<HTML><PRE>Subj:	 RMD980218 Irish news for Wednesday 18 February
Date:	98-02-18 08:57:39 EST
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To:	rmlist-reply@irlnet.com (Multiple recipients of RM_Distribution - Sent by)

     IRISH NEWS ROUND-UP
     http://irlnet.com/rmlist
     
     Wednesday, 18 February, 1998


1.   Last minute court bid to keep talks place
2.   Expulsion would undermine peace process - Adams 
3.   RUC destroy nationalist homes
4.   British Army steal council documents
5.   Analysis: Sshh, you'll wake the children
6.   URGENT ACTION ALERT

_____________________________________________________________


>>>> Last minute court bid to keep talks place
     
     
     Sinn Fein has today sought recourse to the Irish High
     Court to defend its right to take part in peace talks
     following a British government-led expulsion bid.
     
     Britain's governor in Ireland Mo Mowlam is insisting on
     the party's removal from talks after advice from her
     police chief blaming the IRA for the shooting a
     loyalist paramilitary and a drug-dealer in Belfast last
     week.  Nationalists have attacked Britain and the
     Ulster Unionist Party for manipulating the deaths of
     the two men to try to have Sinn Fein, an independent
     political party, removed from talks.
     
     There is broad agreement that the implications of Sinn
     Fein's expulsion for the talks process would be grave.
     Before the current difficulties, nationalist
     credibility in the process had already ebbed
     considerably. Following a wave of indiscriminate
     murders of Catholics last month, unionists appeared to
     have made gains toward an agreement in which proposed
     cross-border links would be emasculated in favour of a
     "British Isles" solution.
     
     Now a fundamental ingredient in the peace process, a
     recognition of Sinn Fein's political mandate, is under
     threat.
     
     While unionists are still refusing to directly engage
     with Republicans, Sinn Fein is refusing to allow itself
     be selectively excluded on the whim of either
     government.  Speaking as he arrived at Dublin Castle
     before the last day of the talks in Dublin, party
     President Gerry Adams was defiant.
     
     Sinn Fein was facing "totally unjust accusations
     against us and our integrity and our efforts to bring
     about peace," he said. "Anyone who expected us to lie
     down and roll over and say 'Sin e' [That's that] will
     see that we are back here today with the same
     commitment we had years ago when we started to build
     the peace process."
     
     Party Chairman Mitchel McLaughlin said a ruling to
     suspend Sinn Fin would have fundamental implications
     for the peace process, not just now but in the long
     term. People and parties could be "bounced in and out
     [of the political process] like yo-yos", he suggested.
     
     Sinn Fein said it was taking legal action with
     reluctance after its political options for fighting the
     British 'indictment' narrowed. The High Court action
     will try to pre-empt the party's expulsion on the
     grounds of unfair procedures. The two governments have
     also been notified that Sinn Fin will challenge on
     constitutional grounds of natural justice any decision
     by the governments that the party be expelled.
     
     A similar action may have to be taken by the party in
     Belfast next Monday, when the talks resume at Stormont
     Castle under British jurisdiction. The Irish government
     has already appointed two prominent senior counsel to
     defend the British expulsion effort in Dublin.
     
     At the Four Courts across the Liffey from Dublin
     Castle, John McMenamin, acting for Sinn Fein, sought an
     injunction against the party's expulsion and the right
     to attend a judicial review of proceedings at the
     talks. McMenamin argued that that the party had not
     dishonoured the Mitchell Principles of non-violence
     which regulate the talks; that it had no opportunity to
     challenge testimony by British officials, including RUC
     Chief Constable Ronnie Flanagan; and that there was no
     opportunity to examine evidence against the party.
     Urgent action was required to prevent the party's
     position at the talks being irreperably damaged, it was
     argued, as the expulsion order was expected within a
     matter of hours.
     
     Today's action was taken in the name of Gerry Adams and
     the rest of the Sinn Fein negotiating team.  A
     considerable number of Sinn Fein's leadership attended
     the court hearing today, piling into the courtroom
     after walking down the Liffey quays from Dublin Castle
     and from the party's head office in nearby Parnell
     Square.
     
     Court proceedings were adjourned by the President of
     the High Court, Justice Morris until after lunch to
     allow representatives of Mo Mowlam and the talks
     Chairmen to attend.  Talks at Dublin Castle which began
     at 9:30 with continuing submissions on Sinn Fein's
     participation were winding down at the same time
     as the focus of events moved across the river.
     
