Irish Republican Information Service (no. 85)
Teach Dáithí Ó Conaill, 223 Parnell Street, Dublin 1, Ireland
Phone: +353-1-872 9747; FAX: +353-1-872 9757; e-mail: saoirse@iol.ie
Date: 8 Samhain / November 2006
Internet resources maintained by SAOIRSE-Irish Freedom
In this issue:
1. Independent report finds damning evidence of collusion
2. Republican Sinn Féin Ard-Fheis 2006
3. Boycott of politicians in election urged at Tara protest
4. Proposal to resolve Corrib gas conflict rejected by Shell
5. Kevin Barry remembered in Rathvilly
6. British police fire on lorry in Belfast
7. Threat sent to RSF Belfast office
8. Professor sues over oath to English Queen
1. INDEPENDENT REPORT FINDS DAMNING EVIDENCE OF COLLUSION
THE Justice for the Forgotten Group hosted a public meeting in Dublin on November 7, 2006 to highlight its response to the Report of the Independent International Panel on Alleged Collusion in Sectarian Killings in Northern Ireland.
The report - convened to investigate alleged collusion by members of the British security forces in sectarian murders in the mid-1970s with particular emphasis on the Glenanne gang, a loyalist death squad said to include members of the RUC and UDR — found considerable evidence of British army and RUC involvement in 25 loyalist attacks which resulted in 77 deaths. It also found that senior RUC members were aware and approved of collusion and that British officials also had enough knowledge of the murders to intervene but did not do so.
Margaret Irwin, of Justice For The Forgotten, said it was extremely important that the report, released in Belfast the day before, was also launched in Dublin as exactly half of the murders probed occurred in the 26-County State. "This, for us, is a hugely significant moment, the publication of this very important international and impartial report," she said.
In a two page handout the Justice For The Forgotten group made several points, among them the fact that in 24 of the 25 cases, the panel had found ‘significant and credible evidence of involvement of police and military agents of the United Kingdom, both directly and in collusion with loyalist extremists’; and that ‘at least some police superiors in Northern Ireland knew of and expressed approval of instances of this conduct’.
The report was commissioned by the Pat Finucane Centre, Derry, in 2004 and chaired by Professor Douglas Cassel, then of Northwestern University School of Law, Chicago, now University of Notre Dame human rights law Professor. The other members of the group were Piers Pigou, an investigator with the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and Susie Kemp, an international lawyer based in The Hague and Stephen Sawyer, Senior Counsel and Clinical Assistant Professor of Law at the Centre for International Human Rights of Northwestern University School of law in the USA.
Professor Cassel told the Press Association at the Belfast presentation of the report that he was shocked “the British Government has a reputation around the world as one of the leading democracies and one of the longest histories of the rule of law. To find this extent of collusion in murders in the 25 incidents we investigated was shocking" he said.
Among the incidents they investigated were the 1974 Dublin/Monaghan bombings which claimed 33 lives; the murder of three members of the Miami Showband in July 1975 by the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) and the sectarian bombings in Dundalk in 1976 in which two men were killed. Only in one case was the group unable to reach a verdict on collusion.
Among its key findings on collusion the report state that:
* in 24 of the 25 cases, involving 74 of the 76 murders, evidence suggests collusion by members of the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) or the Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR)’ – [the UDR became the RIR, just recently disbanded with a golden handshake for each member];
* firearms were used in eight of the 12 cases alleged by John Weir (ex-British soldier); in seven of the eight cases, RUC ballistics tests corroborate his allegations;
* RUC ballistics tests show that one or more of these firearms were also the murder weapon in five more of the 25 cases;
* criminal convictions link two more of the 25 cases to involvement by the security forces;
* documentary, testimonial and ballistics evidence suggests that the loyalist death squads gained much of their training, weapons, ammunition, information and indeed personnel from the RUC and the UDR.
In Chapter 4 it states that “There is substantial evidence of State responsibility of the United Kingdom. In some cases, if this evidence were presented in proper form before a court of law, it would arguably suffice to amount to a prima facie showing of State responsibility…There is compelling evidence that officers of the British state – in particular, RUC officers, UDR soldiers, and their agents – were involved in sectarian murders of Catholics. There is credible evidence that their activities were known and supported, tacitly and in some cases explicitly, by some of their RUC and UDR superiors and, to some extent, by some British intelligence and army officers. Despite this knowledge, appropriate criminal investigations and prosecutions of these murders were not conducted, even in the face of evidence amounting to probable cause for arrest.” As early as 1973 senior British officials knew of the sectarian violence by members of the UDR using UDR weapons.
