Irish Northern Aid
News
 |
||||
http://republican-news.org
The following is the prepared oral testimony of Raymond McCord Sr. to
the US Congressional Committee on Foreign Affairs' Subcommittee on
International Organizations, Human Rights and Oversight, today
[Thursday].
Mr McCord has led a campaign to expose British collusion in the death of
his son, Raymond Mc Cord Jr. The 22-year-old Protestant man was murdered
in 1997 near Belfast to protect a Crown force agent within the unionist
paramilitary UVF.
Mr. Chairman and Members,
I am most grateful for the opportunity to appear before this Sub
Committee.
I request my written statement be entered into the record.
I see this Hearing as a lifeline that has been thrown to my family and
me.
I cannot help but be struck by the difference between the way I have
been treated by Members of Congress and the way Unionist/Protestant
politicians have treated me. In 2008, when there was a vote taken in the
Northern Ireland Assembly on my son's case, a majority of the Unionist
politicians walked out. You can, therefore, see just how much your
support means to me.
I look to the United States Congress as my last hope of getting justice
for my son Raymond Jr. (22) who was brutally murdered in 1997 near
Belfast. The killers belonged to a Protestant paramilitary group - the
Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF). The man who gave the orders to kill my
son is Mark Haddock. He was a longtime paid British Government agent,
police informer and serial killer as the Police Ombudsman's Report of
2007 established.
For nearly 12 years I have campaigned for justice for my son, and for
those years the British Government (my government) and the Police
Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI), my police, have blocked and
stonewalled me. They have colluded and are still colluding with the
killers of my son and many other victims. I really want to emphasize to
this Sub Committee that my son's case is not about police corruption. IT
IS ABOUT POLICE AND STATE COLLUSION WITH MURDER.
The Good Friday Agreement of 1998 promised a "new beginning to
policing". My family and I have experienced no new beginning. We have
only experienced cover-ups, lies and threats. Throughout the key period,
the police were controlled by Ronnie Flanagan, former Head of the
Special Branch, and Chief constable from 1996-2002. (However, I do
recognize there are many fine individuals cops in Northern Ireland who
were not allowed to do their job).
Sir. Hugh Orde, who until very recently was Chief Constable, was seen as
bringing a new attitude to policing. But even he retained Mark Haddock
as a paid agent for 15 months after it was established that Haddock had
been involved in many murders.
Not long after Raymond's murder, as I began campaigning for justice, the
UVF in one night covered the walls of houses in Protestant areas near my
home with the following message: " Daddy Raymond: Which son next -
Gareth or Glenn? Your choice". Hours earlier they had smashed Raymond's
headstone with hammers, one of three such attacks. Even though the names
of the perpetrators were given to the police, I was the one who was
arrested and put in a police cell to shut me up. It was one of many
times the police arrested me for no reason other than to try and silence
me.
The continuing campaign of intimidation and death threats against my
family and me is not random. It is controlled and organized and the
perpetrators are known because the police and British intelligence have
totally penetrated the UVF. The Ombudsman Report, too, has established
this.
In May 2009, the Irish National Caucus sponsored my visit to Capitol
Hill. While here, the Northern Ireland Bureau in Washington arranged for
me to visit the British Embassy to speak with Nick Hailey, the spokesman
for justice and policing in Northern Ireland.
Mr. Hailey never answered one question, never offered any explanation,
and never uttered the slightest hope that I might get justice for my
son.
Why is there such a conspiracy of silence surrounding Raymond's murder?
My son was an innocent 22-year-old, a loving son and brother, who was
not a threat to any person or any State
Why has Mark Haddock had so much influence? How can he so shamefully
blackmail the British Government and their security forces? What and who
gives this murderer so much power? The answer is collusion: it
effectively gives killers the power to control their government.
Haddock's first murder was in 1993, which he admitted to two Royal Ulster
Constabulary (RUC) detectives the day after the murder. But instead of
being arrested he was given money to go on a foreign holiday and
continued to work as an agent and a killer for another 10 years or more.
