Transcripts For ALJAZ War Hotels Belfast - Europa 20240710

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For the un human Rights Council. Which not only defamed democracy trying to protect its people. But it, what washes a brutal genocidal terrorist organization that dont only indiscriminately attacks is ready civilians, but abuses palestinian civilians and gather using them as human shields. Meanwhile, the united nations asking for 95000000. 00 in Emergency Appeal for god to cover humanitarian needs over the next 3 months. The money is mainly needed for rebuilding or repairing hospitals. Schools and Sewage And Water facilities. Aid has begun trickling in on thursday. Hundreds of people lined up to get good sent from egypt. Israel has summon Frances Ambassador to discuss remarks by the french foreign minister, referring to apartheid during an interview this week, johnny eve. Lydia said that the risk of apartheid is high. If israel continues with its single state logic, the french president has also rondon to forgive his country for its role in the 1994 genocide. Michael says, well, franz was indirectly complicit. It ended up backing a genocidal regime. He stopped short of an outline apology, United States as warning of new sanctions of violence in ethiopia. Ti gray region doesnt stop. A senior official also told the senate foreign Affairs Committee that the region rest famine, if the conflict continues. Thousands have been killed. 2000000 people displaced since november and the u. S. A. V Ation Body is launching investigation into the way bellow roost diverted a European Passenger jets and arrested a pro Opposition Journalist on board more estates joining the blockade of by the races as base. Nice continues here now, does thereafter war tell me, im sorry, should we be about raising prices entirely down to the time we bring you the stories and development for the rapidly changing the world. We live in time in that setting that i dont have to has the task of fixing a war torn economy. Counting the cost on Al Jazeera with the hotel. I think hes the most bombed hotel suddenly that ive ever stated in a conflict. There is a bomb in the rope, a hotel would you believe a bomb went off so you dont always targeted by the re primarily because it was a symbol of progress. I regard the roper in belfast as the greatest hotel in the with we loved it when it was built and we loved it. Even when it was bombed. Why would you apply to work in the most Bond Building in europe . And the biggest box you have ever seen. Ah, how does explode . It would actually take the hotel ah, the ah, belfast, the capital and largest city in Northern Ireland was torn apart by sectarian conflict during the 19 seventys eightys and ninetys between the protestant union as a majority wanted Northern Ireland to remain within the united kingdom. And the catholic republican minority, who sold themselves as oppressed by the protestant more than 3500 people, were killed and thousands injured. In this 3 decade long conflicts known as the trouble. Over 16000. 00 bomb exploded across the Northern Ireland from both sides. And the violence spread to the irish Capital Dublin and the English Capital london in which, amid the violence, this building stood firmly in the center of belfast. Witness some of the bloodiest chapters of the conflict. It hosted more general it still tourists survived 33. 00 bombings by the provisional irish republican army, the re and held the dubious honor of being europes most foam hotel. Ah ah, in the mid 19 sixtys. Despite the historical enmity, the relationship between the protestant unionist and the catholic nationalist communities was relatively stable. In belfast, growing economic confidence had led to a construction boom. And the decision was made to build a large new hotel on the sides of the great northern Railway Station in 1900. 60 thanks, john metropolitan hotels commissioned the building of the hotel. Youd opa here in the Senate Avail fast. It was a time the relative economic prosperity of relative positivity. That was the time before the troubles really emerged. However, in the summer of 968. 00, a new phase of sectarian violence broke out and delayed the building of the hotel, the flesh, it broke out between national catholics. Im loyal. The protestant, during civil rights demonstrations in the Side Area of the City Of the fierce confrontation attracted wide media attention. Bbc Correspondent Martin Bell was one of the 1st to arrive in Northern Ireland. And one of the 1st guests to check into the Europa Hotel 2 years later, i remember coming to both of us to november 1968. There had been the famous civil rights much in terry London Dairy the months before. And we stayed at one of 2 really old fashioned hotels, right. In the central city. What was the Role Avenue . The other was the grand central, both of which later close to in the europa open. This is the whole area of belfast at 7 oclock this evening. The violence, the Northern Ireland increase. Youre in 1969 and the u. K. Government sent in the british army who amid the uncertainty the construction of the 12 Story Euro per in belfast City Center gradually emerged in 1970 the tallest building in the city at the time. Another euro a regular was robin walsh. Then a reporter for the belfast evening telegraph. He later became a b, b, c news editor. And ultimately the controller of bbc Northern Ireland. Well, i think that the impression was very mixed. There was a bit of what is this place doing here . But then there was an element of hope actually is that such a hotel should be built ah said carrion, killing Car Bombs and Violence Paramilitary Activity spread across the Northern Ireland and built to a peak in 1971. In the construction of the rope was nearly complete. When the 1st Bomb struck. Hotel you probably bombed for the 1st time and the 3rd of july, 971, actually a week or 2 weeks prior to the opening of the building. So even before the Hotel Euro Pole was open to doors to the public in belfast had already been a target for the provisional high nevertheless, 5 days after the 1st Bomb, the rope held its ground. It had been designed to make a bold statement and its architecture. Sceptics, Services Staff and management. Ah, at the time Henry Kelly with the young irish Print Journalist working in belfast for the dublin faced irish time. The 1st time i went into the europe, obviously through the security then up in it. And the foyer was just one of the biggest bits of hotels ive ever seen in my life. And i been a few places. Obviously, what ever they had decided to do. They were going to say were here. Gerald simo was among the 1st journalists to report extensively on Northern Ireland while working for the british news organization. The 1st time i went to the rubber hotel, it was brand new and it would be opened a couple of weeks and that would have been in the early summer of 971. And all hell had broken loose in belfast at that time. You know, fast and bomb explosions. Rock this inches in broad daylight. 2 months after it opened, on the 6th of september, 1971, a 2nd bomb hit the europa a Car Bomb exploded next to the hotel. Seriously damaging the protestant union, if party had courted 40 people more injured on the rope, his window completely shattered. The Hotel Purse Manager was half a brown, and he immediately ordered the glass to be repaired and the guest should been evacuated to be re accommodated. Most of them were journalists, harper, broad, international grey, a double m, v. He was to be awarded. Member of the british Empire Metal by the queen. A 2nd M B E was of course, manager foster robot. And he was a seasoned hotelier with harper brown, was that rare sort of character who actually enjoys emergencies and danger. He bustled around and he was a small, energetic man who ran everything to do with the hotel. And we were actually rather proud of him and funny. So the way he was rather proud of us under brown, the roper continued to convey a sense of business as usual. But despite his efforts, the europa was soon back in the firing line. In october, 1971 to our men, entered the hotel, held 8 people at gunpoint and placed a large white box at reception which contain a huge bomb in the hotel with the vacuum aged vehicles were removed from the area. And the british army arrived including Bomb Disposal experts. Major, george stone. I was never there train a bomb, went off, but i was there once in the lower park, when somebody came in, it said that theres a bomb. Weve all got together ex. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay. I looked across to the for you and the biggest box you have ever seen. The size of that table was there. And that was the famous bomb battle, dismantled by George Sty ups, which had as exploded would have actually taken out. The hotel styles was prepared to go to enormous length to diffuse a ball. And on one occasion, he sent up to the Ro Victoria Hospital for their most molten and sophisticated x ray equipment. And had it brought down the road and brought into the hotel. So he could better examine the ball and worked on it for hours. He came out and he said, got my boot on the beast throat, and crushed it. 972 was all give me the worst in the 30 history of the Northern Ireland violence. It began with whats known a bloody sunday on the 30th of january, when british soldiers killed 13 people in dairy during demonstrations against the british policy of internment. Without trial. 