<HTML><PRE>Subj:	 RMD971024 Irish news for Friday 24 October
Date:	97-10-24 16:20:31 EDT
From:	rmlist-reply@irlnet.com (RM_Distribution)
To:	rmlist-reply@irlnet.com (Multiple recipients of RM_Distribution - Sent by)

     IRISH NEWS ROUND-UP
     Friday, 24 October, 1997
 

1.   Loyalists target Adams
2.   Child's ordeal at hands of Paras and RUC
3.   Bellaghy residents oppose sectarian bandsmen
4.   Amnesty criticises coroner in SAS shoot-to-kill inquest
5.   A tale of injustice - the Richard Johnson story
6.   RUC 'talking through their hat'
7.   Analysis: Always ask why

__________________________________________________________


>>>> Loyalists target Adams


Sinn Fein Chairperson Councillor Mitchel McLaughlin has called on
nationalists and republicans to be vigilant following recent
targeting by loyalists of Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams.
McLaughlin has also criticised media complacency over the
continuing threat posed by the loyalist death-squads.

Yesterday saw confirmation of the demise of the CLMC loyalist
umbrella group. Members of the death-squads known as the "Ulster
Freedom Fighters" (UFF)  endorsed a decision by their
leadership to withdraw from the increasingly fragile association
with two similar groups, the "Ulster Volunteer Force" (UVF) and
the "Red Hand Commando".

Disputes within loyalism have been exacerbated by the perceived
failure of the UVF to control Billy Wright, the dissident
Portadown loyalist. At grass-roots level, a number of
racketeering turf-war clashes between the groups in recent weeks
have added to pressure for a split.

Ominously, Mr John White, of the Ulster Democratic Party (UDP), 
which represents the UFF politically, said that henceforth, the 
UFF would be "following its own agenda".

Councillor McLaughlin said the collapse of the CLMC, the body
responsible for calling the loyalist ceasefires, was "very
disturbing". "I am also concerned at the casual manner in which
politicians and the media have responded to this serious
development," he said.

Mr McLaughlin said news of the collapse of the CLMC had come at a
time when there was a clear increase in the number of incidents
involving known loyalists targeting republicans and nationalists.

The most recent confirmed loyalist incident was the targeting of
Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams MP at his book launch at the Sinn
Fein book shop on the Falls Road on the 15th of October.

A number of known loyalist paramilitaries were spotted at the
shop attempting to get close to Mr Adams. After realising they
had been spotted, the men quickly left and were followed
across the "peace line" into a loyalist area.

And in a warning to Catholics, confirming warnings coming from Gerry
Adams and County Armagh, Belfast Sinn Fein Councillor Fra McCann
said he received reliable information that known loyalists were
targeting Catholic construction workers carrying out renovations
on a bar in the Falls Road.

He added that the men concerned had been informed and called on
all nationalists in Belfast to be cautious in their places of
work, and going to and from work.


__________________________________________________________


>>>> Child's ordeal at hands of Paras and RUC


The appearance in a Belfast courtroom of a ten year old boy from
Ardoyne in North Belfast on Monday highlighted the
level of sectarianism endured by even the youngest members of the
nationalist community.

The judge was forced to dismiss the case, questioning why a ten
year old was even there in the first place. He levelled strong
criticism against the RUC for pursuing what was clearly a serious
example of base sectarianism against a minor.

Ten year old Francis Booth's ordeal began with his arrest last
spring by the RUC who described him as "a main rioter in the
Ardoyne area".

Francis had been rifle-butted across the head by a British
soldier from the 3rd Battalion Parachute Regiment and thrown into
an armoured personnel carrier in Flax Street.

He was then  held illegally for over an hour, being driven around
the area before being thrown out. Following the incident
Francis's parents registered a complaint against the crown
forces.

"A classic tactic by the RUC of issuing counter charges against
anyone pursuing a complaint against them," was how local Sinn
Fein councillor Mick Conlon described the whole disturbing saga.

