Sinn Féin Policing Board member Alex Maskey MLA has welcomed the fact that the uses of Section 44 stop & search powers has now effectively ended.
Speaking this evening Mr Maskey said;
“Existing legislation must be used to the highest standard of human rights compliance and in a way that instils confidence within the community and doesn’t alienate them from policing.”
Mr Maskey continued;
“Obviously the PSNI have to work to ensure the safety of everyone within the community and to challenge any threat, regardless of the where it comes from. In saying that, they must do so in a way that is transparent and gains the confidence of citizens.
The high proportion of the use of Section 44 powers caused clear concern amongst a wider range of sectors.
I welcome the fact that this power has now been effectively brought to an end and that we can work to ensure the PSNI carries out their responsibilities in an open and transparent way.”
Thursday, 8 July 2010
Friday, 2 July 2010
Dodds hypocrisy over expenses claims
Sinn Féin have accused Nigel Dodds of ‘staggering hypocrisy’ after he placed a motion before Westminster calling on constituency services to be denied to those citizens who elect Sinn Féin MPs.
Speaking today North Belfast MLA and Assembly Minister Gerry Kelly said:
“The hypocrisy of Nigel Dodds bringing a motion on Sinn Féin constituency expenses in Westminster is staggering. This is the head of the Dodds family political dynasty who routinely cash in expenses and wages cheques from the public purse from the Assembly, from Westminster, from Brussels and until recently Belfast City Council.
“He is the deputy leader of a party that has been embroiled in scandal over its relationship with property developers and whose members routinely employ and rent offices from relatives all from the public purse.
“Only last week the DUP rejected a new expenses regime in Stormont which would have seen a reduction in MLA expenses.
“For the record the five Sinn Féin MPs do not receive Westminster salaries or personal expenses. They do receive an allowance to operate our constituency offices in order to provide much needed services for our electorate.
“I think it would be better for Mr Dodds to get his own and his party’s house in order when it comes to expenses, employing relatives and relationships with property developers before he wastes parliamentary time seeking to deny ordinary citizens their rights to constituency services.”
Speaking today North Belfast MLA and Assembly Minister Gerry Kelly said:
“The hypocrisy of Nigel Dodds bringing a motion on Sinn Féin constituency expenses in Westminster is staggering. This is the head of the Dodds family political dynasty who routinely cash in expenses and wages cheques from the public purse from the Assembly, from Westminster, from Brussels and until recently Belfast City Council.
“He is the deputy leader of a party that has been embroiled in scandal over its relationship with property developers and whose members routinely employ and rent offices from relatives all from the public purse.
“Only last week the DUP rejected a new expenses regime in Stormont which would have seen a reduction in MLA expenses.
“For the record the five Sinn Féin MPs do not receive Westminster salaries or personal expenses. They do receive an allowance to operate our constituency offices in order to provide much needed services for our electorate.
“I think it would be better for Mr Dodds to get his own and his party’s house in order when it comes to expenses, employing relatives and relationships with property developers before he wastes parliamentary time seeking to deny ordinary citizens their rights to constituency services.”
Reform of benefit system ill hit society's most vulnerable - Ní Chuilín
A piece of legislation that wants to reform the benefit system has been severely criticised by a North Belfast assembly member.
Sinn Féin chief whip Carál Ní Chuilín said the 2010 Welfare Reform Bill, which is expected to become law later this year will hit society's most vulnerable.
Lone parents, the unemployed and those in receipt of benefits will be hardest hit by the reforms the MLA said.
"We tabled a number of constructive amendments in an aim to improve the legislation but these were completely opposed by all the other assembly parties.
"The SDLP Minister Alex Attwood may be content with regulating sanctions, Sinn Féin are not.
“The other parties, and the SDLP in particular, have very serious questions to answer about why they are bringing forward legislation that will attack the weakest within our society and nowhere is this more stark than in areas of high deprivation such as North Belfast.”
Gingerbread, a lead agency that works with lone parents, said the Welfare Reform Bill 2010 will have significant negative implications for one-parent families.
