Eideard

Northern Ireland’s first police ombudsman has called for a single unified body to deal with all the unsolved crimes of the Troubles and arrest suspects even in cases that are decades old. Nuala O’Loan, who as ombudsman from 1999 to 2007 exposed the state’s use of informers who killed while in the crown’s pay, said such an inquiry unit should also be granted full powers of prosecution.

Most of the 3,269 murders committed during the conflict since it began in 1969 remain unsolved. More than 30,000 people were injured, many seriously.

In an interview with the Guardian, O’Loan said she was convinced that the police had deliberately destroyed evidence in “a lot” of killings involving the security forces. “That will inhibit the possibility of a full investigation…”

“It is not a truth commission because it would require that all the parties to the conflict tell the truth and I see no evidence that the parties are ready for that yet. And I am not sure that they ever will be.”

The victims were owed something, she said, and that should be a single independent historical investigations unit…

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A high-profile bishop who tended some of the dead and wounded of Bloody Sunday has called for an end to celibacy in the clergy.

Edward Daly, who was bishop of Derry for nearly 20 years, said allowing the clergy to marry would solve some of the church’s problems. He is the most senior figure in Irish Catholicism to challenge the ban.

The number of Catholic priests in Ireland is in sharp decline as older clergy die out and very few young men choose to take up a celibate life. In some parishes the church has transferred priests from Poland and the developing world to fill the gap.

“There will always be a place in the church for a celibate priesthood, but there should also be a place for a married priesthood in the church,” he said on BBC Radio Ulster.

“I think priests should have the freedom to marry if they wish. It may create a whole new set of problems but I think it’s something that should be considered. I’m worried about the decreasing number of priests and the number of older priests. I think it’s an issue that needs to be addressed, and addressed urgently.”

Daly accepted he might be out of step with current Vatican thinking but said he was “not engaged in a popularity contest”.

He said that during his time as a bishop he found it “heartbreaking” that so many priests or prospective priests were forced to resign or were unable to get ordained because of the celibacy issue. Many young men who had once considered joining the priesthood turned away because of the rule, the cleric said.

Overdue.

I hold no brief for the superstitions premised as religion; but, as long as human beings choose philosophical idealism over material reality they should enjoy the option of those who speak for that religion to be living something approaching a normal, healthy life.

Thousands of people marched for peace in Omagh one week after the murder of constable Ronan Kerr in the Co Tyrone town.

The mass rally was a powerful demonstration against violence in a community which suffered the infamous 1998 bombing by dissident republicans that killed 29 people, including a woman pregnant with twins…

Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams warned against sheltering those responsible arguing that the political landscape had changed since the days of the Troubles.

“Don’t be fooled into thinking that you are helping the IRA,” he said, “The war is over.”

Dissident republicans opposed to the peace process were blamed for the booby trap device that exploded under the policeman’s car on April 2. The same extremists are believed to be behind a 500lb van bomb police discovered near the border town of Newry on Thursday.

The Omagh rally attracted support from across the community and was attended by friends and relatives of the murdered officer. And while the march was not party political, organisers said it was intended to send a message of support in the peace process.

Gareth McElduff used Facebook to co-ordinate the rally and said it demonstrated the widespread support for the Kerr family.

He added: ”Although these are major, major setbacks in the peace process, hopefully the amount of people that is going to come out today is going to show everybody that we want peace in Ireland again and we don’t want to go back to the Troubles.”

Many in the crowd held posters carrying a picture of Pc Kerr’s face, with the words: ”Not In My Name.”

All power to the people. Stick the terrorist fools back into the cesspool from whence they came. The young copper who was murdered was a nationalist and a republican – willing to fight for change through political action. Unlike the cowards who killed him.

Horseshoe shape of how the orbit appears from Earth

Astronomers from the Armagh Observatory in Northern Ireland have found that a recently discovered asteroid has been following the Earth in its motion around the Sun for at least the past 250,000 years, and may be intimately related to the origin of our planet…

The asteroid first caught the eye of the scientists, Apostolos “Tolis” Christou and David Asher, two months after it was found by the WISE infrared survey satellite, launched in 2009 by the United States. “Its average distance from the Sun is identical to that of the Earth”, says Dr Christou, “but what really impressed me at the time was how Earth-like its orbit was”. Most near-Earth Asteroids – NEAs for short – have very eccentric, or egg-shaped, orbits that take the asteroid right through the inner solar system. But the new object, designated 2010 SO16, is different. Its orbit is almost circular so that it cannot come close to any other planet in the solar system except the Earth.