"The crown forces should catch themselves on. It's utter nonsense
to describe a ten year old schoolboy as 'a main rioter'. The
Paras and RUC must be withdrawn immediately if the people on the
ground are to have any faith in a future settlement," he said.


__________________________________________________________


>>>> Bellaghy residents oppose sectarian bandsmen


Residents in Bellaghy, County Derry have objected to the presence
of a loyalist band at next month's controversial Remembrance day
parade by the British Legion through the overwhelmingly nationalist
village.

The village residents group hopes to discuss the parade with the
head of the Legion, but intends opposing the planned march on 
November 9.

Stressing that the residents were not opposed to the British
Legion, Mr Hasson claimed local people were annoyed that the band
chosen to lead the parade had openly engaged in the sectarian 
intimidation of Catholic mass-goers outside Harryville church in 
Ballymena.

Head of the legion in south Derry, Robbie Curry from
Castledawson, said he was not planning to enter into negotiations
with Mr Hasson. "I don't think that anybody should have to
discuss with him who walks down Bellaghy street. We have that
right," he said.


NO CONFIDENCE ON PARADES

The controversy over the Bellaghy parade follows the publication
of legislation on the issue of contentious sectarian
parades.

Despite the creation of a new Parades Commission, the bill
published this week ensures that the power to ban contentious
marches still rests with Britain's governor in Ireland, Mo
Mowlam.

The legislation allows for the RUC to dispute any Commission
decisions on the route of parades directly to Mowlam, with the
RUC allowed do as it sees fit "on the day".

"Given the RUC's history in relation to parades this could in
practice mean no change,"  said Sinn Fein national chairman
Mitchel McLaughlin, who stressed that the commission is not
compelled "to take on board the views of the host community, and
their right to say no to an offensive parade," but must take into
account the "long-standing" nature of parades despite the
changing demographics of the Six Counties.

There is also the unknown and delayed powers in relation to
"expressions of cultural identity" which Mowlam was unable to
clarify, which could in effect encompass any expression of
culture.

In the opinion of Breandan MacCionnaith of the Garvaghy Residents
Coalition in Portadown, "Ronnie Flanagan will still be able to say that,
because of the threat to the nationalists of Portadown, he has to
take action and [can] impose martial law." In effect Orange
parades can still be forced through nationalist areas. And while
Alistair Graham, who heads the Parades Commission, talks of the
"experience gleaned from this year's marching season as
preparation for the new role as a statutory body," the executive
decisions will still lie with Mo Mowlam and the RUC.

On the day before the Bill was published 14 residents groups
called on the members of the commission to resign.

The groups said that they had no confidence in the Commission and
complained that it had remained silent on the "RUC/British army
invasion of Garvaghy Road and the curfew before the Drumcree
march." MacCionnaith said: "Confidence can only be rebuilt by
them giving adequate explanations... and guarantees that the
commission will not become a puppet of [RUC Chief] Ronnie
Flanagan and the Northern Ireland Office."


__________________________________________________________


>>>> Amnesty criticises coroner in SAS shoot-to-kill inquest




International human rights body Amnesty International has
criticised Derry coroner Ronnie O'Doherty's handling of an
inquest into the death of County Tyrone INLA republican Alex
Patterson.

Despite providing a unanimous report, the jury hearing evidence
at the inquest was discharged by Mr O'Doherty when they agreed
they felt under pressure to reach a finding after deliberating on
the matter for about two hours.

Mr Patterson, a 31 year old father of four was shot dead at
Victoria Bridge in November 1990 in an appparent shoot-to-kill
operation by either the SAS or another British covert regiment.

Criticising Mr O'Doherty's handling of the case, an Amnesty
International observer who attended all three days of the
inquest, said the coroner's interpretation of inquest rules was
too strict.  The coroner claimed the inquest rules compel him to
discharge a jury if a verdict is reached under pressure.

