Thousands of people, both Protestants and Catholics, gathered across Northern Ireland today to show unity against, and condemn, the Real IRA and Continuity IRA terrorists (who delude themselves by thinking that Northern Ireland will one day secede from the UK and unify with the Republic of Ireland) the who killed two British soldiers and a policeman.
Silent vigils were held this lunchtime in Belfast, Lisburn, Newry, Downpatrick and Londonderry by families determined not to see terrorism and war return to their streets.
As a lone bagpiper played a lament, the Belfast crowd fell silent for five minutes.
British soldiers, who were sent to Northern Ireland in 1969 to protect the population from terrorists, withdrew in 2007 after defeating the IRA. The only British soldiers that remain are those who just happen to be based there, as UK soldiers in the UK, just as they are based throughout the UK.
Many members of the crowds held placards saying "No going back", meaning they don't want to go back to the dark days of war, which is what these Irish republican groups want to happen.
3,700 people died during the conflict, which ended with the Good Friday Agreement in 1998, that was fought in Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland and England that saw the British Army, the Irish Army, the RAF, Royal Navy, British police, Irish police (Garda) and loyalists (UDA, UVF, LVF, RHC) fight Irish republican groups (PIRA, INLA, OIRA, IPLO, RIRA).
Silent vigils as Northern Ireland shows unity against dissident IRA killers
By Daily Mail Reporter
11th March 2009
Daily Mail
The people of Northern Ireland came together today in an unprecedented show of unity against the dissidents who have murdered three members of the security forces in as many days.
Silent vigils were held this lunchtime in Belfast, Lisburn, Newry, Downpatrick and Londonderry by families determined not to see terrorism return to their streets.
As a lone bagpiper played a lament, the Belfast crowd fell silent for five minutes.
'No going back,' placards held by the sombre crowds declared.
Many openly wept while others shook hands and offered their condolences to the most recent victim of the Troubles - a policeman shot dead on Monday night.
'End this madness', urged the front page of the Belfast Telegraph which was clutched by some of the demonstrators. Other slogans begged: 'No more killings'.
United: Thousands of people stand still during a silent protest in Belfast today (click to enlarge)
Patricia McKeown, President of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, said she hoped the silence of the crowds would 'be a silence that thunders around the world'.
Among the crowds, people expressed their desperation to avoid their children experiencing the bloodshed they had witnessed over 40 years of conflict in which 3,700 died.
Aidan Kane, a paramedic, came to the rally with his six-year-old boy on his shoulders.
'I'm a Catholic. I grew up in an area where the police were the enemy. Now things have changed so completely for the better,' he said.
'If my wee lad here wants to be a policeman when he grows up, I'd be proud. I shouldn't have to worry that some nut might shoot him for serving his community.'
John Bath, 49, added: 'What has happened over the last 10 years should not be surrendered. I grew up through the Troubles in Belfast. I don't want that for my children.'
Plea: The front page of the Belfast Telegraph was held by many at the rallies. Showing the three men killed this week, it urged: 'End this madness' (click to enlarge)
No going back: People are desperate to avoid a return to the Troubles (click to enlarge)
Terror has once again gripped Northern Ireland after the murders of two soldiers shot dead on Saturday night and then Monday's killing of PC Stephen Carroll.
The Real IRA claimed responsibility for the shooting of Mark Quinsey, 23, and Patrick Azimkar, 21, who were collecting a pizza at the gates hours before flying out to Afghanistan.
Four other people including two soldiers and two Domino's delivery men (one of them Polish) were wounded in the shocking attack outside the Massereene Military barracks in County Antrim.
Fears escalated yet further on Monday night when PC Caroll, an officer with 24 years service, was shot in the back of the head and killed.
Sapper Patrick Azimkar, of Birmingham, was said to be 'dedicated, ambitious and full of energy' (click to enlarge)
Sapper Mark Quinsey, of Wood Green, London, with his mother Pamela and sister Jaime. He was described as 'a mature, reliable and hugely capable young soldier with vast future potential' (click to enlarge)
The Continuity IRA, another splinter group, claimed responsibility his death - raising concerns volatile factions could start 'competing' among themselves in a new Irish terror campaign.
