Monday, November 06, 2006
RUC and UDR murdered Irish people
It's been revealed today that an international panel of experts have concluded that members of the RUC and UDR colluded with loyalist paramilitaries in 74 murders in the 1970s.The four-strong team examined 76 killings between 1972 and 1977 and said there was evidence of collusion in all but two of the cases.
It said some senior officers knew of the crimes but "failed to act to prevent or punish" those responsible.
The panel urged the government to set up an independent investigation.
The report claimed that "credible evidence indicates that superiors of violent, extremist officers and agents, at least within the RUC, were aware of their sectarian crimes, yet failed to act to prevent, investigate or punish them".
The British government told the panel it would be inappropriate to comment as the murders were already the subject of inquiries by a number of agencies.
These included the European Court of Human Rights, the Historical Enquiries Team, and the Police Ombudsman.
The panel was convened two years ago at the request of the Pat Finucane Centre.
The independent panel who produced the report were Professor Douglass Cassel of Notre Dame Law School in the US, Susie Kemp, an international lawyer based in The Hague, Piers Pigou - an investigator for the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission and Stephen Sawyer of Northwestern University School of Law.
Copies of the report have been given to the British government and the Police Ombudsman's Office. The 108-page report examined 25 cases on both sides of the Irish border.
Last year, the Irish government said it was to give Tony Blair a final chance to aid an inquiry into the Dublin and Monaghan bombings.
Taoiseach Bertie Ahern said he may take a case to the European Court of Human Rights if Mr Blair did not hand over British government files on the 1974 bombings.
The UVF was suspected of carrying out the attacks which killed 33 people - no-one was convicted of the bombings.
Well, well, well it seems that what Irish nationalists have been saying for the last number of decades was the stone cold truth. I wonder how unionists will now react to this report? Of course, over the years they have largely scoffed at such suggestions and buried their heads in the sand.
Well now it's time to take your heads out of the sand and acknowledge these MURDERS.
Never a truer word spoken...
This report highlights that the north of Ireland was indeed in a state of war - certainly in the eyes of the RUC and UDR - and it means that if unionists want to demonise the Provos then they need to be consistent and demonise the RUC and UDR as well - as I have done for example.
There is no doubt in my mind that the British were involved in the Dublin and Monaghan bombings and this report - and I wager future reports - will vindicate this view.
Justice must be done and those in the RUC, UDR and MI5 who murdered Irish people must be brought to justice for their crimes against humanity - in the same way that Saddam has been.
We can't move on from the dirty sectarian past until these scumbags are made to pay for their misdeeds.
I'm sure unionists have no problem with that, right? Right?
# posted by United Irelander @ 12:02 PM 
© 2008 United Irelander.
