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.”