British Army MRF Impunity

Immunity for British killers while
IRA veteran is jailed
Days after self-confessed British Crown
force killers were broadcast justifying the
murder of innocent civilians, the jailing
of a former IRA Volunteer for an armed
action in 1981 has been described as
“vindictive”.
At Belfast Crown Court on Thursday,
Armagh man Seamus Kearney was
convicted for an IRA attack in which a
member of the RUC police died. The
judge, sitting without a jury under
special anti-republican Diplock
legislation, sentenced Mr Kearney to life
imprisonment.
Under the terms of the 1998 Good Friday
Agreement, Mr Kearney will serve two years
before being released on licence.
Following the sentencing, Sinn Féin
representative for mid-Ulster Ian Milne said: “I
know Seamus Kearney well. He previously
served a long period of imprisonment for IRA
activities.
“The decision to pursue Seamus on these
historic charges was wrong, vindictive,
unnecessary and counterproductive.”
He added: “It is ironic at a time when the Haass
process is coming to a conclusion in dealing with
legacy issues that a republican is being
imprisoned on historic changes.
“It seems that the British government on one
hand wants to talk the language of building a
new future here but at the same time is sending
a message that it is continuing to fight old
battles.
“Like the previous case of Gerry McGeough, it is
our position that Seamus should be released and
allowed to return home to his family.”
The DUP’s Jeffrey Donaldson hit out at Sinn
Féin’s reaction, which he claimed showed “a
callous disregard for the suffering and pain
inflicted by the IRA” on the family of the RUC
Reservist, John Proctor.
The continuing prosecution of former members of
the Provisonal IRA, nineteen years after that
organisation declared a ceasefire, stands in
contrast to the continuing failure of the Stormont
system to prosecute members of the British
Crown forces or its murder gangs.
‘SHAM’
The family of an 18-year-old Catholic youth shot
dead in 1972 by a secret British Army unit have
said this week they have been forced to take
legal action against the British Ministry of
Defence (MoD).
Daniel Rooney was gunned down by undercover
soldiers from the British Army’s ‘Military
Reaction Force’ at St James’s Crescent in west
Belfast. A BBC Panorama documentary, shown
last week, carried interviews with members of
the unit, who admitted that they killed members
of the nationalist community even though there
was no evidence they were involved with the
IRA.
The Rooney family are to issue civil proceedings
against the MoD in relation to the conduct of their
soldiers. Noel Rooney, Daniel’s brother,
described the 1973 inquest into his death as a
“sham”, saying none of the soldiers involved
gave evidence at it. As well as a fresh inquest he
said the family wanted the soldiers responsible
to be brought to court, although he does not
think this would happen.
“We would not have any confidence that any of
these people would be prosecuted. We would
certainly like to see it happen,” he said. “The
family are supportive of anything that will get to
the truth and the [Panorama] programme helped
with that.
“It exposed something that we knew all along.
My mother wanted Daniel’s complete innocence
to be known and wanted a British government
apology.” He said his mother, who died several
years ago, “never got over” her son’s death.
Mr Rooney said he was shocked that the Military
Reaction Force was “organised at such a senior
level”. And he said he was appalled by the
“arrogance and ruthlessness” of the soldiers who
appeared on the programme.
“They said they would do it again,” he said.
“They were quite open and brazen about it.”

The 14 hooded men

A group known as the Hooded Men have claimed that new evidence has emerged that proves the UK government subjected them to torture in Northern Ireland.Fourteen men, arrested under the policy of internment in 1971, were taken to a secret location and subjected to what was called "deep interrogation".It has since been confirmed the secret location was Ballykelly Army base.The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has consistently rejected allegations that it used torture.It has also pointed out that it has "always fully co-operated" with statutory inquiries.'Beaten'In 1978, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that the men had been subjected to inhumane and degrading treatment, but not torture.However, the 14 men and their lawyers have now said that documents, recently discovered in the public records office in London, could lead to that decision being reversed.On their way to the interrogation centre in 1971, the interned men were hooded and thrown to the ground from helicopters.PlayLiam Shannon spoke to the BBC's Vincent Kearney about the techniques usedThey had been told they were hundreds of feet in the air, but were actually just a few feet from the ground.They were then subjected to what the Army referred to as "the five techniques".They were beaten, deprived of sleep, food and water, and forced to stand in a stress position against a wall for long periods."The noise was indescribable, like steam coming from a boiler at a high rate," said former internee Gerry McKerr.He went on to become the first commanding officer of IRA prisoners in what was then known as the Long Kesh prison camp near Lisburn, County Antrim."We were put against the wall and told to hold the position for as long as we could. On falling, we were beaten and placed back against the wall again."I collapsed innumerable times and was beaten each time," Mr McKerr said."I still have dreams of being attacked and saying to myself 'not again I can't do this again'. It's a recurring thing, it's always in my mind."In 1976, the European Commission upheld a complaint by the Irish government that the way the men had been interrogated constituted torture.'Inhumane'Embarrassed by the ruling and the international criticism that followed, the British government appealed.Two years later the finding was overturned, as the European Court of Human Rights ruled that the treatment of the men was inhumane and degrading, but did not constitute torture."The argument put forward by the British government was that it was inhumane and degrading treatment and not torture because, as a point of law, for it to be torture the person administering the treatment had to enjoy it," said Mr McKerr."They said that because those administering the beatings were not enjoying it, it was inhumane and degrading but not torture. It felt like torture to us."The documents found in the public records office in London were uncovered by the Pat Finucane Centre.ClassifiedThe 14 men and their lawyers claim the material proves the UK government deliberately withheld information from those investigating the complaint by the Irish government.One document, classified as secret, said it is "very important to keep secure the existence and location of the centre in Ballykelly where the 12 detainees in question had been interrogated".The 14 men say this, and the other documents, prove that the British government covered up what happened to them, and that they were subjected to pre-meditated torture."What we went through was indescribable," says another of the 14 men, Liam Shannon."There was a book written at one stage called The Guinea Pigs and that's what we think we were, guinea pigs for these techniques. It was obvious it was all about seeing how far they could push each of us before we would break."It's something that never leaves you," Mr Shannon said."At any time of night or day something will come up, particularly when you see situations like Abu Ghraib or Guantanamo Bay, where you see prisoners walking about hooded in orange jump suits, because that's what happened to us and that's what's happening today."'Horrific treatment'While all of the men were interned, none was ever convicted of an offence.They say it is now time for the British government to be put back in the dock."What happened to us was torture, without doubt," said Mr Shannon."The British government and their agents never admitted torture, they got off the hook. They lied their way out, they lied to the Irish government, they lied to us, they lied to the European Court and we want to now get them to stop lying and admit that they tortured us and that torture was a policy that they adopted in 1971 in the north of Ireland," he added.Lawyers for the men sent the documents uncovered in the public records office to the Irish Attorney General earlier this month.Solicitor Peter Corrigan said: "What has to be done is that the case against the British government has to be made in public, evidence that was previously presented in court, and evidence that continues to be hidden from the court must be exhibited and displayed for all to see the horrific treatment these men were subjected to."

