PSNI ‘have put life of youth worker at risk’ !!!

A YOUTH worker has accused the PSNI/RUC of putting his life at risk after saying he “may be a member of a paramilitary organisation”. North Belfast man Sean Montgomery said police made the claim after he applied to Access NI to be vetted to work with young people.

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Access NI carries out background checks on people hoping to work in particular fields, including for criminal records. The agency, which is managed by the Department of Justice (what fucking justice), works closely with the PSNI/RUC. Mr Montgomery beleives an 18-month delay in issuing a certificate to him could put a recent job offer at risk. The cross-community youth worker has vowed to take legal action over the claims contained in two letters sent to him by the PSNI/RUC last month. Mr Montgomery said the letters, which were contained in the same envelpoe but signed by different people, were posted to his home by recorded delivery. One claimed that “police hold information which indicates that Mr Montgomery may be a member of a paramilitary organisation”. The second letter said he is “suspected to be involved in drugs”. He denies both claims.

Mr Monntgomery served a paramilitary sentence for possession of weapons in the 1990s and is a former member of Shame Fein. He left the party in 2005 over its stance in policing. Mr Montgomery said he has made no secret to his opposition to the PSNI/RUC, and he refuses to be involved in projects that engage with the force, but he challenged police to back up their claims. “This puts my life and livlihood and that of my family, in danger,” he said. “If I am a drug dealer or involved at present in republican paramilitary activity, why am I not arrested?” In the past Mr Montgomery has worked closely with Co-operation Ireland and the centre for conflict research. Co-operation Ireland chief executive Peter Sheridan, who is a former member of the PSNI/RUC, said Mr Montgomery should be issued with a certificate by Access NI. “It’s important when we are trying to get people jobs that all the statutory agencies ensure their systems are sufficiently swift that allow that to happen and don’t prevent people trying to move on,” he said. Mr Sheridan also said that the youth worker has “done a lot of good work in the area” in his field. A spokesman for the PSNI/RUC said it “does not discuss the details of vetting applications”. A DOJ spokesperson said all applications go through “a formal process”. Mr Montgomert’s solicitor Michael Brentnall said his client has “no other choice but to issue High Court proceedings aganst the PSNI/RUC and Access NI in order to compel the disclosure of a certificate”.

With many thanks to: Connla Young, The Irish News.

Dissident gun attacks ‘not linked’ says police

Dissident republicans suspected of opening fire on vehicles.

‘A worrying trend is beginning to appear in regards to such attacks on the police across the city – Alex Attwood.

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The PSNI last night said they are not linking two similar gun attacks on polce vehicles carried out just a day apart in Belfast.

Two shots struck a Land Rover when gunmen opened fire on the Suffolk Road in West Belfast at around 11.45pm on Friday. A day eariler, a “Kalashnikov-style” automatic weapon was used to fire at least 10 rounds at three police vehicles as they passed along the Crumlin Road in North Belfast. It later emerged that gunmen had set up a makeshift platform to fire over a wall at the vehicles. No-one was injured during either attack. A 34-year-old man was arrested in North Belfast yesterday morning in connection with Thursday night’s attack on police. He was still being questioned at Antrim police station last night. It emerged last night that separate investigations have been launched into the gun attacks. A police spokeswoman said: “Police are not formally linking the attacks and both investigations are at a very early stage”. Dissident republicans are being blamed, with Chief Constable Matt Maggot warning recently that different groupings appear to in some form of competition with each other to ensure they have a profile. In recent weeks there has been a upsurge in republican paramilitary activity in Belfast.