     Last night Mo Mowlam suggested that the British
     government would argue that the talks were "not a court
     of law, but a political negotiation". The political,
     rather than legal, context of the current developments
     surrounding Sinn Fein is expected to form the basis of
     the Irish government case.
     
     In a press conference, Sinn Fein Chairman Mitchel
     McLaughlin accused Britain of acting as "judge, jury
     and executioner" in putting it in the dock at the talks
     over the murders.
     
     "If we are ejected in these circumstances, I think
     opinion within our electorate will be against us coming
     back to a process that is seen to be fraudulent," he
     said.
     
     Mr McLaughlin said that when Sinn Fein had become aware
     that the British government was going to use an
     indictment against them to get them out of the talks
     they had made a written request for a copy of the
     document and it had been refused.
     
     "The indictment was bounced on us yesterday. 
     
     "It is vague. It is in our view entirely inadequate in
     terms of us being able to challenge it in a way which
     protects to the fullest extent the rights of our
     electorate and the integrity of the peace process.
     
     "We asked for more information from the British
     government. This was refused to us.
     
     Mr McLaughlin said he wanted all participants at the
     talks treated in an equal fashion. He said: "We have
     serious concerns that we have attempted up to this
     point to deal with that through the rules and
     procedures. We are now forced to seek legal
     intervention."
     
     He pointed out that there was no legal basis to connect
     even the IRA to the two shootings last week.
     
     "The absolutely crucial issue is that the Director of
     Public Prosecutions did not share (RUC Chief Constable)
     Ronnie Flanagan's confidence that the men who have been
     charged in Belfast were members of the IRA and did not
     prefer IRA membership charges when he had the
     opportunity to do so."
     
     Sinn Fein plans to hold a series of street protests
     throughout Ireland as part of the party's opposition to
     expulsion from the talks. An angry crowd gathered
     outside a Derry City Council sub-committee meeting at
     the Guildhall in Derry last night.
     
     "The reason for this protest is that we don't accept
     the British government's right to exclude us from the
     talks," said Sinn Fein councillor Gearoid O hEara
     
     "They don't have any evidence and we intend to
     challenge their bid to have us put out of the talks.
     This is the beginning of a campaign of street protests
     against that.
     
     "There is a lot of anger on the ground in the
     nationalist community. We have another protest planned
     for tomorrow in the centre of the city and we are going
     to mobilise nationalists to show their anger against
     what is a negative and an unfair move."
     
     
_____________________________________________________________
    
     
>>>> Expulsion would undermine peace process - Adams 
     
     
     A Sinn Fein submission tabled to the peace talks
     yesterday defended the party's participation and
     stressed that there were no grounds for expelling the
     party.
     
     In an 11-page response to the Britain's governor in
     Ireland Mo Mowlam's "speaking note" on Monday, Mr Adams
     said the 'indictment' against his party could only
     undermine the potential of the peace process.
     
     He said: "The IRA statement of last week refers to
     their cessation which has been in place since July 20
     last and which remains intact.
     
     "I accept and welcome that. The IRA have not, in my
     firmest belief, breached their cessation."
     
     "Sinn Fein completely disavows all killings," he said,
     and his party had called for and are opposed all such
     killings.
     
     He categorically stated that Sinn Fein had no
     involvement in either of last week's two killings in
     Belfast and reaffirmed his party's commitment to the
     peace process.
     
     Mr Adams also pointed out that although the loyalist
     UFF had admitted killing three Catholics before their
     spokesmen were ejected from the talks, the murders of
     six more nationalists had not been apportioned to any
     group.
     
     He asked: "What organisations are responsible for them?
     Has the British government sought an assessment from
     the RUC on these matters?"
     
     He said such RUC assessments appeared only to be
     forthcoming in the case of alleged republican attacks.
     Mr Adams said the British government took no action
     against the loyalist parties last year despite Chief
     Constable Ronnie Flanagan's statement that all of the
     loyalists groups had broken their ceasefire.
     
     The Sinn Fein paper also pointed out that six people
     had been killed by loyalist paramilitaries between July
     1996 and October 1997 as well as three killingsby means
     other than bomb and bullet".
     
     He said: "A policy of double standards by the British
     government is clearly in operation."
     
     Mr Adams said there was no suggestion that Sinn Fein
     was involved in last week's killings.
     