Attorney General 'amnesty'

John Larkin Troubles proposal an amnesty: Peter Robinson

21 November 2013 
Peter Robinson said Troubles victims had a right to expect prosecutionsFirst Minister Peter Robinson has said the attorney general's proposal for an end to Troubles era prosecutions was "effectively an amnesty".John Larkin has previously said he was not advocating an amnesty for people who killed during the Troubles.However, on Thursday Mr Robinson said the proposal would allow people "to get away with murder".He said those people who were victims of the Troubles had a right to expect prosecutions."Equally, I don't want to see those who have been the perpetrators feel that they can live the rest of their lives without the fear that they might one day be made accountable and amenable for the crimes they have committed," Mr Robinson said."In other societies they don't say 'we're not going to go after murderers anymore because the years have past by'.""I oppose what the attorney general is saying."He added that it was not Mr Larkin's job to be a political adviser to the Northern Ireland Executive."There are certain positions in our society where it is more appropriate for people to be apolitical," Mr Robinson said.Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny said Mr Larkin's proposal would be a breach of international human rights.Mr Kenny said: "I think this would be in contravention of human rights. People have internationally a right to know. They have a right to find out and where (members of) the state were involved, there must be an investigation.'Completely independent'"From my perspective down here as Taoiseach, clearly this is a matter of international human rights... and if the hand of justice points incontrovertibly following court cases to individuals then justice has to take its course."Earlier, Mr Larkin confirmed he consulted no ministers before proposing an end to Troubles-related prosecutions.He said his suggestion was completely independent.Mr Larkin said there should be no further police investigations, inquests or inquiries into any relevant killings that took place before the signing of the Good Friday Agreement in 1998.His proposal was criticised by victims and politicians.He was at the Royal Courts of Justice in Belfast on Thursday for the verdict on his successful challenge to a coroner refusing to hold an inquest into a stillbirth.Asked if he had briefed or consulted the executive before making his views on Troubles-era cases known in a media interview, he said: "No minister, no MLA is engaged in what I said."It's entirely my contribution, independent, to the public debate."The attorney general added: "I have put it out there and it's being discussed."

British soldiers vs prosecution

Seamus Mallon: Soldiers who shot unarmed civilians must be prosecuted

21 November 2013 Last updated at 18:05Anyone actively involved in shooting unarmed civilians during the Troubles must be prosecuted, Northern Ireland's former deputy first minister has said.Seamus Mallon's comments came after ex-soldiers told BBC One's Panorama that a secret unit used by the British Army in the early 1970s shot unarmed civilians.Northern Ireland Attorney General John Larkin has suggested prosecutions for Troubles-related killings should end.More than 3,500 people were killed during three decades of conflict.Ex-members of the Military Reaction Force (MRF), which was disbanded in 1973, told Panorama they had been tasked with "hunting down" IRA members in Belfast, saying their unit had helped save many lives.Handpicked unitMr Mallon, who became deputy leader of the nationalist SDLP party and was one of the architects of the Good Friday Agreement, told BBC Radio 4's The World at One that those involved must be held accountable, even 40 years later."Prosecutions are very difficult after a period of time," he said."That's no reason for not bringing them."If you don't bring these prosecutions and if you don't try to ensure that the law is there for everyone to answer, then you're actually negating the whole thesis of law within society and that is, I'm afraid, what has been happening in instances such as this."The details of the killings emerged a day after Mr Larkin made his suggestion that any prosecutions over Troubles-related killings that took place before the signing of the Good Friday Agreement in 1998 should be ended.That proposal has been criticised by groups representing relatives of victims and by Northern Ireland's First Minister, Peter Robinson, who said it would allow people "to get away with murder".Killings 'defied logic'Panorama has been told the MRF consisted of about 40 men handpicked from across the British army.Before it was disbanded 40 years ago, after 18 months, plain-clothes soldiers carried out round-the-clock patrols of west Belfast - the heartland of the IRA - in unmarked cars.Three former members of the unit, who agreed to be interviewed on condition their identities were disguised, said they had posed as Belfast City Council road sweepers, dustmen and even "meths drinkers", carrying out surveillance from street gutters.One of the soldiers said they had also fired on suspected IRA members.He described their mission as "to draw out the IRA and to minimise their activities... if they needed shooting, they'd be shot".The soldiers interviewed by Panorama defended their actions, saying they had ultimately helped bring about the IRA's decision to lay down arms.But The Ministry of Defence said it had referred the disclosures to police.Panorama has identified 10 unarmed civilians shot by the MRF, according to witnesses.Mr Mallon said: "You had killings for which there was no logic. This type of incident where people were shot from a passing car, almost as if for fun."But was very clear that there was a strategy behind it and I think the huge question to be asked here is who ultimately authorised it, because it had to be authorised both in operational terms by a senior army figure and in political terms by a senior politician."Former detectives are reviewing all of the deaths in Northern Ireland during the conflict as part of the Historical Enquiries Team set up following the peace process.Around 11% of the 3,260 deaths being reviewed were the responsibility of the state.

Dealing with the past in £££!!!

Policing the past will cost criminal justice agencies in Northern Ireland almost £190m during the next five years, a report has said.The Criminal Justice Inspection said dealing with legacy issues was having a negative impact on how police and other agencies dealt with current challenges.It warned this could reduce confidence in the criminal justice system.The report also called for the creation of a special legacy group to deal with the past.The inspection report comes a day afterAttorney General John Larkin said there should be no further police investigations, inquests or inquiries into Troubles' killings before the Good Friday Agreement in 1998.The report estimated that the cost to the police and other agencies would be £187m over the next five years.The Police Service of Northern Ireland accounts for more than £132m of that total, with the Police Ombudsman's office accounting for almost £11m and prisons just over £6m.Chief Criminal Justice Inspector Brendan McGuigan said the police and other agencies, like prisons and the Public Prosecution Service, were struggling to cope."Those are the upfront costs, however, there are unseen costs and clearly the criminal justice agencies are under significant pressure in terms of reducing budgets," he said.Chief Criminal Justice Inspector Brendan McGuigan said the police and other agencies were struggling to cope"They are struggling to find the money to deliver on the legacy issues and, of course, that is not meeting the needs and expectations of victims."The reality is that detectives involved in legacy issues are the same detectives who will be conducting serious crime investigation, child exploitation and the activities of dissident republicans."It all comes out of the same pool and the reality is that it's causing significant delays in dealing with legacy issues - that's causing enormous frustration for victims and their legal representatives."Brendan McGuigan said he hoped talks, being chaired by former US diplomat Dr Richard Haass, may provide a better way forward."The current model isn't meeting the needs and expectations of victims in the way that it should, so there is an opportunity, I think, in the Haass talks to consider how best this should be done," he said.