In October ‘The IRA’, which was formed last year after the Real IRA, Direct Action Against Drugs and other independant republicans merged, claimed responsibility for shooting dead alleged drug dealer Kevin Kearney in North Belfast. Another group, Oglaigh na hEireann (ONH), last month said it was behind an attempted car-bomb attack at Victoria Square shopping centre in Belfast city centre. West Belfast SDLP assembly member Alex Attwood said Friday’s ambush could have resulted in fatalities. “Thosse engaged in this type of reckless violence are not advancing any political ideal, they are hurting the community they claim to represent,” he said. “A worrying trend is beginning to appear in regards to such attacks on the police accross the city.” Shame Fein assembly member Jennifer McCann said those behind the attack “are not motivated by a disire for Irish freedom”. “If they were they would listen to their communities who overwhelmingly endorsed the Good Friday Agreement and a political path towards achieving that goal. “Instead they have endagered anyone in the area of the Suffolk Road at that time for their own agenda. Fortunately nobody was injured.” PSNI Chief Superintendent George Clarke described Friday night’s ambush as “reckless”. “For the second night in a row, dedicated community police officers have found themselves under attack from terrorists,” he said. “It is fortunate that we are not dealing with fatalities this morning and those responsible are to be utterly condemned for their evil and reckless actions. “These officers go out each day to serve this community and they should be free to do so without the threat of attack. “I again urge the community to support us. We need information from the community to help us defeat those who seek to take us back to the past by showing them that they do not represent the wishs of this community.”

With thanks to: Connla Young, The Irish News.

Platform used by gunmen to shoot at police convoy

‘These dissident republicans have absolute contempt for their own community – Will Kerr

GUNMEN built a makeshift platform to launch a carefully planned attack on police in a built-up area of North Belfast. A rifle found a short distance away from the attack in Ardoyne on Thusday night was thought to have been dumped by the gunmen as they fled.

Photograph of platform used to fire on PSNI/RUC

The military issue Kalashnikov-style automatic weapon was taken away for forensic examination. It was found in an alleyway a short distance from Butler Walk where the gunmen had erected a platform from scaffolding at the side of a high wall. Shots were fired at a convoy of police vehicles at around 7.10pm as they traveled along the Crumlin Road en route to the loyalist protest camp at Twaddell Avenue in North Belfast. Police said three armoured vehicles came under fire, two of which were towing illuminated warning signs towards the Ardoyne interface. At least 10 bullets hit two of the vehicles. While no-one was hurt, Assistance Chief Constable Will Kerr said the officers were shaken by the attack. “These dissident republicians have absolute contempt for their own community”, he said. “They fired military grade weapons, in a highly built up area. “There is no doubt the principle target was police officers.” The senior officer said he beleived the weapon recovered was linked to the attack. A silver Passat car hijacked on Thursday morning in the Poleglass area of West Belfst was also found burning in Elmfield Street in Ardoyne.

The attack was launched out of range of the Twaddell camp occupied by loyalists protesting against a ban on parading through Ardoyne. 283631_211947858933644_120706324_nAround 40 familes in the area were moved from their homes, with many not permitted to return until yesterday evening while police carried out follow-up searches at several locations. Holy Cross Primary School was also forced to close as a result of the police operation. SDLP councillor Nichola Mallon said the people of Ardoyne want those responsible to “get off their backs”. “This is the latest incident to cause major disruption in the area,” she said. “Between the nightly protest parades and the car that was hijacked in Jamaica Street and used to transport the bomb into the city centre, people are concerned things are spiralling, that every time Ardoyne appears on the news it is for negative reasons and that is not an accurate reflection.” Shame Fein assembly member Gerry (the mouthpeice) Kelly said the attack “endangered the local community in Ardoyne”. “Anyone could have been in the vacinity of Holy Cross Chapel at this time which was the direction in which the shots were fired,” he said. “The PSNI were traveling to Twaddell Avenue where they are in place each night in order to prevent illegal marches past Ardoyne. The people of Ardoyne understand this. “Whoever was behind this attack need to come forward to this community and explain their actions.” DUP MP for North Belfast Nigel Dodds said: “This would obviously appear to be the work of dissident republicians and I would hope that the community in Ardoyne will stand against those responsible and with police as they carry out their investigations.”

With many thanks to: Allison Morris, The Irish News.

Up to 15 shots fired at police patrol

POLICE are treating a gun attack on officers in North Belfast last night as “attempted murder“. People in the area said they heard between 10 and 15 shots being fired at three police vehicles as they drove along the Crumlin Road at about 7pm.

ONH

No injuries were reported. There was a heavy police presence in the area at the time due to a band parade connected to the loyalist protest camp at nearby Twaddell Avenue. Police say the shots were fired from a point near Brompton Park which is a shot distance from Holy Cross Church. A silver Volkswagen Passat, beleived to be used by the gunmen, was found partially burnt-out at nearby Butler Place. Firefighters attended the burning car, having been called by residents who feared that their hiuses might catch fire. After the atttack a police helicopter hovered over the area while officers used spotlights fixed to Land Rovers to examine the car from a distance and shone torches into the front gardens of houses on the Crumlin Road.

