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PRESS RELEASE FROM THE FINUCANE FAMILY & NGOs
17 September 2004
PRESS RELEASE FROM THE FINUCANE FAMILY
The guilty plea and sentencing of Ken Barrett has never been our main
concern. We have continually asked for the truth.
Barrett’s plea of guilty means that much of that truth remains
hidden.
The Stevens investigation, no matter how thorough, and any
prosecutions arising out of it, including that of Barrett, will never
come close to establishing the truth.
We can only get the truth if we are involved in the process.
The truth can only be established when we have the entitlement to
question the relevant witnesses and scrutinise the relevant
documentation.
We have had no input into Barrett’s prosecution and trial. We have
seen none of the evidence nor would we ever have had the opportunity
to challenge that evidence even if the trial had proceeded.
Prosecutions are controlled by the Director of Public Prosecutions
and we are entirely excluded from that process. The Government, of
course, is fully aware of this, which is why it is continuing with
prosecutions and trials against our wishes.
It is outrageous that the Government is continuing its pretence that
our concerns and that of the public can be satisfied by prosecutions
and trials.
The Government has run out of excuses for delaying the establishment
of a public inquiry into Pat’s murder.
It is now time for the Government to comply with its promise at
Weston Park and its personal commitment to Judge Cory and indeed its
international obligations.
Our campaign to seek the truth will continue and we will not be
discouraged or disheartened by a callous government continuing its
own campaign of delay, cover-up and spin. ENDS
PRESS RELEASE
Immediate Release
Public inquiry must be held into Finucane killing
Joint Statement from Amnesty International, British Irish Rights
Watch, the Committee on the Administration of Justice and Human
Rights First Four leading human rights organizations – who sent
observers this week to the trial of Kenneth Barrett – today called
urgently on the UK government to immediately implement Judge Peter
Cory’s recommendation for a public inquiry into the 1989 murder of
Belfast lawyer Patrick Finucane. The conviction and sentencing today
of Kenneth Barrett, a former loyalist paramilitary, for the murder of
Patrick Finucane has removed any purported justification on the part
of the authorities to further delay a public inquiry. “Our observers
of the trial this week were able to confirm that Kenneth Barrett’s
guilty plea led to no significant information being made public
during the court case; criminal proceedings have clearly been
insufficient in getting at the full truth of the Finucane case”.
There must be no further delay in immediately proceeding to hold a
public inquiry into the allegations of state collusion into, and
subsequent cover-up of, Patrick Finucane’s killing. The four
organizations who sent observers further noted Judge Cory’s finding
that: “[t]his may be one of the rare situations where a public
inquiry will be of greater benefit to a community than prosecutions.”
A spokesperson for the organizations said: “Successive governments
have aided and abetted the cover-up in this most sinister of murders,
which involved collusion by several agents and agencies of the state,
including the police and the army. The time has come to submit the
murder of Patrick Finucane to the independent scrutiny it demands.
There is no longer any excuse for prevarication, and we expect the
Prime Minister to announce a public inquiry immediately.” In the
past, the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General on human
rights defenders and the UN Special Rapporteur on the independence of
judges and lawyers, as well as international and local human rights
organizations, including the International Federation of Human
Rights, Human Rights Watch and the Pat Finucane Centre have called on
the UK government to proceed to an inquiry without delay.
The inquiry should focus on collusion by state agents with loyalist
paramilitaries in Patrick Finucane’s killing, on reports that his
death was the result of state policy, and on allegations that
different government authorities played a part in the subsequent
cover-up of collusion in his killing. For further information from
the Committee for the Administration of Justice (CAJ) contact Maggie
Beirne (Director) 0044(0) 7703486949 or Maggie O’Conor (Legal
adviser) 028 90961122
Andersonstown News Group
17 September 2004
`Barrett Plea was to protect UDA boss’
The protection of a loyalist godfather and his Special Branch cohorts
was the reason Pat Finucane’s killer Ken Barrett pleaded guilty to
his murder this week, according to loyalist sources.
They say Barrett, who was sentenced today for murder, but who could
be out within months will go into hiding for life to avoid
being “whacked” by his former UFF associates.
He is currently in isolation for his own safety in Maghaberry jail
In December 2001 special branch agent and UDA quartermaster Billy
Stobie was shot dead outside his Forthriver home by the UFF.
Stobie had been acquitted of the murder of Pat Finucane amid
recriminations from the Finucane family that the British government
was attempting to stall a public inquiry into his killing.
It’s believed that the then head of the UDA in West Belfast would be
a central figure should there be any inquiry into the killing of Pat
Finucane.
