Human Rights – Page 41 – Slugger O'Toole

Off-duty police officer shot in Londonderry

Pete Baker on November 8, 2007, 3:51 pm

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The BBC report that an off-duty police officer has been shot with a shotgun leaving his child to school in Londonderry – Lumen Christi Grammar School according the report here. Security sources [and the deputy First Minister – Ed] are blaming “dissident republicans”. According to the reports – “A car believed to have been used in the attack was found burned-out in the Creggan area of the city at 0900 GMT.” The officer’s injuries are not believed to be life-threatening. …

“Could it be that the government will change the remit again..”

Pete Baker on November 8, 2007, 2:01 am

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Some interesting speculation in this report by the BBC’s Vincent Kearney on the new Police Ombudsman, Al Hutchinson. He’s looked back at the comments Hutchinson made about ‘policing the past’ in his last report as Policing Oversight Commissioner – comments which were also echoed by other interested parties around that time, as noted here. Whilst Vincent Kearney points to existing cases from the past currently under review, including one which has just been further delayed, the speculation in the article …

“We are monitoring these issues with some concern.”

Pete Baker on November 7, 2007, 4:05 pm

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The 17th report of the Independent Monitoring Commission has been published online. As this BBC report points out the period dealt with does not include the killing of Paul Quinn. But there are some interesting paragraphs on the standards they expect to be met and by whom. 4.2 In our Fifth Report, in the Spring of 2005, we set out standards which we believed should be observed by people in positions of leadership in political parties and groups associated with …

“We won’t move forward if we try and bury the past.”

Pete Baker on November 5, 2007, 4:19 pm

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In the Belfast Telegraph Chris Thornton interviews Nuala O’Loan as she prepares to hand over the office of the Police Ombudsman to Al Hutchinson. A couple of lines stand out in particular, the title of this post – “We won’t move forward if we try and bury the past” – being one of them, and this “We think we’re in a relatively stable position, but as I watch the goings on up the hill, it seems to me that it’s …

“will carry a black wreath with nine white lilies to remember the dead..”

Pete Baker on November 2, 2007, 1:26 am

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The Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams may have been explaining last night why, although he was “of the view that no military solution was possible”, he felt “armed struggle” was “necessary” when he met with the Foundation4Peace, and in particular Colin Parry, as Nick Robinson records he couldn’t, or wouldn’t, answer the question – “Why Warrington?” Tomorrow will bring a reminder of other questions about elements of the struggle employed by the Provisional IRA. This time it will be the …

“a need for staff and volunteers to be ‘trained up’ in respect of the Protocol..”

Pete Baker on November 1, 2007, 3:16 pm

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I had asked whether the Colin Community Restorative Justice group, in particular, had read the protocols required for accreditation in a post yesterday. I hadn’t seen this Irish News report, via Newshound, which for all the futuring and the welcome from head of CRJ Belfast, Jim Auld, points to the findings of the Criminal Justice Inspectors report into those CRJ schemes still not accredited. Only the press release seems to be available [pdf file] Update Full report available here [pdf …

“While I was of the view that no military solution was possible..”

Pete Baker on November 1, 2007, 3:19 am

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I don’t intend to comment much on the fulsome apology of Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams, or the PIRA apology for their “mistakes” he referenced, beyond noting that the man it was directed at, Colin Parry, had already dealt with the possibility that such an apology would be proffered “I don’t want an apology, I don’t expect an apology. That is not on the agenda, if I got one it wouldn’t mean anything.” Nor do I intend to comment much …

“The organisation that deals with restorative justice in the area..”

Pete Baker on October 31, 2007, 10:58 pm

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As the CTI funding is withdrawn, and 8 men arrested in a planned police operation in connection with “dissident republican activity”, there’s a report here which raises a couple of questions. From the report In Poleglass in west Belfast, six masked and armed men broke into a house held a gun to the owner`s head and told him to leave within 48 hours. But the man they had attacked was not the man they were after. The victim though was …

“There is nothing to suggest that the security forces colluded in the brutal murders”

Pete Baker on October 30, 2007, 4:15 pm

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The Eames/Bradley consultation may be intending to pass responsibility for “the substantive task of dealing with the past” to the Northern Ireland Assembly and Executive… but the Police Ombudsman’s Office continues to look at some parts of that past. As reported here, and here, a statement has been released by the Ombudsman on the investigation of complaints about the police investigation into the murder of two brothers in 1993 – full statement here [pdf file] – and, as well as …

“I do believe they were from a republican background, but I can`t say any more.”

Pete Baker on October 26, 2007, 11:21 pm

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A reminder today of the kind of event which was supposed to be part of that sealed and buried past – even though this murder actually took place in 1999. The inquest into the murder of Eamon Collins, the former Provisional IRA member who was the key witness against a number of suspects until family pressure caused him to retract his evidence, co-author of Killing Rage, he himself walked free from court on 50 terrorist charges when the judge dismissed …

“will require the virtual integration of British and Irish immigration controls.”

