA) to Northern Ireland, announced on 2 October, and a new multi-agency approach to the monitoring of sexual and violent offenders on their release from prison, announced on Monday 6 October. You might have thought that those keenest to devolve policing and justice powers would have …

“The generals feared they were too far ahead of their troops..”

Pete Baker on October 5, 2008, 2:15 am

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In today’s Irish News Patrick Murphy identifies the correct questions to ask in order to understand the current blocking of the Northern Ireland Executive by Sinn Féin. Two questions are central to understanding the row which is preventing the Stormont executive from meeting – does it matter if policing powers are devolved and was there agreement at St Andrews on the devolution date? The answer to the first question is a matter of opinion. The answer to the second is …

Policing Board endorses Taser use

Pete Baker on October 2, 2008, 5:49 pm

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The Northern Ireland Policing Board have approved the use of Tasers by the PSNI in a 12-3 vote. Voting against were two Sinn Féin members and one independent. Despite some reports suggesting otherwise, the BBC’s Vincent Kearney reported that, ahead of the vote, the Board’s human rights advisors confirmed that the police had now completed an equality impact assessment any legal obligations in relation to the introduction of the weapons. A separate legal challenge continues. Pete Baker

“You don’t have to agree with the other person’s point of view..”

Pete Baker on September 30, 2008, 3:52 am

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Apparently, the deadlock in the Northern Ireland Executive is “very serious”. Whether that’s serious enough for Sinn Féin to take the ball away walk out of the administration isn’t clear. But a quick note to whoever is responsible for this BBC report. Sinn Fein say the St Andrews Agreement set May this year as a target date for the devolution of policing powers to the Assembly, although the DUP has said it is not bound by any timetable. Sinn Féin …

“requesting information on the Order..”

Pete Baker on September 28, 2008, 2:41 am

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Obviously it’s good news to hear that Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams has attempted to learn what the Orange Order’s actually traditions are by writing, some months ago, to Orange Grand Master Roberts Saulters requesting information on the Order – and it’s also good news that the Order has just met in the Republic of Ireland for the first time since partition. According to the BBC report, “Mr Saulters said he had replied, sending Mr Adams some literature on the …

“We will take our decision based on content not the calendar..”

Pete Baker on September 27, 2008, 1:13 am

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For all the wishful headlines, and accompanying hopeful quotes at the British Irish Council meeting, neither the Northern Ireland First nor deputy First Ministers mentioned the actual deadlock. From the First Minister, “I hope we will have two meetings next week, it’s important that we do,” Mr Robinson said. “I think it will be very hard to explain to people in Northern Ireland that Northern Ireland politicians can sit around a table in Edinburgh but they couldn’t sit around one …

“continue to have the interests of all of our pupils and parents at heart”

Pete Baker on September 26, 2008, 9:43 pm

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The principal of St Colm’s High School, Twinbrook, Imelda Jordan, has rejected the criticism from local Sinn Féin councillor Sam Baker [no relation] of the visit to the school by three Royal Navy officers, presumbaly from the Navy’s Royal Marines Visiblity Team, who took part in a team-building and leadership event – criticism which, I’d suggest, was the political equivalent of a scene pod scream from 1978 sci-fi paranoia classic Invasion of the Body Snatchers. From the statement Cllr Sam …

“That tells us rather more about them than about Durkan..”

Pete Baker on September 25, 2008, 7:27 pm

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In the Belfast Telegraph, Eamonn McCann dissects the reactions, including that of a certain commentator, to Mark Durkan’s gaze into the political future. From the Telegraph article. It wasn’t just Sinn Fein who interpreted this to mean that power-sharing was no longer an arrangement to be defended but a mistake to be rectified. That astute commentator Brian Feeney — admittedly writing without benefit of having read the text — concluded that Durkan had denounced “compulsory power sharing between nationalists and …

Guilty pleas to lesser charges accepted in Devlin murder trial

Pete Baker on September 25, 2008, 3:01 am

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Only the very basic facts are provided in the BBC online report, and in the UTV version, on the trial of the five members of the Notorantonio family, Burns is apparently also related, charged with the murder of Gerard Devlin – which formed part of a pattern of long-running attacks in Ballymurphy. On Wednesday morning Francisco Notorantonio, 21, pleaded guilty to manslaughter, affray and malicious wounding. His co-accused, Christopher Notorantonio, 56, Anthony Notorantonio, 50, William Notorantonio, 24, and Paul Burns, …

“Monaghan was not at home yesterday..”

Pete Baker on September 24, 2008, 6:04 pm

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Some intriguing connections revealed in an Irish Times report today, as Spanish authorities seek Jose Ignacio de Juana Chaos – who was freed from a Spanish prison on 2 August after serving 21 years for the murders of 25 people. The request comes as a number of suspected members of the Basque separatist group Eta were arrested following a series of terrorist attacks in Spain. From the Irish Times report. The Dublin address for the wanted man stated in yesterday’s …

“nobody who knows the score is talking straight about..”

