After Nally's Acquittal: Vigil for Travellers' Rights
23 Dec 2006 22:07 GMT"If Pádraig Nally had been convicted and received a suspended sentence at least that would have been some acknowledgment of the hurt inflicted on the extended Ward family, and indeed the Traveller community. But Padraig Nally's acquittal means that no wrong or hurt has been done and that is just not acceptable. We are angry and we have every right to be." -Martin Collins, Pavee Point
Images of Tuesday's vigil at the steps of the Four Courts
For more information, see the Full story on Indymedia Ireland
On Thursday, December 14, 62-year-old Mayo farmer Pádraig Nally was aquitted of manslaughter by a Central Criminal Court jury, overturning the six-year sentence that was imposed on November 11, 2005 for the October 14, 2004 killing of Traveller John Ward, aged 42. According to the original hearing, Nally saw Ward entering his home through the back door; a struggle ensued, in which Nally hit the unarmed man twenty times with a thick piece of ash, shot Ward in the hip and hand, followed Ward down to the road, and shot him dead before pulling his body across the road and putting it into a field. According to Nally, "It was like hitting a stone or a badger. You could hit him but you could not kill him." The original hearing found Nally not guilty of murder but guilty of manslaughter, as Justice Carney stated that while Nally may have initially been defending his property, he did not have the right to then pursue and kill Ward. The case has stirred public ire, both from rural farmers who feel victimized by burglary, as well as from travellers and their supporters who feel that Nally's aquittal was motivated by racism.
Ireland's approximately 30,000 Travellers are a native people with a nomadic tradition; they are distinct from Europe's Roma, and in Northern Ireland and Great Britain are recognised as a minority ethnic group. "If Padraig Nally had been convicted and received a suspended sentence at least that would have been some acknowledgement of the hurt inflicted on the extended Ward family, and indeed the Traveller community. But Padraig Nally's acquittal means that no wrong or hurt has been done and that is just not acceptable. We are angry and we have every right to be," said Martin Collins, of the Travellers' rights group, Pavee Point.
For more information, see the Full story on Indymedia Ireland
WHERE IS THE OUTRAGE?!
durruti 27.Dec.2006 03:44
Lets have a center page article about the war in Somalia.
WHERE IS THE OUTRAGE?!
DURING ISRAELS SUMMER WAR WITH LEBANON, WHICH WAS CLEARLY SEEN AS AN AMERICAN SUPPORTED PROXY WAR IN BUSH'S DOMINATION OF THE MIDDLE EAST, PEOPLE ALL OVER THE WORLD DEMONSTRATED AGAINST THE ISRAELI ATTACKS. ETHIOPIAN FORCES WITH THE FULL SUPPORT OF WASHINGTON ARE NOW POUNDING SOMALIA IN A BRUTAL INVASION TO DEFEAT ISLAMISTS. AT LEAST A THOUSAND PEOPLE HAVE BEEN KILLED SINCE MAJOR BATTLES ERUPTED WEDNESDAY. ARAB LIVES ARE NOT WORTH MORE THAN AFRICAN LIVES. THE GREEN LIGHT FOR ETHIOPIA TO GO AHEAD WITH THIS WAR CAME FROM WASHINGTON. THE ORDERS FOR THE INVASION OF IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN CAME FROM WASHINGTON. ISRAEL GOT APPROVAL FROM WASHINGTON DURING THEIR ATTACKS ON LEBANON. A PROXY WAR INITIATED BY THE UNITED STATES IS THE SAME AS A DIRECT WAR INITIATED BY THE UNITED STATES. IT DOESNT MAKE A DIFFERENCE IF ETHIOPIAN TROOPS ARE FIGHTING INSTEAD OF AMERICAN TROOPS. THIS LATEST "HOLY WAR" IS TAKING PLACE ON THE WORLDS POOREST CONTINENT WHERE RELIGIOUS AND ETHNIC CONFLICT ARE ALREADY A BIG PROBLEM. THE POWERS THAT BE IN WASHINGTON ARE DELIBERATELY CAUSING THE DEMISE OF AFRICA. OUR "PROGRESSIVE LEADERSHIP" HAS NOT EVEN LIFTED A FINGER IN PROTEST ABOUT THIS. MAJOR LEFTIST ORGANIZATIONS LIKE UFPJ, ANSWER AND WCW HAVE NOT SAID ANYTHING ABOUT THE WAR IN SOMALIA WHICH PROBABLY WILL BE JUST AS DEADLY AS THE IRAQ WAR IF NOT WORSE. THE 2003 INVASION OF IRAQ GOT A HUGE RESPONSE FROM THE LEFT. NOT A SINGLE ACTIVIST GROUP, TO MY KNOWLEDGE, HAS TAKEN ACTION OVER THIS.
DO WE HAVE TO BE THAT SIMPLE-MINDED?