Kathleen Cavanaugh also said Mr O'Doherty should have forced a
British soldier known only as 'Soldier D' to give evidence in
person rather than through a prepared statement.

She also criticised his failure to compel another INLA man
arrested at the time Patterson was shot to be present at the
inquest.

The Amnesty observer said the current inquest system in the North
was not conducive to discovering all circumstances surrounding
controversial deaths.

Ms Cavanaugh was particularly critical of the public interest
immunity certificates used to protect the identity of crown force
members involved in such deaths.

Derry based human rights group, the Pat Finucane centre claimed
the Patterson inquest had left many questions unanswered.
Spokesman Martin Finucane said it was no wonder the inquest ended
as it did because of the "limitations, constraints and evidence"
placed before the coroner's court.

"For some time now there has been concern as to whether the
inquest system is a useful mechanism in bringing to light the
facts that surround disputed deaths.

"It is our view that until there is a complete and radical
overhaul of the inquest system based on the UN principles on the
effective prevention and investigation of extra legal, arbitrary
and summary executions, the inquest system will always be viewed
as fatally flawed," Mr Finucane said.

A spokeswoman for Derry's coroner's office said Mr O'Doherty was
unavailable for comment. The spokeswoman was unable to say how
the coroner intended dealing with Mr Patterson's death.


__________________________________________________________


>>>> A tale of injustice - the Richard Johnson story

By Joe Joyce

Our Founding Fathers were so appalled by the criminal
intrusion into the lives of the Colonists by King George III,
that they incorporated a Bill of Rights into our Constitution. In
the gross injustices done to Richard Clark Johnson, the
Constitution was itself trashed to appease the interests of the
British.

Back in the late 80's, British intelligence agents requested that
the FBI conduct an investigation into the activities of Richard
Clark Johnson, an American citizen and a respected radar
engineer, Christina Reid, an American citizen and engineering
student, Martin P. Quigley, an Irish citizen from County Louth
and Peter Eamon McGuire, an Irish citizen from Co. Dublin.  They
were all wrongly suspected of designing a fuse for a missile to
shoot down British army helicopters in occupied Ireland.

When the FBI could not obtain any probable cause to obtain
wiretaps against the above named individuals as is required by
the Fourth Amendment, it reverted to the draconian Foreign
Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).  The Government then
alleged before a secret court that the taps would produced
evidence for foreign intelligence information purposes. FISA
allows a standard of probable cause to obtain surveillance that
is much less than required by the 4th Amendment.  Worse, it seals
forever from a defendant the basis or reasons that electronic
surveillance warrants were originally issued. When no information
could be obtained after taping the telephones of the defendants,
the telephones in the house of Johnson's parents, and over 100
pay telephones in the Boston area, the FBI changed its focus to a
domestic criminal prosecution. It still utilized the FISA
provisions to continue the wire taps against the defendants, even
though its focus had clearly changed to a domestic criminal
prosecution. After the wire taps could not produce sufficient
evidence for an arrest, the FBI attempted to install a listening
device in Johnson's car. Johnson caught the FBI agents red-handed
in this attempt, but he was promptly arrested himself. The FBI
then dredged up, among other charges against him and his
co-defendants, an archaic law that had not been used since WWI,
entitled, " Possession of contraband in aid of Foreign
insurgents".

