BY AILEEN MURPHY
Sinn Féin', Michelle Gildernew, the DARD Minister who was one of three Party members named (by their forenames) in a note attached to a brick thrown through a window of the Sinn Fein offices in Lisnaskea has hit out at Police handling of the case.
She described the refusal of the PSNI to provide information about the extent and nature of the Loyalist death threats against herself and, also against other Party members in the Fermanagh area as 'totally unacceptable'.
She commented: "The recent Police Ombudsman's Report highlights serious failures in the way the Loyalist threat are handled. In recent weeks, there have been a number of serious incidents in the Fermanagh part of my constituency. The Sinn Féin office in Lisnaskea has been attacked and threats against named members of the Party, including myself. These purport to come from the Red Hand Defenders,".
Ms Gildernew said she had spoken with senior members of the PSNI about the threat and they had refused to provide information about the extent and nature of the Loyalist death threats against her and against other Party members in the Fermanagh area.
"This conceivably heightens the risk because I am unable to take preventative measures. This is totally unacceptable".
She said she had brought the matter to the attention of the Irish government.
A PSNI spokeswoman said it did not comment on threats made against individuals: "However, when we become aware of a threat, we inform the individuals concerned".
Ms Gildernew and the other two Party members named in the note, it has been confirmed, have been visited by Police and advised about their personal safety. The Community Relations Council was disturbed to learn that the Lisnaskea premises of the victim support group Firinne was destroyed last month in an arson attack and that this outrage has now been followed by death threats against the organisation's co-ordinator Bernice Swift. It is believed that a loyalist paramilitary group has claimed responsibility.
In a statement, the Community Relations Council said it 'unreservedly deplores and condemns such attacks and threats as an attempt to return us to the sterile and pointless patterns of the recent past'.
Firinne, which had its offices in the Sinn Fein offices in Lisnaskea which were gutted in a fire prior to the brick warning attack, is one of over 60 victim support groups supported by the Community Relations Council.
The CRC Chief Executive Duncan Morrow explained that this was in an effort to help heal the legacy of hurt and pain arising from almost four decades of violent conflict, particularly among those who have suffered most directly from it.
"Victims and survivors exist on all sides of the community", he said. "In a post-conflict environment dealing with the trauma left by past, violence is a difficult enough task without victims and survivors having to experience new threats.
"Violence has been discredited as a way of dealing with our differences. All who wish to build a better future for themselves and their children in this country need to see this as a throwback to darker times".
Mr Morrow suggested there were what he called, 'uncomfortable realities' for every one to face but, by one group targeting another, 'we cannot begin the journey to a peaceful and inclusive future'. "Sectarian threats are no substitute for facing the challenges of diversity and learning to live together", he added.