One man from the area said he initially thought loyalists had attacked nationalist homes. “We heard the shots and my mother shouted for everyone to get down,” he said. “There must have been 10 to 15 shots. The shooting went on for three or four seconds.” Chief Superintendant George Clarke described the shooting as “attepted murder”. The attack was also condemned by the main political parties. DUP MP Nigel Dodds said it appeared “to be the work of dissident republicans”. Shame Fein North Belfast MLA Gerry (the mouthpiece) Kelly described the shooting as “reckless”. “Whoever was behind this attack need to come forward to this community and explain their actions. To date they have failed to do so and act solely on their own behalf,” he said. SDLP  councillor Nicola Mallon said nightly protest parades since the Twelfth “have created a highly volatile situation in the Ardoyne/Twaddell area” and the attack was “a blatant attempt to ratchet tensions up further”. She said the gunmen had displayed a “reckless disregard for life” by firing shots on a busy road. UUP councillor David Browne also condemned the shooting while Alliance North Belfast representative John Blair said there “can be no justification ” for it. Meanwhile, two men arrested in connection with last week’s attempted bomb attack on Victoria Square in central Belfast were released unconditionally last night.

With many thanks to: Connla Young and Maeve Connolly, The Irish News.

Haass proposals doomed to failure

The reason the British handed over responsibilty to Haass for the contentious matters is that there is no answer to the questions which unionists will accept

THREE weeks to go to Richard Haass‘s self-imposed deadline of Christmas. Unless, of course, it’s a misunderstanding and he’s talking about a different Christmas. Do you give him any chance of coming up with agreed proposals on flags, parades and the past? No? Nor does anyone else.

Fly the Irish Tricolour from Belfast City Hall

There are several worrying consequences about the current process some of which have already been looked at here. First, even if Haass were miraculously to pull even one rabbit out of his hat, legislation would be required. To further complicate it, the matter’s he’s concerned with all involve UK legislation at least. In the case of deaths and injuries during the Troubles the Irish government would have to be involved too. With the unionist parties already jostling each other about European election candidates, will they support the necessary legislation during the election campaign? No. As the British coalition government sees the election scheduled for May 7 2015 rushing ever closer the DUP will become more important. The treacherous lily-livered Lib-Dems will finally start to break away and oppose some Conservative legislation, particularly on economic and EU matters. Together with the Labour party they might defeat the Conservatives on some issues.

This is where the eight DUP MPs come in. Last week they were able to help the Conservatives defeat a backwoods Tory rebellion on plans to recruit reservists to replace full-time soldiers in return for raising the cap on numbers of recruits from the north. Watch the DUP come to David Cameron‘s rescue in 2014-5 if he dangles a bauble in frount of them. Even if Haass came up with something the parties at Stormont agree on, don’t expect it to go through Westminster unscathed. However, don’t hold your breath. The reason the British handed over responsibility to Haass for the contentious matters is that there is no answer to the questions which unionists will accept. It’s perfectly obvious that on the flags issue unionist leaders are too weak, cowardly and hypocritical to support a rational solution to flags on public buildings. They took r Fleg!!! Their hypocrisy stares them in the face every day at Stormont. As for anything vertical in unionist districts, there is no solution. It would be a cat and mouse operation with the police running around after loyalist squads replacing flags the police removed. Unionists do not accept the concept of a neutral space. They want to own Norn Irn. After all, didn’t the British give it them? Now they’re asking them to share it with Fenians on an equal footing. Hah.

