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Peter McBride

The PFC will be filing an official complaint with the Press Complaints Commission this week following a series of misleading and inaccurate reports in British tabloid newspapers regarding the case of murdered Belfast man Peter Mc Bride. Last week a Belfast court rejected a judicial review by lawyers representing the two Scots Guards soldiers convicted of the murder. The judicial review was aimed at achieving an early Life Sentence Review of the case. In reporting (and condemning )the decision both the Daily Mail and the Evening Standard report as fact the claim that the guardsmen had opened fire believing Peter Mc Bride to have been in possession of a bomb. Neither paper mentioned that Peter had been searched beforehand, that both soldiers were aware of that fact when they chased him and were therefore also aware that he was not carrying any threatening object. Both the judge at the original trial and at the appeal rejected claims by the two that they believed Peter to have been carrying a bomb or gun. These claims were dismissed at the trial as concoctions and lies.

Under the Code of Practice newspapers are required to clearly differentiate between fact, conjecture and comment.

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Harryville Protest Ended

The announcement earlier this week that the 20 month long loyalist picket of the Catholic chapel in Harryville Ballymena has ended has been welcomed across the political spectrum. It is believed that the often violent and drunken protests had become an embarrassment within unionist circles. The Ulster Unionist mayor of Ballymena showed solidarity with Catholic massgoers during protests and even sections of the Orange Order condemned the ongoing intimidation. Protesters claimed that the picket was a response to the halting of loyal order parades in the nearby nationalist village of Dunloy. Two weeks ago a rerouted parade of the Apprentice Boys was allowed to parade through a section of the village on the understanding that this would be the last parade in Dunloy this year should the Orders continue in their refusal to talk to local residents

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RUC Drugs Squad Investigation

Reliable sources have informed the Centre of the best kept secret at RUC HQ in Knock. A major internal investigation is apparently being carried out into the activities of some members of the RUC Drugs Squad. According to our sources large sums of money earmarked for payment to informers within the drugs scene have disappeared into thin air. Six figure sums have allegedly gone missing in the "fight against drugs". The top secret internal investigation is said to be following "a definite line of inquiry" with rumours suggesting that some individuals within the Drugs Squad have been less than honest regarding payments to informers. Morale is said to be at a low ebb within the squad though it is unknown whether this investigation is related to the scaling down of the Drug Liaison Units (DLU) outside of Belfast. To date no reports have surfaced in the media regarding the investigation.

On a separate issue the Irish News (27.5.1998) has reported that a former Catholic RUC officer has contacted them regarding an incident which took place several years ago in a Belfast station. According to the report two Protestant officers fired blank rounds at their Catholic colleague shouting "we have had enough of you, Fenian bastard." Immediate dismissal ? Not quite. Both were fined, reprimanded and allowed to stay on in the force. Recently the Centre published the contents of an internal and confidential RUC survey of harrassment and intimidation within the force. That survey, available on our website, made clear that the above incident is only the tip of the iceberg.

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The GAA and the RUC

This coming weekend the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) will hold a special convention to debate calls for the removal of rule 21 which bars members of the British security forces from membership of the sporting organisation. (see last news update) Those arguing for a lifting of the ban argue that rule 21 is used to attack the GAA and that the rule is seen as sectarian since the majority of RUC members are from the Protestant community. Many believe that the pressure to lift the ban is related to financial incentives which would be on offer should the ban be removed. At present the GAA is not eligible to apply for various official grants due to the ban.

Those arguing against lifting of the ban point to the unwillingness of the security forces to accept the root and branch changes necessary to create acceptable policing in this society or to face up to human rights violations committed by those organisations. The argument that rule 21 is sectarian is confused to say the least. An analogy can be made with South Africa. Was it racist to oppose the South African police during the Apartheid years and would anyone have seriously argued that sanctions against the Apartheid regime should have been lifted before Apartheid ended? Rule 21 should be removed……when an acceptable policing service is created.

Independent Orange Order Parade in Derry

The Independent Orange Order (IOO) has announced that it intends holding a parade in Derry this coming Saturday evening. Some two hundred orangemen are due to march on a route ending at Guildhall Square some 200 yards from the entrance to the nationalist Bogside area. As yet the Bogside Residents Group have made no decision on their response to the proposed parade. The IOO is not formally aligned to any of the unionist parties but is thought to be influenced by the DUP. Each year the leader of the DUP, Ian Paisley, addresses the annual Twelth parade of the IOO. Last summer in Ballycastle Paisley warned the main gathering of the organisation that "fascism was the godchild of Romanism." For more info on the IOO see For God and Ulster on our website.