Over two hundred residents from the Beechmount - Falls Road area mobilised last night in protest at the recent racist attack on the home of four Lithuanians. Addressing the crowd Sara Boyce {ARN steering group and West Belfast ARN} stated that:

'Only last week, a German magazine claimed Belfast was the most racist city in the world. What happened here at the weekend does little to dispel this claim. Ethic minorities throughout Belfast are being routinely victimised, whether it is through having their homes attacked or being called names when walking the streets'.

Local Sinn Fein Councillor Tom Hartley called on the local community not to allow a gang of thugs to destroy its good name:

'We need to stand shoulder to shoulder with the Lithuanians forced from their homes and show them that what happened is despised by the wider community. People of all ethnic minorities are welcome in West Belfast. This area is not a cold house for anyone. The group that carried out the attack are not just racist - they have also continually attacked members of their own community.'

Continue reading about the work of the Anti-Racist Network and about their upcoming 'Love Music Hate Racism' March 6th concert in Belfast at the 'feature continued' link below.

British anti-war activists occupied the Irish Embassy in London today to protest the possible ten year jail sentence facing Ireland's Pitstop Ploughshares defendants when they go on trial in an Irish court on March 7th.

The criminal charges facing the Irish peace activists (Deirdre Clancy, Nuin Dunlop, Karen Fallon, Damien Moran & Ciaron O'Reilly) arise out of their non-violently disarming a US Navy Plane at Shannon Airport on Feb 3rd 2003.

This highly popular action had an immediate positive effect in reducing Ireland's complicity in war crimes as it led to a withdrawal (at that time) from Ireland of three of the four companies contracted to freight US troops and weapons through Shannon airport.

The Irish Government continues to facilitate the US Military at Shannon Airport with thousands of US troops transiting through Shannon to and from Iraq each month.

Does the introduction of PPP schemes into prison building also signal the introduction of private prisons? Security companies like Wackenhut and Group4 operate prisons in the UK and USA. Private prisons are routinely condemned by human rights groups. But what are the alternatives to building a new superprison in north Co. Dublin? What other options are open to the Minister for Justice?

In this short film, Joe Costello from the Labour Party (a regular commentator on prison issues and prisoners rights), Rick Lines from the Irish Penal Reform Trust, and Seanie Lambe from ICON (Inner City Organisations Network, a community organisation based in the Summerhill area) give their opinions on the closure of Mountjoy. Issues discussed include the implications of private companies' involvement in the construction of the new prison, what will probably happen with the existing site, and different initiatives that could be put forward to combat crime at its source, rather than continually incarcerating people & building bigger prisons.

Click on the Feature Continued Link for Full Intro and Infromation on how to Download