Belfast women defy terrorist hijackers

Press, 14 August 1976, Page 6

Belfast women defy terrorist hijackers

sjZPA Belfast A group of women boarded a bus in Belfast and challenged would-be hijackers: “Bum it and you will have to bum us with it,” the Press Association reported. It happened on the Twinbrook Estate during Thursday night after a day in which the city’s women had taken to the streets in strength to demand an end to the violence. The peace campaign has gained momentum since the deaths of three young children on Tuesday. They were hit by a gunman’s car which crashed

after being chased by the Army. Their mother, Mrs Ann Maguire, is seriously ill in a Belfast hospital after the accident. The deaths of the children — Joanne, aged eight, John, aged two, and Andrew, aged six weeks — have so far been kept from her. The funeral was due to be held in Belfast today (N.Z. time) and hundreds of women were expected to turn out for it. Housewives from the Roman Catholic area where the tragedy happened have banded together in a “Mothers of

Peace" movement. They have claimed thousands of signatures for a petition demanding that the provisional I.R.A. get out ot the area and have organised a rally for today. Already a simple ceremony has been held at the scene of Tuesday’s crash. Housewife power has already stopped several attempts by young hijackers to commandeer cars and block roads. A local priest has said the women’s action could a turning point. “These women are showing that they are not going to be intimidated by terrorists,” he said.