At the trial in the Spring of 1990, in Boston, Judge David A.
Mazzone presided.  He was openly favorable to the prosecution and
demonstrated anti-Irish biases, since no Irish Catholics were
permitted to sit on the jury.  Although it was never alleged that
the defendants,now known as the Boston 3, had constructed a bomb,
the trial judge wrongly allowed the FBI to video tape a van
packed with explosives being blown up and shown to the jury. This
was highly inflamatory evidence that serverely prejudiced the
jury against all of the defendants.  The judge also wrongly
allowed as proof of intent the fact the defendant Johnson had
Irish history books and copies of An Phoblacht, an Irish
Republican newspaper, in his possession. All of the items that
the FBI found in the possession of Johnson were ordinary
components and gadgets readily available to any citizen from any
Radio Shack store.  An FBI lab technician, Richard Hahn, later
thoroughly discredited in a government scandal, presented highly
flawed forensic evidence against the defendants. The jury
convicted all the defendants.  Although the Federal sentencing
guidelines for conviction called for a maximum penalty of only 60
months, Judge Mazzone doubled the sentence and gave Johnson 120
months in prison.  He did this despite the fact that Johnson had
no prior criminal convictions and had served as a radar engineer
with an unblemished record in the defense industry for many
years,and with the highest government clearances.  The other
defendants received substantially lower prison terms. Quigley and
Reid are now free and McGuire will be released in January, 1998.
Johnson is still languishing  in a Federal prison at  FCI
Allenwood in White Deer Pa.

Some activists expect the Clinton Administration will insist on a
new wave of confidence building in order to reinforce the peace
process in the North of Ireland. It would be great if Johnson's
sentence were commuted as a part of this process.  It would also
be of tremendous help if readers of this newsletter were to
write directly to President Bill Clinton and request that he
commute Johnson's sentence to time served. Copies of any letters
to the President should also be sent to the Rep. Diana DeGette
(D-CO), Attn: Alice Huppert, 1400 Glenarm St.Suite202, Denver Co.
80202.

Thank you sincerely for all your efforts to bring justice to
Richard Clark Johnson, a political prisoner, and closure to a sad
chapter in the judicial history of this country.

* Joe Joyce is Chairman of the Richmond, Virginia unit of Irish
Northern Aid


__________________________________________________________


>>>> RUC talking through their hat


During last week's Roslea Martyrs commemoration march the RUC
took personal details from nationalist marchers which they then
claimed were lost when, during a scuffle with loyalists, the
information  "fell out of an officer's hat".

The RUC have since visited the homes of several people in the
Fermanagh area who were on last Sunday's march and informed them
that their lives could be in danger as the information had gone
missing.

When challenged about the missing details by Sinn Fein councillor
Gerry McHugh the RUC told a Sunday newspaper that the details
"fell out of an officer's hat" and are most certainly in the
hands of loyalists.

Sinn Fein Six County Chairperson Gerry O hEara described the RUC
excuse as "pathetic and unbelievable" and said, "it is almost
laughable but for the fact that many nationalists in the past
have been killed due to information passed on by the RUC." He
called for the complete disbandment of "this discredited force."

__________________________________________________________


>>>> Analysis: Always ask why



By Laurence McKeown

A friend and parent of many years advised me recently that in the
not too distant future our house will echo to the words 'but why?
or 'cad thuige? That we will hear these words morning, noon and
night until we become exasperated.

They were of course referring to our daughter Caoilfhionn when
she would reach that age of inquisitiveness and curiosity
combined with an ability to verbalise her developing wonder at
the world. Which is a good thing really. It's the sort of thing
we learned in the books on Training for Transformation whilst
confined in that university outside Lisburn. (That's the one that
is neither a campus of Queen's nor the University of Ulster.)

It was a very simple lesson really yet crucial to our
understanding of the world and how things happen. It taught us
that when we hear of poverty in the world, or oppression, or
discrimination or any of the other injustices including poor
sanitation, bad housing, unemployment, lack of educational
facilities, barren land and so forth we should ask, 'but why'? To
say it's simply fate, bad luck or the hand of God simply isn't
good enough any more. There's a reason why these things happen.
Usually a political, economic or military reason. Usually a
combination of all three.

It's difficult for me now to hear of events without the question
arising, 'but why'? Why is this happening? Why is it happening
now? What forces are behind it?

You can imagine then that I had much to occupy my mind over the
past few years when looking at events concerning Dublin
governments. Well, more specifically, Dublin governments which
involved Fianna Fail.

First, Albert Reynolds had a short spell as Taoiseach. This was
Albert who had played a fairly positive role in relation to the
peace process and was the first Taoiseach in my memory who had
publicly stated that if Articles Two and Three were to be up for
discussion then so too should be the Government of Ireland Act.