There are wider consequences. Past experience has shown that only Westminister-legislated change will bring unionists to heel whether it was the 1985 Anglo-Irish Agreement or the 1998 Public Processions Act. This time there’ll be no Westminster legislation because Cameron might need the DUP in the short term. It’s not the first time a British government has bolstered unionist intransigence and it won’t be the last. It dosn’t matter what colour the government is; it depends on the proconsul for the time being. Peter Hain had little to recommend him but at least his threats of joint rule with Dublin or carving Norn Irn into three sub-regions concentrated unionst minds. This present government’s detachment and the rudderless performance of the present proconsul is sending republicans a dangerous message that unionists have a veto on all change, that Stormont as presently constituted does not function as a vehicle for change. The establishment of Haass as arbiter is not only evidence of British (and Irish) disengagement but is proof that by default they encourage unionist intransigence.The plain fact is that if unionists don’t like what Haass proposes they will be allowed to reject it and Sinn Fein can do nothing about it. Haass is there only because of the failure of the two governments to confront unionist resistance to change and their continual refusal to live on equal terms with the rest of the people on this island by recognising the legitimacy of the symbols and Irish identity of those in the north. The appointment of Haass is further evidence of Sinn Fein’s inadequacy as negotiators and their failure to see the big picture. The DUP is running rings aroud them.

With many thanks to: Brian Feeney, The Irish News.

Orange Order to find out parade protest decision

THE Orange Order will find out today whether it will be allowed to stage a protest at a major internment parade in Belfast city centre.

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In what is believed to be a first, the order has applied to the Parades Commission to demonstrate during the march by anti-agreement republican groups tommorow evening. The Anti-Internment League says it has organised the “human rights” parade to highlight what it describes as “internment by remand” of republicans facing paramilitary charges. It notified the commission that up to 5,000 people could take part. Two loyalist groups which emerged during the Union flag protests earlier this year – United Protestant Voice and the Protestant Coalition – have also applied to hold separate protests at Royal Avenue involving up to 200 people each.

The Parades Commission has already granted two previously unknown groups – Greater Concerned Residents Group Belfast and Concerned Residents Group Shankill Belfast – to hold separate demonstrations involving 150 people each at Royal Avenue. And it emerged last night that a sixth group – the Friends of No 9 District – have now applied to hold a protest involving 150 people. If all the demonstrations get the green light it could bring the total number of loyalists opposing the march to 950. SDLP assembly member Albban Maginness called for calm ahead of the parade. “The SDLP believe that people have the right to express their views but that with that right there is a responsibility to behave in a sensitive and respectful way,” he said.

With many thanks to : Connla Young, The Irish News.

CATHOLIC GRAVES DESECRATED IN SUSPECTED SECTARIAN LOYALIST ATTACK AT BELFAST CITY CEMETERY

‘I just can’t fathom how anyone could do this in the first instance and then get up the next day and not be wreaked by guilt and rremorse – Stevie Corr

GRIEVING ffamilies have been left “inconsolable” after vandals desecrated graves at a mixed West Belfast cemetery. Headstones and secured statues were smashed during the attack at City Cemetery on the Falls Road where up to 30 graves – including some belonging to children and some with the Celtic football crest – were targeted.

UVF protester desecrating the graves of the late Bobby Sands and Joe McDonnell.

The PSNI on Thursday night said officers would be stepping up patrols in the area around the cemetery. The damage, across a number of sections in the council-operated cemetery, was discovered on  Thursday morning by park staff. While some sites had headstones smashed and sacred statues broken, other mementos around the graves had also been vandalised. At one a birthday card left for a deceased loved one had been heartlessly ripped up. Falls Sinn Fein councillor Stevie Corr, who sits on Belfast City Council‘s Parks & Leisure committee, said he was “disgusted” by what had happened. Mr Corr said that while visiting the cemetery on Thursday he challeneged  a group of drinkers in the graveyard telling them they “needed to leave”. “I am totally disgusted by what’s happened and I just can’t fathom how anyone could do this in the first instance and then be wreaked by guilt and remorse by what they’ve done,” he said.

Mr Corr said damage to the graves of children had been the “most distressing”. He said he came across a mother and daughter on Thursday clearing up a family plot which had been targeted. Mr Corr said the pair were “inconsolable by what happened”. “We need to reinforce that this is a cemetery. This is a sacred place that aanti social elements should not be in,” he said. Mr Corr said he would be speaking to the council about additional security.