… So while on the one hand its orbit is remarkably similar to Earth’s, in fact “this asteroid is terraphobic”, explains Tolis. “It keeps well away from the Earth. So well, in fact, that it has likely been in this orbit for several hundred thousand years, never coming closer to our planet than 50 times the distance to the Moon”. This is where it is now, near the end of the horseshoe trailing the Earth…

… 2010 SO16 could represent leakage from a population of objects near the so-called triangular equilibrium points 60 degrees ahead of and behind the Earth in its orbit. Such a population has been postulated in the past but never observed as such objects are always near the Sun in the sky. If they do exist, they may represent relic material from the formation of Earth, Moon and the other inner planets 4.5 billion years ago.

For the time being, the astronomers would like to see the physical properties of the object studied from the ground, especially its colour. “Colour, a measure of an asteroid’s reflectivity across the electromagnetic spectrum, can tell you a lot about its origin”, they explain. “With this information we can start testing possible origin scenarios with hard data. If it proves to be unique in some way, it may be worth sending a probe to study it up close, and perhaps bring back a sample for laboratory scrutiny.”

Probably at least as interesting as, say, who might appear on Dancing With The Stars next season. And a lot more useful.

Police have said that a 500lb bomb left in a van under the main Belfast to Dublin road near Newry may have been destined for a town centre.

Chief Superintendent Alasdair Robinson said the device, which was stored inside a wheelie bin, was “sophisticated and substantial”. He said that it could have caused huge devastation and loss of life.

The major alert was less than a week since the murder of PSNI constable Ronan Kerr in Omagh, County Tyrone.

Police believe that the van containing the bomb was abandoned in the underpass because of increased police activity in the wake of the murder last Saturday…

Police have refused to be drawn on which organisation was responsible…

Acting NI Policing Board chairman Brian Rea said the “pure purpose” of the bomb was “death and destruction”.

“The public and political revulsion at the murder of Constable Kerr clearly shows that the people of Northern Ireland do not want any more devastation inflicted on our community and our police service…”

Meanwhile Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams has reiterated his call for dissidents to meet his party for talks. Writing on his blog, he said that republican heartlands were “seething with anger” following the recent murder of Constable Kerr.

“The people of this island demand that you stop,” he wrote, addressing dissident republicans. “I am prepared to meet you anywhere at any time to listen to what you have to say and to tell you that there is now a democratic peaceful way to unite our people and our country on the basis of equality.”

Cynic that I can be – I consider that a possibility still exists that these expressly violent tactics may be a red herring from rightwingers trying to sabotage the peace.

Yes, I’m aware that anarchy is still the road of choice of nutballs either side of the road. Dimwits who care more about the thrill they get from making big noises – instead of actually accomplishing any sort of change.

Martin McGuinness and Gerry Adams chat during recess in meeting that led to final agreement
Daylife/Reuters Pictures used by permission

The Northern Ireland Assembly on Tuesday voted in favor of transferring police and justice powers from London to Belfast by a large majority, helping to shore up the province’s power-sharing coalition.

The vote, which paves the way for Northern Ireland to have its first justice minister by April 12, was passed by 88 in favor and 17 against.

It was the first major hurdle for the Hillsborough Castle Agreement signed at the beginning of February between Ireland’s power-sharing partners, Sinn Fein and the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP)…

First Minister Peter Robinson of the DUP said agreement on the transfer of policing and justice was “another step toward a better future for everyone in Northern Ireland.”

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen, who flew into Northern Ireland earlier this year to help broker the Hillsborough Castle Agreement, both welcomed Tuesday’s vote…

Cowen said Tuesday was a historic day, “copper-fastening” the 1998 Good Friday Agreement that ended nearly three decades of violence in Northern Ireland, in which 3,600 people died.

“For the first time, we can look forward to policing and justice powers being exercised by democratic institutions on a cross-community basis in Northern Ireland,” Cowen said.

