Last
weekend marked the eighth week since the brutal
murder of my brother Robert. It also marked the
89th commemoration of the 1916 Easter Rising, a
watershed in Irish history which resulted in the
birth of modern republicanism. Why do I link these
two events? Because one was a 'blood sacrifice'
for republicanism, the other a 'bloodbath' by republicans.
The
IRA members who callously took Robert's life did
not do so to further the republican cause, nor did
they do it because Robert had in some way threatened
that cause. No. They did it simply because they
believe that membership of the IRA gives them a
license to murder any innocent Catholic who refuses
to bow to their bullyboy tactics and egos. These
actions are a far cry from the republican ideals
for which many fought and died.
When
this family spoke to members of the Army Council
they told us that killing another human being was
a very hard thing to do. Not so for those IRA men
who called for a knife when the decision was made
that Robert and Brendan had to die. They felt no
pangs of conscience as they stabbed and beat my
brother for no cause.
Over
the past two months my family have had injustice
after injustice heaped upon us. Had those who carried
out Robert's murder belonged to any section of the
British establishment, then we would have the unwavering
support of Sinn Fein and every republican and nationalist
in the north of Ireland. Our campaign for justice
would be vocalized by every political representative
from every nationalist party, particularly Sinn
Fein, and the people would be left in no doubt that
the issue was one of justice and justice only.
Why
is this not happening even though both the IRA and
Sinn Fein agree that Robert's murder was a crime,
that those involved did not 'act like republicans
or on behalf of republicans,' and that they support
our position that these murderers should face justice
in the court? Simply because what took place on
the night of the 30th January and subsequent days
was Murder, Collusion and Cover-up - crimes usually
associated with British forces now being carried
out by republicans.
To
date republican representatives have responded to
Robert's murder in the same fashion as British forces;
smears, demonisation and attacks, anything but the
truth. The question every republican and nationalist
should be asking themselves is not why this family
is seeking justice, but why this family is being
denied justice?
Despite
Gerry Adam's and the IRA's statements that no-one
should impede the investigation into Robert's murder,
no-one has yet came forward with evidence. Maybe
not so strange when you consider the make-up of
the clientele of the bar, Sinn Fein members and
their associates and IRA members. Have any of these
people been expelled from the party or organization
for defying the leadership? Why not?
I
have read with interest the response from some so-called
republicans to my family's call for justice. Some
have been amusing, others downright insulting, but
the most disturbing of all have come from Sinn Fein
supporters and republicans, who seem to fail to
grasp the central issue of justice. This appears
to me to be a sinister shift in the thinking of
republicans in that justice has become something
that only those who have been victims of British
injustice are entitled to.
Robin Livingstone (Andersontown News, 26th
March 2005) describes Robert as "only one man",
asking the question should his death hold up the
peace process? It seems strange to me as a republican
that, firstly you have to die in numbers before
you are important (many campaigns for justice in
the north of Ireland are based on the death of individuals)
and, secondly how can peace and injustice co-exist?
But I will not waste too much space on his thoughts.
We
also hear from other Sinn Fein candidates that the
IRA has done enough. Could they explain what exactly
the IRA has done except write a few statements?
Maybe a few statements are the value so-called republicans
now place on the lives of their fellow nationalists.
In
reference to the expulsions, it is now clear to
the people in Short Strand that the expulsion of
one senior Republican was a farce.
With
regards to those who covered up and colluded with
others to protect the murderers, what has the IRA
done?
What
has Sinn Fein done? Again we have a few strong statements,
suspensions of members allegedly involved and nothing
else.
The
discrepancies between what the leadership/s of both
organisations are saying and what is actually happening
on the ground where it really matters is stark.
On
the 89th anniversary of the Easter Rising, and the
eighth week since Robert's murder, I was drawn on
the fact that Padraig Pearse surrendered because
he could no longer suffer the death of innocent
civilians for the cause.
I
wonder what Pearse would have made of the murder
of Robert on the 30th January (ironically also the
anniversary of Bloody Sunday). Robert's slaughter
was not a 'blood sacrifice' for the Irish people
but a 'bloodbath' to satisfy the self-gratifying
psychopathic egos of individual IRA volunteers.
