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Orange Disorder

The internal wrangling within the Orange Order has intensified following the death earlier this week of RUC Constable Frankie O' Reilly. The thirty year old father of three died from injuries sustained in a blast bomb attack by Portadown loyalists in September. As noted in earlier PFC updates the RUC man was related by marriage to the Rev. William Bingham, the Co Armagh Chaplain of the Orange Order who called for an end to the Drumcree protests following the murder of the three Quinn children in a petrol bomb attack during the summer. This call drew an angry response from hardline orangemen and the Church of Ireland minister was verbally abused while speaking at an orange rally by supporters of the Spirit of Drumcree group.

Relatives of the RUC man meanwhile said they were "disappointed and disgusted" by remarks made Portadown lodge spokesman David Jones in the wake of the death. He had said that the death was the "price to be paid for defending liberty." The RUC has promised to bring those responsible to justice. If the investigation bears any resemblance to the RUC investigation into the loyalist murder of Robert Hamill in the town then those responsible need not lose any sleep.

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Five Released in Informer Case

Five men charged with kidnapping the alleged INLA informer John Bowen have been released from the Maze Magistrates Court in the latest bizarre twist in the case. Bowen had appeared at an IRSP press conference where he admitted being an RUC informer. Soon after he disappeared sparking off a series of raids in West Belfast. The kidnapping charges, which it now turns out were totally unsubstantiated, relate to the period immediately prior to the press conference. It would appear that the charges were merely an attempt by the RUC to set up a smokescreen following the embarrassment of the press conference.

Meanwhile the Director of Public Prosecutions in London has dropped charges against Dublin woman Elaine Moore who had been charged in August with plotting a wave of bombings across London. Moore had been at the centre of a high profile campaign calling for her release which included Mary Banotti Fine Gael MEP. The case had received unprecedented sympathetic coverage in the Dublin.

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Peter Mc Bride Update

The Centre has again written to the Minister of State for the Armed Forces questioning the unjustifiable delay in making a decision as to the future status in the British Army of Scots Guards Fisher and Wright who were convicted of the murder of Peter Mc Bride. Though the two were released on September 2 back into the army the Mc Bride family and the Centre have yet to be notified of the situation regarding the Army Board hearing which we are insisting must rule in favour of dishonourable discharges for the two men. In a letter to the Minister we made clear that anything less would be unacceptable and that we were considering taking a case to the European Court of Human Rights should dishonourable discharges not result.

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Caraher Compensation

In earlier updates we referred to the compensation claim being taken by the family of Fergal Caraher who was shot dead by two soldiers of the Royal Marines in South Armagh. Relatives of the murdered man took a case against the Ministry Of Defence. The claim has now been settled out of court with substantial damages being paid to members of the Caraher family.

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Dublin Bombing Submission

The relatives of those killed in the 1974 Dublin-Monaghan bombings have made a submission to the Independent Commission into Policing detailing a series of issues which they feel need redressed. 33 people, the largest loss of life on any single day of the troubles, died in the multiple loyalist bombings. Evidence has since emerged in a Channel 4 documentary of British security forces involvement in the preparation of the attack which, it is suspected, explained the unwillingness of the authorities on both sides of the border to properly investigate the atrocity.

Don Mullen, Derry born author of Eyewitness Bloody Sunday, is writing a book on the bombings which will be published early next year in cooperation with Justice for the Forgotten, the new group set up to campaign around the issue of the Dublin-Monaghan bombings. Within the next week we hope to post the full submission of the group to the Policing Commission on our site.

Independent Commission into Policing

Hardly a week goes by without further evidence emerging of serious problems with the Commission. Following their failure to extend the official deadline for submissions it has now been admitted that one of the staffers in the commission office is in fact a senior RUC officer named Seamus Hamill. In their defence a spokesperson for the commission claimed that the RUC man is merely working as a 'link' to the RUC but this has not been the experience of groups who have contacted the office to date. In addition there are concerns regarding the agenda of the Northern Ireland Office who have seconded civil servants to the body.

The PFC has held a number of workshops in Belfast and Derry to encourage submissions from the community and voluntary sector but it has to be said that the credibility of the commission is beginning to wear thin. It is now vital that the commission publicly reaffirms its independence and sends Mr Hamill back to RUC HQ at Knock!

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