A viable bomb placed under a serving police officer’s car in Belfast was a murder attempt by dissident republican paramilitaries, the police have said.
The unexploded device was discovered on the Upper Newtownards Road at about 14:00 GMT on Sunday.
Army bomb disposal officers have been called to deal with the device and have carried out a controlled explosion.
The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) said the bomb was “clearly intended to kill the police officer”.
Evacuated
In a statement, PSNI Assistant Chief Constable George Hamilton said: “It is very fortunate that this device was detected before it exploded and that no one was killed or seriously injured.
“Initial investigations would indicate that this was a viable device placed below an officer’s car sometime in the last 48 hours.”
ACC Hamilton added that the officer’s family and neighbours “were also put at risk of serious harm”.
A number of houses in the area have been evacuated. The nearby Stormont Presbyterian Church has been opened for residents forced to leave their homes.
The Upper Newtownards Road has been closed to traffic between the Knock Road junction and Cabin Hill Park.
ACC Hamilton added: “Our belief is that this attempted murder was carried by those opposed to peace from within dissident republicanism.
“They don’t care who they attack, they don’t care who they kill. They are simply anti-peace and determined to carry on bringing pain and devastation to families and communities by maiming and killing.”
Booby-trap
In recent years, dissident republican paramilitary groups have carried out a number of attacks on PSNI officers.
In April 2011, Constable Ronan Kerr was killed when a booby-trap car bomb exploded under his car in Omagh, County Tyrone.
The previous year, Constable Peadar Heffron lost a leg in a similar attack as he drove to work in Randalstown, County Antrim.
The SDLP’s spokesperson on policing, Conall McDevitt, condemned the latest attack, describing it as a “cynical and deplorable act”.
He said: “Those seeking to target police officers are undermining not only the stated will of the people of Ireland who have long since rejected violence, but also the desire for a new beginning for policing in the north, which is shared by the majority of citizens.”
Mr McDevitt urged anyone with information about the attack to contact the PSNI.
‘Cowardly act’
Robin Newton from the DUP said the attack was an attempt to murder.
“Those who placed this potential bomb have nothing to offer the community except heartache and sorrow,” the East Belfast MLA said.
“I pay tribute to the PSNI officers and the bomb squad officers who risked their lives to make the area safe, not only for the intended victim but all who live in close proximity,” Mr Newton said.
The Alliance MLA for the area, Chris Lyttle, said: “My immediate thoughts and prayers are with the officer and the family directly affected by this cowardly act.”
“I’d also give my full support to every serving PSNI officer working to uphold the rule of law at this difficult time,” he added.
EU Minister Bagis said Turkey was hopeful its bid to join the European Union would accelerate during Ireland’s presidency of the EU.
DUBLIN — Turkey’s EU Minister and Chief Negotiator Egemen Bagis said Turkey was hopeful its bid to join the European Union would accelerate during Ireland’s presidency of the EU in the first half of next year.
Speaking to Irish Times during his Ireland visit last week, Bagis said “Turkey did not expect to become a full member of the EU during the Irish presidency but they were pragmatic and they would work very hard to achieve the goal of putting Turkish-EU relations on a much more reliable track”. He added they thought with strong Irish support they could turn the process around.
Mary Fitzgerald, the Irish Times foreign policy correspondent wrote in her piece Bagis’s statements on Turkey was heartened by signals from Paris that French president Francois Hollande, while stopping short of endorsing Ankara’s candidacy, took a more sympathetic view than his predecessor Nicolas Sarkozy, who was strongly opposed to Turkey’s accession.
Turkey began formal accession talks in 2005 but has completed only one of the 35 policy ‘chapters’ every candidate must conclude in order to join the EU. All but 13 were blocked by France, Cyprus and the European Commission said Bagis and added he hoped France would unblock talks over its accession on at least two policy chapters in the coming months ahead of a visit by Hollande to Turkey.
Given Ireland’s position of supporting Turkish accession, Bagis said he believed its six-month EU presidency would mark a ‘historical turning point’ in the process.
He said despite dwindling domestic support, Turkey has continued to push for full membership of the EU, saying it wanted to join before 2023, the centenary of its founding as a republic.
Bagis repeated Ankara’s line that the EU needs Turkey more than Turkey needs the EU. He compared the EU’s economic crisis with Turkey’s soaring growth rate, and said Turkey was crucial for European access to regional energy sources and lucrative markets.
