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Massive support for Bloody Sunday Rally

Between 30,000 and 40,000 people marched in Derry on Sunday Feb 1 on the 26 anniversary of Bloody Sunday. The rally at Free Derry Corner was addressed by a number of speakers including Diane Hamill, sister of murdered Portadown man, Robert Hamill. Diane gave a moving account of the death of her brother at the hands of loyalists in April 1997 while RUC officers looked on and refused to intervene. The family intend taking a private prosecution and are appealing for funds. (see last update) Mark Durkan from the SDLP and Mitchel Mc Laughlin of Sinn Fein also addressed the crowd and echoed the sentiments of many that the new inquiry into Bloody Sunday announced last week would finally get at the truth of what happened that day. John Kelly of the Bloody Sunday Justice Campaign thanked all those who had helped the families over the years and appealed to those Unionist politicians who resisted calls for an inquiry to support, "a human rights issue which should affect everyone." The organisers of the entire Bloody Sunday weekend, which included seminars, workshops, public meetings, plays and exhibitions, were well pleased at the public support shown and the success of the various events. On a more sinister note a bus returning from the rally was attacked in Drumahoe, a small village outside Derry. A number of passengers including young children narrowly escaped injury when a large boulder was hurled through the window. Similar incidents have occurred in Drumahoe in the past though this seems to have escaped the notice of the RUC who failed to stop a predictable attack on the Sunday night.

No information has yet emerged as to the make-up of the two international judges who will sit on the Bloody Sunday inquiry alongside Lord Saville. It seems likely that the two will be drawn from the British Commonwealth though this is not absolutely certain. There is a suggestion that the involvement of Commonwealth judges is related to the fact that some are members of the Privy Council and are therefore legally entitled to participate in a Tribunal under the 1921 Tribunals Act.

On the Sunday evening of the rally the BBC broadcast a documentary on Bloody Sunday first shown in 1992. In a revealing interview Lt. Col. Derek Wilford, commander on the ground in 1972, in answer to the point that those killed were regarded as innocent, replied that all those taking part in an illegal march were guilty, "innocent is a civilian word", he suggested.

Loyalist violence

Following another bloody week of loyalist attacks the paramilitary LVF announced that attacks on "innocent Catholics" would stop from midnight Thursday Jan 29. The group, who share responsibility for a number of recent murders along with the UDA made clear however that so-called " known republicans" would continue to be targeted. The clear implication is that attacks will continue. In the week leading up to the statement two more Catholics had been gunned down.

The first was murdered within hours of the Jan 23 news update being posted on this site. A Catholic workman was shot dead in North Belfast while working a small digger laying gas pipelines. Liam Conway, a single man, was the only breadwinner for his two brothers, one of whom is partially sighted while the other is blind. Liam Conway was gunned down within hours of a statement from the UDA admitting that they had been involved in a number of recent assassinations but would now call a ceasefire following what they called a "measured military response" to "republican aggression". A "military response" in loyalist terms involves the random murder of Catholic civilians. The statement caused great anger in the nationalist community. Until the RUC had publicly linked the UDA to recent murders both the UDA and their political wing, the UDP, had denied that the former were involved in the terror campaign. Murders carried out by the UDA were actually claimed by the LVF which allowed the political representatives of the paramilitary group to remain in the Talks process. The UDP have since been expelled for a number of weeks from the Talks Process. Press reports in the Sunday Tribune newspaper this weekend have suggested that the Secretary of State was aware of the involvement of the UDA in recent murders for some time but did not raise the issue at the Talks Process for fear that this would lead to the expulsion of the UDP.

The following morning (Jan 25) at approximately 8am another Catholic, this time in Lurgan, Co Armagh, had a narrow escape when a LVF gunman fired a shotgun into the cab of his lorry in the nationalist Taghnevan housing estate. In the early hours of Tuesday morning (Jan 28) a further loyalist attack on a North Belfast taxi firm was averted. The radio dispatcher in the office of Metro Taxis was confronted by his would-be killer in the main office but the weapon jammed and the man ran off. Later that day the LVF dismissed as "utter rubbish" speculation that the organisation might call a ceasefire. It also emerged that the LVF had issued threats against individuals working in the community and voluntary sector in Mid Ulster. The threats were widely condemned and Progressive Unionist (PUP) spokesperson Billy Hutchinson expressed his "support and solidarity" with the individuals concerned. In the past weeks the PUP has issued a number of statements disassociating itself from the terror campaign waged by the LVF/UDA.

