Unionist MPs in the house of commons will not vote for a total ban on hand held weapons, believing proposed legislation to be an "emotional reaction to [the massacre at] Dunblane". Strange coming from the parties most insistent on IRA decommissioning? Perhaps not, there are 20,000 legally held hand guns in Northern Ireland (in a population of 1.5 million), the overwhelming majority of which are held by members of the unionist community.
According to reliable sources yesterday and today, Sinn Féin and the IRA have been holding negotiations with the British Government about the kind of wording from the republican movement which would satisfy the British Government that a "credible" IRA ceasefire is in place. The negotiations are alleged to be brokered by SDLP leader John Hume.
A loyalist mob threw eggs and abuse at RUC officers and at worshippers on their way in and out of Mass at Harryville church in Ballymena yesterday. One man was arrested for assaulting a police officer and the mob then blocked a main road. The DUP's Ian Paisley Jnr. said "those nationalists have only themselves to blame" alleging that nationalists had attacked a Presbyterian church in Dunloy in the early hours of Saturday morning. The "protests" outside Harryville Catholic church started 8 weeks ago when the RUC refused to allow an Orange Parade through Dunloy, according to Mr Paisley. Dunloy is a 99 percent nationalist village.
Republican prisoner Paul Magee was severely beaten by prison officers at Belmarsh in England for refusing an anal search, Irish Labour Deputy Joe Costelloe confirmed yesterday. Other Republican inmates also suffered injuries, he said, during a visit of 36 Republican prisoners in English gaols on the 1st anniversary of the Transfer of Sentenced Persons Legislation. The legislation, designed to allow prisoners serving in Britain to finish their sentences in Ireland, has only been used twice. Some analysts believe that the non use of this legislation and the lack of early releases for prisoners in general, contributed to the breakdown of the IRA ceasefire.
Officers of the Royal Ulster Constabulary meet out sexist and sectarian abuse to women and Catholic officers in the force according to two studies published this week. In one study, published by PhD student Graham Ellison, it has been found that many protestant members of the force harbour deep seated resentment towards their Catholic colleagues and abuse them verbally.
One taped interviewee said "There's too many of them [Catholics]... where I work, it's as if every sergeant or inspector is a (expletive deleted) Fenian, they seem to be running the show... they are taking over".
The percentage of Protestants in the force has in fact been a consistent 92 for the last number of years. The experience for Catholic officers, according to the same survey, has been one of intimidation and having to keep their heads down. The same survey again found that a number of protestant officers were ready to mutiny if the order had not been given for them to force the Loyal Orders march down the nationalist Garvaghy road during the events of last summer. These findings concur with the findings of our own " In the Line of Fire", published this summer and the CAJ's "The Misrule of Law" which came out last week.
In a separate survey over forty percent of women officers in the RUC complained of having been sexually harassed and verbally abused by their male colleagues.
In an interview yesterday, Ronnie Flanagan, the new chief constable of the RUC admitted that he had been a member of the Free Masons "a number of years ago". There are proposals in Britain for transparency, whereby police officers would have to declare any affiliation to secret organisations. The number of RUC officers belonging to Loyal Orders is unknown, but is believed to be very significant.
Republicans have denied that a convention of delegates from the various brigades of the (Provisional) Irish Republican Army has taken place this week end "some where south of the border", as has been alleged by British intelligence sources. The Convention, which if confirmed, would be the third since the formation of the IRA.
According to British intelligence sources in Northern Ireland, delegates are convening, not to call a ceasefire, but to decide on the intensity of a continued bombing campaign. This, say Republicans, is what makes the allegations implausible, since decisions like that are made by the executive body, the Army Council on a regular basis. A virtually identical allegation was made three weeks ago, that time claiming that a possible ceasefire was to be discussed at the convention. If such a convention were to be called by the IRA, then surely it would be in the interests of peace for British intelligence and a compliant press not to scupper the convention by blowing its cover?