Northern Irish Blogs.com

In the last week two PSNI officers have been shot by what are termed dissident republicans but who might be more accurately be described as non-subscribing Provisionals. Thankfully, though badly wounded, neither officer was killed. The Real IRA claimed responsible for the attack in Derry and a group styling itself the Irish Republican Liberation Army admitted the shooting in Dungannon. (Where do they get their names? Is there an Irish National Republican Army out there too?) The worrying thing is that these attacks will continue and, worse, escalate.The RIRA issued a statement about their attack which readers of a certain age will recognise as coming from An Phoblacht circa 1979: “As the Crown forces member travelled along Bishop Street towards the city centre, two IRA volunteers...

Derry INLA has discovered that a senior person in its ranks has been doubling as a British agent for two decades. The paramilitary organisation found out that the man had been passing information to both MI5 and Special Branch since 1985.Apparently he was a central figure in the organisation throughout the 1980s and 1990s and would have been aware of INLA 'operations' in the city.Of course, this comes as no surprise. Whether it's the provos, Irps or indeed loyalists, it's been obvious for years that the British infiltrated the north's armed organisations to such an extent that each of them was compromised beyond belief- Donaldson in the IRA, collusion between North Belfast UVF and the security forces, and now this senior INLA operative in Derry- the line between British state and...

I was unfortunate enough to find myself caught up in the provofest March for halfTruth on Saturday. Thankfully I wasn't held up for too long as there wasn't much of a turn-out.I'm sure that there were many people taking part in the parade who have suffered the most terrible sorrow at the hands of loyalists and state forces- I've no problem with them, nor their plight- but what is sickening is the use and abuse of these people for political ends by the provisional movement.Are the provos really so obtuse that they cannot recognise the laughable hypocrisy of demanding 'truth' when they hold so many secrets about the bloody demise of hundreds of people close to their collective chest? Do they really think that it serves the needs of victims to merely highlight the activity of loyalist and...

Nuala O'Loan's office has been cleared of allegations that it leaked information about its recent investigation into RUC/ UVF collusion and murder before details of the outcome were officially published. The report, made public earlier this year, revealed that there was collusion between RUC Special Branch officers and a north Belfast UVF gang which killed up to 16 people.Unsurprisingly it was the Retired Police Officers' Association for Northern Ireland who complained about this 'leak'. Unbelievable. Here we have an organisation that throws a fit at any suggestion that RUC activity should be investigated and brought into the light by people such as Nuala O'Loan, then turns around and complains about the possibility of the details of any such reports being released early. Good to see...

The Police Federation wants the government to spend millions to help those who suffered trauma and stress during the Troubles and remember the past.The Police Federation also wants to government to avoid spending millions to help those who suffered trauma and stress suring the Troubles and forget the past.The difference? One group looking help are ex-police personnel. These people have the support of the Police Federation.The other group looking help are the families of victims of ex-police personnel. These people do not have the support of the Police...

The rather irritating but nonetheless ubiquitous Retired Police Officers' Assocation has launched yet another attack on Nuala O'Loan's office, claiming that details about the investigation into Special Branch/ RUC collusion in north Belfast were leaked to the media.This same organisation also happened to reject the Police Ombudsman 's findings in that investigation.Now they've written to Hugh Orde alleging that staff working for Mrs. O'Loan leaked details to journalists, including the names of police officers under investigation, long before the findings were published. Apparently police are now at a preliminary stage of investigating the claims made by the RPA.Nuala O'Loan has rejected the allegations.Isn't it time that these has-beens took it on the chin and accepted the truth of what...

The recent Police Ombudsman's report into collusion between RUC Special Branch and UDA in north Belfast produced a predictable chorus of faux outrage from the two main unionist parties. However, a report in today's Sunday Life would seem to indicate that their knee-jerk reaction was, shall we say, slightly unwarranted, with the news that Ulster Unionist MP Robert Bradford may have been shot thanks to Special Branch/ IRA collusion.At 11.30am on Saturday 14th November 1981, three provos carrying ladders and dressed in painters' boilersuits arrived at a community centre at Benmore Drive in Finaghy where Rev. Bradford was present. They first shot dead 29-year-old caretaker Kenneth Campbell and then pinned-down an RUC bodyguard and assassinated Rev. Bradford, who was MP for South Belfast at...

Here's a video featuring Alex Attwood speaking at a recent SDLP rally. During his address, he outlined how the SDLP held out for nothing short of a fully independent system for holding the police to account. Of course, the importance of such a demand has been proven many times over with the excellent work the Police Ombudsman has done in shining a light on the dark of the past.Apologies for the low quality of the clip- I was quite a distance back from the stage at the...

PSNI Chief Constable has sent a rant e-mail around his staff complaining that he didn't like what the SDLP and Sinn Féin had to say after the publication of Nuala O'Loan's collusion findings. Apparently he found it "unacceptable" that they went so far in their criticism of the police. Really? How exactly is it possible to "go too far" in one's criticism when one is faced with state murder?The SDLP, and hopefully Sinn Féin now too, have no problem with the rank-and-file officers of the current PSNI. The problem lies with those who handed carte blanche to terrorists to kill at will until the not-so-distant past. Orde himself accepted O'Loan's findings, so what exactly is his problem?It is quite clear that the way in which Special Branch was run equates to nothing short of downright...

So finally, after great drama and much wooing of the rank-and-file of the party by its leadership, Sinn Féin has finally bitten the bullet (no pun intended) and apparently agreed to engage in the Patten structures and support policing. Of course, this was done purely for political purposes as Adams and McGuinness realised that they were badly lagging behind the progressive position of nationalist Ireland. It must be realised that joining the Policing Board and District Policing Partnerships does not mean congratulating the police at every opportunity regardless of their performance- we'll leave that blinkered fawning for unionist politicians looking back through rose, white and blue tinted spectacles at their beloved but deceased RUC- but rather it means supporting the elements of...