     "Such a suggestion would be preposterous. Sinn Fein
     clearly have not breached the rules and procedures
     underpinning the talks process, nor is there any
     allegation that we have.
     
     "Any attempt to exclude Sinn Fein on such a basis would
     be a deliberate act of discrimination against our
     electorate which can only erode confidence in the
     process and the credibility of the process."
     
     The Sinn Fein president reiterated his statement that
     his party represented no armed group.
     
     He said: "We represent solely those who voted for Sinn
     Fein in successive elections.
     
     "That is 127,000 voters in the north and 172,500
     nationally. The issue here today is equality of
     treatment for all sections of the electorate.
     
     "We have neither broken nor dishonoured the Mitchell
     principles."
     
     Mr Adams said it was "bizarre" that anyone could
     suggest the RUC was objective, independent or credible
     in the situation, referring to the chief constable's
     belief that the IRA was responsible for last week's
     killings.
     
     The Sinn Fein president said he had no doubt that "a
     dominant influence" on the British government's
     position over his party's participation in the talks
     was an implicit threat from the Ulster Unionists to
     withdraw if his party was not suspended.
     
     
_____________________________________________________________
     
     
>>>> RUC destroy nationalist homes
     
     
     Residents of Lenadoon in west Belfast have protested
     the saturation of the area by the RUC and British Army
     last week.
     
     Four homes were raided on Wednesday 11 February when,
     at about 2.30pm, upwards of 15 RUC and British army
     jeeps and landrovers descended on Lenadoon Avenue. They
     stayed for over 5 hours raided three homes in a small
     two storey block of flats. Stephen, a young man living
     on the second floor, returning home at midnight found
     nothing left of his front door. The man who was visibly
     shaken and disturbed, had initially thought that
     'hoods' had vandalised his flat [apartment] and only
     later discovered a form detailing the RUC action - on
     the form they said there was no damage to the flat ....
     well, beyond the smashed front door and carpets!
     
     Two neighbours on the ground floor were also raided.
     Thomas Maguire spoke of how seven RUC men charged his
     front door and smashed it open, despite the fact that
     he was in. Mr Maguire and his family were placed under
     house arrest by the RUC while a mirror and pictures
     were damaged as the RUC men became increasingly
     abusive. It was the same story next door.
     
     Further up the street a fourth raid was taking place.
     In the most vicious attack of the day, seven RUC men
     charged up the driveway of a house with sledge hammers.
     'Marie' was at home with her 17 year old son and one
     year old daughter. As the RUC charged the house a
     concerned  neighbour followed them, but as he reached
     the front door they turned on him. Two RUC men grabbed
     the neighbour by throat and dragged him to ground in
     the garden. 'Marie' was then smacked in the face as she
     tried to go to his aid. The RUC then turned on her son,
     Michael, as he moved to put himself between the RUC and
     his mother. But before he could act he was battered
     against the inside wall, despite holding  his one year
     sister in his arms. The baby received bruising to the
     back of her head, Michael received a black eye.
     
     At this point neighbours and friends came onto the
     streets  outside to protest, blowing whistles and
     banging binlids, forcing the RUC to withdraw.
     
     However, this didn't stop their pettiness, and before
     they pulled out they smashed eggs into the hotpress in
     Marie's house.
     
     
_____________________________________________________________

     
>>>> British Army steal council documents
     
     
     Sinn Fein Councillor Noel Sheridan has accused the
     British army of stealing confidential city council
     documents.
     
     The Armagh councillor, along with his three sons aged
     17, 14 and 11, was stopped at a British army checkpoint
     on the Battlefield Road on Saturday night 
     and held for about 30 minutes.
     
     During a search a British soldier took a sheaf of
     documents, relating to council business, from
     Sheridan's car, took it to the back of a landrover and
     in the company of other soldiers rifled through the
     papers.
     
     The soldier then removed three documents one listing
     the council's meetings which contain information about
     the times and meetings which Sinn Fein councillors
     attend.
     
     A second document listed building applications giving
     the addresses of those who applied and thirdly general
     information about government bodies.
     
     "These documents were private and confidential", said
     Sheridan, "the British army had no right to take them
     and now I fear the crown forces have information about
     the timetable and movements of Armagh's Sinn Fein
     councillors". 
     

_____________________________________________________________
     
     
>>>> Analysis: Sshh, you'll wake the children
     
     
     
     by Meadbh Gallagher
     
     
     
     This week there was shock horror at revelations of how
     today's teens are doing lines and drawing lines.
     