Shoot to kill MRF Policy

Undercover soldiers 'killed
unarmed civilians in Belfast'
21 November 2013 Last updated at 10:50
Soldiers from an undercover unit used by
the British army in Northern Ireland killed
unarmed civilians, former members have
told BBC One's Panorama.
Speaking publicly for the first time, the ex-
members of the Military Reaction Force (MRF),
which was disbanded in 1973, said they had
been tasked with "hunting down" IRA members
in Belfast.
The former soldiers said they believed the unit
had saved many lives.
The Ministry of Defence said it had referred the
disclosures to police.
The details have emerged a day after Northern
Ireland's attorney general, John Larkin,
suggested ending any prosecutions over
Troubles-related killings that took place before
the signing of the Good Friday Agreement in
1998.
The soldiers appeared on Panorama on condition
their identities were disguised
The proposal has been criticised by groups
representing relatives of victims.
Panorama has been told the MRF consisted of
about 40 men handpicked from across the
British army.
Before it was disbanded 40 years ago, after 18
months, plain-clothes soldiers carried out round-
the-clock patrols of west Belfast - the heartland
of the IRA - in unmarked cars.
Three former members of the unit, who agreed to
be interviewed on condition their identities were
disguised, said they had posed as Belfast City
Council road sweepers, dustmen and even
"meths drinkers", carrying out surveillance from
street gutters.
But surveillance was just one part of their work.
One of the soldiers said they had also fired on
suspected IRA members.
He described their mission as "to draw out the
IRA and to minimise their activities... if they
needed shooting, they'd be shot".
'Targets taken down'
Another former member of the unit said: "We
never wore uniform - very few people knew what
rank anyone was anyway.
"We were hunting down hardcore baby-killers,
terrorists, people that would kill you without even
thinking about it."
A third former MRF soldier said: "If you had a
player who was a well-known shooter who
carried out quite a lot of assassinations... then
he had to be taken out.
"[They were] killers themselves, and they had no
mercy for anybody."
In 1972 there were more than 10,600 shootings in
Northern Ireland. It is not possible to say how
many the unit was involved in.
The MRF's operational records have been
destroyed and its former members refused to
incriminate themselves or their comrades in
specific incidents when interviewed by
Panorama.
But they admitted shooting and killing unarmed
civilians.
When asked if on occasion the MRF would make
an assumption that someone had a weapon,
even if they could not see one, one of the former
soldiers replied "occasionally".
"We didn't go around town blasting, shooting all
over the place like you see on the TV, we were
going down there and finding, looking for our
targets, finding them and taking them down," he
said.
Patricia McVeigh says her father Patrick was
shot in the back as he stopped to talk to men at
a checkpoint
"We may not have seen a weapon, but there
more than likely would have been weapons there
in a vigilante patrol."
Panorama has identified 10 unarmed civilians
shot, according to witnesses, by the MRF:
Brothers John and Gerry Conway, on the
way to their fruit stall in Belfast city centre
on 15 April 1972
Aiden McAloon and Eugene Devlin, in a taxi
taking them home from a disco on 12 May
1972
Joe Smith, Hugh Kenny, Patrick Murray and
Tommy Shaw, on Glen Road on 22 June
1972
Daniel Rooney and Brendan Brennan, on the
Falls Road on 27 September 1972
Patricia McVeigh told the BBC she believed her
father, Patrick McVeigh, had been shot in the
back and killed by plain clothes soldiers on 12
May 1972 and said she wanted justice for him.
"He was an innocent man, he had every right to
be on the street walking home. He didn't deserve
to die like this," she said.
Her solicitor Padraig O'Muirigh said he was
considering civil action against the Ministry of
Defence in light of Panorama's revelations.
The MoD refused to say whether soldiers
involved in specific shootings had been
members of the MRF.
'Pretty gruesome'
It said it had referred allegations that MRF
soldiers shot unarmed men to police in Northern
Ireland.
But the members of the MRF who Panorama
interviewed said their actions had ultimately
helped bring about the IRA's decision to lay
down arms.
Gen Sir Mike Jackson, the former head of the
British army, and a young paratrooper captain in
1972, said he had known little of the unit's
activities at the time, but admired the bravery of
soldiers involved in undercover work.
He said: "That takes a lot of courage and it's a
cold courage. It's not the courage of hot blood
[used by] soldiers in a firefight.
"You know if you are discovered, a pretty
gruesome fate may well await you - torture
followed by murder."
The IRA planted nearly 1,800 bombs - an
average of five a day - in 1972
Col Richard Kemp, who carried out 10 tours of
Northern Ireland between 1979 and 2001, told
BBC Radio 4's Today programme charges could
be brought if there was new evidence unarmed
civilians had been killed.
But he added: "Soldiers often speak with
bravado and I wonder how many of those
soldiers are saying that they themselves shot
and killed unarmed civilians."
Panorama has learnt a Ministry of Defence
review concluded the MRF had "no provision for
detailed command and control".
Forty years later and families and victims are still
looking for answers as to who carried out
shootings.
Former detectives are reviewing all of the deaths
in Northern Ireland during the conflict as part of
the Historical Enquiries Team set up following
the peace process.
Around 11% of the 3,260 deaths being reviewed
were the responsibility of the state.

Marian Price Guilty Plea

Old Bailey bomber Marian McGlinchey has admitted to providing a mobile phone linked to the Real IRA killing of two soldiers at the Massereene army barracks. McGlinchey, also known as Marian Price, admitted providing property for the purposes of terrorism.
The 59-year old also pleaded guilty to helping out at an Easter commemoration on April 25 last year in Londonderry. During the Derry event, McGlinchey was pictured holding up a statement for a masked man.
McGlinchey, from Stockman's Avenue in west Belfast, was released on continuing bail, to be sentenced next month.
Belfast Crown Court Judge Gordon Kerr QC told McGlinchey that the fact she was being released was "no indication" of how she would eventually be dealt with.
McGlinchey was already on trial accused of buying the pay-as-you-go mobile phone.
However, on Thursday morning, her defence QC Frank O'Donogohue asked for her to re-arraigned on the charge of providing money or property for the purposes of terrorism.
The lawyer also asked that she be arraigned on a separate charge of aiding and abetting the commemoration in Derry. McGlinchey was due to have gone on trial, accused of aiding and abetting, counselling and procuring the address made to encourage support for the IRA, or to further its activities.
Her original trial, which began on Monday, heard that she had links to "dissident republican activity" and must have known that the mobile she'd bought was to be used to make the call claiming the attack on the Massereene base.
Soldiers Sappers Mark Quinsey and Patrick Azimkar were gunned down as they collected a pizza delivery at the front of the army barracks on March 7, 2009. The pizza delivery man was also wounded in the attack.
Two men accused of the murders were subsequently tried and acquitted.
Prosecutor Tessa Kitson told the court that the day after the fatal attack, an unknown male made a number of telephone calls to media outlets including UTV as well as the Samaritans claiming responsibility for the attack on behalf of the Real IRA.
Ms Kitson said that on March 8, 2009 a woman was caught on CCTV purchasing the pay-as- you-go mobile from the Tesco store in Newtownabbey, adding it was the Crown's case that the woman seen purchasing the phone was McGlinchey.
The court heard that the phone was first used to claim responsibility an hour and five minutes after it was bought.
The prosecution claimed it had been purchased "solely" for this purpose McGlinchey, from Stockman's Avenue in Belfast, was questioned about the purchase of the mobile phone in November of that year.
Ms Kitson said the accused "declined to make any comment in relation to these circumstances and she didn't identify the person or persons to whom she must have passed this telephone to."
Ms Kitson told Judge Gordon Kerr QC that given McGlinchey's "background and involvement in dissident republican activity", it was unlikely she was unaware that the phone would be used to "promote the objectives and aims of a terrorist organisation, in that it would be used to claim responsibility for a terrorist attack."
She also said the timing of the events were important in the case against the accused, saying the phone was purchased the day after the attack and the first call was made just 24 minutes after the phone was topped up with credit.
Ms Kitson added that no other calls were made to or from the phone, other than those claiming responsibility.
The court also heard that despite various police interviews, McGlinchey never provided a reason for the purchase of the phone.