Among its main recommendations are that investigations should examine:
* and report on patterns of collusion, not merely of individual cases;
* collusion in sectarian murders, not only by the RUC and UDR but also by the British army and intelligence agencies;
* how high up the chain of command in Belfast and London there was knowledge, acquiescence or complicity in murder or attempted murder.
It also recommends the publishing of the findings of all investigations, including those by the Historical Enquiries Team which currently plans only to share its findings with victims` families.
Professor Cassel said the British government was duty-bound under international law to investigate the alleged state involvement in the killings. “ It was in Britain`s interests to fully investigate how "a democracy that purports to respect the rule of law could go so far off the rails as to have its police and army officers involved in, according to our findings, 74 murders," he said. And concluded that "Diplomatic pressure needs to be brought to bear. If the British government is going to make sure that this kind of thing doesn’t happen again, it needs to understand how it happened this time and make sure the changes are made to try to prevent it in the future.”
The report runs to 115 pages and points out what Republican have been saying for years – that there was/is collusion between the loyalists, the RUC, British army and British officials in the sectarian killings of nationalists.
2. REPUBLICAN SINN FÉIN ARD-FHEIS 2006
REPUBLICAN Sinn Féin will hold their 102ú Ard-Fheis in Dublin on the weekend of November 11 and 12 in Dublin. Ruairí Ó Brádaigh will deliver his Presidential Address on Sunday at 12 noon.
3. BOYCOTT OF POLITICIANS IN ELECTION URGED AT TARA PROTEST
CAMPAIGNERS against the planned M3 motorway route which passes close to the Hill of Tara have vowed that their fight is only starting, and have called on people to boycott politicians in the next 26-County election who supported the route.
At the “Save Tara Valley Awareness March” around Navan on November 4, Celtic Studies lecturer Dr Muireann Ní Bhrolcháin of NUI Maynooth criticised local TD Noel Dempsey for his role in the project when he was 26-County Environment Minister. “He has suddenly found a new interest in the environment in fishing, but certainly has shown absolutely no interest in the environment of his own county”, she said.
“This fight is not over. There are six months to an election. Remember who is responsible for wrecking and destroying our heritage and don’t vote for them.”
The march was billed as a “last chance to save to save Tara”, after the withdrawal in October of a 26-County Supreme Court appeal on the issue by conservationist Vincent Salafia. The new 60km tolled motorway will run from Clonee to Carnaross, north of Kells, by-passing Dunshaughlin, Navan and Kells.
Speaking before the march NUI Galway archaeologist Dr Joe Fenwick said it would be “absolute folly” to build the motorway as planned. He has been working at the site for 14 years. “There’s such a wealth of historical references and archaeological remains there. State-funded research has discovered all of these things and it seems that State-funded research has discovered all of these things and it seems that State funding is going to destroy them.”
He said fears the motorway would bring a host of secondary developments were now being realised as planning applications were being lodged and lands reclaimed. Plans by JMP Construction to build a construction and demolition waste recycling facility some 1,500m (4,900ft) from the Hill of Tara are now with An Bord Pleanála.
Dr Joe Fenwick said 26-County Environment Minister Dick Roche had passed legislation to allow Ikea to build a store at Ballymun, yet he refused to use the National Monuments legislation to have the motorway moved slightly to protest Tara.
Chairwoman of the Save Tara Skyrne Valley Campaign Heather Buchanan insisted it was not too late to change the road plan. She said not many people realised that they would have to pay two tolls on the new road which would only serve to run them into a traffic jam at Blanchardstown faster. “We can’t let this go. They are building Disneylands in America and France but we have our own national tourist attraction that they want to sever with a motorway,” she said.
4. PROPOSAL TO RESOLVE CORRIB GAS CONFLICT REJECTED BY SHELL
Both the 26-County Marine Minister Noel Dempsey and Shell E&P Ireland rejected a proposal by the Shell to Sea campaign which aimed to resolve the Corrib gas impasse in North Mayo.
The proposal which was outlined at a press conference in Castlebar on November 6 would allow for dialogue between objecting local communities, Shell E&P Ireland and the 26-County administration.
An attempt by a 26-County administration appointed mediator, former ICTU secretary general Peter Cassells, to reach a mediated settlement failed earlier in the year, and differences between the local community and Shell have become increasingly bitter since the company resumed work at its terminal site at the end of September.
The resumption was in advance of company promises to identify a new route for its onshore pipeline, and some 80 gardaí are currently stationed in north Mayo to escort Shell staff and contractors to the site.
The Shell to Sea proposal involves establishing an independent and public commission of inquiry to investigate the “optimum development concept” for the Corrib gas project.
The commission would be composed of one or more members who were acceptable to all sides in the dispute, and community consent would be the “critical criterion” employed to determine the most suitable way and location to process gas from the Corrib field 70km (44 miles) off Mayo, the Shell to Sea campaign said. Other essential criteria would include health and safety, environmental aspects, and local and regional benefits.
Shell to Sea campaign members, including Michael Ó Seighin and Willie Corduff, who were imprisoned for 94 days last year, attended the press conference.
Campaign spokesman Dr Mark Garavan said there had never been a full and independent overview of the Corrib gas project, only a “truncated consents procedure”, and previous efforts since the release of the Rossport Five last year were “entirely flawed”.
The Advantica report on the onshore pipeline involved terms of reference which were too limited and did not allow for alternatives, while the 26-County state mediator, Peter Cassells, had produced a report which excluded the core problem, said Dr Mark Garavan.
“Both of these processes failed because they were put in place as part of a policy of persuasion”, he said.
Independent TD for Mayo Dr Jerry Cowley has expressed concern about “ill-discipline” and “undue aggression” shown by gardaí at the protests.
He has called on Garda Commissioner Noel Conroy to ensure that the 26-County police shows “respect” for the local Erris population “who are merely engaged in peaceful protest against a project to which they do not consent”.
Gardaí in Belmullet have confirmed that they are investigating an alleged attempted assault of a Shell to Sea supporter by several Corrib gas terminal contract staff on November 3. The incident is said to have occurred near Bangor-Erris, when a local man and a passenger were driving home from an early morning demonstration near the terminal site.
The man, who has made a statement to gardaí, said that he was forced off the road by several trucks employed on contract to carry materials for Shell E&P Ireland. Two of the drivers are said to have tried to haul him out of his vehicle, but a third driver intervened.
In a separate development, the Council for the West and Shell to Sea have both welcomed the approval by the 26-County Commission for Energy Regulation for natural gas supply to 11 towns along the Mayo-Galway gas transmission pipeline. Bord Gais hopes to connect Athenry, Craughwell, Headford and Tuam in Co Galway and Ballina, Ballyhaunis, Castlebar, Claremorris, Crossmolina, Knock and Westport in Co Mayo to its network by the end of the year.
The commission and Bord Gais are also evaluating the viability of connecting further towns, and a further study has been commissioned to look at the case for the north-west.
Dr Mark Garavan of Shell to Sea said that while the campaign was very disappointed at the exclusion of Erris, it could claim some credit in highlighting inadequacies in the current gas distribution network. The problems of processing the Corrib gas remained, but the recognition that the Bellanaboy-Craughwell pipeline was commercially viable in advance of Corrib’s completion was also very significant, Dr Mark Garavan said.
5. KEVIN BARRY REMEMBERED IN RATHVILLY
SPEAKING at Republican Sinn Féin’s annual Kevin Barry commemoration in Rathvilly Co Carlow on Sunday November 5, RSF Ard-Rúnaí Líta Ní Chathmaoil said that the ideals which inspired Kevin Barry and his generation continue to inspire young Irish people today.
“Nothing short of an end to British rule in Ireland and the building of a New Ireland can form the basis for a just and lasting peace,” she said. She went on to say that true Republicans were not interested in reforming British rule, participating in its institutions and certainly not policing it. “Just like Kevin Barry a new generation of young Irish Republicans are determined to end British rule once and for all.” Líta Ní Chathmaoil said.
Republicans from Carlow, Kildare, Dublin, Kilkenny and Wexford took part in the commemoration which was led by a colour party. At the Kevin Barry monument they were joined by a Wexford Pikeman. The ceremony was chaired by Republican Sinn Féin Leas-Uachtarán Des Dalton, Kildare. Kitty Hawkins, from Ballymore-Eustace, Co Kildare laid a wreath on behalf of Kildare and West-Wicklow Republican Sinn Féin, Pat Kavanagh laid a wreath on behalf of the Pádraig Ó Pearaill Cumann, Wexford.
6. BRITISH POLICE FIRE ON LORRY IN BELFAST
ON Friday November 3, 2006 the RUC/PSNI chased a lorry through the busy streets of Belfast and fired live rounds at the wheels to bring the lorry to a stop. They initially tried to stop the lorry on the MI but the lorry continued into the St James’s area close to the Falls Road.
It is believed that the lorry was carrying fuel, which raises questions as to the safety of members of the public in the area at the time. Had a lorry load of fuel crashed it would have had very serious consequences for people nearby.
The lorry hit a Citroen car before being brought to a stop at the junction of St James’ Park and the Falls Road.
John McKenna, from the Whiterock area, and his two teenage children were parked at the top of the Donegall Road when the lorry hit their Citroen car. They were taken to hospital in shock. “I was just about to open the driver’s door and get out when the lorry came round the corner at speed and hit my car,” John McKenna said. “It’s lucky that someone wasn’t killed.
This is the third time in seven months that the RUC\PSNI have fired on a vehicle. A 23 year-old man was shot dead at a checkpoint in Ballynahinch, Co Down, in April. Two weeks earlier the RUC\PSNI opened fire on a car on the Glen Road in west Belfast.
7. THREAT SENT TO RSF BELFAST OFFICE
A LETTER signed “Orange Volunteers, Action Force Department”, and dated November 3 was sent to the Falls Road office of Republican Sinn Fein, threatening that members of Republican Sinn Fein will “pay a heavy price” for any attacks on British forces. The full statement reads: “To who ever it concerns, silly firebombs is one thing, if one person of our British state is killed yous shall pay a heavy price. Ready for Peace, Ready for War!” Republican Sinn Fein in Belfast expressed its concern about this threat to the lives of its members.
8. PROFESSOR SUES OVER OATH TO ENGLISH QUEEN
A Canadian army officer is suing the Canadian government over a “degrading” policy that requires members of the Canadian military forces to toast the Queen of England and salute during the playing of the English national anthem “God Save the Queen”.
Captain Aralt Mac Giolla Chainnigh, an associate professor of physics at the Royal Military College in Kingston, wants a court to overturn the requirement for members of the Canadian forces to publicly display their loyalty to the British monarchy.
“It’s a situation of institutional harassment that members of Canadian forces be obliged to toast the Queen of England at regimental dinners,” said Capt Aralt Mac Giolla Chainnigh. “To fail to do so would be interpreted as disloyalty, which could carry up to nine years’ imprisonment.”
His objection is based on the premise that while Canadian law allows anyone to question the role of the English monarchy in governing Canada, military officers have to suppress their beliefs and display loyalty to the English Queen at events such as mess dinners, Remembrance Day ceremonies, where they must salute for the playing of the English national anthem, “God Save the Queen”.
“You might, as a military officer, wish to express your unity with those who served Canada during a particular war, but have the obligation to recognise a foreign monarch as having a situation of authority over the Canadian Armed Forces.” Capt Aralt Mac Giolla Chainnigh said.
He argues in his claim that the requirement to publicly express allegiance contrary to one’s belief is degrading to an individual. Capt Aralt Mac Giolla Chainnigh who legally changed his name from Harold Kenny to its Irish spelling-says he signed up for the Canadian forces at the age of 16 to serve Canada, not a foreign monarch.
The oath requires new members to swear they will “be faithful and bear true allegiance to her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth the Second, Queen of Canada.”
Capt Aralt Mac Giolla Chainnigh has been fighting the policy with-in the Canadian military grievance system for the past five years. In May, the Canadian Forces Grievance Board rejected his complaint, saying his description of the toast to the Queen of England as “royalist symbolism” showed a fundamental lack of understanding of the way Canada is governed.
He appealed the decision to General Rick Hillier, the Chief of the Defence Staff, who rejected it in August. In October Capt Aralt Mac Giolla Chainnigh filed an appeal with the Canadian Federal Court.
ENDS
