Below are a few newspaper reports of the demonstration. Just in case it's not in these reports, can someone please tell ICTU to get some proper loudspeaking equipment in future, NOBODY could hear what was being said in Belfast city centre!! That's my one gripe about a very successful day out of the way. To see Socialist Party reports on the demonstration and the preparation for it, visit this page.
Mass rallies across the North protest at sectarian violence
By Dan Keenan, Northern News Editor of the Irish Times.
Trades councils in the North meet today (Jan. 19th) in Belfast to discuss how to maintain and advance their campaign against sectarianism.Union leaders insisted that yesterday's extraordinary protest marches must be only part of an ongoing protest campaign against intimidation and terror. Further initiatives are planned.
Schools, offices, shops and businesses closed at noon to enable more than 25,000 people to protest in Belfast, Derry and five other towns against violence and paramilitary threats against workers.
They were the biggest rallies since the Clinton visit in 1995 and protests at the Shankill bombing and Greysteel massacre in 1993.
A book of condolence was opened at the GPO in Dublin for the postal worker Mr Danny McColgan, who was murdered by the UDA last weekend. This was the initiative of the Communications Workers' Union representing postal workers in the Republic.
The rallies were sponsored by the Irish Congress of Trade Unions and supported by politicians on all sides, church leaders, the business community and relatives of victims of violence.
In Belfast, marchers converged on City Hall through wind and driving rain led by workers from the Royal hospital on the Falls Road and by postal workers from the Royal Mail sorting centre on Tomb Street.
They were addressed by ICTU assistant general secretary, Mr Peter Bunting who said: "Violence doesn't work. Sectarianism is evil. Today we must demonstrate our revulsion and abhorrence of all murders in Northern Ireland over the past 32 years."
The First Minister, Mr David Trimble, addressing the rally said: "Thousands of people have come here to make their commitment. That cannot be overstated." Public action was needed to support the work of local politicians, he added.
In Derry, Mr Eamonn McCann of the Trades Union Council told 6,000 marchers the political significance of the rallies was helping to marginalise the paramilitaries."The people who murdered Danny McColgan did not do so on behalf of the Protestant people of Northern Ireland," he said. Mr John Hume and the DUP Mayor of Derry, Ms Mildred Garfield, also took part.
In Omagh, marchers said they wanted to join the rest of the North just as others stood by them following the bombing in 1998. There were also rallies in Enniskillen, Co Fermanagh; Strabane and Cookstown, Co Tyrone.
The Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, backed the initiative saying: "These rallies provide an opportunity to demonstrate opposition to paramilitary attacks and sectarianism."
Tara Womersley writing in The Scotsman, January 19th.
TENS of thousands of people took to the streets of Northern Ireland in the pouring rain yesterday, demanding that loyalist paramilitaries end their sectarian murder campaign.
The protest rallies, which took place across the province, follow the killing of Daniel McColgan, 20. The Catholic postman was shot by loyalist gunmen in north Belfast, after death threats to Catholic postal workers and schoolteachers.
Shops, offices and factories and schools throughout the province were closed as workers supported a half-day stoppage called for by the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU).
Special cover for emergency services was provided so that hospital staff, ambulance crews and fire officers could join the demonstrations.
John Reid, the Northern Ireland Secretary, encouraged his 3,500 departmental staff at the Northern Ireland Office to take part in the rallies, which he described as a "rejection of hatred and sectarianism by all people of goodwill".
More than 15,000 people demonstrated in Belfast, while a further 3,000 took to the streets in Omagh town centre, where a Real IRA car bomb killed 29 people in August 1998.
About 6,000 people attended a rally outside the Guildhall in Londonderry, where the Bloody Sunday Inquiry is being held, and more than 1,000 people took part in protests in Enniskillen, Strabane, Newry and Cookstown.
A statement read out at the rallies expressed revulsion "at any form of bigotry or sectarianism which has led to murder, violence or acts of intimidation".
The statement continued: "We have suffered from these evil characteristics for more than three decades now.
"Therefore, we call on all those engaged in acts of sectarianism or paramilitary activity to stop.
"In particular, we call on paramilitary organisations to disband now."
The Ulster Defence Association has admitted responsibility for killing Mr McColgan on his way to work last Saturday.
John Keggie, deputy general secretary of the Communication Workers Union, said the message that sectarianism should be confined to history was "crystal clear". He said: "There were more than 3,000 postal workers in uniform at the Belfast rally following the tragic murder of Daniel McColgan, who was buried this week, and there was a great deal of support across all sectors of the community.