Here are the questions which are central to my son's case and which the
British Embassy refused to answer:
1. Why has no one been charged with Raymond's murder?
2. Why was Haddock allowed to kill for so long and get paid for it?
3. Why no action against present or former RUC/PSNI officers who
refused to be interviewed or to cooperate with the Ombudsman's
investigation.
4. Why were police officers allowed to get away with admitting to
"coaching and baby sitting" suspects in sham interviews to ensure the
suspects would not admit to murder? (Police officers even got away with
admitting they handed over a bomb to Haddock that was used in the Irish
Republic.)
A democratic society requires that the police must not be above the law.
Rather, they must uphold it, and be seen to do so. Yet my son's case
clearly demonstrates that in Northern Ireland some police officers and
their agents can literally get away with murder. This is not only
collusion but also collusion sanctioned from the very top. It is not
about the corruption of a few bad apples. What does it do to Northern
Ireland society when the government pays serial killers? What does it do
to the policing system when killers are given a wage increase of sixty
per cent after they commit their first murder, as happened with Mark
Haddock when he murdered Sharon McKenna in 1993?
This is the shocking collusion I have been battling against for twelve
lonely years. But now it is my hope that with the help of the US
Congress, my son will be at last given justice and a great wrong will be
righted.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman and Members, from the bottom of my heart.
http://republican-news.org
A bomb exploded at a British army base in north Belfast earlier today.
A loud blast was heard in the early hours of the morning. There were no
injuries and no immediate claim of responsibility.
The British Territorial Army base on the Antrim Road was struck by the
attack. Its perimeter fence was damaged in the incident.
"In North Belfast we have witnessed an escalation of dissident
Republican terrorist activity," Nigel Dodds, the local DUP MP told the
London parliament. He blamed the attack on "criminal elements".
Sinn Fein's Tierna Cunningham also condemned the attack, saying:
"Whatever group was responsible they need to realise that they will not
succeed in their attempts to derail the peace process."
Last week a member of the PSNI narrowly escaped injury when a device
exploded underneath a sports car owned by his partner.
Earlier this week, a senior member of the British Crown forces in
Ireland said that dissident republican groups pose a "severe and
increasing threat".
PSNI deputy chief Judith Gillespie said hundreds of people had already
joined the breakaway armed groups, and new members were continuing to
join.
Speaking to the establishment media, she said: "We are obviously very
concerned at the level of threat and it behoves us all to work
together."
She also said the PSNI did not want to see British soldiers back on the
streets and insisted the force had the capacity to defend British rule
without on-street military support.
The press conference took place at the opening of a joint seminar
between the 26 County Garda police and the PSNI police in the Six
Counties.
In contrast, the British Irish Inter-parliamentary Assembly, meeting in
Swansea, was told that "peace... is now relatively secure".
Former British Direct Ruler Paul Murphy said while the death of two
British Army soldiers and a member of the PSNI in March showed peace
could not be taken for granted, the opportunity existed to confront the
"new economic challenges".
"That is a peace dividend that will benefit all British and Irish
people," Mr Murphy, co-chair of the Assembly, said.
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/world/2009/1023/1224257290562.html
THE FATHER of a Belfast man murdered by loyalist paramilitaries in 1997 took his campaign to bring the killers to justice to Capitol Hill yesterday.
Raymond McCord (55) told a House of Representatives subcommittee that he believed there was collusion between the security forces and the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) in the killing of his son, Raymond Jr.
Mr McCord alleges that a leading loyalist, who is said to have worked as an informer for the RUC’s Special Branch during the Troubles, ordered the killing.
Mr McCord has consistently demanded to know why no one has been charged with the murder of his son.
In his testimony to the House Subcommittee on International Organisations, Human Rights and Oversight, he claimed: “The British government – my government – and the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) – my police – have blocked and stonewalled me. They have colluded and are still colluding with the killers of my son and many other victims.”
The PSNI press office said they had no statement to make on Mr McCord’s testimony.
Mr McCord expressed the hope that “the US Congress will hear my voice and take up my cause”.
After the hearing, he said: “It’s imperative that pressure is put on the British government, when they are trying to sweep this under the carpet.” He added that he was very happy with how his testimony had been received. “The members gave me a lot of confidence in the way they spoke,” he said.
Fr Seán McManus, the president of the US-based Irish National Caucus and a key supporter of Mr McCord, said Democratic congressman Richie Neal would send a letter to British prime minister Gordon Brown asking him to meet Mr McCord.
Mr Neal had committed to asking his fellow members of Congress to co-sign the letter, Fr McManus added.
Among the subcommittee’s members are Texas Congressman Ron Paul, a libertarian Republican who made a quixotic bid for his party’s presidential nomination last year, and Congressman Donald Payne, a New Jersey Democrat who has long displayed a high level of interest in the North.
At the opening of the hearing, Mr Payne said, “We are not here today to reopen old wounds but rather to support Raymond McCord in his search for justice.” Finding out the truth about the killing, he said, was “an important step towards moving forward.”
Mr McCord’s son was beaten to death in Newtownabbey, north of Belfast. Mr McCord, a Protestant, has been increasingly vocal about the lack of support he feels he has received from unionist politicians.
“Gerry Adams, president of Sinn Féin, and Mark Durkan, SDLP leader, were the only two political leaders who helped,” his written testimony to the subcommittee stated. “The Unionist politicians were in denial, refusing to admit collusion, and they simply wanted me to go away.”
Fr McManus asserted that Mr McCord was the first Northern Protestant to testify before the US Congress in support of collusion allegations.
http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2009/10/22/Philly-Irish-bar-owner-gets-18-months/UPI-32061256224569/
PHILADELPHIA, Oct. 22 (UPI) -- A federal judge handed down a relatively light prison sentence to the popular owner of a Philadelphia-area Irish bar who pleaded guilty to immigration fraud.
U.S. District Judge William Yohn said it was clear that Sean O'Neill, 49, Willistown Township, was "never a terrorist" and sentenced him to 18 months in prison.
The Philadelphia Inquirer said Thursday the sentence was below the sentencing guidelines of 30-37 months for the three immigration counts plus a tax fraud charge and one count of possession a pistol silencer without a license.
More than 100 people rose to O'Neill's defense by sending letters to Yohn attesting to his good character.
O'Neill also agreed to return to his native Northern Ireland after completing his sentence.
O'Neill ran into trouble for paying employees under the table when he owned Maggie O'Neill's bar and restaurant in Drexel Hill. Prosecutors also learned that he had lied about four criminal convictions and a sham marriage when he applied for his green card.
His lawyer said during Wednesday's hearing that O'Neill had left Northern Ireland to escape the sectarian violence and that his worst offense was a brief membership in an organization known as the "Junior IRA."
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/pound1bn-for-policing-now-just-do-it-14538154.html
The Stormont parties have been told “now get on with it” after the Government held out a generous £1 billion budget to cover the cost of transferring police and justice powers from Westminster.
Secretary of State Shaun Woodward said he believed the vast majority of people here now wanted to see the final piece of the devolution jigsaw — local control over policing, prisons and the courts put in place.
Gordon Brown’s package, unveiled yesterday, appeared to tick all the boxes in terms of meeting the main financial pressures including around £400m for hearing loss compensation.
The deal also seems to allow PSNI chief constable Matt Baggott sufficient independence to retain the police first reserve if needed for any operational reasons. But the cash will only come if the Stormont parties complete agreement on the switch-over including arrangements on how the new Justice Department will work.
Mr Woodward still refused to give a ‘best guess’ about when the transfer will take place.
“It is a matter for the politicians but I am encouraged by the hard work which I know has gone on,” he said. “I am both an optimist and realist about Northern Ireland and I know both Martin McGuinness and Peter Robinson are committed devolutionists and that the time is very, very close for the opportunity to complete devolution.”
As the smaller parties pored over the details of the package for the first time, First Minister Peter Robinson and Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness met Conservative leader David Cameron at Westminster.
Afterwards Mr McGuinness was upbeat and said the commitment by Mr Cameron to honour the deal was a “huge achievement”.
http://www.newsletter.co.uk/editorial/Unionists-will-never-share-views.5752084.jp
Published Date: 21 October 2009
THE Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams has never understood unionists and his speech yesterday underlines that he is not learning. Mr Adams was speaking at the British Irish Parliamentary Assembly in Wales.
Repeating his demand for a united Ireland, Mr Adams said Sinn Fein needed to address the genuine fears and concerns of unionists in a meaningful way. They needed to look at what they meant by their sense of Britishness and be willing to explore and be open to new concepts.
Mr Adams even went on to say that for unionists it needed to be "their united Ireland".
And he added that there was no desire on the part of Irish republicans to conquer or humilate unionists.
Mr Adams often quotes Irish history, but he clearly needs reminded that it was republican terrorists, many of them known to him, who murdered 60 per cent of the people who died during the Troubles.
The survivors of what was often a campaign of ethnic cleansing will find his remarks offensive.
They will have real difficulty understanding his view that republicans were not trying to conquer or humilate unionists.
In fact many believe republicans were trying to wipe unionists off the face of the map of the new Ireland they were trying to achieve.
But the Sinn Fein leader misses the most fundamental point of all.
There are four main unionist parties – the Democratic Unionist Party, the Ulster Unionist Party, the Traditional Unionist Voice and the Progressive Unionist Party.
All four parties have the word 'unionist' at the their core and it is there for a reason.
Unionists do not want a united Ireland. Any concept of a united Ireland is contrary to everything they stand for.
Mr Adams can bleat on all he wants about his vision.
The truth is that the unionist population in Northern Ireland and many people in the Republic of Ireland do not share his concept of the future.
Mr Adams – unionists are not going away, you know
http://www.thisissouthwales.co.uk/southwalesnews/Irish-unification-help-boost-Welsh-economy/article-1439859-detail/article.html
SINN Fein leader Gerry Adams was in Swansea yesterday to address the British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly.
Mr Adams, the first party leader to address the Assembly spoke at the Marriott Hotel about his vision of a shared, integrated Ireland.
He discussed with members his hopes that Ireland would have equal ownership and be culturally diverse with political, social and economic equality.
He also spoke about the recession and plans to build towards economic recovery across Britain and Ireland.
He said: "There is no desire on the part of Irish Republicans to conquer or humiliate Unionists.
"There can be no place for revenge in the thinking or vocabulary of Irish Republicanism."
Mr Adams said the recession should not be a reason to postpone reunification. He said: "There are some who suggest that because we live in a period of severe economic difficulty that Irish reunification should be put off for the foreseeable future. In fact, it is the opposite.
"There is a need, more than ever, for the island economy to be brought into being in the fullest sense, and for the political and administrative structures to be instituted with that in mind.
"Many in the business community, north and south, already recognise this fact. The needs of Ireland can be best met by treating it as an island rather than as two entities."
In a question and answer session, South Wales West AM, Bethan Jenkins asked Mr Adams how he saw the role of the devolved governments working with the Northern Irish administration and his party in achieving that aim.
Her question came in response to Mr Adams saying that Welsh interests would be served by helping Ireland with reunification.
Mr Adams said the British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly was the ideal place for people of all nations to work together to assist with the reunification of Ireland.
Visit our Business in the Bay website
He said Wales was currently seeking a new Welsh Language Act, and Sinn Fein wanted an Irish Language Act but was facing difficulties in pressing ahead due to opposition by Unionists.
Mr Adams added that unifying Ireland was not just a matter for one party, Sinn Fein, but that parties in the Republic are committed too. He also told members of the Assembly that there would be no return to violence in the North, and that any attempts to hijack a struggle was reprehensible.
He stated that the party needed to unite Ireland now more than ever and wanted Unionists to find their place in Ireland.
He said Sinn Fein did not want revenge on Unionists, or to deny them their rights. "We have to listen to the Unions, not just talk to them.
"That will be very challenging but also very rewarding."
AM Joyce Watson concluded the meeting by thanking staff, the hotel and the National Waterfront Museum for their hospitality.
Updated: 11/5/2009
Use the Guest Book to Comment on the web site or individual stories.
To get Irish News updates emailed to you
