Twinbrook anger at RUC

THERE has been angry reaction from Twinbrook residents to a raid by RUC men on a house in the area which led to the arrest of a father of seven for the non payment of a £9 fine.
During the raid three RUC men – two of them carrying sub-machince guns – burst into the home of Mr Gerard Duffy at Glasvey Gardens and he was punched and kicked before being taken to the RUC barracks at Dunmurry.
Mr Duffy was lifted for non-payment of a fine imposed because his car had not been taxed. But, after representations from his solicitor, it was agreed that the fine would be waived when it was learned that no tax book had been available for the vehicle.
He was held for an hour and a half in Dunmurry and was released when a relative arrived and paid the fine.
The RUC men – one of whom was in plain clothes – had arrived in the area in a red Vauxhall car without markings.
One Twinbrook resident said later: “So much for the RUC’s concern about the peace talks. They wouldn’t have done that sort of thing before the ceasefire.”

Order is expected soon for new IRA ceasefire

A NEW ceasefire order is expected to be issued to all IRA units within the next 48 hours. But a formal announcement by the Republican Army Council is not expected until early next week.
The decision to order a ceasefire came after a second round of talks between senior Stormont and republican officials at a secret venue about five miles from Belfast on Wednesday night.
In a statement issued late on Wednesday Britain’s supremo here, Merlyn Rees, said: “I am sure that the people of Northern Ireland would wish to see effective arrangements made to ensure that the ceasefire did not break down. I attach very great importance to this, and practical arrangements would be necessary.”
Republican leaders are now believed to regard this as a sufficient gesture to allow them to order another ceasefire.
But it is believed that they will want meaningful talks on a number of issues shortly after their ceasefire is publicly announced. Another reason why a new ceasefire is possible has been the low profile approach adopted by the British Army since the shock announcement last week that the truce was off.
A key factor in the decision to call off the Christmas ceasefire was the behaviour of British units in Belfast and several rural areas where they stepped up their activity to take advantage of the ceasefire.
British leaders in London are known to have been surprised at the IRA decision and there has been speculation that advice from their military leaders – who had claimed that the IRA ceasefire was certain to continue because the IRA was beaten – is now being ignored by Westminster leaders.
British Premier Wilson is said to have been furious that the much-vaunted military intelligence network in Ireland was totally unaware that the ceasefire was in danger.
And parallels are being drawn between the military intelligence blunder of last week and similar blunders before Internment Day and Operation Motorman – when politicians were advised that both moves would “help solve the Irish question”. IN a front page article in the Sunday World this week reporter John Keane disclosed that the 1,400 political prisoners in the Long Kesh internment camp are being held in huts which would be regarded by the EEC farming officials as unsuitable for pighouses.

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ROMANOS
Saturday 25 January 9-1 – From the top of the charts KENNY (hit disc: The Bump); Saturday 1 February GLITTER BAND.