"Knowing the postal constituency as I do, I expected such a full turn-out despite the abominable weather. People want to show solidarity for the family of Daniel McColgan, along with their desire for peace.
"It is particularly significant that postal workers delivered the peace agreement and they want to see it fully implemented."
Those who attended the rally in Belfast, one of the largest the city has seen, included David Trimble, the First Minister at the Stormont assembly; Mark Durkan, his deputy; Martin McGuinness, the Sinn Fein education minister; and Father Aiden Troy, the chairman of the board of governors at Holy Cross Primary School, the scene of recent sectarian violence.
Peter Bunting, of the ICTU, welcomed the withdrawal of recent threats on postal workers and schoolteachers by the Red Hand Defenders, a cover name often used by the Ulster Defence Association.
However, he said there was a growing sectarian nature in society, with schools becoming legitimate targets as "evil purveyors of bigotry" declared war on the young.
He added: "Fomenting hatred among our youth is designed to ensure the continuity of a hatred which thrives in all communities and contributes to anti-social behaviour illustrated in all too well documented attacks on public sector workers, such as fire and ambulance crews, public transport workers, the providers of accident and emergency hospital services and civil servants in public offices."
Eddie Ferguson, the president of the Northern Ireland branch of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers, which has 20,000 members, said: "The rallies have to have an impact. It is our way of showing our abomination and disgust at the attacks that are carried out.
"If you ask people taking part what religion they are, you will find that there are as many Protestants as Catholics, because the community of Northern Ireland is disgusted as a whole."
BBC Report: Friday, 18 January, 2002, 17:36 GMT
Rallies call for end to sectarianism
Many braved the rain in Belfast
Thousands attending peace rallies in Northern Ireland have heard a call for all paramilitary groups to disband and the problem of sectarianism to be deplored.
The protests were held following the murder of Catholic postman Daniel McColgan and loyalist paramilitary death threats to postal workers and teachers.
Fire service staff, transport workers and students were among thousands who braved the rain on Friday to take part in anti-violence demonstrations staged by the Irish Congress of Trade Unions. We call on all those engaged in acts of sectarianism or paramilitary activity to stop
Resolution read out at rallies
Rallies were held in Belfast, Londonderry, Omagh, Enniskillen, Newry, Cookstown and Strabane.
A resolution read out at the rallies expressed revulsion "at any form of bigotry or sectarianism which has led to murder, violence or acts of intimidation".
"We have suffered from these evil characteristics for more than three decades now", it said.
"Therefore, we call on all those engaged in acts of sectarianism or paramilitary activity to stop. In particular, we call on paramilitary organisations to disband now.
"The end of sectarianism combined with the dissolution of paramilitary organisations will allow all of us to pursue the goals of an equal, peaceful society linked to prosperity and jobs wherein dignity and respect are shown to all and shared by all, irrespective of political or religious differences."
The Ulster Defence Association murdered 20-year-old Mr MrColgan as he went to work early last Saturday morning.
Rallies were held following the murder of a postal worker.
Afterwards, elements of the UDA, using the cover name Red Hand Defenders, issued a death threat against all Catholic postal workers. Another threat had been made against Catholic teachers in north Belfast.
Postal staff went back to work on Thursday after the threat against them was apparently lifted by the paramilitary group.
Staff who worked alongside Mr McColgan, walked to the rally at Belfast City Hall with colleagues from Scotland.
It was one of the biggest gatherings ever seen in the city centre.
Among those attending were Ulster Unionist leader David Trimble, Stormont colleague Michael McGimpsey, Sinn Fein Education Minister Martin McGuinness, SDLP leader Mark Durkan and Alliance Party leader David Ford.
Dr John Reid: Rallies showed rejection of hatred. Northern Ireland Secretary John Reid said the rallies were a "rejection of hatred and sectarianism by all people of goodwill".
The stoppage was supported by many workers' unions including those under the ICTU umbrella and most employers.
Schools in many parts of the province closed early, or did not open on Friday, partly so that their staff and pupils could attend the rallies and partly because of the disruption to transport services.
Church leaders and members of the voluntary sector were among the speakers.
In Dublin, a book of condolence was opened in memory of Mr McColgan.
In the last 12 months, a number of employees have had to work under death threats or while falling victim to frequent violent attacks.
These include Catholic construction workers in Londonderry, Protestant council workers in Belfast, hospital staff, bus and train drivers, ambulance staff, fire service workers and members of the security forces.
To get a range of our articles, go to the sitemap
To get a broader image of what the Socialist Party stands for, visit our main site