Ulster anniversary: Belfast bombs

Press, Volume CXI, Issue 32639, 22 June 1971, Page 17

Ulster anniversary: Belfast bombs

(N.Z. Press Association—Copyright)

BELFAST, June 21.

Two big explosions rocked Belfast today on the eve of jrthern Ireland’s fiftieth anniversary, and the outlawed Irish .epublican Army, sworn to overthrow the provincial Govern.nent, has promised more to come.

One blast damaged an electricity transformer serving the city’s main post office on Royal Avenue. Two blocks away a second blast wrecked a Masonic hall and damaged stores in two streets.

Earlier, a bomb thrown from a car damaged a police station at Lurgan, 20 miles south-west of the capital, injuring two civilians.

Two men were wounded by machine-gun fire from a speeding car on Belfast’s Oldpark Road. Police attributed the shooting .to the longdrawn feud between rival wings of the LR.A. outlaws, the Leftist' “officials” and the stronger and more militant "provisionals.” A "provisionar leader—-

unnamed—said on a radio interview in the Irish Republic that his organisation was responsible for the great majority of recent bombings and shootings in Belfast. Nine police stations have been attacked in the last month.

The I.R.A. man added: “We always try to keep civilian casualties to a minimum. Sometimes it is impossible to really exclude all types of young people, women and children. It is not our policy to harm the civilian population.”

He said that the campaign would continue with the aim of bringing down the provincial Government next year. The I.R.A. believes that destruction of the provincial Government would oblige Britain to hand the province to the Republic.

Because of the last two years of riot and terrorism, tomorrow’s anniversary celebrations have been limited to

a ceremonial opening of the new Parliamentary session. Northern Ireland’s leaders had hoped that Queen Elizabeth would be there, as was her grandfather. King George V, 50 years ago, but the security situation vetoed any visit by the Queen. Security chiefs were relieved to get the anniversary week-end over without loss of life. More than 50 persons have died in riots and shootings since August, 1969, when the province’s ancient feuds between the Protest-

ant and Royalist majority and the Roman Catholic and mainly Republican minority erupted into major violence. The Rev. lan Paisley, spokesman for militant protestants, in a speech yesterday, urged his followers to emulate Roman Catholics and produce large families. He said: “I am not against Roman Catholics having large families. I am against Protestants not having large families.”

His appeal echoed the fear of many Northern Protestants that they would be eventually outnumbered and outvoted.

In the province as a whole, Protestants outnumber Roman Catholics by two to one, but Roman Catholics already represent 55 per cent of the school population.

Negro killed

A Negro was shot dead by the police in Columbus, Georgia, early today as firemen dealt with fire-bomb attacks on white-owned stores. At least seven cases of arson were reported in the city during the second day of violence after the dismissal of seven of the city’s Negro policemen.—Columbus, June 21.