Clegg Appeal

Judgement has been reserved in the case of Lee Clegg the British Army paratrooper who murdered Karen Reilly in Belfast in 1990. Lawyers acting for Clegg lodged a third appeal in Belfast claiming new evidence showed that Clegg had not fired at the car after it had passed the patrol. Two teenagers were murdered in the incident. No soldier was found guilty of the death of the second youth, Martin Peake. Clegg was released after serving only three years of a life sentence even though two appeals against the sentence had been rejected by the highest court in Britain. He was then readmitted to the British Army (as a convicted murderer) and now trains soldiers in Yorkshire. Judgement is expected in the case within the next two weeks.

Natural Life for Irish Prisoners

There was considerable anger when news emerged on Friday Jan 30 that the British Home Secretary Jack Straw had laid down natural life tariffs for four IRA prisoners, the so-called Balcombe St men. The men, who have already served 23 years, were informed that their tariff, the minimum time which they must serve, is a natural life sentence. Straw has effectively condemned the men to a slow death in prison. The scandalous decision was made while media attention was focused on Tony Blair's statement regarding Bloody Sunday. The men, Eddie Butler, Hugh Doherty, Joe O'Connell and Harry Duggan received life sentences following a five-day siege at a house in Balcombe St, London in 1975. Now that the tariffs have been set the men can, as expected, be transferred to a jail in the Republic. However the Republic's Government has committed itself by treaty to keeping all repatriated prisoners in jail for the period set by the British Government. This is obviously an untenable situation with the potential to undermine the peace process. The decision is likely to further strengthen demands that those responsible for Bloody Sunday also be prosecuted and serve prison sentences.

Threats against Protestants

Within the past week a threat was issued against Protestant clergymen in Co Monaghan, one of the border counties in the Republic. The threat was allegedly issued by the so-called Catholic Reaction Force. This name has been used in the past in telephone threats though there is some doubt as to whether such a group actually exists. The threat to the clergymen has been widely condemned. In Derry threats have also been made to a number of prominent members of the Unionist community though again it is unclear whether individuals or organisations are responsible. One Unionist councillor, Andrew Davidson, told a local radio station today (Feb 2) that he has left the city following threats. Andrew Davidson has taken part in events organised by the Pat Finucane Centre and we have issued a statement urging him to remain.

In a statement the Pat Finucane Centre cautioned against people thinking that there actually exists somekind of Republican organisation which is threatening Protestants and Unionists. "It is our view that the most likely source of these threats is the LVF and UDA. Over the past few weeks the sectarian and racist nature of these organisations have become increasingly clear. Even within Unionism there have been many who have been outraged by the nature of current loyalist attacks on nationalist workers, though this was not reflected by the leadership of the Ulster Unionist party. Andrew Davidson was one of those Unionists. Recently he has praised Sinn Féin's commitment to the peace process and has supported direct talks between Unionists and Republicans. Alone amongst Unionist councillors in Derry he has offered a degree of support to the relatives of those killed on Bloody Sunday. The most likely explanation of these recent so-called threats is that they are coming from LVF/UDA members who wish to create a climate where killings by these organisations can be presented to a gullible and compliant media as 'retaliation'."

Scots Guards Judicial Review

On Jan 26 the two Scots Guards convicted of the murder of Peter Mc Bride in Belfast were granted a fourth application by the High Court for a judicial review of their case. Late last year the Secretary of State Mo Mowlam had announced that the Life Sentence Review Board would review the life sentences handed down to the two British soldiers in October 1998. The men have appealed that decision not to review the case until October in the latest of a series of moves designed to gain the early release of the only two members of the British Army serving sentences for murder. Almost 400 civilians have been murdered by members of the RUC and the British Army yet only four soldiers were ever convicted in a court of law. Two of those, Lee Clegg and Ian Thain, were released after only three years. A l fact file on the murder of Peter Mc Bride is available on our home page.