There were even suggestions the death was evidence they could now be co-ordinating attacks with their rivals.
Swoop: Police escort a man arrested over the murder of Constable Stephen Carroll to a police car. He is wearing a forensic top to preserve evidence (click to enlarge)
Community leaders and politicians had asked the public to show its abhorrence at the killings by gathering today.
They came after the Pope became the latest to denounce the murders, branding them 'abominable acts of terrorism' during an address to pilgrims in St Peter's Square in the Vatican City.
'I pray to the Lord, so that no one allows themselves to be again won over by the horrendous temptation of violence,' Benedict XVI said.
Dedicated: Constable Carroll was a PC for 24 years (click to enlarge)
In London, Gordon Brown and David Cameron led cross-party solidarity at Prime Minister's Questions where they expressed their condolences for the three fallen men.
The Prime Minister said: 'In Northern Ireland today we are seeing a degree of unity among the political parties that some people thought they would never see in their lifetimes.'
People were showing their 'unyielding resolution to say with one voice that the peace that the people of Northern Ireland are building no murderers should ever be allowed to destroy', he told the Commons.
No stone would be left unturned in making sure Northern Ireland Chief Constable Sir Huge Orde has everything possible to keep security as tight as possible, he added.
The Tory leader, in his first appearance at PMQs since his son died two weeks ago, urged everyone in the province to work with police to ensure the 'callous killers' are caught, charged and convicted.
MPs later held their own 15-minute silence later today in the Houses of Parliament by way of solidarity.
A boy of 17 and 37-year-old man were today being questioned over the murder of PC Carroll in Craigavon, Country Armagh.
The Catholic Northern Ireland police officer was executed with a bullet to the back of his head while attending a 999 callout to a woman in distress.
Before leaving for work, the PC had reassured his worried wife that he would be safe, telling her: 'I'll be grand, they won't get me.'
It was the last conversation they would ever have.
Devastated: PC Carroll's wife Kate is supported as his body is brought home (click to enlarge)
Loss: A police officer salutes as PC Carroll's coffin arrives at his home today (click to enlarge)
The teenager arrested over the policeman's death would have been just five when the IRA declared its 1997 ceasefire.
His mother and stepfather insist he is completely innocent. 'He isn't interested in politics, he only likes football,' she said, according to the Telegraph.
The boy's stepfather added: 'It's a disgrace that he's been arrested. He likes a drink but he would never harm anyone. He's a good boy.'
He claimed his stepson had an alibi because he was round at his girlfriend's house at the time of the shooting.
'It's terrible the way they are treating people. There used to be Provisionals around here in the past but they don't really exist any more, it's just a small faction of people,' he said.
'But the police aren't giving the people a chance. There's been a man shot and they need to do something about it, it's one of their own. But when you do something like this, arresting him, it encourages people to join these organisations.'
Security: An armed officer today in Craigavon where PC Carroll was killed (click to enlarge)
No one has so far been arrested over the deaths of the two soldiers on Saturday night, who were gunned down at the entrance to their barracks while collecting a pizza.
Less than two days later, as Britain was still reeling from the murders, PC Carroll was also shot dead.
And the Continuity IRA has vowed yet more bloodshed, declaring: 'As long as there is British involvement in Ireland, these attacks will continue.'
There are signs of growing panic among political leaders and police chiefs that the violence may spiral out of control.
Senior officers described the latest murder as a copycat attack and fear it is only a matter of time before there is another attempt to kill.
Police commanders held urgent talks with loyalist community leaders, urging them to tell their people not to retaliate against Catholics.
Members of the splinter group Continuity IRA, posing here in a video, claimed responsibility for the killing (click to enlarge)
Fresh graffiti daubed on walls in Craigavon declaring 'Still at war', and other ominous signs such as a 'sniper' road sign depicting a hooded marksman, signalled an appetite among some to plunge the province back into violence.
PC Carroll, 48, was lured to Monday night's ambush after police received a 999 call from a terrified woman whose window had been smashed by a brick.