Some 20 more files on individuals in the British security services
were passed onto the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) 20 months
ago, but no action has been taken to prosecute or drop the action.
That will put off any inquiry indefinitely, aiding the stalling
tactic of the British, say the Finucane family.
The North Belfast solicitor was shot dead in his Fortwilliam home in
February 1989 in front of his wife and children.
Last year, retired Canadian Judge Peter Corey recommended a public
inquiry into his killing to expose the murky world of the British
army’s Force Research Unit (FRU), RUC Special Branch and collusion
with loyalist death squads. Supporters of the Finucane family claim
the securocrats’ resistance to a public inquiry is because any proper
probe would lift the lid the whole way to the top.
According to the Stevens III investigation the leader of the team who
targeted Finucane in 1989 was “one Eric McKee”, so-called “military
commander” of the UFF.
But it was the West Belfast head, not McKee, who had suggested they
attack Finucane said the Metropolitan Commissioner’s probe.
McKee was reported to have said, around six weeks before the
killing: “I have been told by someone … ‘Get Finucane. He is the
brains behind the IRA. Forget about [Gerry] Adams’.”
That someone is believed to have been a member of special branch.
Barrett told BBC Panorama in secretly recorded meetings that the West
Belfast UDA man, who had suggested the murder, had been primed by a
Special Branch contact from the RUC.
Barrett said he himself had been introduced by the UDA’s head man in
the west of the city to an officer who told him Pat Finucane was a
member of the IRA.
One senior UDA source told the North Belfast News it was “obvious to
everyone” this week’s guilty plea was brokered with the security
services.
“Barrett would have loved to have made a big story out of the whole
thing, but he knows this is the way it has to be.
“The only one left is the then head of the UDA in West Belfast,
that’s who is being protected. I don’t think we’ll see Ken Barrett
again.”
Irish American Information Service
SOURCES INDICATE POSSIBLE MOVEMENT ON IRA WEAPONS
09/17/04 13:20 EST
An IRA pledge to make its biggest weapons disarmament has been drafted as the Northern Ireland peace talks enter a decisive final phase, sources said tonight.
Taoiseach Bertie Ahern, British Prime Minister Tony Blair and the political parties were ready to work into the night at Leeds Castle, Kent, in an attempt to broker a deal to restore power-sharing in Belfast.
With Mr Ian Paisley’s Democratic Unionists insisting the paramilitary organisation must be abolished before they will revive the Stormont administration, the two Premiers have heaped pressure on Sinn Fein chiefs Mr Gerry Adams and Mr Martin McGuinness to deliver.
The IRA has already carried out three substantial acts of decommissioning, but international disarmament chief General John de Chastelain has been ordered not to reveal what guns and bomb making equipment he witnessed being destroyed.
But the DUP is insistent upon visual proof of weapons destruction and a timetable setting out when the IRA will be stood down.
It is understood a statement has been drawn up and is being studied to see if it goes far enough.
“There’s a form of words floating around,” one talks insider said.
“These are words from P O’Neill (IRA signature name) that have been given to Mr Blair and Mr Ahern and relayed to the DUP.”
Although both republicans and unionists believe progress has been made, the Saturday lunchtime deadline, when they must vacate Leeds Castle for a wedding, was looming.
All parties were told to cancel plans to be driven away from the idyllic venue before late tonight, at the earliest.
Both Mr Blair and Mr Ahern have warned there will be no further round of negotiations.
The Prime Minister was said to be showing the strain as tensions inside the negotiations rose.
“He looks tired, even though he’s such a pro,” one source said.
Dublin officials also stressed they would stick with it while hopes of a breakthrough remained.
Mr Ahern’s spokeswoman said: “The Taoiseach has said he’s willing to work long into the night, as long as it takes.”
Earlier Sinn Fein chairman Mr Mitchell McLaughlin confirmed some progress had been made.
He said: “I agree that the deal could be done. We are engaged in a process of talks that has actively intensified.”
But before republicans make a move they want assurances that the Stormont Executive and Assembly will be protected.
Any attempt to totally restructure the political institutions will be fiercely resisted, the Sinn Fein chairman said.
Nevertheless, he added: “We will not be found wanting if the DUP are ready to discuss. Our view for some time is we will do business with the DUP, representing in our view a more cohesive unionism.”
Mr Robinson also spoke of movement on some of the outstanding issues which have bedevilled Northern Ireland politics.
He refused, however, to indicate whether the advancement was around paramilitary violence and decommissioning, switching policing powers from Westminster to Belfast, or how the Stormont regime operated.
“Progress has been made in some areas. There are other areas where there has been no progress whatsoever. I’m not indicating how much progress we are making in any specific areas.”