Bagis acknowledged that in several EU states where governments support Turkish accession, including Ireland, public sentiment did not always match the official position. He bemoaned the ‘prejudice’ he said was at the heart of this opposition.
He said he had detected a shift in the personal views of Minister for European Affairs Lucinda Creighton, who had voiced strong opposition to Turkey joining the EU before she became Minister, in an official visit to Turkey earlier this year.
Bagis said Turkey had an image problem, and added that “But when people visited Turkey, they would see that it was different to what they expected”.
Responding the criticism of the EU for shortcomings in free speech and freedom of religion, and has raised concerns over minority rights, Bagis said progress was being made in these areas. He said the reform process was going faster, and Turkey was becoming more democratic and dynamic.
ANKARA LETTER: This proud city is struggling to understand why, despite its growth, it is still being held at arm’s length
It is one of the fastest-growing economies in the world; its capital has a larger population than Ireland and construction is booming to such an extent that skylines resemble those of the Celtic Tiger era. However, despite all this, Ankara is still negotiating Turkish membership of the European Union nearly 50 years after it first expressed interest in Europe.
First impressions of the Turkish capital can be disappointing to the foreign tourist, because at first glance it seems to comprise nothing more than concrete tower blocks, houses piled on top of each other, and roads where six lines of traffic squeeze into four lanes.
It’s a city where the net minimum wage is just €320 per month and yet petrol and diesel cost more than €2 per litre. Dozens of cranes populate the skyline and hundreds of multistorey buildings lie half-built, surrounded by hoardings promising prospective buyers not only an amazing apartment, but a better lifestyle.
It’s a city that forever seems to lie in the shadows of Istanbul in terms of population, tourism, architecture and economy, even though it’s the capital.
Yet despite all this, Ankara is an immensely proud city, one that struggles to understand the EU’s rejection.
Long association
The city began its long association with the project of European integration in 1963, when it signed the Ankara Association Agreement. The country’s application to accede the European Union was made in 1987, and it was officially recognised as a candidate for full membership in 1999. Since then Ankara has come a long way in public consciousness. Gone are the days when Istanbul seemed the only possible answer to the regular table quiz question: “what is the capital of Turkey?”
However, after more than two decades of trying, Ankara has all but given up on accession to the European Union, having faced annual rejections from France, Germany and Cyprus.
Along with the rest of the country, it has a high growth rate, a low unemployment rate, a booming construction industry and a rapidly developing manufacturing sector.
Thus the city’s population struggles to understand how the country – one where the average age is 29, one which lends money to the International Monetary Fund, one which is the world’s 18th largest economy – is still being denied EU membership.
The Turkish economy deserves more than what larger European countries and leading international rating agencies tell the world, according to Turkey’s minister for finance Mehmet Simsek.
“We would like to remain firmly anchored to Europe. I think we can add value to Europe,” he said.
Last year the Turkish economy grew by 8.8 per cent in real terms, one of the fastest rates in the world. In contrast, Europe only grew by 1.5 per cent last year.
Growing economy
The Turkish economy had been growing 17 per cent year on year in real terms, almost twice the Chinese growth rate, but the country tightened credit policy and introduced specific tax hikes to slow growth, Mr Simsek said.
The Turkish rate of unemployment totalling 8.5 per cent last year is also lower than the EU average which in August 2011 was 10.5 per cent.
These statistics show that Turkey would fulfil the Maastricht criteria for entry into the euro zone, unlike many member states, yet the country is still being denied entry by member states, which the Turks believe, are concerned about eastern influence in Europe.
Having tired of waiting to join the European Union, the city has decided to use its growing economic and political influence to establish its control over the region, assuming the role of an economic centre due to stable economic growth and strategic position.
However, while the country has strengthened trade ties between Middle Eastern and North African countries; the European Union is still seen as a lighthouse and beacon of hope for Turkey.
“Europe is still the best reference point for us for laws. Europe implies transformation for us, it implies reforms. Our country needs transformation. Europe ultimately gets a very reliable and strong neighbour,” Simsek says.
“I think much of Europe’s fears are based upon the fact Turkey is big. Big players don’t want their power diluted.”
via Turkey is still yearning for EU membership – The Irish Times – Sat, Dec 22, 2012.