"The Bill introduces a ‘work for your benefit’ philosophy and focuses on the use of sanctions to achieve this," Marie Cavanagh Gingerbread director said.
"It also proposes increasing the pressure on lone parents to seek employment.
“The Bill will require lone parents whose youngest child is less than seven years of age to actively seek work as a condition of benefit entitlement.
"Most lone parents want to work outside the home but there are not sufficient jobs being created and even where there are jobs, there isn't sufficient child care to facilitate that.
“Gingerbread believes that's where the government should focus their energies if they want to improve the employment opportunities for lone parents."
Thursday, 1 July 2010
Bone Commemoration
The annual Bone Commemortaion took place at the weekend when a new mural was unveiled
de Brún: EU must end funding of Israeli military research
Sinn Féin MEP Bairbre de Brún today called on European Commissioner, Maire Geoghagan-Quinn, to "not provide research funding for Israeli companies which engage in research on technologies which have military applications."
"The European Commission ends up helping the Israeli war machine when it funds research activities that can have military applications by companies which develop military technology. This needs to stop,” said de Brún.
"I have submitted a question to the European Commission asking how much funding has gone to companies which are likely to use the results of their EU funded research for military purposes; the measures the Commission has taken to ensure that EU funding can not be used for the development of technologies which can have a military application; and asking the Commission to prevent further such funding while Israel fails to comply with international human rights standards.”
"The European Commission ends up helping the Israeli war machine when it funds research activities that can have military applications by companies which develop military technology. This needs to stop,” said de Brún.
"I have submitted a question to the European Commission asking how much funding has gone to companies which are likely to use the results of their EU funded research for military purposes; the measures the Commission has taken to ensure that EU funding can not be used for the development of technologies which can have a military application; and asking the Commission to prevent further such funding while Israel fails to comply with international human rights standards.”
Sammy talking sense says Kelly
Speaking after Sammy Wilson announced rates to be paid for vacant properties North Belfast MLA Gerry Kelly said:
"It's completely immoral that so many properties are left vacant by speculators whilst homelessness reaches crisis levels.
“Nowhere is this more stark than in North Belfast. I very much welcome the finance Ministers plan to impose full rates on these empty dwellings as it will pressure owners to bring them into use.
"Communities are often plagued by anti-social activity which this dereliction attracts. Sinn Féin spends vasts amounts of time trying to hold these speculators to account for their properties when neighbours lives are ruined by everything from drinkers to fires.
"Whilst we have some concerns about a range of exemptions to this proposal, it is good news for our communities in the battle to regenerate and build community pride in our areas.
“Leaving land vacant whilst awaiting the next property boom now comes at a cost that many speculators won't be willing to face."
New Lodge Six and Ardoyne families need their truth too
By Gerry Kelly
The strength and perseverance shown over the last 38 years by the families of those murdered and wounded on 'Bloody Sunday' in their pursuit of the truth is truly humbling. The fact that the same search for truth is replicated by families across Ireland is a stark demonstration that the actions of the Paras in Derry weren't the actions of a few rogue soldiers out of control. Rather, any objective analysis can only come to the conclusion that the British State at the very highest level directed a policy of state murder, collusion and cover-up.
In North Belfast between February and May 1973 our community witnessed the organized murders by British soldiers of what is known as The New Lodge Six massacre and the further five murders by the Paras in Ardoyne which were detailed in this paper last week. All of these victims were just like the victims of 'Bloody Sunday' "Completely innocent and posing no threat." The British state attempted to cover-up these killings and sully the victims’ names.
Through their allies in the media the British state in a barrage of disinformation claimed that some of the New Lodge victims had been involved in an attempted suicide bombing when shot by soldiers using night sights in Ireland for the first time.