Pete Baker on October 26, 2007, 5:16 pm

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In the Irish Times, Frank Millar gathers together [subs req] some recent comments relating to the future of the Common Travel Area, in light of the intention of the UK government to tighten UK border controls. Worth noting in particular, given Taoiseach Bertie Ahern’s comment noted here, is the quote from NIO minister Paul Goggins Meanwhile, Northern Ireland security minister Paul Goggins has confirmed that illegal immigrants do cross the land border from the Republic into Northern Ireland. In a …

“A possible paramilitary link…”

Pete Baker on October 24, 2007, 8:10 pm

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As the investigation into the killing of Paul Quinn continues, and Prime Minister Gordon Brown reiterates the government position in the Commons today, in the Carnaget Cottages area of Newry, in County Armagh, an 18-year-old is dragged into a garden and beaten with baseball bats by a gang of up to 7 men and there are reports of shots being fired. And according to this report Police said they were still working to establish a motive for the attack. But …

Assembly buries head in sand

Pete Baker on October 23, 2007, 9:39 pm

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Before they discussed the AWB, the Assembly had a lengthy debate yesterday on the Department of Health’s draft guidelines on termination of pregnancy. The motion, proposed by the DUP’s Iris Robinson and Jeffrey Donaldson both of whom made reference to this petition, opposed “the introduction of the proposed guidelines on the termination of pregnancy in Northern Ireland; believes that the guidelines are flawed; and calls on the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to abandon any attempt to …

“Simply a judicial process..”

Pete Baker on October 23, 2007, 5:45 pm

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I’m not entirely clear why the BBC report describes the hearing at Belfast Recorder’s Court as the launch of “a second legal bid” to extradite Roisin McAliskey. She’s currently on bail after being arrested in May this year on a European Arrest Warrant and, despite the “political talks between the British and German sides on how to deal with this thing”, the execution of such warrants is supposed to be “simply a judicial process.” Update From this BBC report Judge …

“But this is the new dispensation…”

Pete Baker on October 23, 2007, 4:14 pm

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The Ireland correspondents of the Times and the Guardian have noted the political reaction to the investigation into the killing of Paul Quinn, and the Irish Times front page report is worth noting – not least for a comparison between the no evidence “at this stage” of IRA links comment attributed, by the DUP’s Jeffrey Donaldson, to PSNI Chief Constable Hugh Orde and the Garda sources quoted in the text. But there is also a report inside the paper worth …

“DUP have not put the work in on Human Rights”

Mick Fealty on October 16, 2007, 12:42 pm

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If you do nothing else on or through Slugger today, check out this YouTube clip from yesterday’s Inside Stormont. Newton Emerson argues that the DUP is trying to tribalise the debate around a future Human Rights bill, because it has not devoted the necessary time and resources to developing a right of centre critique for the Bill of Rights Forum. Adds: See also left wing wish list.He argues that what is required is engagement of a right of centre critique …

“a people without hatred cannot vanquish a brutal enemy..”

Pete Baker on October 9, 2007, 1:22 am

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So Mary Lou McDonald, MEP, is launching a week of events organised by Sinn Féin to commemorate the death of Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara. And the Northern Ireland Executive junior minister, and former bomber, Gerry Kelly, MLA, is to attend the last event – the Deputy First minister is obviously unavailable. But why exactly? We know that Gerry Adams is a fan of the middle-class would-be permanent revolutionary. But is it still chic to worship Che in Sinn Féin in this …

“But not one involving violence or intimidation or any kind of paramilitary activity.”

Pete Baker on October 8, 2007, 3:42 pm

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The latest on that impending decision.. The UPRG’s Frankie Gallagher has been speaking to the BBC again.. “Everybody is trying to double their efforts to maintain the peace process and if this derails the peace process because a minister connects social need with decommissioning, then we are in a disastrous place.” And a quick reminder of what was said when the funding was initially announced.. That’s paramilitary politics for you.. Adds The BBC have been running a clip of the …

“ACC Sheridan did not say there had been full co-operation from Sinn Fein..”

Pete Baker on October 8, 2007, 3:46 am

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I had noted the reported comments, in an Observer article, of the spokesman for the Assistant Chief Constable Peter Sheridan at the end of a longer post earlier today. But they’re worth highlighting and considering on their own. A spokesman for the Assistant Chief Constable stressed that the murder inquiry was still a live investigation and was limited in what information he could disclose. “ACC Sheridan confirmed that the detective in charge of the case had had a number of …

“Yet republicans are apparently perplexed..”

Pete Baker on October 7, 2007, 11:59 pm

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Fair deal noted earlier the reported quotes from a PhD thesis research at Queen’s University but it’s worth looking back through the Slugger archive at the series of interviews from early 2006 referred to in the article. Dermot Ahern’s comments on policing in the first interview provided a focus that was returned to in the subsequent ones with Peter Hain, Gerry Adams and Ian Paisley, but in the context of the article’s notes on the US government concerns about “the …