LinkBack URL
About LinkBacks
Have just read on the 32 board that the young catolic who was beaten by loyalists in Ballymena has died, here is their release
Press Release: 32 County Sovereignty Movement
8/05/2006
Contact: Andy Martin Director of Publicity
Phone 07742439449 or e-mail sovereign_nation@hotmail.com
Nationalist concerns grow as murder highlights police inaction in Ballymena.
The 32 County Sovereignty Movement extend our deepest sympathies to the family of Michael McIlveen following his Murder at the hands of Loyalists in Ballymena. Michael was attacked by a Loyalist gang wielding baseball bats and severely beaten in Garfield place and tragically died on Monday evening as a result of this sectarian attack.
Three witness who gave statements to the police on Monday were visited within a matter of hours by the RUC/PSNI whoinformed them that their lives were under threat from Loyalists and then asked them did they want to retract their statements. The 32 County Sovereignty Movement view the behaviour of the police with alarm given the timescale between the statements being given and the death threats received. How did these Loyalists know statements had been taken and the identities of those who had made the statements? This follows equally worrying behaviour on Sunday evening following the attack when local republicans were in the area trying to calm tensions. A group of Loyalists armed with Stanley knives and claw hammers entered a street where the republicans were visiting relatives of Michael McIlveen. Local residents took a number of hurling sticks from some children who were playing in the street presumably to defend thmselves at which point the RUC/PSNI arrived in the street and surrounded the nationalists. When nationalist residents protested and pointed out that there were armed Loyalists still in the street the police told them that they would deal with that after they had dealt with them, when it was pointed out that the nationalist residents had done nothing a further five landrovers of police in riot gear entered the street and stood outside the house, again ignoring the loyalists who calmly made their way out of the area unhindered.
Recently a man who was stabbed by a gang of up to thirty Loyalists who rampaged through a shopping centre in Ballymena was charged with assault and affray, presumably for trying to defend himself while those who attacked him got away scott free.
The murder of Michael McIlveen is the latest in a litany of attacks by Loyalists in Ballymena and the lack of action by the police illustrates perfectly that despite cosmetic changes they are still a sectarian police force. Ballymena town centre is still a no go area for nationalists who live in constant fear of attack both in the town and within nationalist areas. The police appear unwilling or unable to protect nationalists and recent events have confirmed that the RUC/PSNI are, at the very least, turning a blind eye to Loyalist aggression in Ballymena. The 32 County Sovereignty Movement call on nationalists to remain vigilant and to unite to defend themselves from attacks by pro British death squads both in and out of uniform.
Message Ends.
Reply With Quote
Originally Posted by Unionist
: