THURSDAY, JANUARY 2, 2003: Roy Green (34) from the Donegall Road area of Belfast, believed to be a close associate of UDA/UFF leader Johnny Adair, was shot dead as he left the Kimberly Bar near the Ormeau Road in Belfast.
MONDAY, JANUARY 6, 2003: A pipe bomb was discovered strapped to the gates of Holy Cross Girls Primary School in north Belfast , which was picketed by loyalists for most of this year, was defused by British army bomb disposal experts. Responsibility for placing the pipe bomb was claimed by the loyalist death squad Red Hand Defenders, a cover-name used by the UDA/UFF.
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 8, 2003: A large force of RUC moved into
the nationalist Rosapenna Street/Old Park Road on Wednesday afternoon around
2pm and carried out a search of part of a building site there. The search
went on for a number of hours and the later claimed to have uncovered a
blank firing handgun and ammunition.
The home of Johnny Adair was attacked at 6.30am by a blast bomb. The attack has been claimed by one of the factions of the UDA/UFF.
At around 9pm nationalists again took action against the spy cameras. A number of tyres, transported by a hi-jacked van, were placed around the cameras and set on fire. The van was then driven to the top of Alliance Ave and was used to ram, and knock off the wall, one of the boxes that control the spy cameras. The cameras were out of action well into next day. The van was also used at to ram an area in Etna Drive where ground was being made ready for the erection of additional spy cameras and was then set on fire.
The nationalist people of Ardoyne made it clear that they do not want these Brit spy cameras. It is also clear that any claims of demilitarisation are false — there is no such thing as demilitarisation in the Occupied Six Counties. The closure of a few barracks over the years was purely a cost-saving exercise for the British. Spy cameras take up less man power and are more effective when spying on nationalists/ Republicans — the spy cameras have replaced the spy posts in a clear updating of militarisation. Big Brother is watching you at less the cost, picking out Republicans and nationalists alike, no one is innocent in the eye of the cameras. The spy cameras also leave members of the Occupation Forces freer to oppress the nationalist community on the ground.
In east Belfast at around 10pm loyalists set fire to hedges in the grounds
of St Matthews Chapel on the Lower Newtownards Road. St Matthews in Short
Strand has been the scene of a number of attacks that are on-going.
The CIRA was also accredited with having left a device outside a supermarket in Dungannon, Co. Tyrone on the same date.
It was reported that overflights of foreign military aircraft in the 26 Counties had increased by 40% last year.
THURSDAY, JANUARY 9, 2003: A large force of RUC/Brit occupation
forces on foot and with armoured cars and land rovers moved into the top
of Etna Drive Alliance Ave to place the post for the new spy camera there.
Around the same time at the top of Alliance Ave workmen set about replacing
the spy cameras which had been knocked off the wall. When it had been replaced,
three concrete 'dragons teeth' were placed around the box ruling out any
further attempts at ramming the control box.
FRIDAY, JANUARY 10, 2003: A Protestant primary school on the Ardoyne Road was hit by a bomb scare on Friday morning. The scare turned out to be a hoax and started in Wheatfield primary school that is just across the road from Holy Cross Girls primary on the Ardoyne Road. A package sent to the school was found to be a video with wires inside.
A note found in the package had the words ‘Catholic Reaction Force’ on it. Republican Sinn Féin in north Belfast said “attacks on schools are wrong, be it Catholic or Protestant schools, pipe bombs on school gates or hoax bombs sent through the post. Such actions cannot be justified.” The statement continued: “In our view no such group as the ‘Catholic Reaction Force’ is in existence and claims made under the name CRF must be viewed with scepticism.”
Johnny Adair, the notorious loyalist, was returned to Maghaberry prison
by order of the British Secretary of State to the Occupied Six Counties
Paul Murphy. It is believed that this is an attempt by the British to end
the on-going loyalist feud.
SATURDAY, JANUARY 11, 2003: Once again the nationalist community take action against the British spy cameras. This time nationalists, using a grinder, cut down the post that had been erected for the spy cameras at the Etna Drive and Alliance Ave. The post now lies across the so-called peace line between the bottom of Glenbryn and the nationalist Alliance Ave that looks into Etna Drive, Ardoyne.