Mr Trimble, leader of the Ulster Unionists, urged the IRA to make a new and detailed statement on weapons without delay.
He said: “There have been rumors that the spokesman of that private army, one P O’Neill, may be about to say something. In which case the sooner we hear it and the clearer the message the better.”
For others involved, there were signs of a possible breakthrough.
Mr Mark Durkan, leader of the nationalist SDLP claimed resistance to a settlement was weakening.
He said: “I don’t think we have the full combination code yet. But I think we are potentially getting to a click on some of the issues that we haven’t concluded on before.”
Four held as bomb equipment seized
Three men and a woman have been arrested in Belfast under the Prevention of Terrorism Act.
Police said a large amount of ammunition and bomb making equipment had been seized during planned searches in the north and west of the city on Friday.
Cannabis plants, together with cultivation and manufacturing equipment, was also found.
The operation follows a recent threat issued by the Continuity IRA that a bomb would be left at a police station somewhere in Belfast.
IRISH FREEDOM COMMITTEE® NEWSLIST
http://www.irishfreedomcommittee.net/
—————————–
Subject: PROTEST ‘BLOODY SUNDAY’ ARMY JACKET AUCTION ON EBAY
Date: Thursday, September 16, 2004
Please protest the offensive use of eBay for profit by a British Army
participant in the Bloody Sunday mass murder.
Please send an e-mail or letter to eBay to protest the auction yesterday
of a British Army jacket worn by “Soldier 5” on Bloody Sunday. There is
a Sample Letter and steps to contact eBay listed below the Belfast
Telegraph story.
Please note eBay Customer Assistance is very difficult to negotiate but
we have listed the easiest steps we have found.
The Irish Freedom Committee®
************************************************
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northwest_edition/story.jsp?
story=562098
‘Bloody Sunday Jacket’ On Ebay
Relatives sickened by sale bid
By Ciaran O’Neill
coneill@belfasttelegraph.co.uk
15 September 2004
Relatives of those killed on Bloody Sunday today said they were
sickened by an attempt to sell a jacket allegedly worn by a soldier
involved in the 1972 shootings.
The smock jacket was today on sale on the Internet auction site
eBay for £350.
The anonymous seller claims that the jacket was worn by a soldier,
identified as Soldier S at the Bloody Sunday Inquiry, who fired 12
shots during the civil rights demonstration.
The auction is due to end on Sunday but no bids have yet been made
for the jacket, which allegedly dates from 1959.
However, John Kelly, whose brother Michael was among the 13 people
shot dead on Bloody Sunday, today called on eBay to remove the
jacket from sale.
“It is disgusting that someone should try and make money out of
what happened on Bloody Sunday,” said Mr Kelly.
“This is totally insensitive and an insult to the memory of our
loved ones.”
No one from eBay was available to comment.
In his evidence to the Bloody Sunday Inquiry last year, Soldier S
said that statements he had made about gunfire and bombs being
aimed at soldiers were untrue.
The soldier, who was an 18-year-old private in 1972, also said he
had no recollection of what caused him to fire 12 shots in four
bursts of three at 30-second intervals.
The former paratrooper had told the 1972 Widgery Tribunal into the
shootings that he came under fire as soon as he dismounted from his
vehicle.
But asked last year whether his statement to the military police on
the night of Bloody Sunday that he saw a gunman open fire at
paratroopers with about six shots from a ground- floor window of
the Rossville flats in Derry could be relied upon, Soldier S
replied: “No”.
He also admitted there were “a lot of inaccuracies” in the original
statements he gave to military police.
He told the inquiry that he later went on to join the SAS and was
seriously injured in a firefight in the Middle East in 1974-5.
************************************************
CONTACT E-BAY
If you are an eBay Member go here and sign in to leave feedback.
Registration is free. SAMPLE LETTER below to copy and paste.
To submit Feedback:
1. Go to http://pages.ebay.com/help/contact_inline/index.html
2. Click “Ask about biding or buying”.
3. Then click “Bidding or buying”
4. Then click “The problem you’re having isn’t listed”
5. On the new page, click “Email”
6. Copy and paste sample letter into body area. Leave your email
address and eBay ID if you have one for a response.
Or write to eBay Headquarters at:
eBay Inc.
2145 Hamilton Avenue
San Jose, California 95125
————————
SAMPLE LETTER – Copy and Paste:
———————–
eBay Inc.