Att general calls 4 amnesty

victims groups have criticised a suggestion that there should be an end to prosecutions for Troubles killings.NI's Attorney General John Larkin said there should be an end to investigations into killings before the 1998 Good Friday Agreement.Prime Minister David Cameron said such a move would be "rather dangerous".None of Northern Ireland's main political parties have supported the idea.Mr Larkin had said there should be no further police investigations, inquests or inquiries into any relevant killings that took place before the signing of the Good Friday Agreement in 1998.That means all deaths caused by paramilitaries, police or the Army.Mr Larkin said his proposal was not a formal amnesty, but was a logical consequence of the agreement.His comments came as former US diplomat Richard Haass tries to broker a political agreement over how to deal with the legacy of Northern Ireland's past, as well as controversial parades and the flying of flags.Relatives of Troubles victims have criticised Mr Larkin's suggestion.Patrick Corrigan from Amnesty International called Mr Larkin's proposals "an utter betrayal of victims' fundamental right to access justice".Stephen Gault, whose father Samuel was killed in the 1987 IRA Poppy Day bombing in Enniskillen, said: "How dare he airbrush the innocent people who were murdered at the hands of terrorists to move things forward. I just think it's totally disgusting."Kate Nash, whose brother was shot dead by the Army on Bloody Sunday in 1972, said: "I'm absolutely incensed by what the attorney general is saying - my brother didn't matter, my brother was murdered almost 42 years ago."'Rather dangerous'Speaking during Prime Minister's Questions, Mr Cameron said: "We are all democrats who believe in the rule of law, who believe in the independence of the police and prosecuting authorities, and they should if they are able to, be able to bring cases."I think it's rather dangerous to think that you can put some sort of block on that."But of course we are all interested in ways in which people can reconcile and come to terms with the bloody past, so that they can build a viable future and a shared future for Northern Ireland."Northern Ireland's Justice Minister David Ford said: "I don't agree at all with the suggestion made by the attorney general that the criminal justice system should no longer have a role in dealing with the past."We need a process that includes justice, truth and reconciliation - I don't believe that we will get any one of these without the other."The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), the largest political party in Northern Ireland, said the attorney general had not consulted the Stormont Executive about his proposals before making them public.The party's Jeffery Donaldson said: "There is no nation in the free world today where murder is not a crime, you cannot say that murder is not a crime - it is."There are 3,000 unsolved murders in Northern Ireland and those families are entitled to the right to pursue justice."'Cause of real concern'Sinn Féin's Gerry Kelly said: "There's many different views of what you do with the truth or post-truth, but the one thing that we've all agreed to, is the truth needs to get out."Now if what John Larkin is doing is drawing a line in the sand and closing down the ability to bring out truth, then I would fundamentally disagree."The nationalist Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) said the attorney general's remarks were a "cause of real concern".SDLP justice spokesperson Alban Maginness said victims and survivors of state and paramilitary violence were "entitled to justice irrespective of the lapse of time".Ulster Unionist leader Mike Nesbitt said he was deeply suspicious about the timing of Mr Larkin's comments."I am shocked at the lack of consultation particularly with victims, never mind the executive," he said. "I can't believe he didn't understand the hurt and pain he would cause amongst victims."'Very few prosecutions'More than 3,500 people were killed during three decades of conflict in Northern Ireland.The attorney general, who is the chief legal adviser to the Stormont Executive for civil and criminal matters, said the proposal was a logical consequence of the terms of the Good Friday Agreement.Mr Larkin told the BBC: "More than 15 years have passed since the Belfast Agreement, there have been very few prosecutions, and every competent criminal lawyer will tell you the prospects of conviction diminish, perhaps exponentially, with each passing year, so we are in a position now where I think we have to take stock."It strikes me that the time has come to think about putting a line, set at Good Friday 1998, with respect to prosecutions, inquests and other inquiries."Commenting on the remarks, Northern Ireland's Chief Constable Matt Baggott said: "It is well documented that the cost of policing the past has a massive impact on how we deal with the present and the future."Whilst we are committed to meeting our current legislative responsibilities, dealing with legacy issues continues to place significant pressure on our organisation and financial resources."New inquest into killingsIf adopted, in addition to the end to all criminal prosecutions and coroners' inquests, Mr Larkin's proposals would result in the abolition of the Historical Enquiries Team (HET), the body set up to review killings during the period known as the Troubles.Meanwhile, Mr Larkin has ordered a new inquest into the killings of two people when loyalists, including rogue members of the Royal Ulster Constabulary and Ulster Defence Regiment, attacked a bar in the village of Keady, south Armagh in 1976, according to the Belfast-based solicitor Kevin Winters, who is representing the families.The attack was allegedly carried out by a group known at the Glenanne Gang.The fresh coroner's court probe followed a report by the HET, which according to Mr Winters, pointed to one of the most notorious examples of collusion involving the security forces.

Release Martin Corey

SPOTLIGHT ON BRITISH OVER MARTIN COREY INTERNMENTStatement from Release Martin Corey Campaign The Spotlight Programme screened on Tuesday, November 12 was, in part, concerned with the case of political internee Martin Corey. Ciaran Tracey, Journalist for the BBC, visited Martin in Maghaberry prison, Co Antrim and conducted an interview with him. During the course of this interview Martin stated that he believed that he was in jail because he refused to become an informer, he stated he had been approached prior to his incarceration and told that he should co-operate with the security forces or else he would find himself in jail. And that is where Martin Corey found himself, in Maghaberry Jail, he has been there for over three-and-half-years. He faces no charge and no trial, he has no release date, his release had previously been directed by the courts but then overturned by the British secretary of state. Three British secretaries of state have allowed Martin's internment to continue with secret evidence quoted as justification for this. This blatant disregard for the judicial system exposes the true nature of British rule in Ireland and how it serves to persecute political dissenters. It is now time that Martin Corey is released once and for all with no interference from un-elected British officials who seek to protect those who recruit informers and put Irish citizen’s lives in danger on a daily basis.  On Monday, November 11 and Tuesday, November 12, the Release Marin Corey Campaign loosely organised an attempt to highlight Martins case on social networking site Twitter. The result was overwhelming and exceeded expectations throughout the course of those two days. Republicans and human rights defenders continuously tweeted #releasemartincorey and due to their hard work this trended at number two on Monday (November 11) and number 1 on Tuesday (November 12) in Ireland. The committee would like to thank all those who took part and congratulate you on your success. We are weeks away from knowing the outcome of Martin's case but we must not now sit back think that here is no more to done, we must keep the pressure on. In September Human rights organisation, Justice Watch Ireland released a report on their findings into the incarceration of Martin Corey. A full copy of this report has now been published on www.releasemartincorey.com 
The Release Martin Corey Campaign once again reiterates its demand for the release of Martin Corey, who is in jail solely for his political views. The British Government and their security must not be allowed to continue down this path of political persecution unchallenged. 

Release Martin Corey Committee

5 Tyrone men in isolation

A HUMAN rights group co-founded by one of the ‘Guildford Four’ has called for five Tyrone men to be granted requests to be moved from an isolated section of Maghaberry Prison into a designated republican wing.Gavin Coyle (36) of Culmore Park in Omagh, Thomas Hamill (41), Mark McGillowway (41) and Desmond Hamill (39), all from Dungannon, are currently being held in 23 hour lock up along with 49-year-old Austin Creggan from Pomeroy.Charged in connection with a republican arms find in east Tyrone, Gavin Coyle has been remanded in Maghaberry’s Care and Supervision Unit (CSU) since April 2011. The other four, who have all been sentenced for offences linked to dissident republican activity in Tyrone, have been held in the unit since 2012.Justice Watch Ireland (JWI) was set up in January by among others Gerry Conlon, who served 15 years after he was wrongly convicted of involvement in an IRA bombing campaign in England. The group have described Maghaberry’s CSU as “a short stay punishment facility”, stating it is “reminiscent of a Victorian prison regime” and not fit for long term confinement.Separated wings for republican and loyalist prisoners were established in Maghaberry’s Roe House in 2003 following the Steele report. Prisoners seeking to be housed there typically sign a separation compact.In a report issued on Friday, JWI states that despite requests to be housed in Roe House, Gavin Coyle was sent straight to CSU in 2011, with prison authorities informing him his life was under threat from republicans. “The republicans housed in Roe have denied Gavin is under threat and repeatedly asked that Gavin be housed on the wing,” states the report.The group also claim that MI5 and the PSNI made “numerous” attempts to recruit Coyle while in the unit.Issuing a number of recommendations, JWI has called for any prisoner who asks for and meets the criteria for separation be separated. It has also recommended no prisoner be housed for longer than three months in CSU confinement and no prisoner be subject to the advances of any state agency, without the presence of their legal representatives.JWI has also called for the end of “the degrading process of strip searching”.“To refuse them the right of separation, may be legally construed as an act of discrimination,” states the group. “The continuing confinement of the five prisoners in the CSU, indefinitely, may be in breach of International and domestic law and UK prison guidelines.“The long term isolation of prisoners from each other without meaningful activities, such as education and exercise and little access to natural sunlight, is reminiscent of a Victorian prison regime, not one that exists in the 21st century.”