This sorry-looking sight is a clear statement to those who force these
spy cameras on the nationalist community of Ardoyne.
SUNDAY, JANUARY 12, 2003: After Mass a plaque was unveiled in memory of Danny McColgan, murdered by the UFF a year ago as he went to work at Rathcoole Post Office, at the home of his parents in the Longlands area. Danny was 20 years old when he was cut down on a Saturday morning January 2002.
In north Belfast around the Ardoyne, Bone, Cliftonville Areas, RUC/Brit
army Occupation forces were heavy on the ground. Armoured cars, land rovers
and foot patrols moved round the area throughout the day.
MONDAY, JANUARY 13, 2003: Monday night was again witness to nationalists in Ardoyne taking action against the Brit spy camera at the top of Estorial Park. The spy camera was cut doing by nationalists using a grinder.
This attack on the Brit spy system set up around Ardoyne under the very
noses of the large force of Occupation Force who were in the area throughout
the day.
The trial of eight members of Republican Sinn Féin charged with membership of an illegal organisation began at the Special Court in Dublin.
TUESDAY, JANUARY 14, 2003: Tuesday was witness to loyalist attacks
in east Belfast. These attacks took place in the small hours of Tuesday
when loyalists threw bricks, bottles and other missiles into the nationalist
Clandeboyne in Short Strand.
A number of Cliftonville supporters told SAOIRSE on their return back to Belfast that their bus had been attacked by a large crowd, many of them women who were singing loyalist songs and jeering sectarian slogans, as the RUC stood by.
One fan from the Old Park/ Bone area said “We were sitting in the bus and had just moved off, (the young man suffered a wound to his arm), then the next thing we knew was the window coming in round us. First there was a shock not knowing what happened, then I could feel the terrible pain in my arm, the glass was everywhere.
“I looked over to my mate who was sitting beside me and saw the blood running down his mouth and chin. The attack on our bus was vicious, those who did it knew very well that there was a lot a wee kids on our bus, one wee fella, I'd say about seven years old was also hit. He was seated just in front of us. The bus drove on a small bit and the peelers go on when we all complained about the attack. The peelers’ attitude came as no surprise, as it was indifferent and sectarian.
“One of them said well what do you expected with a Tricolour on the bus, I don’t know about the Tricolour, but, the peelers showed their true colours,” the fan said.
This is just one in a long history of attacks, carried out by sectarian
loyalism on Cliftonville supporters. These attacks are for the most part
played down.
Attacks on buses such as this are wrong for many reasons as pointed
out here, but it should also be pointed out that both City Bus and Ulster
Bus play down one incident in favour of another as is the case here.
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 15, 2003: There was no reports of trouble on Wednesday, but, once again north Belfast was to witness a heavy force of Brit/RUC occupation forces on the ground. Foot patrols backed up mobile patrols and the scene was set for the day.
There has been no attempt as yet to replace camera poles that had been
cut down earlier in the week.
Andrew Logan (29), from Carnhill Walk, Carrickfergus, Co Antrim appeared in court on charges arising out of the discovery of a loyalist bomb factory at Castlemara Drive in Carrickfergus.
THURSDAY, JANUARY 16, 2003: In a statement the UVF/RHC (both one and the same) said that their ceasefire (which is and has been questionable in the view of nationalists) is now in danger!
After attacking the pro-Union Provisionals the UVF (with their usual rhetoric and their own brand of sectarian murder of the innocent since its formation from the Shankill Butchers and beyond) went on in their statement in what could only be seen as a veiled threat, turned their attention towards Republicans telling those who still carry on the military campaign to end it. They stated that the Republican war was a phoney war!
This latest statement will not surprise the nationalist people who saw the UVF cease-fire as nothing more than a joke. Unlike the UDA/UFF the UVF have, for the most part, been able to stay out of the limelight when they carried out attacks on the nationalists community often using other loyalist gangs as cover for their sectarian actions.
