Villagers: Letters to the Editor 2006-06-29

Yet again, Russia has assassinated a president of Chechnya and displayed his bloodied corpse on national television. The killing of Abdul-Khalim Saidulayev mirrors that of Aslan Maskhadov in March 2004.

While the Russian forces are busy executing separatists, the Moscow-appointed prime minister of Chechnya is trampling over the human rights of the beleaguered civilians of Chechnya. Ramzan Kadyrov and his cronies have been accused of large-scale instances of murder, torture, rape and kidnapping in Chechnya, and many analysts believe that this Moscow- backed militia is responsible for most of the human rights abuses in Chechnya today. Local human rights groups estimate that between 3,000 and 5,000 people have "disappeared" since the beginning of the conflict in 1999.

It should be noted that while Russia is killing political opponents, and backing those responsible for human-rights violations, they hold the presidency of the Council of Europe. The council was set up to defend human rights, parliamentary democracy and the rule of law. It seems that nobody has told Russia.

Cormac O'Brien, Malahide, Co Dublin

Maggie Kenneally - 'Personality' is put before skill on RTÉ

Maggie Kenneally's criticism of RTÉ Radio's chattering males seems to have hit a sensitive spot among at least three of that species. A hagiographical defence (Village 4 May) by Cóilín MacLochlainn of Pat Kenny's performance does nothing to discount Maggie's suggestion that if he (Pat) remembered to say a lot less, he'd be a lot better to listen to.

And many of Beloved Vincent's 'continual interruptions', which Cóilín praises, are not of the surgical kind, unfortunately (although BV seems to be the only one with surgical skills left on air, now that Rachel English has left 5-7 Live).

Claude Megalopolis (no location given – a pseudonym?) spends a column (Village 15 June) getting the date of Cóilín's letter wrong, then misquoting Maggie's figures for sport on RTÉ Radio 1 (she said 12 hours a week, not 14, Claude), and then counting up the hours wrong himself (add them up again, man – it's even more than 12 hours a week now) and then wishing she could get her facts and figures right. Indeed Claude, yes.

And who is Henry Kelly? Ask Stephen Ryan of Dublin, who seems to know of him (Village 4 May).

If the guys would flaunt their (undoubted) skills more, rather than their 'personalities', it would all – even the sport, perhaps – be a lot more interesting.

I read Maggie's radio review first (even before Vincent's column), when Village finally does arrive. As Cóilín put it, it's great to have one's opinion validated.

Keep it up Maggie (and Vincent).

S O'Reilly, Maam, Co Galway.

Michael McDowell - McDowell's bullying has no bounds

It seems like the arrogance and bullying of the Minister for Justice, Michael McDowell, of the Progressive Democrats knows no bounds, even extending to the leader of his own party, Mary Harney!

Who else would threaten their party leader that, if she didn't step down before the next general election so that he could run for the leadership of their party he wouldn't run for the Dáil? If ever proof was needed, and we already have plenty of it, that McDowell should be unseated, then this is surely the icing on the cake!

Hopefully the good citizens of McDowell's constituency, Dublin South East, will do what they've already done twice before and unseat McDowell at the next election, and be finally rid of this arrogant, incompetent bully once and for all.

Paul Kinsella, Santry, Dublin 9

Charles Haughey -  People and politics suffered because of Charles Haughey

I was most surprised by your editorial of CJ entitles "A colossus of Irish politics" (Village 15-21 June).

What nonsense this is? You and him may have become friendly over the last five years sipping fine wines out in Kinsealy and talking about the past, but we the people are still suffering. And politics in general has suffered due to his dictatorial ways. Witness the beating given to Jim Gibbons which caused him to have a heart attack. Or the private intrusions to the present editor of the Irish Times. You say so much in his life was by chance – wasn't he lucky. Not so the people here in Clondlakin, where 50 years after he left UCD we still don't get the chance to go to any higher colleges of education.

Why is this? Due to policies that Haughey and his cohorts have implemented over the years. The man was a disgrace and the people showed that at his funeral.We are not so easily fooled.

Pol Ó Deoráin, Cluain Dolcáin, Baile Átha Cliath 22

Vincent's Haughey conversion cuts no ice

The Pauline conversion of Vincent Browne to the cause of Charles Haughey has been one of the more intriguing sideshows in recent weeks.

Village magazine recently published an interview with the former secretary to Charles Haughey who revealed that, apparently, the then Taoiseach had no prior knowledge of Sean Doherty's phone-tapping.

Vincent Browne subsequently had her as a guest on his radio programme, where he conducted a lawyerly cross-examination of her and his other panellists in an effort to demonstrate that Haughey had been wrongly forced from office.