I'm not trying by any means to minimise the gravity of the
Brendan Smith case which, we were told, was the issue which
brought down the government. I'm just inclined to think that
probably there were worse abuses of power which governments in
the south were guilty of. It led to the installation of a
Taoiseach in the form of John Bruton who just weeks previously
had been voted the least impressive leader of any political party
in the south since the foundation of the state.

Then Ray Burke, Minister for Foreign Affairs and a fairly
outspoken person on the national question (at least in Fianna
Fail terms) was forced to resign over payments to his electoral
campaign (not, he said, to him personally) and over the issue of
passports for sale which had happened several years previously
and which was already publicly known. Maybe I'm just a bit
cynical but I'm inclined to think that if he had had
responsibility for roads or fisheries the issue would never have
arisen.

Now Mary McAleese is the target. A woman who grew up with
Protestant and unionist neighbours, who was in the upper echelons
of the administration of Queen's University, an administration
not regarded as a hotbed of revolutionary republicans except
possibly by Nigel Dodds or 'baby Paisley'. She is condemned for
having associations with one Jim Fitzpatrick of the Irish News, a
paper which has often been criticised by republicans, especially
Gerry Adams for its anti-Sinn Fein bias.

But who else is she accused of consorting with? None other than
that priest whose face was televised world-wide as he prayed over
the dead bodies of two British soldiers on the Andersonstown Road
in 1988. And the crime in this instance? That she was trying to
assist the peace process and encourage the involvement of Sinn
Fein and the community it represents.

I remember reading some time after the collapse of the Soviet
Union and the ending of the Cold War that most of the agents for
British Intelligence were redirected to Ireland. Not surprising
you may think. What did come as a bit of a shock though was that
the majority of their operatives in Ireland were not based in the
occupied Six Counties but in the south, mostly in Dublin.

Now why's that? And where are they? And what do they get up to?
Whose interests do they serve? Whose agenda do they work to?
Regardless of what majority Tony Blair may have in the House of
Commons or whatever his long term intentions in relation to
Ireland there is a very powerful element within the British
establishment who still see themselves as being very much at war
in Ireland. Maybe some in the media, to quote biblical text,
should 'become like little children'.


                 --------------------------------
                 --                            --
                 --    From RM_Distribution    --
                 --  an Irish Republican news  --
                 --  and information service.  --
                 --                            --
                 --  http://irlnet.com/rmlist/ --
                 --                            --
                 --------------------------------
                 
      
                 


RMD971024161107p4
<FONT  COLOR="#0f0f0f" BACK="#fffffe" SIZE=3>

----------------------- Headers --------------------------------
Return-Path: <irlnet@omicron.pair.com>
Received: from  mrin55.mail.aol.com (mrin55.mail.aol.com [152.163.116.93]) by air17.mail.aol.com (v35.1) with SMTP; Fri, 24 Oct 1997 16:20:31 -0400
Received: from omicron.pair.com (omicron.pair.com [209.68.1.27])
	  by mrin55.mail.aol.com (8.8.5/8.8.5/AOL-4.0.0)
	  with ESMTP id QAA22211;
	  Fri, 24 Oct 1997 16:19:58 -0400 (EDT)
Received: (from irlnet@localhost) by omicron.pair.com (8.8.7/8.6.12) id QAA02534; Fri, 24 Oct 1997 16:16:55 -0400 (EDT)
Date: Fri, 24 Oct 1997 16:16:55 -0400 (EDT)
Message-Id: <199710242016.QAA02534@omicron.pair.com>
X-Envelope-To: sirjohniv@aol.com
To: Multiple recipients of RM_Distribution - Sent by <rmlist-reply@irlnet.com>
From: RM_Distribution <rmlist-reply@irlnet.com>
Subject: RMD971024 Irish news for Friday 24 October

</PRE></HTML>