2145 Hamilton Avenue
San Jose, California 95125
To whom it may concern;
I am outraged to learn that eBay has allowed a participant in a mass
murder to sell memorabilia associated with his role the deaths of 14
innocent civilians on your website. I refer to the item ‘Bloody Sunday
Jacket’, posted by eBay for auction yesterday, and listed as being worn
by British Army “Soldier 5” during the Bloody Sunday massacre in Derry,
1972. “Soldier 5” has admitted to firing 12 rounds at civilians that
day.
During a recent tribunal in Ireland, this same soldier admitted that the
British Army fired indiscriminately at civilians with no provocation,
killing 13 instantly and a 14th who died later.
I note that in your Terms of Use regarding the sale of “Offensive
Materials” it is stated that “eBay may… out of respect for the
families of murder victims, remove listings of items closely associated
with individuals notorious for committing murderous acts within the last
100 years, such as personal belongings of such criminals.”
I strenuously object to the use of eBay to allow profiteering by
participants in the mass murder of innocent civilians, and I urge you to
remove this highly offensive item immediately.
Thank you;
(YOUR NAME/CITY HERE)
************************************************
© The Irish Freedom Committee® NewsList – IFC Updates
http://www.irishfreedomcommittee.net/
‘UDA GETTING STRONGER EVERY DAY’ SAYS UPRG
In an exclusive interview with the North Belfast News the Loyalist political group the UPRG has said that membership of the UDA is getting stronger by the day.
Discussing the last ten years and the future of loyalism in North Belfast UPRG members John Bunting and Sammy Duddy said communities were at melting point.
With families having recently left their homes in the Loyalist stronghold of Torrens, the men said that protestant people felt as if they were being slowly squeezed out of all existence.
“They feel as if they are being slowly taken over by nationalists,” John Bunting said.
“This may not actually be the case, but it is what people are feeling on the ground.”
In a wide-ranging interview the men declared their faith in the peace process.
They also queried why the British Government was reluctant to engage with them, but that a meeting with the President of Ireland and her husband could be organised “anytime they wanted”.
The two men confirmed that membership to the UDA was on the increase.
“In North Belfast the UDA is getting bigger and stronger. And that is because they feel under threat. It’s a feeling of slow strangulation,” John Bunting claimed.
Journalist:: Staff Reporter
Finucane detective fears revenge
16/09/2004 15:31:07 UTV
A detective who helped catch the killer of Pat Finucane today feared
he could be targeted in a revenge attack.
By:Press Association
Former detective sergeant Johnston Brown said Ken Barrett, jailed for
22 years for murdering the Belfast solicitor, had threatened to kill
him and his police colleague Trevor McIlwrath.
Mr Brown, who was in Belfast Crown Court to see Barrett sentenced,
said: “I have got a life sentence because this man told me and Trevor
McIlwrath that if this ever went wrong for him, that if he ever ended
up in jail, that he would come after us and put two in our face.
“When you look at what happened to Pat Finucane, that`s what he done
to him, put bullets in his face. So I will be looking over my
shoulder for the rest of my life.”
Barrett, 41, had confessed to Mr Brown, his police handler, in
October 1991 in the back of a car after falling out with the Ulster
Defence Association.
Barrett was caught after the officers secretly recorded him making a
confession. He declared: “I whacked a few people… People say, `How
do you sleep, Ken?` I say, `I sleep fine`.”
But he was not charged after becoming an informer for the
intelligence services.
The covert recording of the conversation disappeared, but Mr Brown
made a statement saying that Barrett told him: “I killed Mr Finucane
so quickly that he still had a fork in his hand as he was lying on
the floor.”
Speaking outside Belfast Crown Court, Mr Brown said the conviction
was a good day for the people of Northern Ireland but condemned the
provision of the Good Friday Agreement that allowed for the early
release of paramilitary prisoners.
Barrett himself is expected to be on the streets again within months.
The former detective said: “We shouldn`t take Ken Barrett`s case in
isolation. There are a lot of Ken Barretts out there, a lot of
criminals, murderers, who are allowed to walk free who should never
have been allowed to walk free.”
Describing Barrett as a “cold fish”, Mr Brown said he was satisfied
he had pulled the trigger to kill Mr Finucane, who was gunned down in
front of his wife and three children at Sunday lunch in February 1989.
Mr McIlwrath, who was also in court to see the conviction,
said: “When he described those events that night in the back of the
car he was reliving the events of killing Pat Finucane.”
Mr Brown said: “That`s why the tape isn`t there. That`s why it`s
away. Any one member of the public listening to his account of the
crime would have been satisfied.”
He was not surprised that Barrett had expressed no remorse for
killing Mr Finucane.
He said: “You`re looking at a Freddy Kruger here. This guy is never
going to lie down.”
SAOIRSE32 
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