- See more at: http://ulsterherald.com/2013/11/19/human-rights-group-investigates-tyrone-prisoners-held-in-isolation/#sthash.a7hlpDvd.dpuf
http://ulsterherald.com/2013/11/19/human-rights-group-investigates-tyrone-prisoners-held-in-isolation/

Is it cold in his shadow

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We Only Want The Earth

Is It Cold In His Shadow? – An Appreciation of Vol. Brendan Hughes

By Mark HayesA short time ago I was asked by TAL’s editor if I would consider writing a short piece about Brendan Hughes. As readers of TAL will doubtless be aware Brendan Hughes figures prominently in the narrative of modern Irish Republicanism, and much has already been said and written about him. What else, I pondered, might usefully be added to the wealth of material that already exists? Moreover, there is a sense in which the effort to recollect causes much more pain than pleasure. Why inflict more discomfort by revisiting the past? Perhaps it would be far better to press on without glancing backwards.As it turns out Talman posited the question at precisely the right time because recent events have made remembering an obligation for anyone who claims to profess adherence to the Republican creed. It is not the gradual and insidious elision from principled armed resistance to pragmatic parliamentary politics that has precipitated my desire to comment, although that particular, sorry story is shameful enough – it has been the careless vitriol recently directed toward Brendan himself by people who should know better. The leader of Sinn Fein, not content with presiding over the somnambulant drift of his party into the arms of the British state, recently saw fit to describe Brendan Hughes as a “liar”. Indeed, certain individuals via contributions to social networks and assorted websites (I will not dignify them with a name) have even suggested that Volunteer Brendan Hughes was an informer! A perfect moment, therefore, to reflect on the personality of the man himself.I will not dwell on the biographical detail of Brendan Hughes’ life and the contribution he made in the effort to free Ireland from imperialism and oppression. That information is a matter of fact and public record. Not even the pro-Unionist “Republicans” ensconced safely in Stormont could seriously cast doubt on his credentials as an armed volunteer. The people of west Belfast and across the occupied north were well aware that if even half of the folk-tales were true about Brendan, then he was a volunteer to be reckoned with, and to be remembered in the same breath as Bobby Sands. This is not the substance of my modest intervention. I am writing to tell you something of the man I knew, who stayed in my house, who laughed with us, debated with us, and the man whose coffin I helped carry around the narrow streets of Belfast. I considered the “Dark” a good friend and comrade.Yet we need to be brutally clear and honest in our assessment – Brendan was a man with faults and frailties, and he wrestled with his conscience over decisions that would have destroyed lesser men. He made mistakes too, as all human beings have. The crucial point, however, is that Brendan would have recognised those weaknesses and acknowledged them. It may seem slightly odd to emphasise this observation. Why would I focus upon this aspect of his character, when there are so many tales to be told about fighting “Brits” and attacking the forces of the state? I could recount many, and a few would provide ample evidence to confirm the old aphorism that fact is far stranger than fiction. Many of these incidents and events have been recorded for posterity for the benefit of future generations. So why not make an icon of a man who, as much as anyone, is deserving of retrospective veneration? Why not allow the reputation of Brendan Hughes the IRA Commander to evolve into another cult of the Republican soldier? There are several inter-related reasons why great care should be taken over how his legacy is handled.Firstly, Brendan would not have wanted a celebration of his deeds. He was clearly aware that the manipulation of commemorations could serve a variety of purposes, not all of which would be endorsed by those who were being commemorated. Moreover, turning “the Dark” into a “fallen soldier” to be worshipped as such would seriously diminish and distort the nature of the politics which underpinned his contribution to the Republican struggle.Politics should take priority in any account of Brendan Hughes. “Darkie” was an unreconstructed and unrepentant class warrior, and as such he did not fight for a utopian united Ireland as some kind of mystical national entity which would somehow automatically resolve all social, political and economic contradictions. Che Guevara mattered much more than Cuchalain and “the Dark” had his eyes focused firmly on a further horizon, his vision fixed – the Republic would be egalitarian or it would be lost. People may not be aware that one of Brendan’s bitterest disputes with Sinn Fein was about the pay of building workers in Belfast. The fate of ordinary working class people, Protestant, Catholic and Dissenter, formed the very epicentre of his perspective on the world. Securing a living wage, decent housing and quality healthcare for everyone were the focus of his attention, rather than the misty and maudlin fixations of “mother Ireland”. Portraying Brendan as anything other than a man of the people would be a gross distortion of historical reality, and a sad betrayal of his political legacy. He believed in ordinary people, and he belonged to them alone.Secondly, Brendan Hughes knew that violence should only ever be tactic (not a principle), and the glorification of war is, at best, unseemly. Brendan was a gentle man, despite having a righteous temper, and would only ever countenance the use of an armed strategy in the service of the noblest ideals, against the rich and powerful. He would never have sanctioned the use of violence to intimidate the weak, unlike some who have used the epithet “soldier” or “freedom fighter” to obscure the evil essence of their malevolent misdeeds. Brendan Hughes was not a bully. It might also be added, nevertheless, that Brendan would never have traded the right to resist as a bargaining chip in a tawdry compromise with the bitterest of political enemies. Brendan may have been a reluctant soldier, but he was not a fool.The other related point of identifying and emphasising very clearly Brendan’s own capacity for critical self-reflection is this – he was an honest man. If he made a mistake he was prepared to acknowledge it. In that sense he had the humility of a fallible human being trying, as we all are, to do what is best in onerous circumstances. He also accepted other people as they were, with all their faults, and was hugely generous in giving his time and consideration to others. He was never arrogant or self-obsessed, and incredibly diffident – despite the fact that he had very little to be modest about. Brendan was generous, decent and honourable. This is why the accusation of deliberate duplicity is so utterly grotesque – the very word “liar” as applied to “Darkie” Hughes should choke those who have the temerity to deploy it against him. Men who have compromised, conceded the moral high ground and capitulated to the enemy now make accusations that would never, ever have been made to Brendan’s face. Such accusations are a desperate and despicable ploy to destroy the reputation of a principled political adversary. The suggestion that Brendan’s so-called “demons” somehow invalidate his ideological perspective is not only specious, it is the work of the most unscrupulous gombeens, a cheap and spurious knave’s trick designed to deflect attention from his legitimate critique of Sinn Fein. But the political ideas expressed by Brendan will not be marginalised by the self-serving insinuations of those mercenaries who are now content to administer British rule on behalf of businessmen and bankers. If the firing squad in Kilmainham jail could not silence James Connolly, then the political assassins who now take aim at the reputation of “Darkie” Hughes will have to think again.In many ways now, as the consensus constructed around Sinn Fein’s “peace strategy” begins to crumble, the people who perpetrate this foul calumny are more to be pitied than scorned. Their project is being progressively dismantled. Nevertheless, those people who remain committed to the path of pro-Union constitutionalism should seriously reflect on the nature of a leadership which is willing to do such a wretched dis-service to the memory of a good man. Of course those who have led the strategy have far too much to lose by retracting their vile revisionism. To concede that the calculated character assassination of Hughes is morally reprehensible would cast considerable doubt on the rest of the story they have cynically concocted to justify their discredited political strategy. Feeble men – it must be cold for them, standing there in his shadow.When I think of Brendan I recognise neither the “warrior” icon of Republican mythology, nor the cruel misrepresentations cast by his political opponents. I remember a person of the utmost integrity, but also an activist full of passion for the pursuit of a political ideal that some of us steadfastly refuse to relinquish. His enemies will never be able to degrade his reputation because, to paraphrase Bobby Sands, they can call him whatever they want – the people call him a man!And I would take the opportunity to make one final point to the politically motivated purveyors of half-truth and crass distortion – if you take issue with him, then you take issue with us all. We will not be silent, because the “wee Dark” still walks among us… Mark Hayes - November 9 2013This article was commissioned and originally published by Tal Fanzine. About these ads