     Not long ago there used to be a straight line leading
     from bicycle shed to disco floor to back seat of car to
     back end of nowhere. After a detour to the doctor it
     led straight up the church aisle and on to a reception
     in the local supermarket in the aisle marked baby
     foods/nappies.
     
     And there'd be leaden eyelids lowered if you chose to
     do otherwise.
     
     With today's teens, for a start, marriage is out of the
     question. According to a poll commissioned by a tabloid
     newspaper, only 4 in every 100 girls would consider
     marrying the father of the child if they became
     pregnant and gave birth.
     
     Over 60% of girls aged 13 to 17 years would choose to
     raise the child as a single mother  following the
     pattern set by their older sisters or mothers and
     making Ireland the European country where more women
     are single parents.
     
     Eighteen per cent of the girls said they'd opt for
     adoption. Fourteen per cent, or one in seven, would opt
     for an abortion. In some parts of Munster, where only
     8% of their parents would advise them to have an
     abortion, one in five girls, or 21%, would choose to
     have one. In Connacht and those parts of Ulster falling
     within the 26 Counties, zero per cent of parents said
     they'd advise an abortion, while 18% of their daughters
     said they'd go for one.
     
     Though 80% of teens in the city and 70% in the country
     areas had sex education at school, the majority felt it
     wasn't very informative. And ignorance about
     homosexuality was highest: 66% agreed they knew little,
     very little or hardly anything at all about what it
     means to be gay or lesbian. Hardly a recipe for an end
     to homophobia, never mind an end to teen confusion
     about sexuality.
     
     And the poll shows that some things haven't changed.
     Only a quarter of parents claimed to have talked to
     their children about contraception, while even fewer
     children could recall this ever happening. Girls knew
     more than boys about sex, conception, contraception,
     and avoiding HIV and STDs, and the majority in both
     sexes knew not a great deal anyway.
     
     The not-talking-about-it principle is shared not just
     by parents and schoolteachers, though; it's a political
     principle as well. For example, this poll comes as it's
     being reported that the government will not make public
     the recommendations of an expert group appointed by the
     last government to look into the background to Irish
     abortions.
     
     And what about all those teenage mums? Why is it, as
     the statistics show, that the percentage of teenage
     births is increasing annually. According to the Eastern
     Health Board, in 1995 22% of births in Ireland were
     non-marital, and 22% of those births were by women and
     girls under 20 years old.
     
     And teenagers who give birth don't fit the old
     stereotypes that the nuns used to warn you about. A
     questionnaire study of teenage mums attending antenatal
     clinics last year showed 80.8% had had just one partner
     to date and 87.5% were involving in a continuing
     relationship with the father.
     
     The percentage of teenage mums is highest in the
     Tallaght and Crumlin areas (8.4% of all births),
     followed by Dublin North Central (6.7%), Clondalkin,
     Ballyfermot and Inchicore (6.4%) and Finglas and
     Phibsboro (6.1%).
     
     So the percentage of teenage births in the Eastern
     Health Board areas in 1996 was highest where
     socio-economic deprivation is entrenched, where
     unemployment is highest, where kids leave school
     earlier and where their future prospects are judged to
     be lowest.
     
     You might think it's an awful thing that to get a bit
     of status a girl thinks she has to become a mum, but it
     looks like that's what's happening. And it's been going
     on for longer than the recent media interest would
     suggest.
     

_____________________________________________________________

     NOTICES
     
_____________________________________________________________

     
>>>> URGENT ACTION ALERT
     
     
     Activists are being urged to call Irish
     Consulates and Embassies immediately to express
     their support for Sinn Fein's continued participation
     in the peace negotiations.
     
     Activists should insist that the Irish government
     avoid jumping on the British bandwagon at all costs.
     The Irish government must support the continued
     participation of Sinn Fein in the negoatiations
     regardless of unfounded British accusations.
     
     Phone calls should be made today.  
     
     The phone numbers for the US consulates and embassy
     follow:
     
     Irish Embassy, Washington, DC
     (202) 462-3939
     
     Irish Consulates
     
     New York
     (212) 319-2555
     
     Boston	
     (617) 267-9330
     
     Chicago
     (312) 337-1868
     
     San Francisco
     (415) 392-4214



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Subject: RMD980218 Irish news for Wednesday 18 February

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