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Harryville Church attacked by Loyalists

The Our Lady's Church in Harryville, Ballymena which has been the centre of co-ordinated Loyalist demonstrations since the autumn of last year, was damaged yesterday when rioting loyalists broke through RUC lines and stormed into the Roman Catholic church. It is believed that windows of the church were smashed before the RUC were able to remove those responsible. Rioting began after the annual parade, known as the Pride of the Maine march, took place last night (7 June). This parade is an annual event which passes the Harryville Church. As the rioting continued a number of RUC officers were injured, according to the RUC. Plastic bullets were fired by the RUC who were having petrol bombs thrown at them as well as stones and bricks. A number of people were arrested.

Our Lady's Church in Harryville has been the scene of weekly demonstrations by Loyalists who are opposed to the Catholic church and those who worship in it.

Local agreements point the way to the future

The Loyal orders are coming under increased pressure from both the new British Secretary of State, Mo Mowlam, and the newly appointed Parades Commission to enter into dialogue and agreement with local resident groups'. However there is no evidence that any of the Loyal orders are as yet prepared to heed the advice given. In a statement by the chairman of the Parades Commission, Alistair Graham stated: "It is only by dialogue and local accommodations that we will find solutions to the intractable problems of parades in Northern Ireland." He went on to say that "of course, we understand the sensitivities around refusals to talk to or meet certain people...That doesn't prevent us from working to find ways through and around the problem. Dialogue involving everyone in one way or another, is aimed at reaching and finding consensus. Consensus is not the same as consent, which again implies a veto. Consensus must be reached by all sides following a process of dialogue, negotiation, mediation, or whatever route has been found to be successful.

Last week members of the Parades commission were in Derry where they attended a private meeting on the parades crisis in Derry at which members of the Protestant community, including Bishop James Mehaffey and William Temple, a member of the Apprentice Boys' spoke. The Parades commission were also at Newtownbutler, Co Fermanagh. It is believed that they met several members of the Newtownbutler Area Residents' Association. The Residents' Association has written four times to each of the Loyal orders asking for negotiations but have received no reply. There were scuffles when Orangemen paraded through the predominantly nationalist village last July. Members of the commission also met local leaders of the Orange Order and the Royal Black Preceptory. However the Orange Order has ruled out talks with local residents and the commission itself has been strongly criticised by the DUP because one of its members is Berna McIvor, a prominent member of the SDLP in Derry.

This week Donncha Mc Niallais is expected to deliver a major speech at a private meeting in Derry's Guildhall. Donncha is the spokesperson of the Bogside Residents' Group and he is expected to outline the conditions under which the BRG would be prepared to re-enter into talks with the Apprentice Boys. The Pat Finucane Centre is hoping to post the full text of his speech this week.

Meanwhile the Portadown Orange Lodge has posted a letter to all the residents' in the Garvaghy Road explaining why the parade to and from Drumcree Church is so significant to them. What the letter, which was given a mixed reception by residents on the Garvaghy Road, did not address was why, as members of the Protestant community, they needed to parade down a Catholic area when a perfectly reasonable and acceptable alternative route was available to them. In the letter they also said that "as a matter of principle we cannot be involved in talks with convicted terrorists because of what they have inflicted on our community." The letter did not explain how in the light of this "matter of principle" convicted terrorists were members of the Orange Order or who Harold Gracey and the Portadown Lodge were able to support and share a platform with convicted UVF member Billy Wright.

Róisín McAliskey granted bail

Róisín McAliskey was granted bail on Tuesday (3 June) when she was transferred to hospital following the birth of her daughter Loinnir. They were moved from the Whittington hospital in north London to the mother and baby unit at the secure Maudsley Psychiatric hospital in Camberwell. According to a report in the Irish Times it is understood that Róisín's lawyers gave the court a number of medical reports outlining her post-natal depression which were sue to her "traumatic experiences at Holloway prison ". Róisín had also been threatened by several other prisoners and she feared for the safety of her child. Her solicitor Gareth Peirce said that her client would be staying at the hospital for the foreseeable future and that a number of sureties had been provided. "She has been granted bail to go to a specialist NHS mother and baby unit and that is all we can say."

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CAJ calls for a Bill of Rights

The Committee on the Administration of Justice (CAJ), the Belfast-based human rights organisation has called for the establishment of a permanent Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland which cannot be overturned by future governments. The CAJ argued that the Bill of Rights should include the right to life, liberty, free speech, a fair trial and freedom from discrimination. The CAJ want the Bill of Rights to make it illegal in court cases to have witnesses give evidence behind a screen. Every person would have the right not to have his her or her confession presented as evidence unless the confession was made in the presence of a legal representative and counter-signed by that representative. An accused would also have the right not to be held guilty of an offence on the basis of an uncorroborated confession. Every person charged with an offence carrying a sentence of 12 months or more had the right to elect to be tried by a judge sitting with a jury of randomly selected jurors. The bill would allow people to go to court to overturn laws, practices or decisions which appeared to violate their rights. In their statement the CAJ said "once declared invalid, people would no longer have to abide by those laws...and if the court agreed that some loss had been suffered as a result of the violation of rights, it could order compensation to be paid. The CAJ believes that such rights should not come and go depending on the wishes of particular parliaments. They were too fundamental to be made into political footballs."

Paramilitary organisations banned by British

The British Government has outlawed two new paramilitary organisations. The Loyalist Volunteer Force (LVF) is made up of former members of the Mid-Ulster Brigade of the UVF whose leader, Billy Wright, is currently serving a prison sentence for threatening to kill a person. Billy Wright was given support by prominent DUP member William McCrea and the Head of the Portadown Orange Lodge Harold Gracey.

The other paramilitary organisation is the Continuity Army Council, a splinter Republican organisation. The CAC was responsible for the bomb attack on the Killyhelin Hotel in Fermanagh which took place within days of the RUC forcing through the Orange parade down the Garvaghy Road. By banning these organisations it becomes an offence to be a member or to raise funds for the groups concerned

RUC members oppose reform

The leader of the Police Federation, Les Rodgers, has told the British Secretary of State Mo Mowlam that she should expect "zero tolerance" from the RUC over her modest plans to reform the RUC. Constable Rodgers told the Secretary of state when she visited the Federations Annual Conference that RUC members had had enough of destructive criticism and incessant talk of reform. However Mo Mowlam said that she though phrases like "zero tolerance" were not helpful in the circumstances. During her speech she said that: "I intend to bring forward legislation which will clarify the roles of the government, the police authority and the chief constable in policing, and introduce a number of measures to increase police accountability and public confidence."

Demand for prisoner release

Republican Sinn Féin have called for the release of Josephine Hayden, a 54 year old women who is a member of their party's leadership who is serving a six year sentence for possession of firearms. Ms Hayden is believed to have had a heart attack in Limerick prison where she is being held. According to the party's PRO Ruarí Og Ó'Brádaigh, Josephine is "the only woman political prisoner in the state and that "the conditions there are detrimental to her health in our view."