One of the many worrying things that still haunt us in this little corner of the island is not so much events as the reaction to them. A couple of examples come to mind.
During the height of the flag protest, there was a general acknowledgement by the police and others that there were elements of the UVF helping to orchestrate that protest. This news was delivered by the Chief Constable himself with no sign of alarm and no indication as to what he thought of that. Thought of what? The continued existence of the UVF. It’s fifteen years since the Good Friday Agreement, near enough to the same length of time since Gusty Spence delivered his heart-felt apology for the actions of the UVF. Yet here they are, not having gone away, and even the Chief Constable is unperturbed.
Supposing it was established that members of the IRA were active in orchestrating protest in West Belfast. That this protest took the form of vicious assaults, night after night, on the PSNI. Would the reaction have been the same? Would the Chief Constable have acknowledged the fact, pretty much as he might have acknowledged that tomorrow was going to be a rainy day: unfortunate but inevitable?
This morning I listened to Radio Ulster/Raiodio Uladh while Noel Thompson interviewed Paul O’Connor of the Pat Finucane Centre. O’Connor outlined a case where a woman whose husband had been killed was not made aware of the fact that she was entitled to £10,000 in compensation. Instead she received £750, because the British Army misled her (that’s a nice word for lied, Virginia) about the whole situation. At the conclusion of the interview O’Connor referred to another case where a mother of six was shot dead and her family suffered similar injustice. Noel Thompson dealt politely with O’Connor but he didn’t make the point that this was appalling, that innocent mothers of six should not be shot by the British Army. It was accepted as just another sad fact from our period of conflict.
Contrast that with the attention that’s been given over the years and especially in recent days to those who were killed by the IRA and whose bodies were buried in remote places. No one could accuse the media of not directing public attention to the plight of the unfortunate families of these victims and the damage the ghastly deed had done, not just to the person killed but to all those who loved him/her. And it was right that the cruelty and horror be highlighted.
But why devote hours of time to the plight of families of the Disappeared and pass calmly by the bodies of those killed by the people paid from the public purse to protect them? Or is that an omission that will be addressed in full, through TV and radio programmes, in the coming days?
I think not.
I expect the difference in coverage is because Paul O'Connor's body was not 'disappeared' and the order to murder him is not thought to have come from a current political leader.
ReplyDeleteBut that's by the the by. If the Brits thought it was 'reasonable' to behave like this then we should all understand it, according to your last Jean McConville 'argument'.
Good points,Jude. General Sir Michael Jackson is still regarded as a trusted, military , esta blishment figure. His views on current MOD issues are frequently sought but his evidence of his actions on Bloody Sunday
ReplyDeleteto Saville were 'unreliable' . The victims on that day ,through his deeds and the subsequent 'justification' by Widgery, were regarded by the media as guilty. Their innocence was only sustained for many years by the bereaved families and a small committed group of supporters.
It's worth mentioning, since Jude hasn't, that Christopher Quinn was shot dead in the middle of firefight between the British and a gunman.
ReplyDeleteAs for the compensation, it is to this day relatively commonplace in sudden death cases were to settle out of court. By its very nature this is very much like playing poker because you don't necessarily get to see your opponents full hand at that stage.
Even at the end of a trial they will tell the plaintiff or anyone how much they thought they might be to pay.
I can think of one case in the late 70s in which the QC scarpered at the last minute and left the family to close a deal with a junior solicitor rather than a barrister minutes before the High Court hearing was to begin.
They also ended up settling for a few hundred. It's often what happens to people without influence, legal experience or the means to call an institutional or corporate bluff at a time when they are often still overwhelmed by grief.
It looks to me as if this family suffered from rotten legal counsel on top of the utter tragedy of losing their loved one. Unless there's some actual evidence that was hidden, this looks a thin story to be hanging such an extremely large premise from.
Insisting on all the facts [sic] now Mick when your own site is quite content to turn a blind eye to pertinent facts.
DeleteErm, you got me there Pat...
DeleteMick I refer of course to your thread on the Disappeared and the hierarchy of victims. Why when pointing people in the direction of Martin Mc Allister was his connection to FF not highlighted? That is a pertinent fact. Also by Mc Allister's own admission [sic] he was dismissed by the IRA for his opposition to Kingsmill (nice effort by him to increase credibility). Well given that Kingsmill happened in 1976 and the disappearance of Evens and Armstrong occurred years later one has to question his knowledge of the 'modus operandi' at the time. Also his language during the interview is dotted with 'well they would have' a clear indication he was winging it. Pertinent enough facts Mick. But then again in the rush facts do get over looked.
DeleteAlso i see from your latest thread Mr Quinn was shot in a 'gun battle' pray tell from whom did you garner that information?
"It's worth mentioning, since Jude hasn't, that Christopher Quinn was shot dead in the middle of firefight between the British and a gunman."
ReplyDeleteHe was still murdered by the British gunman, Mick. You insinuate that it was a mistake - and perhaps it was. Seems you believe that the British unwittingly made mistakes but the IRA 'chose' to make mistakes. That is my reading of some of your writings.
For the record, I'm not venturing an opinion on Mr Quinn's killing. I was just adding some missing context by adding from a personal experience of how the judicial sometimes sells people short.
DeleteAs usual Fealty is the apologist for all British excesses,I have yet to read once where he has given Republicans the benefit of the doubt,correct me if I am wrong.
ReplyDeleteFair play to Mick for posting a contrary view on this blog site.Of course it's always easier to blame those awful Brits!If they are as bad as alleged,it's surprising that they made the H E T reports available to Anne Cadwallader for her book and leave all this"secret" documentation in the Kew archives for the P F C to unearth.I wonder if Connolly House will be opening up its archives any time soon!
ReplyDelete"Fair play to Mick for posting a contrary view on this blog site" - EH? I must go back to taking the tablets...
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