Following a meeting between loyalist prisoners and their political representatives inside Long Kesh prison today it appears increasingly unlikely that loyalist paramilitaries will end their official two year ceasefire. Yesterday, Sunday, was the anniversary of the Combined Loyalist Military Command's Ceasefire. A spokesperson for the Ulster Democratic Party, John White, said after the meeting that the prisoners argued that there should be no loyalist military response to the IRA's Lisburn bombing of last Monday. According to the prisoners the IRA had scored an own goal through the bombing which marked the end of the de facto IRA ceasefire within the North of Ireland. A soldier died of severe burns following the attack.
This followed a week where governments and political parties sought to woo loyalist paramilitaries heaping praise on them for not "responding to the IRA provocation". The IRA statement claiming responsibility for the attack on the British Army HQ at Lisburn stated that the attack should be seen as an attack on a military target and not as a provocation to loyalists. The timing of the double car bombing was however widely interpreted as provocative no matter what the intent. Many would agree that loyalists have handled the situation cleverly. While the frustration and anger which led to the bombing was shared by many including the Pat Finucane Centre it must be said that more will be lost through a renewal of the armed struggle than can ever hope to be gained.
In a further development today a church minister and a prominent Conservative backbench MP have called for an early release of loyalist prisoners as a 'reward' for the maintenance of the loyalist ceasefire. The minister, Roy Magee, has negotiated in the past with loyalist prisoners while the MP, Andrew Hunter, is a member of the right wing pro unionist pressure group, the 1922 Committee. This afternoon loyalist prisoners were also visited by the shadow (opposition) Labour spokesperson on Northern Ireland, Mo Mowlan. On one day the British Labour party has thus shown more interest in the prisoners issue than it did for two years. That the Irish, British and US Governments should lavish praise on loyalists is understandable in order to prevent attacks on innocent Catholics in the North or indeed Dublin but it has raised more than a few eyebrows.
The family of Michael Mc Goldrick, murdered by the loyalist UVF in July, might question the notion of a "two year ceasefire". Yesterday the wife of the murdered man gave birth to their son.
Had similar overtures been made to ALL prisoners two years ago we would probably not find ourselves in the present crisis. The events of the past 24 hours have demonstrated clearly that political prisoners in jail on these islands are not regarded by governments as criminals who must serve their time as laid down by law. They are in fact hostages to the political situation.
In the week before the Lisburn bombing two republican prisoners, Belfastmen Paul Kavanagh and Tommy Quigley, were informed by the Home Office that they would never be considered for release. Both men were convicted for IRA bombings in London in 1991 in which three people died. They are the first republican prisoners to be denied release dates.
Today compensation was paid by the Times newspaper to a firm of Belfast solicitors in a libel action involving the right wing establishment campaign to free Paratrooper Lee Clegg. Clegg was found guilty of the murder of Karen Reilly, a 19 year Belfast girl shot by Clegg while on duty with the Parachute Regiment. The campaign, which argued that a British soldier was only carrying out his duty in murdering Irish citizens and should not be punished, had slandered Cleggs solicitors during a press conference for incompetence in his defence. Cleggs appeal was turned down by the highest court in Britain but he was freed after two years due to the campaign. His law firm has now received nearly half a million pounds in various compensation claims against British newspapers. The family of Karen Reilly are left to mourn their daughter.
In a press conference in Belfast this morning the New York based LCHR released a report into the human rights situation in the North of Ireland. The report criticised the British Government's refusal to repeal emergency legislation and added, "we are particularly concerned that the UK government did nothing to repeal or modify the legal structure which supports the use of emergency powers while the ceasefires lasted between late 1994 and Febuary 1996." The judiciary also comes in for hard criticism recommending that "judges in Northern Ireland should apply the law in a manner that comports with international human rights standards and obligations."
The LCHR report calls for an independent public inquiry into the murder of Pat Finucane, the Belfast defence lawyer after whom the centre is named. Pat was murdered by the loyalist UDA following threats from RUC Special Branch officers in circumstances which point to State involvement in his 1989 murder.
A prisoner serving 14 years on explosives charges has appealed for support in his long running campaign to prove his innocence. Christy Walsh, a Belfast man, was convicted of possession of a coffee jar bomb in 1991. From the beginning he has protested his innocence and in July two further witnesses came forward to a Belfast newspaper with vital new evidence. Appeals by his solicitors, Madden and Finucane , for "full discovery" ie disclosure, of all documents relating to the case have been refused by the Director of Public Prosecutions. Jane Winter of British Irish Rights Watch has written to the DPP urging disclosure of the relevant documents and we would ask individuals and organisations internationally to do likewise. Write or fax the Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions, R.A.Kitson, Royal Courts of Justice, Belfast BT13NX or fax 44 1232 546116
The death occurred on Thursday of Darren Murray, a 12 year Catholic boy from the Garvaghy Rd area of Portadown which was put under siege by Orange marchers in July. Darren was knocked down by a truck on Tuesday when he ran across the road to confront young loyalists who were taunting him because of his skin colour and religion. The 12 year old was dark skinned and suffered frequent verbal and physical abuse when he attempted to go into the centre of Portadown. He was called "a fenian nigger". Fenian is used as a derogatory word for Catholics. Darren was a particular target because of his skin colour and his mother blamed his death on the legacy of Drumcree when thousands of loyalists surrounded the small working class enclave. "He saw me in the house scared and that made him angry. He saw the way we couldn't go to the shops. We lived on potatoes for a week."
Within the past weeks the British Labour and Conservative parties held their annual party conferences when matters of policy and importance to the nation are discussed. Though the peace process , pre Lisburn, was obviously in crisis neither party saw fit to set time aside for a debate on Ireland. Mad cows and the European Union were obviously of more importance. Crisis what crisis?