Istanbul’s special mission in facilitating Turkey’s EU integration
The city represents Turkey’s harmony and diversity, reflecting a centuries-old interaction between cultures and religions
guardian.co.uk, Saturday 22 December 2012 11.00 GMT
Turkish and EU flags in Istanbul
‘Istanbul is the jewel in the crown of this almost unnoticed, ground-level Turkey-Europe integration’. Photograph: Tolga Bozoglu/EPA
It is 25 years since Turkey first applied to join the European Union, and seven years since full EU membership negotiations began. It is a long road on which we have embarked – and we always knew the process was going to take time. But the idea that Turks are going off the idea of EU membership, or that Europeans are losing interest in Turkey, is uninformed and wrong. Quite the opposite is the case.
Almost unnoticed, remarkable advances in Turkey’s integration with Europe are taking place every day in Istanbul and at grassroots level across the length and breadth of the country, far away from the stuffy negotiating rooms of Brussels and Ankara. To increase the relevance of the EU to the lives of ordinary Turks, we have developed a national programme that aims to raise awareness of the EU reform process and build shared platforms at the provincial and local level.
Every province in Turkey has an EU department operating under the auspices of my ministry that tracks and co-ordinates the reform process on the local level. These local branches aim to connect with EU cities and regions that share common characteristics or similar economies and industries. In this way, Turkey’s cities can pair with their EU peers and learn from their counterparts’ experiences. Once this connection is established, city-to-city interactions begin that bring people closer and expand mutual understanding.
This project embraces not only Turkey’s 81 provincial capitals, but is also expanding to smaller towns that want to be put on the EU map. Currently 1,103 Turkish towns are linked to EU equivalents. These interactions go beyond the traditional “sister cities” link-ups, ultimately aiming at full EU integration and conversion. A clear philosophy underpins this approach. While paying close attention to civic and institutional aspects of the union, our aim is to convince both Turkish and EU populations that Turkey in the EU is a win-win situation for all.
Istanbul is the jewel in the crown of this almost unnoticed, ground-level Turkey-Europe integration. Ever greater numbers of Europeans make the journey to Turkey’s largest city each year. Istanbul is up in lights around the world these days as Hollywood’s favourite movie set: Skyfall, Argo and Taken 2 are the most recent productions to use the city as a stunning setting and backdrop. Movie directors have successfully captured its beautiful skyline and interpreted its allure for a global audience.
At the same time Istanbul, in my opinion, has even greater importance as a city representing the highest artistic and cultural values – for its majestic charm extends beyond movie scenes. The city is a testimony to the harmony of east and west and, for this reason, it has a special mission in facilitating Turkey’s EU path.
Istanbul is a reflection of humanity’s past and the nation’s future. Its economy produces about one fifth of the national GDP, connecting Europe with Asia and linking Turkey with the EU. The city represents Turkey’s harmony and diversity, a cultural capital that reflects a centuries-old interaction between cultures and religions.
Istanbul, under the “sister cities” project, has relations with 200 cities around the world. About 65 of these are EU cities. My ministry aims to enrich the latter group by lending special emphasis to the EU perspective and institutionalising existing connections. There are 30 major projects in Istanbul aiming to enhance the EU integration process led by universities, civic associations and NGOs.
In recent months Istanbul has co-operated on cultural projects with Cologne, shared a business platform with Barcelona and just completed a sustainability summit with Copenhagen. EU grants have been utilised on the Istanbul-Ankara high-speed rail project. We are about to build a third bridge across the Bosphorus to further connect Europe and Asia while reaffirming Turkey’s special role between east and west.
Above all, in my view, the EU is a major peace project that will not be complete without Turkey. The EU is about social cohesion, tolerance and harmony. We cherish these values and recognise their contribution to peace and prosperity in our region. All we need for complete success is a clear and unbiased vision and mutual determination. Turkey is travelling a long road to deliver on its commitments. We demand equally clear determination and vision from our EU partners.
via Istanbul’s special mission in facilitating Turkey’s EU integration | Egemen Bağış | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk.
Baku. Ulker Rashidgizi-APA. Turkey will not be represented at the «Eurovision song contest 2013″ to be held next year in Sweden.
Eurovision fans were confused after TRT had stated that they may consider withdrawal in 2013. Then, everyone calmed down when TRT started to put lots of effort trying to decide which artist should represent Turkey in Malmö. However, today it’s been officially announced that, Turkey will not take part in the 2013 edition of Eurovision Song Contest.
