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Irish Northern Aid Committee |
Noraid condemns British sectarian attacks
by Caoimhin O'Conchuir, Feb 1, 1999 Paul Doris, the national chairperson of the Irish Northern Aid Committee, condemned the rise in random sectarian attacks by pro-British, anti-Agreement elements in the north of Ireland who wish to destabilize the increasingly fragile Irish peace process. "In recent days, there have been an alarming number of attempts to kill Catholic families by elements in the unionist camp who wish to see the peace process ended," said Doris. "Anti-Catholic elements, seemingly with connections to the Orange Order, have used pipe bombs against poor families with children who live in public housing estates. These families have no place to go and the Royal Ulster Constabulary has failed to offer them any protection," said Doris. "Some months ago, the RUC said it knew the hard men in the anti-Catholic camp. The RUC said they had them under surveillance, knew where they lived and worked. If that's the case, how is it the RUC allows these attacks to continue? "This week, Ian Paisley read names from a document reported to be an internal RUC dossier, claiming 20 men were involved in a 20-year-old killing. How did Paisley get access to such a sensitive and secret police document?" asked Doris. "Once again the RUC has proven itself unwilling and unable to function as a neutral force dedicated to protecting people. All the public relations campaigns in the U.S., all the British press reports on punishment beatings, all the efforts to make the RUC seem an impartial police force are just a smoke screen to hide what is so obvious to people on the ground in Ireland. "We have an accord in place that calls for peace and justice in Ireland. The very existence of the RUC is an injustice. If the RUC can't operate as an impartial police force, it should disband," said David Fanning, President of the Columbus Diarmuid O'Neill Unit of INA. "The RUC is a failed entity. It is discredited around the world. It is not a police service, but a paramilitary force designed and trained to maintain unionist interests in a time when the union is on its last legs. For the sake of the people, for the sake of peace, the RUC must go," said Doris.
The New York-based Irish Northern Aid Committee, founded in 1971, is a non-profit humanitarian organizations which raises funds for the families of Irish political prisoners in British, Irish and American jails.
Vol. Diarmuid O'Neill Unit, Irish Northern Aid Committee
Irish Northern Aid Committee
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