At about 10.30pm an object was found in the garden of a house in Brompton
Park in Ardoyne. The street was closed for a time due to the bomb scare
but the occupation forces claimed it was a hoax.
FRIDAY, JANUARY 17, 2003: RUC/Brit Occupation forces heavy on
the ground in many areas of north Belfast particularly around Ardoyne,
Old Park, the Bone and Cliftonville areas. Foot patrols were backed up
by mobile patrols and as they moved through the areas nationalist youths
every so often attacked them with bricks and bottles. The youths would
then retreat down the side streets only to come back and wait for the next
Brit mobile patrol.
SUNDAY, JANUARY 19, 2003: Fighting broke out in Alliance Ave when loyalists were confronted by nationalists after they made their way down the Ardoyne Road towards the nationalists homes. The fighting was heavy and at close hand for a time before subsiding. A large force of Occupation Forces moved into the area. Loyalist in the Glen Byrn area claimed later that nationalists from the Ardoyne came into their area and attacked and burned a car parked outside a house in Glenbyrn.
Nationalists reject this claim. One nationalist who had witnessed
the trouble said “It's just rubbish to say that nationalists went into
Glenbyrn and burned a car.
There's been a lot of loyalist in-fighting up there. Now they are trying
to cover up their own problems and who falls for it? The people of Ardoyne,
that's whats happening,” Tension remains high in the area.
Later that night trouble broke out between the loyalist factions. It is believed that one faction of the UDA/UFF attacked a number of houses belonging to loyalists who have sided with Johnny Adair’s Shankill C Coy. It is also reported that at one stage shots were fired.
This latest in-fighting between loyalist factions backs up[ nationalists
claims that an earlier attack when a car was burned out was yet more loyalist
in fighting.
MONDAY, JANUARY 20, 2003: Loyalists forced seven loyalist families out of Glen Byrn because they familys claim they are loyal to Johnny Adair and his gang known as C Coy.
Frank McCoubrey, a Belfast city councillor with links to Adair, said later that the families were forced out of their homes by 'mainstream' UDA.
But Sammy Duddy of the so-called ‘Ulster Political Research Group’ (UPRG) denied it was the UDA. The fact is when the latest split in the UDA/UFF came the UDA/UFF faction opposed to the Johnny Adare faction took control of the Glenbyrn area, leaving Mr Duddy's claims lacking credibility.
Once again a heavy force of Occupation forces on the ground in North
Belfast.
TUESDAY, JANUARY 21, 2003: Tuesday was once again witness to
a heavy force of Occupation forces moving around the Alliance Ave, Deer
Park, Cliftonville Road, Ardoyne Road, Crumlin Road and Old Park/Bone areas.
A number of check points were set up on and off throughout the day.
Loyalists attacked a group of nationalists with petrol bombs on the
Limestone Road. It was only luck that no one was badly injured or worse
in this latest sectarian attack.
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 22, 2003: There were reports that Father Aidan
Troy of Holy Cross, Ardoyne had been threatened by loyalists, not for the
first time.
Fr Troy is best known for standing up for the primary schoolchildren
of Hold Cross Girls, defending their basic right to be able to walk to
school, free from sectarianism and bigotry.
It was believed that this latest threat said Fr Troy would be killed within two days of it being made.
In what was believed to be the latest step in the ongoing UDA/UFF feud a number of bars were attacked by pipe and blast bombs; the bombers were believed to have been from Johnny Adair’s C Company, Lower Shankill.
The bars attacked were McKenna’s on the Upper Crumlin Road; the Cavehill
Inn on the Cavehill Road, both in north Belfast and another bomb was thrown
at a club on the Shankill Road in west Belfast. No one was injured in these
attacks, but a number of people were treated for shock. All of these attacked
took place around 10.30pm.
THURSDAY, JANUARY 23, 2003: It was reported that a letter bomb
had been sent to the Prison Service Office at Stormont. The bomb didn't
go off.
It had been claimed that the bill for damage done to Brit spy cameras
in the north Belfast area was £700,000. As yet there has been no
attempt to replace spy cameras removed from Estoril Park and Etna Drive
by nationalists a number of weeks ago.