2 months later, a Car Bomb went off in the Parking Area behind the europa. The explosion triggered fires and caused massive damage to the nearby grand victoria Railway Station, shattering all the hotels windows and spreading panic among local resident. But no one was killed. More belfast bombings followed. The europa became an ill re propaganda target. Here you had the words media in this hotel, the provisional irish activities involved the bombing of commercial premises. They wanted to make Northern Ireland ungovernable, get the british hit commercialism. And lets have a united ireland and they were doing it by serious violence. And here they brought the news to the doorstep of the charges. And here you had a posse of people who are a witness that im the be exported the message the hotel became an irish target. First of all, cultures bright shiny, new and inviting to be played out. They didnt say a bombs to make an impact. So what better place to place them then they then the hotel where the, where the press. Well, thats why they did it. So tell you dope, always targeted by the way, primarily because it represented if you like the investment into the sensitive Belfast Investment by the government of Northern Ireland into the center of the city. The it was one thing for the journalists to be reporting these attacks. But for the hotel stuff, the bombings kept them on high alert all the time. In april 972, they noticed a suspicious truck parked on the street between the hotel and the Opera House and raised the alarm. A british army Bomb Disposal unit arrived and of course the cameras were then, a few minutes later the bomb exploded. The bluff was felt across the city, doing huge damage to the Ground Floor of the europa, shattering most of its windows, causing panic amongst the journalism. Well, there werent too many visitors during the troubleshooter, norris and harland, other than the hordes of news people who came here and the place actually survived because of its journalistic involvement. And the, the hotel really took that by the scruff of the neck, admitted almost unused room. Ah, piano, remember, was quite conspiratorial because you didnt want of the journalist to hear your conversations. It was another age of journalism in which you will remember not for your successes but feel defeats. So you do everything possible to keep up with the got it. Ah, the sunday times journalist Chris Ryder described the hotel. You look at the crossroads of intrigue and in a sense it was for the hotel you rope was actually a really important place to come to share information, to hear the gossip of journalists, perhaps to get your story across journalists, ah, the Dining Room evening. In the most amazing place, there was a journalist be with our various contacts, supposedly be from the security forces. Spooks, Pardon Miller Trace politicians right across the board. And it was very interesting to observe the Dining Room of the tide. Because half the people were listening and trying to eat strong on the next table because there were so many intriguing people. This was a hub of journalism. The, the i all re also warned of impending attacks. So when a bomb was found in the ladys toilet, in june 1972 Stuff And Journalist had an hour to evacuate, the hotel casualties were avoided, but the ball badly damaged the 1st floor. This was the 1st Ball to go off inside the hotel. The me, i will remember being evacuated from the rubber hotel. All the alarm sounded and we were, we were ushered out. And this was one occasion when, when the bomb did blow up the killing climax. Today, a pilot encoding a bomb belfast luxury Europa Hotel. If you had been evacuated as a guest from the hotel on 17 occasions or more than 17, then the Hotel Management presented you with a special tie. And i have a little certificate to say that i have been evacuated on the 17 times, plus on the 21st of july, 1972 was one of the most violent days of all. Its known as bloody friday. The 26 i all re bombs, went off across bel, killing 11 people, and injuring more than 140. The europa survived bloody friday, but not for very long. Some 6 months later, they re hit the hotel again with a series of bombings in 1973. In march, a british army Bomb Disposal unit detonated a coal both with a robotic all and in may and october of that year, 2 bombs exploded at the back of the hotel. The robin was remember, vividly i did not have the misfortune of being evacuated. That is not to say i didnt have an experience of that because one afternoon, my wife was having Afternoon Tea in this hotel. There was a bomb alert. She armed her girlfriend or escorted algebra hotel, passed the bomb, which was in the should cash at reception. Unlike the good wife of a journalist, she went to a Telephone Kiosk crossed the road from the hotel and rang my direct number. Id work to say, there is a bomb in the rope hotel, and ive just been evacuations on. Would you believe that bomb went off and i heard that part in the public and i remember screaming, are you all right . Are you all right . And she was, she was not injured. So a little, i wasnt affect it directly. I had a worse experience because it was my wife, the in the 3 years since it opened 25 bomb said so far exploded in and around the europa. But yet there was optimism for both the people of Northern Ireland and the europa. When the ill re announce to cease far on the 22nd of december 974. But he only laughed at 25. 00 days. In january 975, the roper was hit again. A Boma Le caused a complete evacuation, but the bomb exploded and caused great structural damage, albeit without casualties. Papa brown over saw the response. I could get anybody in my car because id like to get those to push. I 1st 975. 