The latest vandalism comes on the back of a number of other incidents of antisocial behaviour at the cemetery site including a number of assaults. In November a 13-year-old boy was beaten unconscious by a gang armed with an iron bar as he walked through the cemetery because he had no mobile phone for them to steal. In the same month, a 15-year-old boy was treated for a head injury after being attacked near the entrance to the cemetery by five men armed with iron bars. The latest vandalism at the site is believed to have taken place between Tuesday and Wednesday last week. Police said last Thursday that they had been “liaising with Belfast City Council in relation to aantisocial behaviour issues in the area around the cemetery, in an effort to prevent anyone gaining access after hours”. They also appealed for members of the community “with a view of the cemetery from their homes” to contact the PSNI “if they notice anything untoward, so police can respond quickly”. Police on Thursday night appealed for anyone who had found a loved one’s grave damaged to contact them.

CIRA VOW TO WIPE OUT DEALERS

THE Continuity IRA in Newry has claimed it will wage a campaign of terror against heroin dealers in the city. The dissident group insists it has identified those suspected of plying the deadly drug and is determined to erase them from the community.

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It has fingered members of the traveling community as some of those involved in the illegal trade. This claim comes as police begun an investigation into a suspected shooting incident in the city. Damage was caused to an unoccupied house sometime last Friday night. Locals have reported hearing three shots being fired at an address we cannot identify for legal reasons. A statement released by the CIRA stated : “This is a Statement from South Down Command of Continuity Irish Republican Army. “Last night our volunteers carried out a gun attack on a house. “The individual living in this house is a member of a traveling criminal gang who is deeply involved in the drug trade. This person unfortunately was not at home. “We would also like to claim at this time that we carried out a bomb attack in Bessbrook and the other bomb attack in the Demesne, Carnagat. All these individuals are all part and parcel of a growing heroin drug culture within the traveling community. “We will not sit by while these gangs, and other gangs inflict this on our communities. There will be no further warnings issued to these people, instead we will take direct, severe, military action”.

Voicemail

This statement was released in the wake of a message being left on the voicemail of the office of the SDLP in NNearly claiming CIRA responsibility for the gun and bomb attacks. South Down MLA, Karen McKevitt said: “No group has the right to take the law into their own hands and use bombs and bullets, regardless of the seriousness of the alleged crimes. “In this sinister message, this paramilitary group claims that it carried out a gun attack in Newry on Friday last. The group also claimed responsibilty for two pipe bomb attacks, one in Bessbrook and the other in the Carnagat area of Newry. “This type of violence was a frequent part of our past, it was wrong then and it is now. The vast majority of our people rejected violence and continue to reject it. “Violence cannot be legitimised regardless of whether or not a paramilitary group has a ‘strategy’. I would urge anyone who has information about these crimes to pass it on to the police without delay,” added the MLA. “Police would appeal for anyone with information to contact them in Newry on 0845 600 800 or speak to them anonymously on Crimestoppers charity 0800 555 111,” added the spokesperson.

With many thanks to : Paula Mackin, Sunday World.

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KELLY INCIDENT SEES WHEELS FALL OFF ‘CARDIFF PRINCIPALS’ !!!

Police failed to communicate with those on the ground. A quick two minutes to explain the situation to either Gerry Kelly or the SDLP‘s Alban Maginness, who was also present, could have instantly defused a volatile atmosphere.

Shinnermanaaway the shock value of the ‘Gerry on the jeep’ incident and the events in north Belfast at the weekend provides a glimpse into operational policing here that the wider public rarely get a chance to see.

It’s hard to imagine a British cabinet minister hopping on the bonnet of a panda car or a senior TD leaping on a garda vehicle, but thats just what happened on Friday evening at Carrick Hill. Gerry Kelly is a former junior minister, a member of the policing board and one of Sinn Fein‘s most senior figures. In fairness to the Sinn Fein MLA I’ve been covering flashpoint parades and the disturbances that often go with them for a while now and have the scars to prove they can be volatile and unpredictable events. It’s impossible to plan what way things are going to pan out as the aftermath of the Tour of the North on Friday clearly showed. While the parade passed relatively peacefully, albeit with several suspected breaches of the Parades Commission ruling by a number of bands, it was the policing of nationalist residents and the reaction to it that made the headlines. The arrest of a 16-year-old for alleged provocative behaviour was the catalyst for the well documented ‘shinner on the saracen’ incident.