Overdue.

Talks to save Northern Ireland’s power sharing government have ended and the basis for a deal now exists, Sinn Féin’s junior minister, Gerry Kelly, said today.

Sinn Féin and the Democratic Unionist party (DUP) have been locked in talks for two weeks to try to agree a deal at saving power-sharing in Northern Ireland despite disagreements over devolving policing and justice powers from London.

The outcome now depends on the reaction of the DUP…

The DUP leader, Peter Robinson, is expected to address assembly colleagues as the focus now shifts to whether his party can sign up to the agreement.

The two parties have been involved in 10 days of discussions at Hillsborough Castle, Co Down, along with representatives of the British and Irish governments…

It emerged yesterday that Gordon Brown had warned unionists that the government would call a snap assembly election in Northern Ireland if they failed to reach a deal with Sinn Féin.

The Northern Ireland secretary, Shaun Woodward, also warned yesterday that failure to reach a deal between the parties would put at risk the £800m package to pay for the transfer of policing and justice powers to the Stormont assembly.

Overdue.

UPDATE: Resumption of the power-sharing agreement with Sinn Fein accepted by the DUP.

Happier days – on camera at least
Daylife/AP Photo used by permission

Northern Ireland’s first minister, Peter Robinson, is fighting for his political life over claims that he failed to inform the authorities about a £50,000 loan his wife passed on to her then 19-year-old boyfriend.

Robinson said he had agreed to an independent inquiry into his actions by a QC appointed by Stormont after calls from within the power sharing coalition for him to consider his position.

In a statement tonight he said he would fight “smears” against his personal integrity, adding that he had been “tried in the media and the press”…

The main allegations against the Robinsons include:

• That Iris Robinson gained £50,000 for McCambley from two major property developers, Ken Campbell and Fred Fraser.

• That Iris Robinson lobbied on behalf of Campbell for a building scheme he was involved with in her Strangford constituency.

• That she took £5,000 of the money for herself.

• That when Peter Robinson found out about the loan and his wife’s affair he insisted she pay the money back, but did not inform the authorities about her conduct.

• That when her relationship with the young man broke down she demanded the loan back and wanted £25,000 paid into the account of her church, the Light and Life Free Methodist church in east Belfast…

RTFA. It goes on and on.

I didn’t realize the U.S. Republican party had a branch in Belfast.

Daylife/Getty Images

A Northern Ireland teenager has been charged with the murder of PSNI constable Stephen Carroll earlier this month.

The 17-year-old appeared at Lisburn magistrates court shortly before 11am today where he faced four charges including murder, possessing of an AKM assault rifle and 26 rounds of ammunition, gathering intelligence likely to be of use to terrorists, and membership of the Continuity IRA.

The youth, who cannot be named because of his age, denied all the charges, according to his solicitor.

Carroll, 48, was shot dead as he answered a call for help in Craigavon on 9 March. He was the first Police Service of Northern Ireland officer to be murdered by terrorists.

No just reason to comment on the individual arrested. That’s for the law courts to bring forth.

When you have a chance to achieve liberty through democratic and peaceful means, involving the whole population – that’s where you put all your efforts.

UPDATED: Second man arrested and charged. And a third.

Police say the number of republican dissidents trying to wreck the Northern Ireland peace process is about 300.

Chief Constable Sir Hugh Orde told the BBC that intelligence clearly showed the numbers intent on violence was a tiny proportion of the population. His comments came after three members of the security forces were killed in two separate attacks one week ago.

Nine people have now been arrested over the murders of a policeman in Craigavon and two soldiers in Antrim.

Det Supt Farrar said the killers had made an unsuccessful attempt to burn-out the getaway car after the murders. “As a result, we now have a number of forensic opportunities that we are exploring,” he said.

Sir Hugh told BBC1′s Andrew Marr Show: “Of course, the threat is very dangerous, that’s been evidenced in the last week, but it’s a very small group. “Three hundred people in a population of 1.7 million people puts it in perspective but it’s a threat we take seriously.

A small number of nutballs can still endanger very many law-abiding citizens. The KKK proved that in America.

As long as unity in peaceful political processes can be maintained by the major parties, life and change will proceed in all of Ireland.