00 is a year here. There were 2 large bomb attacks. Second to which in december 1975, a Car Bomb exploded outside the hotel, destroyed almost all the windows in the hotel and as a consequence of the damage incurred shooting, that stickler, todd that would tell her to because for several months thereafter, the hotel you roper became colloquially known as the hard Boars Hotel because after explosions, it wouldnt be possible for the glazier to fit you windows immediately. So wouldnt boards had to be directed. The bloss forced europa to close over a year when a reopened, it was fortress europa. Surrounded by barricades to stop on identified calls going near the entrance and the hotel seemed to be n i r a target in the late 19 seventys, and most of the 80 it was sold in 1983, and the new owners rebranded it as the Forum Hotel but the old name was restored 3 years later with another set of owners. Harper brown, whod run the hotel through its darkest days, retired in 1985 and died a christmas 2 years later. But then the europa hit new problem. In 1991 its own as went bankrupt, throwing its future into doubt. Not long after the I O re resumed its focus on the Hotel And Center bomb threats on the 4th of december, 1991. Martin mulholland who worked his way up on the Concierge Desk over 18 years to head. It remembers that day 91. 00, the hotel was significantly damaged. Probably the worst damage to that point of any of the attacks when we got into the building. It was a mess. There were very few ceilings that were, were up there were no windows at all. There were given holes in the side of the hotel. It was a pretty significant damage. We spent 2 years actually renovating motel and, and trying to get a to, to work. And we just got to that stage. And then in 93, it was tucked in in may 993, a massive 450 kilos. Ball rocked belfast. It was hidden in a large Laurie Park between the europa and the Opera House. The damage was so severe. I was able to stand at my desk and for a look through the restaurant wall, look through the Opera House will and see the opera stage. Such was the, the force of the blast, and we find a part of the Engine Block on the 12th floor of the devastating ball. The main 1990 phony was the last of 33 attacks by the provisional i already on the hotel. Youd. Opa thereafter, the hotel, utah was bought by the hastings hotel group, and the hotel moved towards a more positive future. Me the new owners completely refurbish the rope. Ah, but the face of politics and Northern Ireland was also changing peace talks ramped up in the mid 1919. And when us President Bill clinton and his wife hillary visited Northern Ireland in support of the peace process. They checked in to the roper, 4190995. The Clinton Sweden is named in their own i. The formal end of Post Diligence was finally signed with the good friday agreement. On the 10th of april 1998. It was the end of the decades of grim conflict at the end of an era for this extraordinary war town. For the hundreds of journalists to covered northern islands darkest years, the per will always occupy a special place in their hearts and mine. Ah, we love the big house of thief, Security And Calm with all hell going on around it, that they europa invoked. I will never forget that. I have enormous fondness for it. Ah, i regard the ripper in belfast as the greatest hotel in the world. We loved it when it was built and we loved it even when it was bombed and it was and remains a special place in this hotel is for ever in my mind because i see it so often, spying in the middle of belfast beside my Railway Station and i never fail to pass Sir Roper was arch. Busy seeing the images of the past and of course, right in the middle of the trouble so much as you look back was initial town, which is not a symbol of hope for the future. Ah, like a saint, which was no conscious monument to the sheer decency of a great city. Fast. So as far as im concerned, you can call the rope what effort youre like. But from me and from my generation of joan, this is to just be the europa. I ah the important thing if you are walking around and be rude, was not to be in the line of fire from the holiday fall off. We heard gunshots. I was the 1st one to flee, the hot battle lasted 3 days and 3 nights, and there were no prisoners at the in control. And you control the region around. And thats why it was such a bloody, an icon of conflict at the heart of the lebanese civil War Bay Route holiday in war hotels on Al Jazeera. Ah, welcome to portal your gateway to the very best to volunteer or an online content that you may have met. A new program that this for our platforms makes the connections and presents a digestible scene, each the award winning online content on their audience portal with me Founder Gatlin coming soon on out there. Ah, the you and human Rights Council agrees investigative crimes were committed during the Day Conflict between israel and its welcome by palestinians, but israel denounces it is shameful and says it wont cover the brain. Ah, i dont oclock. This is out there live from also coming up. The u. S. Warns a further action against an Era Trip over conflict config

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