The
murder of R McCartney by a bunch of hooligans calling
themselves republicans has proven to be an ideal
stick to beat every other republican on this island
with. The grief, extreme anger and sense of injustice
felt by the McCartney family is totally understandable
and even more so for it was the IRA themselves no
less who allowed these animals to roam the streets
inflicting their gangland attitudes on the local
people. Surely the IRA must have realised that at
some point in time these people were going to become
a liability and that their actions would reflect
back upon them.
So
it is the leadership of the IRA in that area that
should be thrown out for extremely poor judgement
and above all diabolical discipline. IRA volunteers,
like any other army, look towards their commanding
officers for how they should behave and act, so,
therefore this thuggish behaviour has come from
above and was not ‘picked up of the ground’.
Unfortunately, this horrific loss of innocence has
been used to beat all republicans with. Non- republican
politicians from every divide, the leaders of religious
institutions and other various organisations and
prominent individuals have scrambled down from the
tops of their self-erected podiums of righteousness
and purity and in the process jumped and clambered
over each other to see who can drive the jackboot
in the furthest, all to the shouts of “Damn,
I wish I had have thought of that one”.
How
many saw the murder for what it really was…
a brutal attack on a father out for a few drinks…
not one of them… they all saw it as a chance
to drive the ‘knife’ deeper in to SF and
PIRA.
The
elections are on the horizon and seats can be won
and retained… hail Mac the Knife, all is not
lost. Their insincerity to the death of R McCartney
and the loss to his family was like their shadow…
it followed them every where…
I
understand that the McCartney family are intending
to go to America to let Irish Americans know what
the IRA is really like. I would ask the McCartney
family to give their trip careful consideration
and to be more specific and precise in their condemnation.
In other words, please do not tar us all with the
one brush. It is those thugs within your community
that you should be openly referring too and not
the broader republican family… you have the
right as the bereaved family to name and shame them.
Also
I would like them to be wary of those who come bearing
arms loaded down with tokens of support and sympathy…
please reflect on what their true intentions are
and where were they in the 70’s? But please
reflect, was Bobby Sands a thug or a criminal?
P.S.
I’m sure the readers of this letter have now
determined that it was written before the McCartney
sisters and partner went on their State-side visit.
Watching the events unfold over the St Patrick’s
week (it didn’t really matter what television
station I watched as all reported their visit from
the same perspective), as they were catapulted around
Washington from meeting to meeting and how the politicos'
PR men were urging their paymasters to have their
photo taken or at the very least be seen in public
with them, I thought to myself, has their campaign
spiralled out of their control? Has it been hijacked
by all those opposed to SF and the IRA and has it
now taken on a momentum driven by forces with ulterior
motives other than that of justice?
I
believe that it has but I also believe that they,
the McCartney’s, are not oblivious to this
and are constantly struggling to keep it focused
on their initial objective, that of justice. And
I believe that is what they should concentrate on,
justice for their brother. Not making statements
referring to those who were involved in the murder
of Robert being re-instated into the PIRA because
they have been seen going in and out of pubs /clubs
in West Belfast. If that is the case, then there
is a lot more people in the PIRA than Special Branch
or even the OC of West Belfast ever realised! Statements
like that sound ludicrous (like Gerry Adams claiming
he was never in the IRA) and only serve to detract
from your campaign.
How
to achieve justice will be extremely difficult if
not impossible. By all means highlight your campaign
wherever possible but as I said in my initial letter,
be specific in your condemnation and do not tar
us all with the one brush. Believe it or not there
are republicans out there who whole heartedly support
your campaign but that support wanes every time
you generalise about PIRA and SF.
Good
luck.