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Lethal Allies ..collusion

The research is contained in a new book, written by Pat Finucane Centre researcher Anne Cadwallader. It has dramatically lifted the lid on large scale, systematic collusion in which 120 people were killed. The degree to which prominent nationalists were selected for murder constitute a form of ethnic cleansing, she said.In one telling excerpt from the book, a quote from an unpublished police Historical Enquiries Team (HET) report, referring to the killings of four people in attacks on two bars in County Armagh, says: “It is difficult to believe... when judged in concert with other cases emerging at the time, that such widespread evidence of collusion in these areas was not a significant concern at the highest levels of the security forces and of government.”Members of the RUC police and the British Army’s UDR were part of a murder organisation operating during a four year period between 1972 and 1976.“It can be demonstrated beyond a reasonable doubt that there was systemic collusion in these cases,” Cadwallader writes.While it was always believed collusion was a factor in sectarian killings in the North, the manner in which these victims were targeted speaks to an even more sinister agenda.Her research suggests killings of upwardly mobile and affluent Catholics, many with strong links to the GAA and other community organisations, were more than just sectarian in nature but designed to prevent nationalists owning land or gaining influence in rural areas.Ms Cadwallader said: “We took away all the killings from that time that were randomly sectarian in nature and then examined who was left to see if we could establish a link.“What we were left with was a list of people, who either owned land or businesses or were in the process of buying land or building a home.“They were what has been described as ‘uppity Catholics’ people of influence with standing in the community they lived”.By researching military files, RUC investigations and more recently the Police Ombudsman and the Historical enquiries Team, the investigative reporter mapped out a trail of terror that links one gang to more than 120 murders.In her book ‘Lethal Allies: British Collusion in Ireland’ Ms Cadwallader found ballistics linked many of the weapons used directly to guns ‘stolen’ from the UDR.“Dozens of UDR guns were going missing every week and records show that at no stage did the RUC carry out an investigation into this loss of weapons, many of which went on to be used in scores of sectarian murders”, she said.Robin Jackson, who was believed to be personally responsible for pulling the trigger in up to 50 killings, was leader of the gang of sectarian killers.Farms near Glenanne, near Newry, were the places where ‘the Jackal’ planned killings alongside his Crown force and loyalist conspirators.Evidence uncovered by Ms Cadwallader shows not only were the RUC aware of Jackson’s activities from an early stage, they also went to great lengths to scupper investigations that could have placed him behind bars.Jackson was never brought to justice and was still active shortly before his death from cancer at the age of 49 in 1998.The number of people he killed ranges from a conservative estimate of 50 up to more than 100, along with a killer gang that included brothers John and Wesley Somerville who were also former members of the UDR.The brothers from Moygashal were involved in murders including the deaths of three members of the Miami Show Band in July 1975.“Certainly, if Jackson did not pull the trigger himself, he is estimated to have been involved in the murders of scores of ordinary Catholics”, said Ms Cadwallader.“He had a corrupt and indefensible relationship with enough RUC officers to protect him from ever facing a murder charge, leaving him free to continue killing people for over two decades from 1973 to the 1990s”.Jackson joined D Company of 11 UDR [Ulster Defence Regiment], based at Scarva Barracks, Banbridge, in August 1973 and within two months there was an arms raid at the armoury used by his unit.He was named by a man on whose property a significant arms cache was discovered.However, it was two weeks before his home in Lurgan was searched. By then, Jackson is believed to have shot dead Banbridge trade unionist and father of three, Patrick Campbell.It was part of a pattern of killings of professional, influential, middle class Catholics. When the RUC eventually searched Jackson’s house they found bullets and a notebook containing details of more than two dozen people, including car registration numbers.He would later be pointed out in a line up by the widow of Mr Campbell but never faced trial.This charge along with those of having ammunition and personal details of Catholics were dropped by Crown prosecutors who claimed there was insufficient evidence.The book also claims that days before the attack on the Three Steps Inn in Keady, County Armagh, the RUC knew a loyalist bomb was being stored at a farmhouse owned by a serving RUC member, and asked the British Army to put it under surveillance.According to the book, the surveillance operation was ended and the bomb was then used in the attack, which proceded as planned, killing two people.It also reveals that RUC Special Branch knew the identities of four people involved in the bombing, but that no arrests were made.Former SDLP leader Mark Durkan urged the British government to come clean about the state’s role in the North’s “dirty war”. The Derry-based MP warned that the failure to get the truth about Crown force complicity would result in a “dirty peace”.Sinn Fein said the revelations added to pressure for the British government to fulfill its commitment to hold an inquiry into the murder of Belfast defence lawyer Pat Finucane, whose mother died last week.And speaking about the UDR Glenanne gang, Sinn Fein’s Conor Murphy said the activities of the Armagh gang were well known to the local community.“The UDR based in Glenanne was a unionist militia,” he said.“The members of the Glenanne gang were all either directly or indirectly in the pay of the British State. That is an indisputable fact.“The families of those people murdered by the British State policy of collusion carried out on the ground in South Armagh by the UDR Glenanne gang deserve the truth.”“There are those within political unionism today”, he added, “who were in leading roles in both the UDR and the RUC. Let them come forward and tell us what they know about collusion.”As the book was being launched on Thursday, former RUC police were controversially being told to cease contacts with the office of the Police Ombudsman. The Northern Ireland Retired Police Officers Association (NIRPOA), which advises the former RUC, said it had reached the decision after some of its members had been accused of breaching the European Convention on Human Rights, specifically the right to life.Sinn Féin policing spokesperson Gerry Kelly described it as an attempt to frustrate the work of the Police Ombudsman. And he said the timing of the statement appeared designed to attract attention away from the issue of collusion and to influence the ongoing Haass talks into dealing with the past.“In any other society an announcement by former serving Police Officers that they will not co-operate with a state agency investigating murder would be seen an as outrage,” he said.“But given the reality that the RUC Special Branch in particular was involved in the control and direction of loyalist gangs for years and in the cover-up of their activities this move will not come as a surprise.”He said people would now looking to see the reaction of unionist politicians.“The culture of concealment and cover-up which is being revealed very publicly in this statement is the very same culture and practice which gave rise to collusion, the torture of detainees, the extraction of forced confessions and the framing of innocent people by the RUC over many years,” he said.

