-
ABOUT COMMUNITY
RELATIONS COUNCIL -
OUR
SERVICES
Current Issues
COMMUNITY RELATIONS: CURRENT ISSUES (JANUARY – FEBRUARY 2004)
Paramilitaries
Paramilitary activity continued. In January – February a teenager was shot in the ankles in West Belfast (Andersontown). In the Twinbrook estate a 42 year-old man who raises funds for Real IRA prisoners was shot. The victim blamed the Provisional IRA for the attack. In the Ballymurphy area of North Belfast a teenager was beaten by a gang of four men. Four men later arrested by police investigating Provisional IRA paramilitary attacks in the area where released without charge. On the 1st February a Catholic man was attacked on the Shore Road by a gang with knives. The man blamed the UDA. Meanwhile Loyalist were blamed for shooting a 35 year-old man who was found lying beside the M2 motorway on the outskirts of Belfast. In East Belfast, a 25 year-old man was shot in the legs. Outside Belfast, a six year old girl was forced to watch her father being shot in the leg in the Abbots Hill area of Newtownards. Loyalist where blamed for shooting a 26 year-old man in the arm and shoulder in Bushmills, Co Antrim. A man in his 20's was shot in both hands and legs in Strabane and a young man was slashed with a knife by a gang in Newtownabbey. The PSNI suggested a sectarian motive for this attack.
Following two incidents at a GAA club and a West Belfast home Chief Superintendent Brendan McGuigan warned that Loyalists were using improvised distress flares as booby-traps devices. Mr McGuigan refused to be drawn on which loyalist group was responsible and said that he preferred to appeal to the 'wider loyalist community' to stop the attacks. At the same time the Irish Republican Socialist Party (IRSP) claimed that known loyalists had been scouting areas of North Belfast including the Catholic Ardoyne and Oldpark districts. Outside Belfast, a loyalist group in the Ballymena area calling itself 'Ulster Resistance' issued threats against suspected drug dealers. The statement came days after the discovery of an elaborate bomb hoax at the home of a man living in the town who recently appeared in court on drugs related charges.
According to Sinn Féin, dissident republicans issued a threat to a party activist in Co Armagh. Councillor Cathy Rafferty said that a mass card with a bullet enclosed was sent to the party member last week containing the words RIP and was signed 'Continuity IRA, Armagh.' During the same period the INLA in North Belfast was accused of pressuring and terrorising teenagers in the area when it was revealed that 13 young people had committed suicide in this part of the city since the beginning of the year. Police also suggested that a home-made shotgun, 300 bullets and components parts a blast bomb discovered in Ardoyne may be linked to the republican group.
The Ulster Political Research Group (UPRG) which speaks on behalf of the UDA, met the Taoiseach Bertie Ahern. The main issue discussed was the dispute between prisoners and authorities at Maghaberry jail. Spokesman Frankie Gallagher said that the UPRG would use the opportunity to 'get people to listen to the common sense view that still exist within loyalism.' His colleague Frank McCoubrey said 'As the political representatives of the largest paramilitary organisation in the Province, we are part of the community… we are part of the problem and we are going to have to be part of the solution to that problem.' Meanwhile in the face of the ongoing tensions at Maghaberry the NIO minister responsible for security and prisons confirmed a rise in the number of prisoners placed on suicide watch in the jail. By the middle of February the government had agreed to separate republican and loyalist prisoners in the jail.
Parades
Community workers in the area of North Belfast and East Belfast claimed that nationalists were attempting to stoke up tensions in the interfaces three weeks before the start of the marching season.
Portadown Orangemen travelled to South Africa with the Parades Commission as part of a trust building exercise. The Garvaghy Road Residents Coalition refused the invitation.
Victims and Survivors
The position of relatives whose family members where killed while serving in the Ulster Defence Regiment was highlighted by the DUP. Iris Robinson MP, announced plans to submit an early day motion on this issue in Westminster, demanding parity with the families of RUC officers.
Minority Ethnic Groups
The Northern Ireland Council for Ethnic Minorities (NICEM) claimed that government funding for the sector to the tune of £400,000 was to be cut. However, the NIO released a statement denying that this was the case. In reply NICEM pointed out that government had only committed itself to one more year of funding. But a spokeswoman for the Office of the First and Deputy First Minister remained adamant that there had been no decision to discontinue funding and pointed to the fact that a recent advertisement had requested applications for core and project funding from minority ethnic organisations.
In response to the recent spate of racist attacks a rally was held outside Belfast City Hall organised by the Anti Racism Network. Similarly, the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) held a conference event in which the problem of confronting racist attitudes toward international-recruited nursing staff working in Northern Ireland was a principal focus. John Spellar MP, Minster with responsibility for community relations issues, commented on the main themes from the report on the 'Shared Future' consultation and took the opportunity to condemn the intolerance of sectarianism and racism. This point was reiterated by representatives of five the main political parties.
Belfast played host to the UK holocaust memorial Commemoration. The event was used to condemn racism by a number of public figures. UUP assembly member Esmond Bernie urged people to recall the spirit of the Jewish-German former Lord Mayor of Belfast, who held office over a century ago. 'The example of the Lord Mayor reminds us of unionism at its inclusive best. This can be contrasted to those elements in modern loyalism who, especially in recent months, have sunk to the level of racism.'
Mourners at Roselawn Crematorium complained after a wreath from the far right-wing National Front was put on display alongside one spelling out the UDA's name as a tribute to a leading east Belfast loyalist. Meanwhile the PSNI indicated that they were investigating a racial motive after damage was caused to the Armagh home of a Chinese family.