After Poland, Portugal, Slovakia and Bosnia & Herzegovina withdrew (and Cyprus first announced to do so, but later changed its mind), TRT also announced that Turkey will not participate in next year’s contest.
In August 2012, Director General at TRT said that Turkey was considering withdrawal in 2013. However, this was not taken much seriously among the public, as TRT started to organize meetings with an “Advisory Board” which gathered music proffessionals in order to discuss, who would be the right participant for Turkey. Last week, some rumours spred out that the meetings with the 2013 representative were close to an end, and the name would be announced very soon. Today, both the media and the fans were shocked by the withdrawal of Turkey.
Unlike the other withdrawn countries, Turkey’s reason is not financial. TRT stated that, this is a reaction to the injustice of the competition, like a “boycott”. In the explanation they made, TRT claimed that the contest was unfair due to the latest rule in the voting system; the 50-50 combination of jury voting and televoting. It is thought that the involvement of jury had a downstream effect on Turkey’s points. The broadcaster also finds the “big 5 direct qualifiers” unfair.
Turkey will most likely participate in the 2014 contest, as TRT told that they’ll take the opinions of Advisory Board into consideration to develop a strategy for the next years, and hopefully end up with better and more effective conclusions.
Many Turkish Eurovision fans are however thinking the withdrawel has mostly to do with the latest rule change making the producer decide the running order of the participating songs. Something that can have a big influence on the winner.
Turkey has been in the contest since 1975, and they were active except for the years 1976, 1977,1979, and 1994. They won for the first time in 2003, with the song Everyway That I Can by Sertab Erener, their only victory until now.
In 2012, Turkey was represented with the song Love Me Back by Can Bonomo, which finished the contest at a respectable 7th place.
via APA – Turkey withdraws from Eurovision Song Contest 2013 in Sweden.
38-year-old was shot dead in front of his wife and children at home in 1989
Report by Sir Desmond de Silva QC published today reveals the killing might not have happened without the involvement of security agencies
Widow Geraldine has repeatedly called for a full public inquiry
David Cameron admitted there was collusion between police and loyalists responsible for the killing but only ordered a review of the case
David Cameron said the Government was ‘deeply sorry’ yesterday after a report into the murder of solicitor Pat Finucane found the security services colluded with the loyalist terrorists who killed him.
A review of the case by Sir Desmond de Silva, QC, found the father-of-three would probably not have been executed by the Ulster Defence Association without the encouragement of British agents.
Sir Desmond said state employees ‘furthered and facilitated’ the shooting of the 38-year-old, who was gunned down in front of his family in 1989.
But his finding that there was no evidence of an over-arching conspiracy involving ministers or security chiefs to target Mr Finucane sparked calls for a full public inquiry.
The widow of murdered Belfast solicitor Mr Finucane slammed a report into his death as ‘a sham… a whitewash… a confidence trick’.
Geraldine Finucane said Sir Desmond de Silva’s report was ‘not the truth’ and renewed her call for a full public inquiry.
In a Commons statement today, David Cameron admitted Mr Finucane might still be alive had police and state agencies not colluded in his murder.
The Prime Minister said the ‘appalling crime’ was the result of ‘shocking levels’ of state collusion and apologised on ‘behalf of the government and the whole country’.
The de Silva review into the 1989 killing found that state employees actively ‘furthered and facilitated’ the loyalist murder of Mr Finucane.
But the victim’s family have criticised the review, insisting only a full public inquiry will reveal the truth about his murder.
The 38-year-old was shot in front of his wife and children at home by loyalist paramilitaries from the Ulster Defence Association in 1989.
At a press conference after the review was published, Mrs Finucane accused the British Government of suppressing the truth while attempting to blame dead individuals and disbanded organisations while exonerating ministers, serving officers and existing security agencies.
Mrs Finucane said: ‘Yet another British government has engineered a suppression of the truth behind the murder of my husband, Pat Finucane.
‘At every turn it is clear that this report has done exactly what was required – to give the benefit of the doubt to the state, its Cabinet and ministers, to the Army, to the intelligence services and to itself.
‘At every turn, dead witnesses have been blamed and defunct agencies found wanting. Serving personnel and active state departments appear to have been excused.
‘The dirt has been swept under the carpet without any serious attempt to lift the lid on what really happened to Pat and so many others.
