Ray McCord to attend Sinn Féin Ard Fheis

[Wasp]

The Protestant anti-collusion campaigner giving a speech to Sinn Fein's annual conference today is under a new death threat from loyalists.


Police warned Raymond McCord last week that there is a specific and serious threat to his life.

He was issued with a written alert from the PSNI and he says he was warned that he was being followed by paramilitaries.

The campaigner - who helped expose the role of UVF police informer Mark Haddock in the murder of his son and nine other people - said he believes members of the UVF leadership are behind the threat, although police did not specify any group in the written warning.

And Mr McCord said he intends to make sure the International Monitoring Commission, the terrorism watchdog, is aware that he has been targeted.

I absolutely unreservedly condemn this threat against a man who has suffered enough. Any father would pursue the killers of his son and demand answers, let him do it and let him get on with it. If loyalists genuinely are threatening this man then they are no better than the republicans who they claim are their enemy.

Mr McCord said he intends to refer to the threat in his speech to Sinn Fein delegates in Dublin tonight.

He was invited to the party's ard fheis to discuss his experiences in exposing collusion between the UVF and police.

Why does he need to use a sinn fein conference to refer to the threat? Why did sinn fein invite him just on these grounds? Why didn't they invite victims and their families from there sectarian hate filled campaign? Why didn't they invite P. Quinn's family or the McCartney sisters? Oops forgot the old brainwashing propaganda with the butter wouldn't melt in our mouths display.

[Jim]

P Quinn?

[Wasp]

The young man recently beaten to death and branded a criminal by sinn fein.

[Jim]

Can you back it up that he was killed by republicans, then? Maybe you should be in touch with the psni they would like to know where you found that out.

[Wasp]

Maybe you should get his family, friends and neighbours including the majority of local people to tell you who done it. Are you saying Murphy was right in calling him a criminal or rather sneakily saying it was because of criminal activity etc? Shouldn't Murphy goto the psni and tell them all he knows including all those he spoke to and their position within the ira etc?

As usual locals who we shouldn't forget are sinn fein voters and supporters, loacal politicians etc etc are all wrong because like McCartney among others sinn fein don't like the bad publicity so its denial and accusations against this young man and what happened to him. Murphy should resign.

[Wasp]

Maybe you should read this. Bet if it was about the British you wouldn't have a problem believing it.

From the observer last October.

Two young South Armagh republicans have fled to England fearing they will be 'scapegoated' for the murder of Paul Quinn.
The Observer has learnt the two were part of the 15-strong gang that killed the 21-year-old during a savage beating at a farm in County Monaghan last weekend. All 15 were members of the Provisional IRA's South Armagh brigade.

'They left in the middle of the week after it became clear they were to take the "rap" for the Quinn murder,' one senior Irish police officer said this weekend. 'They were told they would have to hand themselves over to the gardai.'

The Garda officer said the men's leader, millionaire smuggler Thomas 'Slab' Murphy, was furious that the so-called punishment beating that went wrong has refocused attention on the IRA leader's smuggling empire on the border. Police officers on both sides of the border do not believe that the gang were under orders to kill their victim.

Quinn was lured to the farmhouse near the border last Saturday after defying repeated local IRA warnings to leave Northern Ireland. Quinn incurred the wrath of the South Armagh Provisionals after getting the better of a senior veteran republican in the area in a fist fight.

The murdered man's body was so badly broken and bruised that another Garda officer described it as 'looking like a lump of jelly'. It is believed most of Quinn's bones were smashed during the assault. 'The two boys told to hand themselves in bolted to Dublin instead and took the boat to England. It's left Slab and Co with a real problem.'

[Jim]

Wasp, the British legal system requires proof before blame, if we are going to go about things the right way for once then lets do that.

Papers can say all they need to say, that is their job, but the only way someone is guilty is if they are proven guilty, that whole article goes on assumption.

[Harry]

I think fair play to him for going to it but i feel he has given SF a real propaganda scoop by having a Unionist at their conference. SF would have no interest in him if he wasn't trying to uncover collusion relating to the British government and if the IRA had of killed his son and he was trying to find the killers i doubt he would of got any invite. He isn't there because he is a Unionist but merely because he can help SF further push the collusion issue while portraying some false sense of a new era between SF and Unionsim.

In saying that it is a shame on Unionism that he has had to go to a SF thing in order to highlight his case and again, like always, we hand SF postive proaganda on a plate. If SF had nothing to gain from this he wouldn't of been there. Regardless of my feeling relating to the finer points of this, he has went there as a Unionist and made it clear he doesn't share SF views and for that i truly think highly of him. A Unionist prepared to try things differently. Fair play.

Let this man live in peace and those who would target him are no fucking Loyalists but are most likely touting rats on the payroll of British Intelligence who would sell their own community out in the blink of an eye.

[Jim]

Harry you say "If SF had nothing to gain from this", but pretty much every party hosts people at their annual conferences when it favours them.

[Blue Angel]

it would be indeed be strange political party who did things they had nothing to gain from ....

[Jim]

Ha did he walk up in his sash?

Fair dos.

[Wasp]

IMO he should only have worn it if he was in the OO. He doesn't need to wear a sash to show he is a proud Unionist, all he had to do was say it.

[Harry]

jim said:

Harry you say "If SF had nothing to gain from this", but pretty much every party hosts people at their annual conferences when it favours them.

exactly, so as long as this is seen for exactly what it is i have no arguements

[Harry]

blueangel said:

it would be indeed be strange political party who did things they had nothing to gain from ....

excatly the same to yourself BA. as long as SF to don't try and spin this as anything other than it was then no complaints

[Wasp]

TBH I think he was an idiot for going.