ACTION DEMANDED AFTER BRUTAL MURDER

The British government is coming under increasing pressure to act against loyalist murder gangs following the murder Saturday morning of 20-year-old Catholic postman Danny McColgan in a north Belfast estate.

McColgan, who lived with his girlfriend at Longlands Court in Newtownabbey, was a father since last year. He was gunned down in a hail of bullets on Saturday morning as he arrived for work at a postal office in Rathcoole. His spectacles, an empty mail delivery bag and a pool of blood were for long the only visible signs of the brutal early-morning killing in the staunchly loyalist estate.

The attack has been claimed by the UDA after an initial claim in the name of the Red Hand Defenders, a cover name for the UDA in the area.

A unionist councillor, Tommy Kirkham, is one of two men being questioned about the random attack, which has particularly shocked the country by its callousness and brutality.

The UDA unit in the Rathcoole area has claimed four victims in the past two years. This latest murder has added to the terror of nationalists in the north Belfast area, particularly those who work in or pass through loyalist areas on a regular basis.

Beneath its sectarian exterior, the murder is thought to be the latest attempt by the UDA to undermine the peace process and draw republicans into conflict.

Tension in north Belfast has increased dramatically following renewed attacks and intimidation last week of Catholic parents and children on their way to Holy Cross school, which is situated in the loyalist Glenbryn estate.

Catholic schools throughout the area are now under armed guard after death threats were made against teachers and staff. Loyalist gunmen have mounted a serious attack on one school in recent days, smashing cars outside to intimidate teachers and children within.

Amid renewed concern over Crown force collusion with loyalists, nationalists are insisting the British government act against the loyalist gangs, something it has so far failed to do.

British Secretary of State John Reid condemned the attack with unusually strong rhetoric. "It was a postman on Saturday. It could be any public servant or any worker tomorrow," he said. "There will be no hiding place left for those held responsible. There are no untouchables in Northern Ireland."

But his words were not enough for nationalists. Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams said on Monday that the British government has all the information it needs.

He said there was a marked difference in the institutional response to violence when it comes from loyalists as opposed to republicans.

"How the British government responds to the threat from the UDA and from its securocrats who are involved with that organisation, is a test for that government. Nationalists and republicans see the British response to the UDA as a measure of its seriousness about the peace process.

"It is very clear that there is a marked reluctance by the police force and the British security agencies to confront the threat posed by the UDA".

The UDA has been responsible for almost 20 killings, scores of injuries, over 300 bomb attacks against Catholic homes, churches and property in the past two years. The east Antrim unit has been one of its most lethal, even to its own community -- it has killed several Protestants after mistaking them for Catholics.

But despite successive loyalist murders, there have been few arrests, and none at all in the north Belfast/south Antrim area.

"Why?" asked Mr Adams. "It can't be because of a lack of information. The UDA was established by the British, it is an organisation that is riddled with British agents, either working for Special Branch or other intelligence services.

"The British government cannot hide from these facts. It cannot abdicate its responsibilities.

"That means concern is not enough. The British have a responsibility to confront the challenge posed by the UDA but more urgently, and more immediately it must exercise control over the securocrats who are running and paying their agents within the UDA."

Over 2,000 people today [Tuesday] attended the funeral of Mr McColgan, including hundreds of colleagues, family and friends. Leading the procession was Mr McColgan's family and girlfriend Lindsey Milliken, with whom Danny had a 13-month-old baby daughter.

Thousands of postal workers in Belfast are staging a 24-hour stoppage to mark the funeral, while the Irish Congress of Trade Unions has called on all public sector workers to stage a half day strike action and mass rally in Belfast on Friday in protest at the killing.

Meanwhile, the 53-strong workforce at the postal office in Rathcoole have been transferred to a depot in County Antrim. Local councillor Briege Meehan said the decision was "long overdue" and called for the permanent closure of the office.

"I asked for it to be relocated last year. My own experience of going down there made me realise what it was like for nationalists who clearly felt intimidated and uncomfortable," she said.

Hundreds of troops are now standing guard outside every Catholic school in the north of the city because of the threats to shoot staff.

"We have to find a balance between having the school looking like a fortress," said chairmain of Holy Cross school of governors, Fr Troy.

"At the end of the day we have to ensure the safety of the children and staff. The teachers and children must feel that they are safe but it has to still go on as a school.

He said there was still a tense atmosphere on the road while the children are walking to school even without the loyalist intimidation. Counselling for the children is ongoing, he added.

"No-one knows the effect this is having on the children and the staff. I have nothing but praise for the teachers and staff and the way they have kept the children going through this terrible time."

But with the weekend attacks on two other Catholic schools outside of north Belfast, Fr Troy admits that the problem is

At St Bride's Primary School in south Belfast a classroom was seriously damaged by fire, while cars were daubed with paint. At St Patrick's High School in Lisburn a mobile classroom was extensively damaged in another arson attack.

"This whole thing has gotten much wider than just Holy Cross. If other schools are being attacked it is a very serious situation," Fr Troy said.