RedCeltic
10th November 2001, 05:46
The following Article I recieved from RM distribution in a weekly E mail newsletter....
>>>>>> LEGAL ACTION AS RUC CRIMINALISES HOLY CROSS SCHOOLGIRLS
A parent of one of the children caught up in the daily "tunnel of
hate" in north Belfast is taking legal action against the RUC
police and the British Secretary of State in the High Court.
The unnamed parent's affidavit accuses the RUC of failing to
identify, arrest or prosecute loyalists who have intimidated and
abused Catholic schoolgirls as they go to and from school.
The RUC have accepted that the loyalists are breaking the law,
but their inaction has allowed the violence against the children
to continue, according to the Right to Education group which
represents the parents of Holy Cross school in Ardoyne.
The North's Human Rights Commission is financially supporting the
legal action.
Catholic parents bringing their children to the Holy Cross school
on the Ardoyne Road on Tuesday were forced off the footpath by
the RUC (now renamed the PSNI). Father Aidan Troy, chair of the
Holy Cross Board of Governors, described the RUC action as "heavy
handed".
The incident came just 24 hours after an agreement was reached
with loyalist residents of Upper Ardoyne that saw the RUC/PSNI
escort the parents and pupils to the school wearing only
so-called soft uniforms rather than riot gear.
On Tuesday morning, parents attempted to walk the last stretch of
the Ardoyne Road, that leads up to the school gates, on the
footpath. This is a part of the road free from loyalist
protesters, yet RUC officers blocked their way and physically
forced some of the parents and pupils onto the road.
"Anybody pushed off the road is going to feel intimidated. Some
of the children were in tears. People feel as if they are being
criminalised," said Fr Troy.
The agreement between loyalist protesters and the RUC/PSNI on how
the protest was to be policed was met with scepticism by Holy
Cross parents, given that the numerous death threats issued by
loyalist death squads are still in place.
Representatives of the Right to Education Group said that if the
loyalist protesters and RUC can reach agreement to keep the
protest low key, then parents should be allowed to walk their
children to school in their own time and without the convoy
system employed until now by the RUC/PSNI.
The North's Human Rights Commission has taken a particular
interest in the ongoing Holy Cross school dispute.
Speaking at the first joint meeting of Ireland's two Human Rights
Commissions, the North's Commissioner Brice Dickson said legal
advice suggested it would have been difficult for the commission
itself to bring a case against the police alleging it does not
sufficiently protect the rights of children. "It is a much more
straightforward case to bring for a parent or, indeed, one of the
children, and we would certainly support that," he said.
At the first official meeting in Belfast of the new all-Ireland
committee, set up under the terms of the 1998 Good Friday
Agreement, it was decided to draw up a charter of rights for the
whole island. The charter is expected to underline the right to
live free from sectarian harassment, also a key element of the
Good Friday Agreement, which was intended to protect people from
being subjected to the kind of intimidation currently taking
place in north Belfast.
Meanwhile, loyalists were not present outside Holy Cross Primary
school this morning because the children are due to sit their
11-plus transfer examination. They are to return this afternoon
after the examinations have finished.
>>>>>> LEGAL ACTION AS RUC CRIMINALISES HOLY CROSS SCHOOLGIRLS
A parent of one of the children caught up in the daily "tunnel of
hate" in north Belfast is taking legal action against the RUC
police and the British Secretary of State in the High Court.
The unnamed parent's affidavit accuses the RUC of failing to
identify, arrest or prosecute loyalists who have intimidated and
abused Catholic schoolgirls as they go to and from school.
The RUC have accepted that the loyalists are breaking the law,
but their inaction has allowed the violence against the children
to continue, according to the Right to Education group which
represents the parents of Holy Cross school in Ardoyne.
The North's Human Rights Commission is financially supporting the
legal action.
Catholic parents bringing their children to the Holy Cross school
on the Ardoyne Road on Tuesday were forced off the footpath by
the RUC (now renamed the PSNI). Father Aidan Troy, chair of the
Holy Cross Board of Governors, described the RUC action as "heavy
handed".
The incident came just 24 hours after an agreement was reached
with loyalist residents of Upper Ardoyne that saw the RUC/PSNI
escort the parents and pupils to the school wearing only
so-called soft uniforms rather than riot gear.
On Tuesday morning, parents attempted to walk the last stretch of
the Ardoyne Road, that leads up to the school gates, on the
footpath. This is a part of the road free from loyalist
protesters, yet RUC officers blocked their way and physically
forced some of the parents and pupils onto the road.
"Anybody pushed off the road is going to feel intimidated. Some
of the children were in tears. People feel as if they are being
criminalised," said Fr Troy.
The agreement between loyalist protesters and the RUC/PSNI on how
the protest was to be policed was met with scepticism by Holy
Cross parents, given that the numerous death threats issued by
loyalist death squads are still in place.
Representatives of the Right to Education Group said that if the
loyalist protesters and RUC can reach agreement to keep the
protest low key, then parents should be allowed to walk their
children to school in their own time and without the convoy
system employed until now by the RUC/PSNI.
The North's Human Rights Commission has taken a particular
interest in the ongoing Holy Cross school dispute.
Speaking at the first joint meeting of Ireland's two Human Rights
Commissions, the North's Commissioner Brice Dickson said legal
advice suggested it would have been difficult for the commission
itself to bring a case against the police alleging it does not
sufficiently protect the rights of children. "It is a much more
straightforward case to bring for a parent or, indeed, one of the
children, and we would certainly support that," he said.
At the first official meeting in Belfast of the new all-Ireland
committee, set up under the terms of the 1998 Good Friday
Agreement, it was decided to draw up a charter of rights for the
whole island. The charter is expected to underline the right to
live free from sectarian harassment, also a key element of the
Good Friday Agreement, which was intended to protect people from
being subjected to the kind of intimidation currently taking
place in north Belfast.
Meanwhile, loyalists were not present outside Holy Cross Primary
school this morning because the children are due to sit their
11-plus transfer examination. They are to return this afternoon
after the examinations have finished.