Police sent two squad cars containing five officers to the incident, and PC Carroll was in the back-up vehicle.
As he sat in his unmarked Skoda, a gunman fired a shot to his head through the rear window.
Despite knowing they could be entering an IRA trap, the officers had attended because a frightened woman was crying for help.
Northern Ireland's police chief Sir Hugh Orde said: 'They received a call for help, they knew they had to go, they went.'
click to enlarge
PC Carroll, who was due to retire next year after more than two decades of service, was the first policeman killed by terrorists in Ulster since 1998.
He and his wife, from Banbridge, County Down, had been due to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary next year.
MI5, which has chief responsibility for national security in the province, has deployed additional staff to its Belfast headquarters in recent weeks following an increase in the threat level. More officers were sent out this week.
A senior source said of the dissidents: 'If you look at the history of the Republican movement there is a tradition of mounting campaigns on the mainland.
'I'm sure there are people in dissident ranks who would wish to do that but it's not at the top of their list at the moment. At the moment their focus is on Northern Ireland.'
Dolores Kelly, a member of both Northern Ireland's policing board and the SDLP party, said the province was 'staring into the abyss'. But Mr Brown said the political process remained 'unshakeable'.
CLICK TO ENLARGE
*****************************
EDWARD HEATHCOAT AMORY: What the weasel words of Gerry Adams really mean
10th March 2009
Daily Mail
When Gerry Adams, the president of Sinn Fein, eventually responded to the murders in Northern Ireland, he was pedantic, chilly and distant. Instead of acting as any other democratic politician would, he avoided expressing any condolence or outrage. Here we look at what Adams said ... and what he really meant.
SAID: 'Last night's attack was an attack on the peace process. It was wrong and counter-productive.'
MEANT: But it wasn't evil, it wasn't an outrage. I don't condemn the killers or describe them as terrorists. I express no deep compassion for those killed or their families. I merely regret that some of my republican colleagues have made a tactical error.
Back to war? Loyalist (pro-British) graffiti appeared yesterday in Armagh threatening to take revenge against Real IRA over murders
SAID: ' You may take some succour from the fact that whoever was involved have no support, no strategy and no popular will to back up their actions.'
MEANT: What really matters is that my political position and future career prospects must not be affected by these killings.
SAID: 'Sinn Fein has a responsibility to be consistent. The logic of this is that we support the police in the apprehension of those involved in last night's attack.'
MEANT: But if you think for one minute that I or my Sinn Fein colleagues would actually hand over any of the killers, forget it.
SAID: Asked why he hadn't expressed condolences: 'The Sinn Fein statement (describing the killings as counterproductive) was totally and absolutely unprecedented. The history of these islands ... is that the British Army in Ireland is not wanted by republicans, by patriots or democrats.'
MEANT: I was - though I now deny it - a senior IRA commander. I have never renounced violence, but merely accepted that for the moment politics is a more effective means to my ends than murder.
SAID: 'We've never tried to separate ourselves from the past, we've tried to live in the future.'
MEANT: Those in Britain who believe that when we entered the 'peace process' I and other Sinn Fein leaders drew a line under the violence of the past make a profound mistake. No Irish republican leader will ever give up our grudge against Britain, or our ambition of a united Ireland nor will we accept that there will never be any more killings in pursuit of that grudge.
SAID: 'The chief constable made a huge mistake, bringing in undercover British Army units. The involvement of these units in the past has led to the same type of suffering that has unfortunately been endured by the families of the two British soldiers who were killed.'
MEANT: We've done our best to destroy the ability of the security forces to control us by dismantling the Royal Ulster Constabulary, and one stubborn chief constable who believes that republican murderers shouldn't be allowed to plot in peace isn't going to stop us. If I have my way, he's the one who'll get the blame for Sunday's killings.
SAID: 'The real issue is that the threat to a peace process in Ireland has to be combated, and that puts a huge responsibility on Gordon Brown ... to actively defend the peace process, and it puts a big onus on the police to act accordingly also.'