Pete Baker on September 21, 2008, 6:51 pm

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Via Newshound. In the Sunday Journal Eamonn McCann picks up on the same comments I noted here and asks If the IMC is right, if members of the Provisional IRA are gathering information on people they believe to be in the Real IRA, the Continuity IRA or the INLA, to what use do they intend to put the information they manage to amass? If they are fully signed up to policing, as they say they are, they must be passing …

“We found the comments hurtful..”

Pete Baker on September 20, 2008, 3:06 am

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I know, I know.. they’ll just get ideas.. ANYhoo.. a bit of variety in our cultural exposé.. and it’s worth noting what Richard Dawkins had to say before that resignation. As Will Crawley notes here a Turkish court has ordered the state telecoms company to bar access to Richard Dawkins official website following a legal action taken by muslim creationist Adnan Oktar, who writes under the pen name of Harun Yahya. Oktar published a creationist text, Atlas of Creation, and …

“know more than just the identities of dissident terrorists..”

Pete Baker on September 19, 2008, 12:11 am

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It’s been a busy week for the Northern Ireland Secretary of State [and his butler? – Ed]. Apart from today’s kerfuffle, there has been a poll to publish, and publicise, the Prime Minister to meet, and greet, and on Wednesday Shaun Woodward, MP, was at the Police Federation’s Annual Conference where he praised “The bravery and dedication of PSNI officers [which] has resulted in a police service that is embraced by all sections of the community in a ‘new’ Northern …

“By merely daring to gaze into the future..”

Pete Baker on September 12, 2008, 3:48 pm

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In the Guardian Henry McDonald makes some good points about the difficulties in discussing the “ugly scaffolding”, and hints at why the [long-term] conversation about it is worth having. In essence, the criticism, much of it venomous, directed at Durkan illuminates the power of tribal politics in Northern Ireland. By merely daring to gaze into the future and hint that perhaps one day there could be sufficient respect and trust to produce a government of volunteer parties Durkan faced accusations …

“Frustration with the current model is understandable..”

Pete Baker on September 11, 2008, 9:49 pm

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In the Irish Times, Frank Millar suggests that it’s premature to talk of removing that “ugly scaffolding” around the Assembly – as SDLP leader Mark Durkan has done. In fairness, Durkan did not suggest the new edifice was yet sufficiently “sealed and settled”. Some reports have suggested he certainly does not foresee such developments in the life of the current Assembly. Nevertheless, the SDLP leader revived a debate as old as the agreement itself – and his words were music …

“we should use this moment to start charting a way forward..”

Pete Baker on September 10, 2008, 4:12 pm

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Brian has noted that an alternative mechanism of power-sharing has already been described, but Sinn Féin, apparently, are still furious at SDLP leader Mark Durkan’s argument that the current mechanism isn’t conducive to political evolution here. Meanwhile, Liam Clarke suggests that alternatives may be on the agenda of the current DUP/Sinn Féin talks.. A government just can’t be run like this in the long term. In coalitions all over the world, decisions have to be taken quickly and compromises have …

“If we are serious about a truly shared future..”

Pete Baker on September 6, 2008, 5:13 pm

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The Irish News frontpage story [subs for now] picks up on SDLP leader Mark Durkan’s speech at the British Irish Association Conference at New College, Oxford. And the Sinn Féin response from Northern Ireland deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness. Adds UUP leader Reg Empey’s response. Added The DUP responds and the Alliance Party reportedly welcomes the speech. From the speech. [link added] A formula for ‘sufficient consensus’ was a necessary confidence measure in the agreed rules for the [pre-1998] Talks. …

“If it is no longer an obstacle..”

Pete Baker on September 4, 2008, 5:40 pm

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At the Guardian’s CommentisFree, Malachi O’Doherty picks up on an interesting detail in the IMC report. The BBC flatly reports as fact that the IMC has said that the army council is “defunct”. Actually, the IMC’s assessment includes the largely unnoticed detail that the IRA is still gathering intelligence on dissident republicans but that the means by which it is doing so are not necessarily illegal. So it does exist, it does function and it does have a project in …

“The mechanism which they have chosen..”

Pete Baker on September 3, 2008, 6:35 pm

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You can take your pick of the coverage of publication of the 19th IMC report – BBC, RTÉ, Irish Times, The Guardian, or Northern Ireland Secretary of State, Shaun Woodward, MP. From the report itself [pdf file] Adds More reaction here 2.14 We are aware of the questions posed about the public disbandment of PIRA’s leadership structures. We believe that PIRA has chosen another method of bringing what it describes as its armed struggle to a final close. Under PIRA’s …

“thank Commissioners for the effectiveness and cohesion that they have shown..”

Pete Baker on September 1, 2008, 6:32 pm

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Northern Ireland Secretary of State, Shaun Woodward, MP, has announced the re-appointment to the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission of all seven commissioners, for a further 3 years, and the reappointment of Chief Commissioner Monica McWilliams for a further 4 years. Obviously he must believe they’ve all been very successful in their roles to date.. From the Secretary of state’s statement Shaun Woodward said: “The Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission is a key part of the architecture of human rights …