PIRA

Grandpa McGuinness

On 7th january, oul Grandpa McGuinness, he of the folksy charm, tweeted “Today’s attack in Paris was appalling”.

This from a man who ordered many similar attacks. How many defenceless policemen did his comrades kill?

If you repeat a lie often enough..

Also, if the French Government is as brave as the British, it will already be negotiating with the terrorists.

Despite the demonstrations and the words, when the dust settles in Paris , the victims will be discarded by the state and will be left to the silence.

It will be interesting to assess French foreign policy in the coming months.

Meantime David Cameron is, in respect of toughness towards Islamic terrorists, [as they say in Texas] Big Hat no cattle.

Charlie Hebdo

The images from Paris are shocking.

Of course, PIRA often shot police officers and civilians in similar fashion.

I doubt if the leaders of the Islamist terrorist group, responsible for this will ever sit in government in France.

I’m also sure that the French citizens will not have to wait twenty five years for compensation and justice.

It all makes Cameron’s words ring hollow.

PSNI, the strange world of the Chief Constable

Usually, when one writes to the head of an organisation, complaining about those immediately under him, the head takes responsibility and responds. Not so the Chief Constable. On 17 December I wrote to him , setting out what ACC Harris and Kerr had said about Ed Moloney and his response. I asked the Chief Constable for an explanation and I told him how distressed I was at the prospect of having been misled [at best].

Well, he is not going to reply to me. Instead , guess what? The Chief Constable “believes that this matter is best addressed by ACC Kerr”. It will be interesting to see what he has to say for himself and for his superior, DCC Harris.

PS Still no word of explanation about the forensic examination of UCBs.

But I have promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep

Next year I will deal, point by point , with the state’s cover up of McGuinness’ role and its refusal to prosecute him, despite evidence being available. I will be pressing the state for a prosecution for the murders of my parents.

I will also be pursuing the various pieces of evidence being withheld at present.

I will also set out how the PSNI in particular failed to respond properly to my requests. I have asked the Chief Constable for an explanation of the statements of Harris and Kerr regarding Ed Moloney.

Meantime , the issue of outstanding forensic evidence remains unresolved. I am promised a reply by early January, we will see.

I may well refer all these matters to the Police Ombudsman.

I will be availing of the offer of a meeting with the Attorney General.

My campaign goes on.

“In the midst of winter I finally learned that there was within me an invincible summer” Albert Camus.

Twenty five birthdays

Tomorrow [d.v.] I will celebrate the twenty fifth birthday without my parents. I try not to feel sorry for myself because [as they taught me to think] there are people worse off than I.

Many children lost a parent at a far earlier age. I think in particular of Louis Johnston, son of R/Con David Johnston. David was murdered by a hero of the republican movement who shot him from behind on 16th June 1997, thus advancing the cause of Mother Ireland.  Louis, who was at primary school, was photographed at the funeral and those who have seen that photo could only be moved by it. I had the privilege of hearing Louis speak at St Anne’s Cathedral on 20th March 2011. He is a credit to his father.

To those who are seeking justice and truth I  urge you not to give up. Don’t accept the first , second or third response from the state. They will lie to you. You must box them into a corner by pressure and the force of your argument.

Look at the excellent work done by Ciaran MacArt in his research for his book on the bombing of McGurk’s bar. He has exposed the state’s deceit. It is important for unionists to realise that the state is not their friend either.

There is a wealth of intelligence which the state won’t release to you, yet.

PIRA was honeycombed by informants. The structure remains intact, though. This is a favourite British tactic when dealing with terrorists. They prefer to deal with the established top team. Therefore they do not disrupt it by killings , arrests or prosecutions. Their experience has shown that if you do, the new lot are an unknown kettle of fish and may be more extreme. Hence good old granda McGuinness.But the state is nothing if not pragmatic. If it suits its purpose it will ditch this policy. That is what I am aiming for. As if by magic Marty will become the devil incarnate. That is why he was so  unnerved by Adams’ arrest and spoke of dark forces.

I am  coming for you McGuinness!

PSNI “liars” part II

Senior Assistant Director Stephen Herron of the Public Prosecution Service also spoke to the police about this matter. Here is what he recounted to me in his letter of 28th November.

“it has been confirmed by ACC Kerr that with the exception of open source reference material  [Mr Maloney’s book…] which directly implicates Mr McGuinness, there is no evidential basis or intelligence available to link him with the murder of your parents.

As has been noted in previous correspondence you received from PSNI, the contributions to the book are anonymous and cannot be verified or corroborated for factual accuracy. Mr Moloney has previously been spoken to by police and was unwilling to disclose the identity of his sources”

Hopefully the PPS will also seek an explanation.

Stand by for the mystery of the missing forensic report…..

PSNI “liars”

Readers may know that on more than one occasion I asked the police to investigate McGuinness’s part in the murder of my parents and the allegations made by Ed Moloney, in his book, ” A secret History of the IRA”, page 347.

Here is what ACC Harris [now DCC Harris] wrote to me on 11 August 2104:

“The author Ed Moloney has previously been spoken to and is unwilling to disclose the identity of his sources”.

Here is what Ed Moloney told me today, when I put Harris’s version to him:

“No-one from the RUC or PSNI has ever approached me about anything I wrote in ‘secret history’ and certainly not about your parents’ terrible deaths…if they are telling you that , they are lying to you and you have my permission to say so in whatever arena you choose”

I will be writing to the Chief Constable, seeking an explanation and possibly taking the matter further, depending on his answer. So much for ACC Kerr telling the PPS that my parents’  case had been thoroughly investigated.

Other inconsistencies are emerging in  information supplied by senior officers and this will be the subject of future blogs.

Where would we be without the opportunity to put these matters in the public domain , by blogging?

I say this because the Bar Council avidly reads my blogs!

NI Executive, Libya and the opportunity

One of the problems with the present talks is lack of additional money. Another is funding “the past”. In May 2011, the National Transitional Council in Libya signed a memorandum of understanding in which they said that it was their “sincere desire to enter discussions to consider an appropriately resourced humanitarian fund to be set up to recognise the pain and suffering of such victims and the wider society in the UK , and in particular Northern Ireland”. This was after it had apologised for the harm caused by the supply of guns and semtex to PIRA, led by Martin McGuinness and others.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office was tasked with examining ways in which this fund might be established and resourced. Three years on , it has made no progress.

It is estimated that 3,500 people, mostly in Northern Ireland, could benefit from this fund. It is an important aspect of dealing with the past.

Billions of pounds of Gadafy’s assets are frozen in the UK , yet no politician, or lawyer,local or national,  appears to have the skill to make this happen.

“Dealing with the past”

Much is being made of the idea that whilst no progress can be made on flags and marches, agreement has been reached “on the past”.

Of course, it is not the past. It is for thousands of people, their  present and their future. I am lucky. I have no physical scars or injuries. Thousands have. Many of us bear the scars in other ways.

So how can it be the past?

The answer is that it is a useful phrase for the DUP and SinnFein/IRA to deploy. It implies that the matter is not as important as the present or the future. Jobs, health, education, etcetera.

It connotes “get over it”.

Nor will it deal with the prosecution of people such as Martin McGuinness who directed the murder of so many people.

I have no notion of what might be suggested as an agreement on this between these two “warring” but avaricious parties.

It will be another shameful capitulation by the DUP .

Whatever it is , it will not be in the interests of those who are broken and maimed.

Mark my words.