‘This report is a sham, this report is a whitewash, this report is a confidence trick dressed up as independent scrutiny and given invisible clothes of reliability. But most of all, most hurtful and insulting of all, this report is not the truth.’
Mr Cameron told the Commons said the review had found the Army and Special Branch had advance notice of a series of assassinations planned by the loyalist paramilitary group, the Ulster Defence Association (UDA), but nothing was done.
The review found a ‘relentless’ effort to stop justice being done with Army officials giving the Ministry of Defence highly misleading and inaccurate information, Mr Cameron said.
Successive UK Governments are accused of a ‘wilful and abject failure’ to properly control secret agents within paramilitary groups.
Mr Cameron said: ‘It is really shocking this happened in our country. Collusion demonstrated beyond any doubt by Sir Desmond, which included the involvement of state agencies in murder, is totally unacceptable.
‘We do not defend our security forces or the many who have served in them with great distinction by trying to claim otherwise. Collusion should never, ever happen.
‘On behalf of the Government and the whole country, let me say again to the Finucane family I am deeply sorry.’
The review found no evidence that any Government was informed in advance of Mr Finucane’s murder or knew about the subsequent cover-up.
Sir Menzies Campbell, former Lib Dem leader, said he had never heard a statement in the Commons which filled him with more ‘revulsion’.
However, today Mr Finucane’s son John said he could not believe that there had been a public inquiry into newspapers hacking mobile phone messages but not into state involvement in the death of a British lawyer.
‘We’re talking about the murder of a lawyer in the UK,’ he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
‘I rather flippantly announced last year that I thought it would have been easier if my father’s phone had been hacked rather than being killed. That’s not in any way to disrespect the victims of phone hacking.
‘But if we can have an inquiry into something as important as that, this case is the murder of a lawyer which the British government have admitted there was collusion, you don’t then deal with that, such a fundamental attack on democracy, by holding a non-statutory review behind closed doors.’
Mr Cameron has apologised more than once for the collusion between police and the loyalists responsible for the murder.
But Mr Finucane added today: ‘An apology is not in the correct running order. You don’t apologise for something but then not fully admit what it is you’re apologising for. I think that’s what the Prime Minister has done.’
The Finucane are unhappy that in 2001 the British government agreed during peace talks to meet honour for public inquiries into deaths. Of five recommended, four were held but in Mr Finucane’s case it was rejected.
Mr Funucane said: ‘The only case that’s outstanding is the case of my father. This review, we feel, is the embodiment of a broken promise of the British Government. We do feel that if they are sincere in dealing with this issue then they need to grasp this issue and they need to deal with it in a credible fashion.’
The loyalist paramilitaries shot Mr Finucane 14 times as he sat eating a Sunday meal at home, wounding his wife in the process. The couple’s three children witnessed the attack.
The former head of the Metropolitan Police in London, Sir John Stevens, has previously investigated collusion claims surrounding Mr Finucane’s death.
Shortly after starting the new inquiry, the Stevens team charged former Royal Ulster Constabulary Special Branch agent and loyalist quartermaster William Stobie in connection with the killing.
But in November 2001 the case collapsed and he was shot dead outside his home within weeks.
In September 2004 a loyalist accused of murdering the solicitor pleaded guilty to murdering him. Ken Barrett entered his plea at the beginning of his trial.
Prime Minister David Cameron, who ordered the de Silva review, will deliver a statement to the Commons
In 2004, retired Canadian judge Mr Justice Peter Cory, asked by the Government to investigate cases of suspected collusion, concluded that military and police intelligence knew of the Finucane murder plot and failed to intervene. He recommended a public inquiry.
That year, Barrett was sentenced to 22 years’ imprisonment.
In 2004, then Northern Ireland Secretary Paul Murphy announced an inquiry under new legislation introduced in 2005.
The Finucane family opposed the Inquiries Act 2005, arguing it would allow government to interfere with the independence of a future inquiry because a government minister could rule whether the inquiry sat in public or private.
As a result, plans to establish an inquiry were halted by former Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Hain.
In October 2011, the Government ruled out a public inquiry into Mr Finucane’s murder but put forward a proposal for a leading QC to review the case. That review is to be published today.
Former Met Police Commissioner Sir John Stevens published the results of his four-year inquiry into Pat Finucane’s murder in 2003. The report confirmed that rogue elements in the security forces were involved in a deadly plot with loyalist paramilitaries to carry out a series of sectarian murders in Northern Ireland