On the face of it Gerry Kelly’s behaviour seems incredibly rash and ill thought out, but what most people aren’t aware of is how much ‘security’ at ththese events is carried out using a ‘policing by consent’ model. While we were given a glimpse of this during the loyalist flags protests – when senior officers admitted for the first time that policing was being carried out on a ‘least worst option basis’ – it is in fact used to police many marches and protests. One side will be hemmed in to facilitate another, not because they are considered the biggest threat but in fact the opposite because they are considered easier to control. You may think the law is black and white but not in the North of Ireland where it can be any one of 50 shades of gray.

DUP assembly members who are also members of the Orange Order are regularly seen marching in parades in which legal determinations are disregarded by the accompanying bands. Elected representatives, community and at times paramilitary figures have the ability to ease tensions, calm situations and form a buffer between youths and police – should they want to. This was seen in east Belfast during the month of January when the UVF stepped in to stop violence by effectively doing the job of the police. Policing in what is often referred to as hard to reach communities is regularly carried out in this way. And in many cases police are happy to facilitate this response.

If there is any doubt that this is the case take a look at the guest list to the talks in Cardiff which included not just elected representatives but unelected paramilitary figures and self styled ‘brigadiers’. All give assurances to communicate in times of tension and swapped contact numbers to ensure that this was followed through. While this may not be ideal in a supposedly democratic society it can be quicker, cheaper and safer than sending in the riot squad. Gerry Kelly was one of those who agreed to the ‘Cardiff principles’ as were senior police officers from assistant chief constable level down. Friday night was the first real test of this new spirit of cooperation and the wheels fell off – or sped up depending what side of the Land Rover windscreen you were on. Police failed to communicate with those on the ground. A quick two minutes to explain the situation to either Gerry Kelly or the SDLP’s Alban Maginness, who was also present, could have instantly defused a volatile atmosphere. Equally putting into practice the method of communication agreed at Cardiff rather than steeping in front of a moving vehicle would have showed the talks were beneficial and more than just a boys’ jolly. We are now just weeks from the Twelfth and tensions are higher than ever. The Cardiff weekend founded by the public purse has failed to produce the goods. Carrick Hill is now on par with Ardoyne with potential for violence at an all time high and still the Orange Order have not sat down with residents to hammer out a solution to the hamster wheel of marches, recrimination and sectarian tensions. Pass me my hard hat – I’m going in…..

With many thanks to : Allison Morris, The Irish News.

TOWN COUNCIL A ‘FIEFDOM FOR DUP’ !!!

‘ While other councils across the north are moving forward…. Lisburn is still firmly stuck in the Dark Ages as a fiefdom for the DUP and bigotry.

LISBURN council has been accused of being stuck “in the Dark Ages” with the DUP maintaining its grip on power, taking both mayor and deputy mayor posts. The party now holds 10 out of the 12 available leadership positions.

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Alliance group leader Brian Dornan said that in the past three years the mayor and deputy mayor roles have gone to another party only once. Alliance had put forward Stephen Martin to be deputy mayor but he was defeated despite getting the support of Alliance, SDLP, Sinn Fein, one UUP councillor and an independent. “I am disappointed that yet again the DUP have refused to accept power sharing in Lisburn Council,” Mr Dornan said. “They have no problems with it at the assembly, so why can’t they agree to it in Lisburn? “The DUP may talk of a shared future but their actions don’t match their words.”

He called for mandatory power-sharing to be introudecd by environment minister Alex Attwood. Sinn Fein group leader Ader Carson said unioni. ‘s “discriminatory policies…. on Lisburn City Council are as alive in 2013 as they ever have been”. “Sinn Fein is the second largest party grouping on the council yet, despite this, we have been denied any formal positions following Lisburn council’s annual general meeting,” he said. “Given the mandate that Sinn Fein received in 2011, had d’Hondt been enacted the party would be enacted the party would be entitled to the position of chair and vice-chair of a committee each year, along with one year as major of Lisburn. “Since first being represented on Lisburn council in 1985, unionist politicians have constantly sought to deny Sinn Fein its share of positions. “As a result, by the end of this term in 2015, Sinn Fein will have held only two official positions in 30 years. “While other councils across the north are moving forward, such as Banbridge and Coleraine, Lisburn is still firmly stuck in the Dark Ages as a fiefdom of the DUP and bigotry. “Certainly there is no shared future in the minds of the DUP councillors in Lisburn City Council. Discrimation and jobs for the boys remains the prioity.”

With many thanks to : Bimpe Archer, Irish News.

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