MEANT: And absolutely no responsibility on Sinn Fein, because as always, the killing and the atrocities are never our fault.
dailymail.co.uk
Silent vigils were held this lunchtime in Belfast, Lisburn, Newry, Downpatrick and Londonderry by families determined not to see terrorism and war return to their streets.
As a lone bagpiper played a lament, the Belfast crowd fell silent for five minutes.
British soldiers, who were sent to Northern Ireland in 1969 to protect the population from terrorists, withdrew in 2007 after defeating the IRA. The only British soldiers that remain are those who just happen to be based there, as UK soldiers in the UK, just as they are based throughout the UK.
Many members of the crowds held placards saying "No going back", meaning they don't want to go back to the dark days of war, which is what these Irish republican groups want to happen.
3,700 people died during the conflict, which ended with the Good Friday Agreement in 1998, that was fought in Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland and England that saw the British Army, the Irish Army, the RAF, Royal Navy, British police, Irish police (Garda) and loyalists (UDA, UVF, LVF, RHC) fight Irish republican groups (PIRA, INLA, OIRA, IPLO, RIRA).
Silent vigils as Northern Ireland shows unity against dissident IRA killers
By Daily Mail Reporter
11th March 2009
Daily Mail
The people of Northern Ireland came together today in an unprecedented show of unity against the dissidents who have murdered three members of the security forces in as many days.
Silent vigils were held this lunchtime in Belfast, Lisburn, Newry, Downpatrick and Londonderry by families determined not to see terrorism return to their streets.
As a lone bagpiper played a lament, the Belfast crowd fell silent for five minutes.
'No going back,' placards held by the sombre crowds declared.
Many openly wept while others shook hands and offered their condolences to the most recent victim of the Troubles - a policeman shot dead on Monday night.
'End this madness', urged the front page of the Belfast Telegraph which was clutched by some of the demonstrators. Other slogans begged: 'No more killings'.
United: Thousands of people stand still during a silent protest in Belfast today (click to enlarge)
Patricia McKeown, President of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, said she hoped the silence of the crowds would 'be a silence that thunders around the world'.
Among the crowds, people expressed their desperation to avoid their children experiencing the bloodshed they had witnessed over 40 years of conflict in which 3,700 died.
Aidan Kane, a paramedic, came to the rally with his six-year-old boy on his shoulders.
'I'm a Catholic. I grew up in an area where the police were the enemy. Now things have changed so completely for the better,' he said.
'If my wee lad here wants to be a policeman when he grows up, I'd be proud. I shouldn't have to worry that some nut might shoot him for serving his community.'
John Bath, 49, added: 'What has happened over the last 10 years should not be surrendered. I grew up through the Troubles in Belfast. I don't want that for my children.'
Plea: The front page of the Belfast Telegraph was held by many at the rallies. Showing the three men killed this week, it urged: 'End this madness' (click to enlarge)
No going back: People are desperate to avoid a return to the Troubles (click to enlarge)
Terror has once again gripped Northern Ireland after the murders of two soldiers shot dead on Saturday night and then Monday's killing of PC Stephen Carroll.
The Real IRA claimed responsibility for the shooting of Mark Quinsey, 23, and Patrick Azimkar, 21, who were collecting a pizza at the gates hours before flying out to Afghanistan.
Four other people including two soldiers and two Domino's delivery men (one of them Polish) were wounded in the shocking attack outside the Massereene Military barracks in County Antrim.
Fears escalated yet further on Monday night when PC Caroll, an officer with 24 years service, was shot in the back of the head and killed.
Sapper Patrick Azimkar, of Birmingham, was said to be 'dedicated, ambitious and full of energy' (click to enlarge)
Sapper Mark Quinsey, of Wood Green, London, with his mother Pamela and sister Jaime. He was described as 'a mature, reliable and hugely capable young soldier with vast future potential' (click to enlarge)
The Continuity IRA, another splinter group, claimed responsibility his death - raising concerns volatile factions could start 'competing' among themselves in a new Irish terror campaign.
