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Real IRA Ceasefire

There is widespread relief at the overnight declaration of a ceasefire by the Real IRA, just over three weeks after the group claimed responsibility for the Omagh bombing. At approximately 2am this morning, local time, the Real IRA issued the statement announcing a complete ceasefire from midnight. Shortly after the Omagh bombing the group had announced a temporary cessation and there was speculation that a permanent ceasefire would follow. The statement came only hours after the funeral of the latest victim of the bombing, 61 year old Sean Mc Grath, who died in hospital on Saturday. His death brings the number of fatalities to 29. Two unborn twins also died in the attack. Over 30 people remain in hospital. One young woman had a led amputated on Friday.

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Scots Guards Release

Following the release last week of the two Scots Guards convicted of the murder of Peter Mc Bride (see home page) the Centre, in co-operation with Relatives For Justice, organised a well attended vigil at the Memorial Gardens in the New Lodge area on Friday, the anniversary of Peter's death. Some 200 hundred local people joined the Mc Bride family and heard speakers from Relatives for Justice and the Pat Finucane Centre call on the British Government to dismiss the two men from the British Army and face up to its own responsibility for the deaths of hundreds of civilians. The day before a representative of the Centre accompanied Jean Mc Bride, mother of the murder victim, to the Waterfront Hall in Belfast where Jean briefly met President Clinton. A letter was later handed to the President calling for US pressure on the British Government to ensure the dismissal of the two men.

The circumstances of the release and the aftermath continue to cause anger. It emerged last week that the Fisher and Wright Release Group continued to reroute phone calls back into the Adjutants Office at Scots Guards HQ despite assurances of no official involvement in the release campaign. The Secretary of State, Mo Mowlam, who misled the family and the Centre regarding the timing of the release, further added to the distress by telling Peter Mc Bride senior that she would issue a public statement calling for the dismissal of the two men. Dr Mowlam then assured public representatives that she had indeed done just that. When the Irish News requested the alleged statement a spokesperson made clear that there had been a "misunderstanding" and the Secretary of State would neither be issuing public statements nor making private representations on the matter.

It is now vital that groups and individuals put pressure on the Minister of State for the Armed Forces calling for the dishonourable discharge of Guardsmen Fisher and Wright. Later this week the Centre will launch a joint appeal with the North Belfast News, sister newspaper of the Andersonstown News, for signatures from the North Belfast area calling for the soldier's dismissals. Failure to dismiss the two men would, in effect, mean that the State is refusing to acknowledge the ruling of a court of law. You too could email the Armed Forces Minister, Doug Henderson MP at webmaster@dgics.mod.uk Tel 0171 2182216 Fax 0171 2186542. The British Army can be directly emailed at webmaster@army.mod.uk

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Portadown Attacks Continue

The largely unreported reign of terror against Catholics in Portadown continues two months on from the decision to ban the Drumcree orange parade from the Garvaghy Road area of the town. At the week end some 500 loyalists terrorised anyone suspected of being a Catholic in the centre of the market town. Protesters carried placards saying "no Taigs (Catholics)in Portadown." An RUC man was critically injured when blast bombs were thrown by loyalist protesters supporting the Orange Order. Plastic bullets were fired during the weekend trouble. Three Catholic businesses have been firebombed in the past week and a number of homes and individuals have been attacked. In one recent incident members of the Hamill family, whose brother Robert was beaten to death in the town, (see PFC homepage) were attacked in a shopping centre. Every night loyalists besiege various streets leading into the nationalist ghetto. Tensions have been further heightened following the announcement by supporters of the Portadown orangemen of a proposed rally on September 26 in the Peoples Park which borders the nationalist Tunnel and Garvaghy Rd areas. The Presbyterian church and unionist leaders have condemned the weekend violence and called on the Orange Order to end Drumcree related protests. Cynics (such as ourselves) might argue that the condemnation has been prompted more by the attacks on the RUC and loss of business confidence in the area than the ongoing mass intimidation of Portadown Catholics which has been largely ignored. Meanwhile it is now known that the RUC overtime bill during the Drumcree crisis exceeded 14 million pounds.

See Garvaghy Rd website for details on the background to the situation in Portadown.

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Families of the Disappeared

At a press conference this week the Families of the Disappeared launched a free telephone number and appeal for information regarding the location of the graves of a number of individuals killed in the seventies. It is believed that a number of people were abducted and shot by republican groups and then buried in secret graves in the early to mid seventies. Relatives of those who disappeared have campaigned for some time for the IRA in particular to divulge details of the graves and therefore allow the relatives to find closure. In response the IRA announced the setting up of a special unit to investigate the issue. Media reports suggest that the location of some of the graves may no longer be known however. Sinn Fein has publicly called for anyone who has information to contact the party but relatives are understandably frustrated by the lack of progress since none of the secret locations have been identified to date. It is self evident that these families have a 'right to truth' in order to allow them to come to terms with their own loss. It is time for real movement on the issue of the disappeared.