Police admitted that the clearance rate on racist attacks in Northern Ireland was 'disappointing and unacceptable'. Out of a recorded 189 offences committed with a racial motive between April 2002 and March 2003, there has been no further police action in 170 cases following initial investigation.
Education
The NIO minister for Education Jane Kennedy announced that a maintenance allowance of up to £30 per week will be available for sixteen year-olds from September 2004 to encourage young people to stay on at school or college. The allowance is intended to incentivise those from lower income families to continue in education post 16.
It was announced that 6 integrated schools would open from September 2004, bringing the total number in Northern Ireland to 56, with a total enrolment of 17,000 (around five percent of pupils). Four of the schools will be new: Armagh Integrated College, Ballynahinch IPS, Phoenix IPS in Cookstown, and Roe Valley IPS in Limavady. In addition, two existing controlled primary schools – Groomsport PS, and Glencraig PS near Holywood – will be transformed to integrated status. The Minister also refused an integrated school in Ballycastle on the grounds that 200 surplus places already existed in the three established primary schools in the area.
Equality and Human Rights
Controversy flared in Ballymena over the flying of flags at meetings of the District Policing Partnership (DPP). Union flags were erected at meetings by loyalists attending the meeting. No action was taken by the members of the (DPP), but advice was sought from the Equality Commission on how best to proceed. Following the discussion of that advice in a closed session the DPP Manager, Peter Greenshields said that the Northern Ireland Policing Board was seeking advice on how DPPs will respond.
The North Eastern Education and Library Board faced difficult decisions on its policy regarding the flying of flags on school buildings. In the absence of any central government direction on this contentious issue, NEELB conducted a consultation exercise asking the 185 controlled schools in the area to make a submission. Only 60 of the schools replied, 53 per cent of which supported the current policy to allow the flying of flags on any day the schools are open.
The Irish Bishops Conference (IBC) called on the Irish government to use its forthcoming presidency of the EU to help asylum seekers. In particular the IBC wants government to protect the interests of those seeking refuge from countries with civil unrest, but who may not necessarily qualify for refugee status. During the same period it was also reported that there is a serious problem in Northern Ireland due to a loophole in citizenship legislation. It would appear that many non-nationals from developing countries are giving birth in Belfast. The reports suggest that this is a deliberate act whereby pregnant women are having their labour induced for the purpose of gaining Irish citizenship for their newly born children. Under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement any child born in Northern Ireland is entitled to Irish citizenship. They are not automatically entitled to British citizenship.
Crime and Policing
In the period January – February 2004 the West Belfast Housing Community Network, which includes community workers from the Falls, Lenadoon and the Upper Springfield, submitted a request to the Northern Ireland Housing Executive for a fact finding mission. The purpose of the proposed trip to Manchester is to assess the possible impact of introducing Anti-Social Behaviour Orders (Asbos) in Northern Ireland. The proposed legislation is currently out for consultation with a deadline of April for reply.
The Assets Recovery Agency (ARA) confirmed that it had ordered individuals, believed to have links with loyalist paramilitaries in south-east Antrim to pay a tax bill exceeding £145, 000.
The Northern Ireland Office admitted losing 17 official security passes since allegations of IRA spying at Stormont lead to the collapse of the devolved Assembly in 2003.
The Policing Board announced that the new PSNI college would be built on a 210 acre site at Desertcreat close to Cookstown, Co Tyrone. Meanwhile the home of the Boards Vice-chairman Denis Bradley was attacked by petrol bombers.
Lord Laird announced his intention to bring a legal challenge against the UK government policy of 50:50 recruitment to the PSNI. Lawyers in London, preparing the action for the Ulster Unionist peer, accepted that the government agreed an opt out from European law on fair employment and discrimination on the issue. But they believe the Council of Ministers was wrong to sanction the opt out, and wrong not to consult the European Parliament before approving the decision. At the same time the NIO Security Minister Jane Kennedy announced that the government would extend the recruitment scheme by a further 3 years. Lord Laird indicated that recruitment policy to the PSNI was not in keeping with recruitment to the Garda, where a spokesman suggested that only 14 officers are Protestant in a force of 12,000. The source indicated that they could not confirm if the Garda kept official records of its religious or ethnic make-up.
Meanwhile a survey of PSNI officers revealed that only 1 in 10 believed that the Police Ombudsman Nuala O'Loan acts with impartiality.
Public Policy
The future of the 360 acre site of the Maze prison continued to be discussed throughout this period, with the process of public consultation drawing to a close at the end of February. Former republican prisoners group Coiste na nLarchimi proposed an interactive museum and 30 acre peace park. Other proposals included a centre for conflict resolution and administrative buildings for north/south and east/west bodies set up under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement.
Plans for a non-segregated cemetery in Enniskillen faced criticism. Strongest opposition to the plans were voiced by republicans. But local UUP councillor Raymond Ferguson pointed to the mixed feeling among some Protestants about the 'Blessing of the Graves', while DUP councillor Joe Dodds said that he had received a number of calls from concerned constituents. As the debate started to gain momentum public pressure, notably from a group calling itself Breandrum Relatives Committee, forced Fermanagh District Council to defer the debate. The decision was eventually deferred by local councillors. A similar problem arising in Newtownabbey in 2003 led to inter-communal tensions and an increase in sectarian attacks.
The Human Rights Commission Announced that proposals for a Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland should be with the government by the end of the 2004.