There were even suggestions the death was evidence they could now be co-ordinating attacks with their rivals.
Swoop: Police escort a man arrested over the murder of Constable Stephen Carroll to a police car. He is wearing a forensic top to preserve evidence (click to enlarge)
Community leaders and politicians had asked the public to show its abhorrence at the killings by gathering today.
They came after the Pope became the latest to denounce the murders, branding them 'abominable acts of terrorism' during an address to pilgrims in St Peter's Square in the Vatican City.
'I pray to the Lord, so that no one allows themselves to be again won over by the horrendous temptation of violence,' Benedict XVI said.
Dedicated: Constable Carroll was a PC for 24 years (click to enlarge)
In London, Gordon Brown and David Cameron led cross-party solidarity at Prime Minister's Questions where they expressed their condolences for the three fallen men.
The Prime Minister said: 'In Northern Ireland today we are seeing a degree of unity among the political parties that some people thought they would never see in their lifetimes.'
People were showing their 'unyielding resolution to say with one voice that the peace that the people of Northern Ireland are building no murderers should ever be allowed to destroy', he told the Commons.
No stone would be left unturned in making sure Northern Ireland Chief Constable Sir Huge Orde has everything possible to keep security as tight as possible, he added.
The Tory leader, in his first appearance at PMQs since his son died two weeks ago, urged everyone in the province to work with police to ensure the 'callous killers' are caught, charged and convicted.
MPs later held their own 15-minute silence later today in the Houses of Parliament by way of solidarity.
A boy of 17 and 37-year-old man were today being questioned over the murder of PC Carroll in Craigavon, Country Armagh.
The Catholic Northern Ireland police officer was executed with a bullet to the back of his head while attending a 999 callout to a woman in distress.
Before leaving for work, the PC had reassured his worried wife that he would be safe, telling her: 'I'll be grand, they won't get me.'
It was the last conversation they would ever have.
Devastated: PC Carroll's wife Kate is supported as his body is brought home (click to enlarge)
Loss: A police officer salutes as PC Carroll's coffin arrives at his home today (click to enlarge)
The teenager arrested over the policeman's death would have been just five when the IRA declared its 1997 ceasefire.
His mother and stepfather insist he is completely innocent. 'He isn't interested in politics, he only likes football,' she said, according to the Telegraph.
The boy's stepfather added: 'It's a disgrace that he's been arrested. He likes a drink but he would never harm anyone. He's a good boy.'
He claimed his stepson had an alibi because he was round at his girlfriend's house at the time of the shooting.
'It's terrible the way they are treating people. There used to be Provisionals around here in the past but they don't really exist any more, it's just a small faction of people,' he said.
'But the police aren't giving the people a chance. There's been a man shot and they need to do something about it, it's one of their own. But when you do something like this, arresting him, it encourages people to join these organisations.'
Security: An armed officer today in Craigavon where PC Carroll was killed (click to enlarge)
No one has so far been arrested over the deaths of the two soldiers on Saturday night, who were gunned down at the entrance to their barracks while collecting a pizza.
Less than two days later, as Britain was still reeling from the murders, PC Carroll was also shot dead.
And the Continuity IRA has vowed yet more bloodshed, declaring: 'As long as there is British involvement in Ireland, these attacks will continue.'
There are signs of growing panic among political leaders and police chiefs that the violence may spiral out of control.
Senior officers described the latest murder as a copycat attack and fear it is only a matter of time before there is another attempt to kill.
Police commanders held urgent talks with loyalist community leaders, urging them to tell their people not to retaliate against Catholics.
Members of the splinter group Continuity IRA, posing here in a video, claimed responsibility for the killing (click to enlarge)
Fresh graffiti daubed on walls in Craigavon declaring 'Still at war', and other ominous signs such as a 'sniper' road sign depicting a hooded marksman, signalled an appetite among some to plunge the province back into violence.
PC Carroll, 48, was lured to Monday night's ambush after police received a 999 call from a terrified woman whose window had been smashed by a brick.
Police sent two squad cars containing five officers to the incident, and PC Carroll was in the back-up vehicle.