Through the cover-up of the murder of the 11 victims of the Ballymurphy Massacre in 1971, the 14 victims of Bloody Sunday in 1972 and those 11 victims in the New Lodge and Ardoyne in 1973 the actions of the British state demonstrated a pattern which left nearly 370 victims murdered and with no prospect of justice nor truth. The Widgery report into Bloody Sunday has now been consigned to the dustbin of history and exposed as part of the cover up which enabled the British state to continue their policy of murdering citizens and collusion with loyalists for the following three decades with complete impunity.
The issue of truth and truth recovery is too big and too complex to confine to party politics. This is an all-Ireland issue which Irish society as a whole needs to be engaged in.
Sinn Féin is the only party that has put forward detailed proposals on this issue. We believe - and experiences here and in other countries demonstrate - that an independent and international truth commission is required.
So far the British state has run away from such a process. Indeed we raised it with them again only last week.
That is why you get demands from families for inquiries. Republicans are up for such a process, we have stated this time and again and have pledged to play our full part.
The British State has consistently avoided going down this road. They have consistently denied being a party to the conflict. They have operated a policy of cover-up for decades.
The reaction from the unionist parties to Eames/Bradley was disgraceful, they wouldn’t even discuss it. They rejected it out of hand without even reading it.
The families of the New Lodge Six joined with the community to hold an inquiry nearly ten years ago.
The findings were every bit as conclusive as the Saville report yet nothing has been done to bring justice for the victims. Willie Loughran, whose brother John was one of the victims, spoke movingly at the launch of the community enquiry report. He said that the families always knew the truth that their loved ones were innocent. Now it's time to give that truth full recognition.
The strength and perseverance shown over the last 38 years by the families of those murdered and wounded on 'Bloody Sunday' in their pursuit of the truth is truly humbling. The fact that the same search for truth is replicated by families across Ireland is a stark demonstration that the actions of the Paras in Derry weren't the actions of a few rogue soldiers out of control. Rather, any objective analysis can only come to the conclusion that the British State at the very highest level directed a policy of state murder, collusion and cover-up.
In North Belfast between February and May 1973 our community witnessed the organized murders by British soldiers of what is known as The New Lodge Six massacre and the further five murders by the Paras in Ardoyne which were detailed in this paper last week. All of these victims were just like the victims of 'Bloody Sunday' "Completely innocent and posing no threat." The British state attempted to cover-up these killings and sully the victims’ names.
Through their allies in the media the British state in a barrage of disinformation claimed that some of the New Lodge victims had been involved in an attempted suicide bombing when shot by soldiers using night sights in Ireland for the first time.
Through the cover-up of the murder of the 11 victims of the Ballymurphy Massacre in 1971, the 14 victims of Bloody Sunday in 1972 and those 11 victims in the New Lodge and Ardoyne in 1973 the actions of the British state demonstrated a pattern which left nearly 370 victims murdered and with no prospect of justice nor truth. The Widgery report into Bloody Sunday has now been consigned to the dustbin of history and exposed as part of the cover up which enabled the British state to continue their policy of murdering citizens and collusion with loyalists for the following three decades with complete impunity.
The issue of truth and truth recovery is too big and too complex to confine to party politics. This is an all-Ireland issue which Irish society as a whole needs to be engaged in.
Sinn Féin is the only party that has put forward detailed proposals on this issue. We believe - and experiences here and in other countries demonstrate - that an independent and international truth commission is required.
So far the British state has run away from such a process. Indeed we raised it with them again only last week.
That is why you get demands from families for inquiries. Republicans are up for such a process, we have stated this time and again and have pledged to play our full part.
The British State has consistently avoided going down this road. They have consistently denied being a party to the conflict. They have operated a policy of cover-up for decades.
The reaction from the unionist parties to Eames/Bradley was disgraceful, they wouldn’t even discuss it. They rejected it out of hand without even reading it.
The families of the New Lodge Six joined with the community to hold an inquiry nearly ten years ago.
The findings were every bit as conclusive as the Saville report yet nothing has been done to bring justice for the victims. Willie Loughran, whose brother John was one of the victims, spoke movingly at the launch of the community enquiry report. He said that the families always knew the truth that their loved ones were innocent. Now it's time to give that truth full recognition.
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