(6 Press Reports) > Two Paras accused of torture and mutilation >--------------------------------------------- > By David McKittrick, Ireland Correspondent > > > Two soldiers who had opened fire on Bloody Sunday tortured and mutilated a man in > Belfast weeks later, the inquiry on the 1972 shootings heard yesterday. > > A Catholic man was said to have been castrated by troops and dumped in a loyalist > area. The allegation was in material sent to the inquiry by the Irish government. > > Christopher Clarke QC, counsel to the inquiry, said the material claimed the two > soldiers had run a man into the side of an armoured vehicle. > > Mr Clarke added: "He was knocked out, then revived, and thrown into the back of > the pig (vehicle) where he was electrocuted in some way, castrated, sliced in the > face with a knife and generally kicked and beaten. The statement then goes on to > say that his body was taken to the Shankill and dumped to await his fate." > > The lists of people killed at that time contain no obvious candidates for the > alleged victim. But the inquiry has taken evidence from this source seriously > before, providing one soldier, known as 027, with �1,400 per month to spend on > protection measures. > > The inquiry, chaired by Lord Saville of Newdigate, has resumed its deliberations > after a long summer recess. Its resumption was delayed by the resignation for > personal reasons of one of the tribunal's three judges. > > His replacement, retired Australian judge Mr John Toohey, made his first public > appearance yesterday. The government has also appointed a reserve member to the > tribunal in case any of the other judges should drop out. He is Canadian judge > William Esson. > > Opening submissions are to continue for two weeks before the first witnesses start > to give evidence. Some 1,500 people have been interviewed by the tribunal team in > the first stages of proceedings which may go on for years. > > The inquiry has already cost some �25m and taken much longer than expected to > reach this stage. The opening speech by Mr Clarke took up more than 170 hours, > consisting of a million and a quarter words. > > Arthur Harvey QC, for the relatives, compared the military operation with the > Sharpville and Tiananmen Square massacres. He also said the original inquiry into > events in 1972 was tainted, designed to save face for the Government and Army of > the day. > > * Four men were arrested in the Derrylin area of Co Fermanagh on Saturday night > after security forces believed they thwarted an attempt by the Real IRA to bomb a > security installation. They had intercepted a white van con- taining a so-called > "barrack-buster" device. > > These mortar devices contain a large amount of explosives and can be lethal when > propelled into Army or police bases. The device was similar to one dissident > republicans used in an attack on the police station in Armagh in September. > > > � 2000 Independent Digital (UK) Ltd. > > ********************************** > > No reply to counsel request for IRA tape > > THE Bloody Sunday Inquiry was told the Government and garda� have given ''no > substantive reply'' to requests aimed at tracing a tape of conversations > apparently bugged by the IRA. > > Counsel to the Inquiry, Christopher Clarke, QC, played a recording of > conversations apparently taped from the Victoria Barracks on Bloody Sunday and > said to be carrying the voices of soldiers speaking of ''things going badly'' and > ''the wrong people'' being shot. > > A version of the tape, played to a news conference in Dublin in 1974 was alleged > by one witness - James Ferry - to have been seized by Garda Special Branch in a > raid on his house in the Republic in 1976, Mr Clarke said. > > Madden and Finucane solicitors, the firm representing most of the Bloody Sunday > victims, wrote to the Garda Commissioner Pat Byrne in May 1999, asking whether he > held the tape recording. > > Mr Clarke said: ''They wrote again in September 1999, apparently without reply. > The inquiry itself wrote to the office of the Taoiseach on October 26, 1999, > enclosing a copy of the draft witness statement of Mr Ferry and the two letters > from Madden and Finucane and asking for access to the tape. > > ''That request was repeated on April 18 of this year. As yet the Inquiry has > received no substantive reply on this issue from the garda� or from the > Government.'' > > The Derry Journal reported last month that Taoiseach Bertie Ahern had asked > officials to look into reports that police may have the tape. > > Mr Clarke said: ''It is obviously desirable for the tape, if it is still in > possession of the Irish authorities, to be produced since the tape the inquiry has > now is not the original and may well not be a copy of the whole of the original > tape.'' > > ********************************** > > Tribunal designed to protect military > by Ruth O'Reilly > > THE Bloody Sunday killings were the result of failures, misjudgements and wholly > unacceptable policies made at the highest political and military levels, the new > inquiry into the massacre was told yesterday. > > A lawyer representing most of the families of the dead rejected suggestions that > those shot were simply the victims of individual acts of indiscipline by the > soldiers on the ground during the military operation in Londonderry on January 30, > 1972. > Arthur Harvey QC, also delivered a damning assessment of the original inquiry into > the killings, as a corrupted procedure designed to save face for the Government > and Army of the day. > > Beginning his opening submission, he said the Widgery Inquiry into the deaths was > ''little more than a screen, a facade'' to draw in the people of Derry, not so the > truth could be discovered but so that the Army could be vindicated. He added: > ''The truth is that on January 30, 1972 soldiers of the 1st Battalion, the > Parachute Regiment opened fire on an unarmed people, most of whom were in flight. > It killed 13 and wounded 14. > > ''The truth is that they did so, not simply as a result of some 27 acts of > individual indiscipline, but rather as a result of failures, misjudgements and > wholly unacceptable policies made at the highest level both politically and > militarily. > ''The truth is that when the disastrous consequences of that day became known to > the MoD and the Government of the day, they quite literally launched a cover up, > most cruelly in the name of a public, impartial investigation.'' > > During his opening submission, Mr Harvey presented a series of official documents > raising questions about the hearings conducted by the then Lord Chief Justice Lord > Widgery and the report produced by him. > > Mr Harvey said: ''The Widgery Tribunal was never designed to uncover the truth. It > was never designed even to condemn the innocent who had died. > > ''It was principally designed as a result of political and military imperatives at > the time, to ensure that public international concern over what happened had a > historical document of record, namely an official report that could be referred to > which exonerated the military from their actions that day.'' > > Widgery was central to the hurt of victims because they attended the tribunal > understanding that it was open and would be properly conducted, said Mr Harvey, > instructed by Madden and Finucane solicitors, acting for relatives of 10 of those > killed. > > ''Everything shows that far from being the case, the MoD had central control of > the procedures and, hopefully I will also show, the substance of the hearing.'' > > He showed the inquiry a memorandum written by secretary to the Widgery tribunal, > William Smith, recording that Lord Widgery would ''pile up the case against the > deceased'' in the face of doubts over forensic tests used to show some had handled > weapons that day. > > The document, a provisional list of important points still to be covered in > drafting the report, also noted that Brigadier Patrick MacLellan, the officer in > charge of the overall military operation that day ''loyally covered up for his > subordinates'' over the question of whether the operation was bungled. > > Mr Harvey said: ''I respectfully submit that the documentation demonstrably proves > that not only were the procedures unfair, but the actual substantive report itself > was seriously tainted and seriously tainted in a way which was known to those who > were involved in the inquiry. > > ''It was seriously tainted because this document shows that where the case was > weak, in relation to that being advanced by the Army, it was enhanced. > ''Where a brigadier was believed to be covering up, it was stated in the report > that his word was to be accepted. > > ''When it was indicated that statements would be taken into account, they were > not. Finally there was the failure of all those representing the tribunal and the > Army to disclose the statements which revealed glaring inconsistencies between the > accounts given by the army on the day as to what happened. > > ''And yet the Lord Chief Justice in his report was able to say that there had been > a conspiracy, had there been more than individual acts of irresponsibility, that > would have been revealed by cross examination.'' > > > � Irish Examiner, 2000 > > ****************************** > > Paras 'were cleared by corrupt tribunal' > By David Graves in Londonderry > > > THE Widgery tribunal that absolved British paratroopers of blame after the deaths > of 14 people during Bloody Sunday was "procedurally unfair and substantively > corrupt," the new inquiry into the killings was told