As he sat in his unmarked Skoda, a gunman fired a shot to his head through the rear window.
Despite knowing they could be entering an IRA trap, the officers had attended because a frightened woman was crying for help.
Northern Ireland's police chief Sir Hugh Orde said: 'They received a call for help, they knew they had to go, they went.'
click to enlarge
PC Carroll, who was due to retire next year after more than two decades of service, was the first policeman killed by terrorists in Ulster since 1998.
He and his wife, from Banbridge, County Down, had been due to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary next year.
MI5, which has chief responsibility for national security in the province, has deployed additional staff to its Belfast headquarters in recent weeks following an increase in the threat level. More officers were sent out this week.
A senior source said of the dissidents: 'If you look at the history of the Republican movement there is a tradition of mounting campaigns on the mainland.
'I'm sure there are people in dissident ranks who would wish to do that but it's not at the top of their list at the moment. At the moment their focus is on Northern Ireland.'
Dolores Kelly, a member of both Northern Ireland's policing board and the SDLP party, said the province was 'staring into the abyss'. But Mr Brown said the political process remained 'unshakeable'.
CLICK TO ENLARGE
*****************************
EDWARD HEATHCOAT AMORY: What the weasel words of Gerry Adams really mean
10th March 2009
Daily Mail
When Gerry Adams, the president of Sinn Fein, eventually responded to the murders in Northern Ireland, he was pedantic, chilly and distant. Instead of acting as any other democratic politician would, he avoided expressing any condolence or outrage. Here we look at what Adams said ... and what he really meant.
SAID: 'Last night's attack was an attack on the peace process. It was wrong and counter-productive.'
MEANT: But it wasn't evil, it wasn't an outrage. I don't condemn the killers or describe them as terrorists. I express no deep compassion for those killed or their families. I merely regret that some of my republican colleagues have made a tactical error.
Back to war? Loyalist (pro-British) graffiti appeared yesterday in Armagh threatening to take revenge against Real IRA over murders
SAID: ' You may take some succour from the fact that whoever was involved have no support, no strategy and no popular will to back up their actions.'
MEANT: What really matters is that my political position and future career prospects must not be affected by these killings.
SAID: 'Sinn Fein has a responsibility to be consistent. The logic of this is that we support the police in the apprehension of those involved in last night's attack.'
MEANT: But if you think for one minute that I or my Sinn Fein colleagues would actually hand over any of the killers, forget it.
SAID: Asked why he hadn't expressed condolences: 'The Sinn Fein statement (describing the killings as counterproductive) was totally and absolutely unprecedented. The history of these islands ... is that the British Army in Ireland is not wanted by republicans, by patriots or democrats.'
MEANT: I was - though I now deny it - a senior IRA commander. I have never renounced violence, but merely accepted that for the moment politics is a more effective means to my ends than murder.
SAID: 'We've never tried to separate ourselves from the past, we've tried to live in the future.'
MEANT: Those in Britain who believe that when we entered the 'peace process' I and other Sinn Fein leaders drew a line under the violence of the past make a profound mistake. No Irish republican leader will ever give up our grudge against Britain, or our ambition of a united Ireland nor will we accept that there will never be any more killings in pursuit of that grudge.
SAID: 'The chief constable made a huge mistake, bringing in undercover British Army units. The involvement of these units in the past has led to the same type of suffering that has unfortunately been endured by the families of the two British soldiers who were killed.'
MEANT: We've done our best to destroy the ability of the security forces to control us by dismantling the Royal Ulster Constabulary, and one stubborn chief constable who believes that republican murderers shouldn't be allowed to plot in peace isn't going to stop us. If I have my way, he's the one who'll get the blame for Sunday's killings.
SAID: 'The real issue is that the threat to a peace process in Ireland has to be combated, and that puts a huge responsibility on Gordon Brown ... to actively defend the peace process, and it puts a big onus on the police to act accordingly also.'
MEANT: And absolutely no responsibility on Sinn Fein, because as always, the killing and the atrocities are never our fault.
dailymail.co.uk
Last edited: