It
has been over a month now since we've called on
the IRA to lift this terrible cloud from over the
heads of this family, yet there has been only silence
from that organisation.
Bart
Fisher remains a member of the IRA and a prisoner
on the paramilitary wing of Maghaberry jail, yet
he is still a criminal, the convicted killer of
our Jimmy. The threat that was issued to this family
continues to haunt us and the injury caused by the
intimidation during the trial festers like an open
wound.
We
have called on the IRA to apologise to us for the
treatment we received, to lift the threat made against
us, to state if they consider our Jimmy's murder
to be a crime and to expel Bart Fisher from their
ranks and we repeat that call here today.
We
are also repeating our call to Sinn Fein to state
clearly their position on our case and to end the
cover-up which they have engaged in over Jimmy's
murder.
Around
one and half months after Jimmy's murder a prominent
member if Sinn Fein came to see Eileen McGinley
in her home. He was accompanied by a man who would
allow his office to be used by the IRA to intimidate,
bully and ultimately threaten this family.
They
had come to complain to Eileen about an argument
up the town between Jimmy's friends and men associated
with Bart Fisher. Eileen asked them to tell her
why Jimmy was killed and they told her that Jimmy
was in the wrong place at the wrong time and that
it wasn't meant for him, but for Ciaran Breslin,
the man who was with Jimmy that night.
If
they know that Bart Fisher meant to inflict injury
when he returned to the scene of the initial argument
with Jimmy and Ciaran, then they know that he murdered
Jimmy. It was no accident. It was murder.
Mitchell
McLaughlin said on local radio that he was told
that the IRA did not claim Bart Fisher as a member.
But let me tell you, I was there when two IRA men
said to me that Bart Fisher was a member of the
IRA and then they threatened us not to touch him
on his release from prison. I was there and so was
Jimmy's brother Eugene and we are not telling lies.
We are telling the truth and we want the IRA and
Sinn Fein to do the same.
Why
are they covering up for him? Why is he still a
member of the Republican Movement? Is this the sort
of policing that our communities are to expect from
those who claim to be struggling for justice in
our name?
Our
pain and our anger remain undiminished. The awful
sense of injustice that is eating away at this family
feels like a cancer amongst us.
We
believe that a member of the IRA murdered Jimmy
and that his comrades in the IRA and in Sinn Fein,
not only know this, but have celebrated it. They
then decided to police this grieving family using
intimidation, bullying and finally threats and they
should be ashamed of what they've done.
We
take this opportunity to reaffirm our commitment
to this campaign for justice. We are calling on
those responsible for this to come forward to bring
this to an end.
We
want to make it perfectly clear that this is not
a Republican beating exercise. There are Republicans
amongst us. We do not mean to effect the greater
political environment any more than we need to in
order to bring this campaign to a successful conclusion.
There
is no hidden hand, no secret political backers.
There is only this family and a friend and all of
us want to face the future in peace. We are calling
on the Provisional Movement give us that peace.
We
offer solidarity to the Robinson and McCartney families
and we thank them for being here today. We will
be there for you too if you need us. We offer solidarity
to all of those families in Ireland who have suffered
injustice as a result of this terrible conflict.
Our
graveyards are littered with our non-combatant dead.
Please end it.
Thank
you all for your support.