yesterday. > > Chaired by Lord Widgery, the former Lord Chief Justice, the tribunal was "never > designed to uncover the truth" and was merely intended as an official report to > exonerate the British Army, said Arthur Harvey, QC, representing the families of > seven of the victims. Mr Harvey said it was unique in British history that a > second tribunal of inquiry had been set up because of the failure of the first. > > Lord Widgery had reported within 11 weeks of the shootings in Londonderry on Jan > 30, 1972 that civil rights demonstrators taking part in an illegal march had > opened fire first on members of the Parachute Regiment, who had returned fire in > self defence. > > The new inquiry, which has so far cost more than �25 million, resumed after a > five-month break following the sudden resignation of Sir Edward Somers, the former > New Zealand Appeal Court judge. He quit because of the length of time the inquiry > was taking. Set up in 1998, the hearing is expected to last at least another two > years. > > Sir Edward has been replaced by John Toohey, 70, a former Australian High Court > judge, and the Government took the unusual step last week of appointing a reserve > judge, Mr Justice William Esson, of the Court of Appeal for British Columbia. > > Watched by members of the victims' families, some of whom wept openly, Mr Harvey > said that the Widgery tribunal had denied justice to the families. A swath of > official documents uncovered since 1972 had confirmed their beliefs, he claimed. > One of the documents was an official minute of a meeting between Lord Widgery and > Sir Edward Heath, then Prime Minister, which spoke of a "propaganda war". > > Earlier, Christopher Clarke, QC, counsel to the tribunal, told the inquiry that a > diary allegedly kept by a paratrooper, known as 027, said two soldiers who had > said they had fired shots on Bloody Sunday had also been involved in a separate > incident in which a civilian was electrocuted and castrated before his body was > dumped in a loyalist area of Belfast. > > Mr Clarke also played parts of tape recordings of telephone calls involving Army > officers and journalists after the shootings, which had allegedly been secretly > recorded by the IRA. > > Two officers were heard saying "things have gone badly" and referred to "the wrong > people" - women and children - being shot. One of the officers referred to > Major-Gen Robert Ford "lapping up" the shootings and saying the general thought > they were the "best thing he had seen in a long time". > > The inquiry continues. > > � Copyright of Telegraph Group Limited 2000. > > ********************************** > > Irish News > > Dublin 'has failed to help inquiry' > By Andrea McKernon > > THE IRISH government and Garda failed to reply to a request for help in locating a > tape of military conversations immediately after Bloody Sunday. > > The IRA claimed it bugged telephone messages involving military personnel at Derry > 's Victoria Barracks, the main RUC station. > > The tape recording, detailing conversations between security force members and > journalist Max Hastings among others, came to light earlier this year. > > Relatives of the Bloody Sunday dead claim the recordings give a harrowing insight > into the mindset of some soldiers at the time. > > At one point, a male voice states: "I think it's gone badly wrong in the > Rossville... the doctor has just been up to the hospital and they're pulling > stiffs (dead bodies) out there as fast as they can get them out." > > Another voice claims commanding officer General Robert Ford was happy with the > conduct of the Paratroopers. And on another occasion, a male voice tells Max > Hastings, now editor of the Evening Standard in London: "Ha, ha, ha, well yes I'm > from Belfast myself and I think it is a very good trend myself." > > Mr Clarke told yesterday's sitting that the tape recording had been known about > since last year. > > While the inquiry had a copy of the recording, Mr Clarke expressed concern that > efforts to secure the original recording had not been successful. > > He said the tribunal was told the tape was seized by members of the Irish Special > Branch in May 1976. > > "In May 1999 Messrs Madden and Finucane (solicitors) wrote to the Garda > commissioner asking him whether he held the tape recording. They wrote again in > September 1999 apparently without reply. > > "The inquiry itself wrote to the officer, the taoiseach on 26th October 1999, > enclosing a copy of the draft witness statement of Mr Ferry (who held the > recording before it was seized) and the > two letters from Madden and Finucane and asking for access to the tape. > > That request was repeated on April 18 of this year," Mr Clarke said. > > "As yet the inquiry has received no substantive reply on this issue from the > gardai or from the Irish government," Mr Clarke said. > > > **************************** > > UTV NEWS > Bloody Sunday policies claim > > Bloody Sunday resulted from failures, misjudgments and ''wholly unacceptable'' > policies made at the highest political and military levels, the new inquiry into > the incident was told today. > > A lawyer representing most of the families of the dead rejected suggestions that > those shot were simply the victims of individual acts of indiscipline by the > soldiers on the ground during the military operation in Londonderry on January 30, > 1972. > > Arthur Harvey QC, also delivered a damning assessment of the original inquiry into > the killings, as a corrupted procedure designed to save face for the government > and Army of the day. > > Beginning his opening submission, he said the Widgery inquiry into the deaths was > ''little more than a screen, a facade'' to draw in the people of Derry, not so the > truth could be discovered but so that the Army could be vindicated. > > He added: ''The truth is that on January 30, 1972 soldiers of the 1st Battalion > the Parachute Regiment opened fire on an unarmed people, most of whom were in > flight. It killed 13 and wounded 14. > > ''The truth is that they did so, not simply as a result of some 27 acts of > individual indiscipline, but rather as a result of failures, misjudgments and > wholly unacceptable policies made at the highest level both politically and > militarily. > > ''The truth is that the 1st Battalion the Parachute Regiment on the ground was > doing no more than what has been envisaged. > > ''The truth is that when the disastrous consequences of that day became known to > the MoD and the Government of the day, they quite literally launched a cover-up, > most cruelly in the name of a public, impartial investigation.'' > > During his opening submission, Mr Harvey presented a series of official documents > raising questions about the hearings conducted by the then Lord Chief Justice Lord > Widgery and the report produced by him. > > Mr Harvey said: ''The Widgery Tribunal was never designed to uncover the truth. It > was principally never designed even to condemn the innocent who had died. > > ''It was principally designed as a result of political and military imperatives at > the time, to ensure that public international concern over what happened had a > historical document of record, namely an official report that could be referred to > which exonerated the military from their actions that day.'' > > Widgery was central to the hurt and pain of the victims because they consented to > attend the tribunal on the understanding that it was open and would be properly > conducted, said Mr Harvey, instructed by Madden and Finucane solicitors, acting > for relatives of 10 of those killed. > > ''Everything shows that far from being the case, the MoD had the central control > of the procedures and, hopefully I will also show, the substance of the hearing.'' > > He showed the inquiry a memorandum written by the secretary to the Widgery > tribunal, William Smith, recording that Lord Widgery would ''pile up the case > against the deceased'' in the face of doubts over the forensic tests used to > conclude that some had been handling weapons that day. > > The document, a provisional list of important points still to be covered in > drafting the report, also noted that Brigadier Patrick MacLellan, the officer in > charge of the overall military operation that day ''loyally covered up for his > subordinates'' over the question of whether the operation was bungled. > > Mr Harvey said: ''I respectfully submit that the documentation demonstrably proves > that not only were the procedures unfair, but the actual substantive report itself > was seriously tainted and seriously tainted in a way which was known to those who > were involved in the inquiry. > > ''It was seriously tainted because this document shows that where the case was > weak, in relation to that which was being advanced by the Army, it was enhanced. > > ''Where a brigadier was believed to be covering up, it was stated in the report > that his word was to be accepted. > > ''When it was indicated that statements would be taken into account, they were > not. Finally there was the failure of all those representing the tribunal and the > Army to disclose the statements which revealed glaring inconsistencies between the > accounts given by the army on the day as to what happened. > > ''And yet the Lord Chief Justice in the course of his report was able to say that > there had been a conspiracy, had there been more than individual acts of > irresponsibility, then that would have been revealed by cross-examination.'' > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------_-> > > There is always a price for freedom. >