British policing in Ireland

British Political Policing in Ireland has been around now for well over 200 years. Through out the last two centuries and right up to the present day Irish citizens have been subjected to a ‘British Police State’ in which the British Government has exercised colonial and repressive controls over the social, economic, and political life of the people of Ireland. The native inhabitants have experienced restrictions on their mobility, and their freedom to express or communicate their political and cultural views, which are subject to British police monitoring and enforcement.British Policing in Ireland has had many guises over the years. Although it has reinvented, revamped and renamed itself several times over the centuries, it has always remained a tool of Britain’s Colonial control in Ireland. They have always remained that first line against any Irish resistance to British rule in Ireland.Early Policing in IrelandSome of the earliest forms of policing in Irish towns and cities were maintained by Night Watchmen, parish constables and the British Army. The Night Watchmen had protected Ireland’s Norman towns and cities from about the 14th century. Between 1723 and 1785, ‘The Civil Patrol Men’ (nicknamed the “Charlies”) formed as armed constables to patrol Dublin City. In the rural areas of Ireland numerous units of militia were locally raised in towns to augment and gradually replace the garrisoned regiments of regular army. The militia units included: Athlone Rangers, Kilkenny Rangers, Naas Light Dragoons, Shinrone Volunteers, Tullamore Rangers etc. The militia served as an auxiliary military force and also performed routine police duties.The Night Watchmen and Militias came under the control of local magistrates, and apart from ‘normal policing duties’ they enforced the Penal Laws during the time of the “Protestant Ascendancy” which set out to ‘punish’ all members of the catholic religion, one magistrate in Roscommon wrote, ‘We shall never be safe till a wolf’s head and a priest’s head be at the same rate.’The Dublin Police Act 1786 was established to bring policing in Ireland under a more organised system. In 1787, the Baronial Police (“Old Barneys”) was created to police the remainder of Ireland. All appointees had to be Protestants. The armed police and watchmen of the Dublin Police were replaced by an unarmed police force in 1795. The Baronial Police was an undisciplined force without a set uniform, dealing only with minor incidents. They relied on the British Army to suppress serious disturbances, such as the 1798 Rebellion and attacks and raids by Secret Societies, even after the creation of the “Old Barneys” many rural towns retained their own police forces or Watch system.The Rise of the PeelersIn 1813 British MP and future British Prime Minister Robert Peel (Chief Secretary in Dublin) introduced the Peace Preservation Act, which allowed for a chief magistrate and a troop of armed men to travel to any part of Ireland to control areas in a “state of disturbance” in order to restore peace. Peel had been one of the most outspoken opponents of Catholic Emancipation (earning the nickname “Orange Peel”). In 1814 he set up the Peace Preservation Force (later to become known as the Peelers). Without set uniforms the PPF, many of whom were ex-soldiers after returning from the Napoleonic Wars, donned the uniforms of their former military units while performing their policing duties. This practice of wearing their military uniforms for policing duties continued until 1828 when a standard uniform was issued to the County Constabulary.In 1822 the Constabulary Act was passed and a system of county constabularies under a single police force had been established, allowing for a more structured British police force in Ireland. Each area of the country was under the control of the head of British administration in Ireland, Dublin Castle and had a rank structure in place with a Chief Constable at the head of each regional force. Policing the collection of tithes during the Tithe War, 1831-1836, was one of the responsibilities of the new force. Tithes were due to the Protestant Anglican church and were collected from the mainly Catholic population, many of whom were living in very poor conditions, often under the threat of eviction from their tyrannical landlords.The Constabulary (Ireland) Act, 1836, was introduced by Thomas Drummond, Under Secretary for Ireland, centralised the police forces (with about 5,000 men) under the direct control of an Inspector-General in Dublin Castle with a set of standard regulations and became known as the ‘The Constabulary of Ireland’. Members served under a strict code, which governed all aspects of their lives, on and off duty. Elaborate precautions were taken at all times. Policemen who lived in barracks, were prohibited from serving in their (or their wives’) native areas. A year later the first “Irish Constabulary Code” was published with a comprehensive code of discipline and regulations and decreed that the standard colour of the uniform would be rifle green. The Constabulary of Ireland carried out a full range of tasks, including facilitating evictions for the absentee landlords, but it’s most important task was that of security, due to the ever-present threat of nationalist rebellion. Due to this it was organised as a colonial constabulary and as an armed, paramilitary force, rather than along the lines of other conventional police forces in Britain.The Constabulary of Ireland held jurisdiction over the entire country with the exception of the cities of Dublin, Belfast and Derry. In Dublin the force was called the Dublin Metropolitan Police. In Belfast they were called The Belfast Police (nicknamed the “Bulkies”) 1816-1865; formed to patrol Belfast City. They were disbanded and replaced by the Irish Constabulary following serious riots in the city usually as a result of Orange Marches. In Derry they were The Derry Police (nicknamed the “Horny Dicks” because of the bone reinforcements in their top hats) ~1816-1870; formed to patrol Derry City. They were disbanded and replaced by the Royal Irish Constabulary after rioting when Apprentice Boys were killed.Republicanism was beginning to reorganise around the 1840s which led to the Young Ireland Rebellion 1848, the Irish Constabulary was used to suppress it, and this was during height of An Gorta Mór. Around 70% of the Irish Constabulary were Catholics, like their neighbours, and this often led to confrontations between them. The 1850s and 60s give rise to Fenian period were Republicans were planning a Rebellion in 1867. With spies and informers at the ready within the local communities which were developed by the Constabulary led to the infiltration of the IRB. Queen Victoria was so impressed with the performance of the Constabulary during this last rebellion that, in 1868, she issued them with a royal charter and, from then on, they became known as the Royal Irish Constabulary.The Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC), was Britain’s colonial police force in Ireland. It was a heavily armed paramilitary organisation quartered in over 1,600 fortified bases or stations throughout the island of Ireland, enforcing British rule and British laws in the country. As well as infantry training and tactics drawn from the British Armed Forces it was equipped with the best of weapons, modern rifles and handguns, motorcars and lorries, telephones and telegraph systems, at a time when such things were not available to the wider population.The RICs main purpose was fighting a constant counter-insurgency struggle against Irish Republicanism and Nationalism. As a consequence of this war against the democratic wishes or aspirations of the Irish people the RIC maintained a vast network of paid spies and informers throughout Irish society. Dublin Castle, the formal seat of British colonial rule for centuries, was regarded as the spider at the centre of the RIC web that stretched across the entire island of Ireland, one that was feared, loathed and hated. Throughout Ireland and especially during the Land War 1879-1882 thousands of Irish families were evicted from their homes by the RIC as their land was seized by mostly absentee British colonial landlords.By 1900 the R.I.C. had about 11,000 men (70% of whom were Catholic) and about 17% were Irish speakers. Republicanism was beginning to reorganise at this time which saw the founding of the Irish Volunteers and the Irish Citizen Army along side the IRB which culminated in the 1916 Easter Rising. After the Leaders of the Rising were executed public opinion turned dramatically which saw a landslide victory for Republicans in the 1918 General Election who then in January 1919 set up Dail Eireann. Dail Eireann was declared illegal by the British Government and the RIC began an intensive campaign of harassment and arrests. With public support behind them the IRA waged an intensive guerrilla war that began with the Soloheadbeg ambush of two RIC men.By the end of May 1920, 351 evacuated RIC barracks were destroyed, 105 damaged, 15 occupied barracks were destroyed and 25 damaged, 19 Coastguard stations and lighthouses were raided for explosives and signalling equipment, 66 RIC and 5 British Soldiers were killed. With the general public against them and men resigning at a rate of 200 per month from a force of 9,500 the RIC were under massive pressure. To reinforce the much reduced and demoralised RIC the British Government recruited returned World War I veterans from English and Scottish cities. They were sent to Ireland in 1920, to form a reserve unit which became known as the “Black and Tans”.The British Government decided that the Irish situation was a police problem and not one for the military, and so the decision was made to form auxiliary police units to bolster the RIC. A separate unit was formed under Brigadier General Frank Crozier, an ex-UVF member. Eventually 9,500 men had joined. Such was the influx of recruits from Britain that uniforms became scarce giving them the nickname “Black and Tans” from the colour of the improvised khaki uniforms they initially wore. The “Black and Tans” embarked on a reign of terror on the general public throughout Ireland by killing, torturing, burning and looting. Cork city, Ballbriggan and Lisburn were burned and looted by the “Tans,” summary executions of IRA suspects were common.In 1920 the British Government sent a squad of men to Dublin to conduct an intelligence operation against the IRA. These men were trained by British intelligence and worked as members of the RIC’s Intelligence Branch. This group became known as the Cairo Gang or the Murder Gang. In November 1920 after the IRA had executed 14 of these from Dublin Castle the Black and Tans entered Croke Park, Dublin and opened fire indiscriminately on the crowd who were watching a football match killing 12 people. Britain’s war in Ireland was intensified. In Belfast another Murder Gang known as the Cromwell Gang, targeted Republicans. This murder squad was under the direction of first, C.I. Harrison, and then D.I. Nixon. They were involved in the brutal murder of Republicans in their homes. They were also involved in some of the worst atrocities at the time like the murder of the McMahon family and the Arnon Street Massacre.A Protestant Police for a Protestant StateIn the spring of 1920 a small number of Loyalist leaders, including Colonel Crawford, who had organised the UVF Larne Gun-Running in 1914, began to organise armed groups of Loyalist vigilantes. Edward Carson began to reorganised the UVF. At a time of serious rioting and anti-catholic pogroms following the Orange marches of July 1920 the British Government decided to raise a local militia in the north. More and more ex-UVF units began drilling in the summer of 1920, and finally, in