Incidentally, Vincent's approach that night could not have contrasted more starkly with his most unlawyerly performance a couple of weeks earlier when, seeming to lose his temper, he hotly declared that Brother David Gibson should simply "shut up", rather than seek to question the volume of accusations being levelled against members of the Christian Brothers.

The Browne thesis appears to be that if Charles Haughey was forced to resign on a false premise then we, the court of public opinion, should be required to ignore all the evidence against him which subsequently emerged in the various tribunals of inquiry and the fact that he perjured himself there.

This lawyerly logic may make sense to Vincent Browne but it doesn't cut much ice with me. I don't know what impact Vincent's support may be having on the opinions of the "undecided", but I suspect it's placing a serious question mark over the sound judgement of the advocate.

Peter Molloy, Glenageary, Co Dublin

Port Tunnel - Royal name for royal mess

To acknowledge the trucks bearing supermarket supplies, furniture, clothes and all the other essential needs from Britain and with its past pretensions as the second city of the empire, "HRH The Prince of Wales Tunnel" would be most fitting!

Keith Nolan

Carrick-on-Shannon,

Co Leitrim

STATEMENT - Double or nothing for bag levy

Friends of the Earth (FoE) welcomes minister Dick Roche's acceptance that a rise in the plastic bag tax is needed to ensure it continues to keep bag use down. But small gradual increases are not the way to do it. We need to restore the original shock-value that made people think twice about using plastic bags. The best way to do that is to double the tax to 30c.

The minister said he is willing to consider a second rise in the levy to bring it above 20c but FoE believes strongly that a one-off doubling of the tax would be much more effective in reminding retailers and shoppers of the purpose and success of the tax.

Four years ago nobody wanted to pay 15c for a plastic bag and they changed their behaviour accordingly. Now we've got used to it bad habits are creeping back in. A four cent increase each year wouldn't change that – people would take it in their stride. A big jump in the tax every four or five years if bag use is increasing makes much more sense.

FoE first called for a doubling of the tax in March. Analysis of the revenue figures from the levy showed that plastic-bag use had risen by a third since the lowpoint in 2003. The minister initially responded that he had no plans to adjust the levy but has now changed his position, telling the media that preparations are under way to raise the levy by four cent by way of departmental regulation. Any rise greater that four cent would require an amendment to the 2001 Waste Management Act.

FoE believes it is worth the additional effort to ensure effectiveness and save revisiting the issue in the near future.

Oisín Coghlan. More: Friends of the Earth, 9 Upper Mount Street, Dublin 2; www.foe.ie; 01 6394652

John Bruton - Let's not encourage EU pretensions

Morning Ireland referred on several occasions recently to John Bruton, whom they were interviewing, as the EU's "ambassador" to Washington. John Bruton is not an EU "ambassador". Only states have ambassadors and the EU is not – as yet – a state. Bruton's official designation is "Head of Representation" or "Head of Delegation". One does not refer to Martin Territt, director of the European Commission Representation in Ireland, as "EU Ambassador to Ireland" and John Bruton's status in Washington is the same as his. Regrettably, Bruton did not correct the mistake.

No doubt John Bruton would like to be a real ambassador, as he certainly would like the EU to become a real supranational state. The EU does not even have a legal personality. If the proposed EU Constitution had been ratified it would have given the EU the constitutional form of a state. Its emissaries abroad could then call themselves ambassadors. But that has not happened.

We should not encourage the EU in its pretensions to super-statehood or John Bruton in his pretensions to ambassadorial status. RTÉ should be a stickler for accuracy and protocol in such matters.

Anthony Coughlan, National Platform EU Research and Information Centre

STATEMENT - 'Our protest will not end until our demands are met'

We the Republican POWs call on all nationalist, Republican people of Ireland and abroad to support us in our upcoming protest for better conditions and the restoration of political status. In 2003 we embarked on a protest for segregation. This battle was won and segregation was introduced in September of that year. At that time, the British government asked for a period of transition and conditions would then improve. These terms were accepted reluctantly by Republicans.

However, as in 1980, when our comrades in the H-blocks of Long Kesh ended their first hunger-strike, we have found that the British government incapable of honouring its promises. As a result we find ourselves having to embark on a prolonged protest, which has come about as a direct result of the intransigence of the British government in seeking a policy of criminalisation. We hereby state that we as Republican POWs will no longer co-operate with, nor accept, the policies and regime imposed on us by Britain.

We have outlined our five demands. The protest which we now embark upon will not end until our demands are met. We will take whatever steps are necessary in order to improve the conditions, not alone for ourselves but also for those who may come behind us. I would therefore like to call on all Republican bodies, all politicians to back us. We have exhausted all avenues open to us. We gave the British government the transition period required by them and still they refuse to accept that we are not criminals. We would ask everyone to support us by supporting our representatives on white-line pickets and leaflet handouts.

OC, CIRA POWs. Maghaberry Prison, Lisburn