A hoax bomb which was sent to leading loyalist Sammy Duddy at his home in the loyalist Rathcoole estate, outside Belfast was believed to have come from associates of Johnny Adair.
FRIDAY, JANUARY 24, 2003: British Occupation Forces were out
in force on the streets of north Belfast. Checkpoints were also set up
throughout the day.
Brits driving around in Land Rovers shouted abuse at young nationalist
youths as they passed, causing a reaction from the youths who threw the
odd stone or half-brick at the British mobile patrols, once again setting
the scene for the rest of the day.
SATURDAY, JANUARY 25, 2003: There were no reports of trouble, although checkpoints were set up in a number of areas throughout north Belfast. Some of these checkpoints were set up from as early as 6am in the Crumlin Road and Old Park areas.
Again these were backed up by mobile and foot patrols.
SUNDAY, JANUARY 26, 2003: Early on Sunday morning nationalists making their way home after a night out in local clubs in the Old Park/Cliftonville area were met with abuse from British foot patrols.
At one stage a scuffle between nationalists and members of a British foot patrol took place. This is just another part of the ongoing harassment being carried out against the nationalist community of north Belfast.
There was also trouble in the Limestone Road, north Belfast area as loyalists from Tiger's Bay again attacked the nationalist area, the latest in a long history of such attacks.
Tension remained high.
MONDAY, JANUARY 27, 2003: On Monday night sectarian loyalist attacks took place in the Limestone Road area. Loyalists from the Tiger's Bay area used petrol bombs to attack nationalist homes. It was only luck that none of the bombs hit their target.
Loyalists in the Tiger's Bay area later claimed that they were the target
and not nationalist homes. Counter claims after such attacks always play
a part to shift the blame or mislead the onlooker. It is also clear once
again that the loyalists in the area are setting the scene for the year
ahead.
TUESDAY, JANUARY 28, 2003: There was an attack on the home of a nationalist family in the Dunmurry area. It was believed that a number of petrol bombs were used in the early morning attack, one setting the front door of the house on fire.
In the afternoon, a number of pipe and blast bomb parts were found by
workmen on a site in the loyalist West Circular Road in west Belfast.
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 29, 2003: Although there were no reports of
trouble, north Belfast once again witnessed British Crown Forces foot and
mobile patrols as well as checkpoints heavy on the ground.
THURSDAY, JANUARY 30, 2003: No reports of trouble but British
Occupation Forces were again heavy on the ground in many parts of north
Belfast.
Mary Kelly (50) was charged with damaging a US military airplane, refuelling at Shannon Airport and causing €500,000 of damage to it in a protest against the use of Shannon Airport by US military aircraft en route to the Gulf in advance of a war on Iraq.
FRIDAY, JANUARY 31, 2003: It was revealed that a 21-year-old Ardoyne man, Daniel White, escaped a loyalist attempt to abduct him on the night of Friday, January 24. Daniel had planned to go to the Jamaica Inn, a club in Ardoyne. He said he got out of a taxi at the Glen Park at 9.45pm that night but decided not to go in.
“So I started to walk towards the Jamaica Inn,” He said. “Down the Jamaica Inn I noticed that there was a blue Escort car following me. They rolled the window down and started to shout abuse at me. There were three men in the car.
“I became very anxious so when I turned the corner I ran as fast as I could. The car started to chase me and they all jumped out. Two of them grabbed me and trailed me into the car and the other stood at the driver’s door.
“I tried to break away but they grabbed my coat and then the driver pulled me into the car again and started to hit me. I fought back and finally broke away, leaving my coat which had my mobile phone and wallet in it with the gang.”
Daniel suffered a fractured hand and severe bruising in the abduction attempt, one of a number of such attempts in the north Belfast area.
It is clear that loyalists who are locked in a feud are looking for a way out and, as has been the case in the past, that way out is to target and kill nationalists.
There was a heavy presence of British Occupation Forces on the ground
throughout the day in nationalist areas of north Belfast.
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