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Urgent appeal on Peter Mc Bride case

The decision by the British Ministry of Defence (MOD) to allow the two Scots Guards who murdered Peter Mc Bride to rejoin their regiment has been greeted with widespread condemnation. The PFC is now launching an international campaign to reverse the decision. Our solicitors, Madden and Finucane, this week submitted a detailed three page challenge to the Minister of State for the Armed Forces. Here at the centre we have demanded the right to appeal to the Defence Council since that option would have been open to the Guardsmen had they been dismissed.

On a political level we have asked for a meeting with the Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern (the Irish Prime Minister) and hope to finance a trip to London with the Mc Bride family to lobby against this scandalous decision. We are also urgently appealing to supporters worldwide to have the case raised in regional and national parliaments, in trade union bodies, the human rights community and among NGOs. It is simply unacceptable that two British soldiers convicted of murder should be allowed to rejoin the British Army. Please contact us regarding any activities in your area.

Any financial contributions towards this end would be much appreciated. We are considering the option of an international day of protest but need feedback on the feasability of such protests in other countries. Please advise.

Only four British soldiers have ever been convicted of murder during the conflict in the North of Ireland. All four were released early and readmitted to the armed forces. One of them, Paratrooper Lee Clegg, had his conviction quashed and his retrial began this week at the High Court in Belfast. In effect this represents a retrial for the family of the victim, Karen Reilly, who was shot dead when paratroopers opened fire on a car in West Belfast in 1990. Two occupants of the vehicle, Karen Reilly and Martin Peake, died in the hail of gunfire directed at the car. At issue in the original trial and now again at the retrial is not whether Clegg and others fired at the vehicle but whether they were justified in doing so. An RUC officer accompanying the patrol courageously spoke out at the time and testified that the car represented no threat to the patrol. As the retrial began this week the PFC organised a picket of the High Court with members of the Mc Bride family. We would urge individuals to attend the trial and show their support for the only victims in this incident, the families of the murdered teenagers. (see web site for more details on Peter Mc Bride case)

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Impunity within the law

Two recent court cases have highlighted the contradiction whereby substantial damages are paid out in the courts where civilians have been injured in incidents involving the security forces but no action is taken against the individual concerned. At the Recorders Court here in Derry substantial damages were paid to a local woman who had to be hospitalised when she was pushed over railings during a peaceful protest against the visit of 'Prince' Charles to the city in 1994. Brid Curran successfully sued the RUC for assault and the case was settled last week. It emerged in court that the officer in question had lied about the incident. Despite the court ruling the Director of Public Prosecutions had earlier found that there was no case to answer.

In a separate case before a Belfast court earlier this week 25,000 pounds damages was paid to a man who was seriously injured by a plastic bullet fired from a passing RUC landrover in the Crumlin Road area of Belfast on July 14 1996. 26 year old David Davidson drifted in and out of consciousness for over two hours following the unprovoked attack. An ambulance was unable to reach the scene due to Drumcree related rioting. In court it was admitted that Davidson was nowhere near disturbances when he was fired upon from only 10 yards. His mother commented, " Every word that was spoken this morning in the court..it was degrading. Somebody came out with a cheque book and a pen and said here's money, now go away and forget about it. I wanted whoever done this to my son to answer for it……but they have left me so that every time I see one of the police, I will be asking, was it you, was it you?" Solicitors for Madden and Finucane, acting on behalf of the family, expressed their frustration at compensation awards where the victims are " left with a sense of injustice."

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Legal action launched

Writs were issued in the High Court this week against RUC Chief Constable Ronnie Flanagan by solicitors acting on behalf of the patrons and staff of the Derryhirk Inn near Lurgan following a controversial raid on the premises in March 1997. More than 90 complaints were filed following an incident where armed and masked men terrorised customers who feared that they were caught up in a loyalist paramilitary attack. As the terrifying incident came to an end it emerged that the raiders were in fact members of RUC HMSU and DMSU units. Over one hundred RUC men and one woman were involved in the undercover operation.

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Danny Mc Namee appeal adjourned

Danny Mc Namee's appeal against his conviction for the Hyde Park bombing has been postponed until next week after Danny's legal team received new documents hours before the appeal was due to start. Earlier last week Danny was freed under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement. Supporters of the Armagh man are convinced that Danny's name will eventually be cleared. (see web site for more details)

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Donegal Celtic FC

The West Belfast football team, Donegal Celtic FC, have pulled out of a football match with a team from the RUC following weeks of controversy surrounding the fixture. Sections of the media and unionist politicans had supported the original decision of the club to go ahead with the game amid claims that sport should have nothing to do with football. Those who have demanded a separation of sport and politics appear to ignore the fact that the sporting boycott of apartheid contributed to the transition in South Africa or that the Irish football team postponed a fixture in the former Yugoslavia last month in the wake of the atrocities in Kosova. To argue that Donegal Celtic should ignore popular feeling in West Belfast and the record of the RUC in that area is absurd. Outside of West Belfast Sinn Fein is now being blamed for the decision to cancel the game. Again it appears to have gone unnoticed that the majority of voters in that area actually vote for Sinn Fein.

Bloody Sunday relatives appeal

The relatives of those killed on Bloody Sunday have appealed to Lord Saville, chair of the Commission of Inquiry, not to grant anonimity or even partial immunity to soldiers of the Parachute Regiment in the forthcoming inquiry. On Saturday November 13 the wounded will give their statements to solicitors representing the Tribunal following a press conference in the Guildhall in Derry. In a statement one of the wounded, Micky Bridge, expressed the deep concerns of the group that soldiers will not be required to testify openly. The relatives are demanding full disclosure of all information.

Meanwhile the Guildhall Press in Derry has republished "Blood in the Street", an account of Bloody Sunday written within days of the massacre by the Italian journalist Fulvio Grimaldi. Only 200/300 copies of the original book were published in 1972 and Guildhall Press is to be congratulated for making this poignant and valuable historical document available. Don Mullan has written the introduction to the new edition. Copies may be obtained from Bookworm Bookshop in Derry at bookworm@icom-web.com at 4.95 sterling plus pp. Contact Bookworm for details on international post and packaging.

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Apologies to subscribers regarding hoax virus

We apologise to all our subscribers after we fell victim to a hoax virus alert earlier this week. We ourselves were hoaxed and intend taking more care in the future!

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Death Threats Issued

Individuals who recently attended a public meeting organised by the Patten Commission, the independent commission on policing have been informed by the RUC that they are now on a loyalist death list. The North Belfast News carried a report on these threats on the front page of today's edition. Only two weeks ago Brian Service, an innocent Catholic civilian, was murdered by loyalists in the North Belfast Area.

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