October the British Government formed the Ulster Special Constabulary. Ex-UVF members enrolled in large numbers. Many of the B-Special Commanders had been UVF organisers in the same area.The USC was divided into three groups: the A-Specials, who were full time and were used to reinforce the RIC; the B-Specials, who were fully armed but part-time and were used for local patrol duty; and the C-Specials, who had no regular duties but could be quickly mobilised. At the end of 1921 the six county Unionist Government assumed control over the Specials, and saw in them as the ideal Loyalist force to defend the new state. By June 1922 the USC was about 50,000 strong. The Specials were kept mobilised to patrol the border.After the ceasefire in July 1921 which gave way to negotiations between the Irish and the British a treaty was signed, this brought about the Partitioning of Ireland. Following the partition of Ireland it was decided to disband the RIC as an all-Ireland police force. In southern Ireland a new police force, the Civic Guard later to become Garda Siochana was formed, while in the six counties of north east Ireland the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) was formed on 1 June 1922 as Britain’s police force for the six counties. The RUC carried much over from the former force of RIC men (over 50% of the new force’s 3,000 strength comprised ex-RIC men), the same rank structure, uniform and terms and conditions of service.In 1925, when the Boundary issue was settled with the Free State Government, the A- and C-Specials were disbanded and the B-Specials were retained. Many of the A-Specials joined the RUC, which constituted about half of the RUC. In 1926 the firearms act was amended to enable most of the ex-C-Specials to keep their guns.At the peak of sectarian Riots in 1922 the six county Unionist Government introduced the Civil Authorities Act (The Special Powers Act). It was intended to last for one year, but it was renewed annually until 1928, then for a period of five years, and in 1933 it was made permanent The Act allowed for internment without trial, enter and search homes without a warrant, declare a curfew, prohibition of public meetings, processions and organisations, permit punishment by flogging, arrest persons as witnesses, force them to answer questions, even if answers may incriminate them, such a person is guilty if he refuses to answer a question. Prevent access of relatives or legal advisers to a person interned. Prohibit the holding of an inquest after a prisoner’s death, the banning of literature (including newspapers). The Act also gave the six county Unionist minister the power to make further regulations, each with the force of a new law, without consulting parliament, and to delegate his powers to any policeman.When James Craig, later Lord Craigavon, infamously coined the phrase that it was a “Protestant parliament for a Protestant people” it was clear that the draconian Special Powers Act was designed to do one thing, for a Unionist Government to torture and suppress the Nationalist People of the six counties. Throughout the 30s, 40s, and 50s the B-Specials remained one of the key weapons alongside the RUC in the armoury of the six county Unionist Government. They were used to instil fear into the Nationalist People. The B-Specials were mobilised during the IRA’s Border Campaign because of their local knowledge of towns and villages in which they patrolled the border areas.In the mid 1960s when the Civil Rights Movement began to demand reform of the sectarian bigoted Unionist Stormont Government, the B-Specials were mobilised to suppress it, this culminated in the attack on a Civil Rights March in Derry in October 1968. Further attacks in January in Burntollet, in April the RUC entered the Bogside beating people in their homes, one man later died. Also attacks in Dungiven and Dungannon in August. The Order for the full mobilisation of the B-Specials at the height of events in Derry in August 1969 produced waves of panic amongst the Catholic population, and an increased determination to hold out behind their barricades. At Armagh on the night of August 14th the B-Specials fired into a crowd and killed a man. The Cameron Commission in September called them, ‘a partisan and paramilitary force’ and the Hunt Report on the RUC in October unequivocally proposed the disbandment of the Specials.In Belfast in August 1969 Loyalist mobs facilitated and supported by the RUC and B-Specials attacked Nationalist areas. In the Falls area they attempted to burn down Clonard monastery only to be prevented by a small number of IRA Volunteers who also defended St Peters Cathedral from St Comgalls School by Loyalist attack. The response of the RUC was to race into the Falls area in armoured cars firing heavy browning machineguns at the local civilian population killing two people including a nine year old boy. In 1969 eight out of the first nine people were killed by the RUC/Specials. The north exploded and with the RUC and the B-Specials exhausted the British Government sent the British Army onto the streets to relieve them.In October 1969 after a long sectarian and brutal history the B-Specials were disbanded to make way for a new sectarian militia. In November the British Government produced a Bill to begin the process of establishing a new local part-time armed militia called the Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR). The UDR was formed on January 1st 1970 and many former Specials joined. Brit G.O.C. Ian Freeland sent a message to the Specials “You have done magnificently and will continue to do so up to the moment the force stands down. You have acted always, and will act to the last, as a loyal and disciplined force of patriotic Ulstermen” The UDR’s role was to support the British Army in protecting the border and the six county state, but the UDR like its predecessor became just another sectarian partisan force. After early attempts by constitutional Nationalist political parties to encourage Catholics to join, it was soon clear what the UDR were, with overlapping and dual membership with Loyalist groups and hundreds of UDR weapons ending up in Loyalist groups, 18 UDR members were convicted of murder and 11 for manslaughter. Between 1970 and 1985, 99 were convicted of assault, whilst others were convicted of armed robbery, weapons offences, bombings, intimidation and attacks on Catholics, kidnapping, and membership of the UVF.Collusion with Loyalist Murder Gangs and ‘Shoot to KillIn the six counties citizens are compelled under emergency legislation and at the point of British guns to provide details about themselves. The details relating to Nationalists and Republicans are computerised, filed and thousands of such files have been handed over to loyalist murder gangs by serving members of the Royal Ulster Constabulary and British Army.During the 1970s the RUC were involved in collusion with Loyalist death squads in the murder of Irish citizens, in one such example former British soldier Ginger Baker was sentenced to 25 years imprisonment for killing 4 Catholics in the early 70s. Baker has consistently claimed that RUC members drove weapons through checkpoints, regularly gave RUC files to the UDA and tipped of loyalists to prevent the seizure of their weapons.In the mid 1970s Britain decided to adapt a long-term war in Ireland in a three-part strategy in the six counties known as ‘Ulsterisation’, ‘Criminalisation’ and normalisation. This was meant to avoid any acknowledgement of political motivation and nature of the war and was partly motivated to change perceptions of the war from a colonial war to that of a campaign against criminal gangs. It was also to disengage the non-Ulster regiments of the British Army as much as possible from the six counties and replace them with members of the locally recruited Royal Ulster Constabulary and Ulster Defence Regiment. The objective of this policy was to confine the war to the six counties.During the 1970s The RUC were involved in the arrest and torture of Nationalists and Republicans in holding centres across the six counties. The torture included both mental and physical maltreatment. Physical methods included: beatings, attempted strangulation, pressure to sensitive points of the body, bending of limbs, prolonged standing or squatting in awkward positions, prolonged physical exercises, and burning with cigarettes. Mental pressures included: prolonged oppressive questioning by teams, threats of death and of imprisonment, and threats to the family of the suspect, stripping, and verbal abuse and humiliation.Many of the tortures that took place referred to the Castlereagh Centre, Springfield Road RUC Station, Belfast; Cookstown, Coalisland, Dungannon, and Lurgan RUC Stations, also Strand Road RUC Station, Derry and Gough Barracks in Armagh.In 1979 the RUC established an undercover unit known as E4A, which were trained by the SAS. This unit was to adapt a ‘shoot to kill’ policy in the six counties. In 1982 this unit killed six unarmed people in Armagh which sparked off the Stalker Inquiry. In a court case which followed Britain’s Attorney General in the 6 counties Sir Patrick Mayhew had prevented prosecution arising out of the Stalker inquiry into shoot-to-kill by issuing Public Interest Immunity Certificates. During the 1970s the British Army took on the role of the RUC as being the primary group to patrol Nationalist areas, between 1973 and 1979 the RUC killed five people (two of them being British Army who were killed by mistake). When the RUC were introduced more into Nationalist areas from 1980 that statistic was to change dramatically. Between 1980 and 1986 the RUC killed 24 people.In 1981 a British intelligence document (The Walker Report) claimed that RUC Special Branch was given control over policing and had impunity in its dirty war against Republicans. The leaked document which was authored by Patrick Walker, reportedly then deputy head of MI5’s Belfast station and later MI5 Director General. This report confirms a high level policy that priority was to be given to RUC Special Branch over the rest of the RUC. It also claimed that records should be destroyed after operations and Special Branch should not distribute all information to Criminal Investigations Detectives (CID). It also confirms that CID should require permission from Special Branch before making arrests, or carrying out house searches in case agents were endangered. This policy protected agents and informers who were involved in killings. This can explain the high levels of collusion between Britain and Loyalist death squads in the murder of Irish citizens. If Special Branch was running the RUC then was MI5 running Special Branch?There have been several enquires into collusion and related matters which have had a substantive focus on covert policing, these include the Stevens inquiries, the Collusion Inquiry Reports by Judge Cory and the investigation reports by the Ombudsman into collusion by RUC Special Branch within an area of north Belfast (Operation Ballast). All of these exposed reoccurring practices. John Stevens led three inquiries over a fourteen year period into the collusion between the RUC and Loyalist murder gangs (only the summary of the third inquiry has been published). After the third inquiry Stevens reported that; My Enquiries have highlighted collusion, the wilful failure to keep records, the absence of accountability, the withholding of intelligence and evidence, and the extreme of agents being involved in murder. These serious acts and omissions have meant that people have been killed or seriously injured.Not a single member of the RUC – the primary source for security and intelligence documents – was charged as a result of these Inquiries.MI5 Takes The Lead on British Policing In IrelandSee the original page