London Times Irish Findings

December 9, 2006

Leading article: Time to call a truce The timing of its publication is unfortunate; the implications of its findings are disturbing. Nevertheless, the British government cannot ignore last week’s report from an Irish parliamentary committee that found evidence of widespread collusion between elements within the British security forces and loyalist terrorists. It was a conspiracy that resulted in the death of a large number of civilians in a series of gun and bomb attacks on both sides of the border during the mid-1970s. NI_MPU('middle'); As the delicate manoeuvring towards a lasting power-sharing settlement in Northern Ireland enters an especially tense phase, this report reopens deep wounds from the bloody conflict that raged for 30 years. Confronting the report’s conclusions at this sensitive time could damage the peace process. Yet a refusal to confront its conclusions could cause equal harm. What is essential,

therefore, is that Tony Blair’s government delivers a prompt, measured response that acknowledges the wrong done by some British agents, but does not compound the mess by pretending rogue security elements were the only combatants to have committed atrocities in this dirty war. Inevitably the publication of the report has been greeted by the relatives of victims — as well as others promoting a more opportunistic political agenda, such as Sinn Fein — with calls for a full public inquiry. However, it is doubtful yet another inquiry would shed any new light on the murky world of terrorism and counterterrorism during Ulster’s most violent period. During the Troubles, the British state was challenged by a ruthless guerrilla army in the shape of the Provisional IRA, one that had no compunction about the sectarian slaughter of civilians. As hostilities intensified and the carnage mounted, the battle was joined by equally ruthless groups of loyalist terrorists working in

tandem with renegade members of the security forces. It quickly became a war replete with agents and double-agents, touts and sleepers, mercenaries and madmen in which, particularly towards the end, it was difficult to work out who was fighting whom. The events examined by the Oireachtas committee’s report are a small sample of the outrages perpetrated during the Troubles. The committee, chaired by the Fianna Fail TD Sean Ardagh, held hearings into nine atrocities on both sides of the border between 1972 and 1976 in which 18 people were killed. The incidents included the bombing of pubs in Dundalk and Castleblayney, the murder of three members of the Reavey family in Markethill, Co Armagh, and the shooting of three members of the Miami Showband near Newry in 1975. It found that collusion inspired most, if not all, of the attacks, revealing evidence of intelligence sharing between members of the RUC and the Ulster Defence Regiment and outlawed loyalist terror groups

such as the Ulster Volunteer Force. Little of this is new. It follows earlier investigations into these attacks by a former supreme court judge, Henry Barron. The report’s central findings are also likely to be confirmed by the senior counsel Patrick McEntee’s inquiry into the 1974 Dublin and Monaghan bombings. With the pattern of collusion well established by these and other inquiries, it’s time to draw a line under this squalid affair. Bertie Ahern should use his close working relationship with Mr Blair to encourage the prime minister to formulate a credible response that offers some degree of closure for victims’ families, while recognising the changes in attitudes on all sides. It should not be forgotten, however, that the officers and agents involved in collusion were far from representative of the British security forces. Many courageous men and women risked and, in many cases, gave their lives to protect citizens from the actions of homicidal extremists. For

their fate there have been no expressions of remorse.

Leading article: Time to call a truce The timing of its publication is unfortunate; the implications of its findings are disturbing. Nevertheless, the British government cannot ignore last week’s report from an Irish parliamentary committee that found evidence of widespread collusion between elements within the British security forces and loyalist terrorists. It was a conspiracy that resulted in the death of a large number of civilians in a series of gun and bomb attacks on both sides of the border during the mid-1970s. NI_MPU('middle'); As the delicate manoeuvring towards a lasting power-sharing settlement in Northern Ireland enters an especially tense phase, this report reopens deep wounds from the bloody conflict that raged for 30 years. Confronting the report’s conclusions at this sensitive time could damage the peace process. Yet a refusal to confront its conclusions could cause equal harm. What is essential,

therefore, is that Tony Blair’s government delivers a prompt, measured response that acknowledges the wrong done by some British agents, but does not compound the mess by pretending rogue security elements were the only combatants to have committed atrocities in this dirty war. Inevitably the publication of the report has been greeted by the relatives of victims — as well as others promoting a more opportunistic political agenda, such as Sinn Fein — with calls for a full public inquiry. However, it is doubtful yet another inquiry would shed any new light on the murky world of terrorism and counterterrorism during Ulster’s most violent period. During the Troubles, the British state was challenged by a ruthless guerrilla army in the shape of the Provisional IRA, one that had no compunction about the sectarian slaughter of civilians. As hostilities intensified and the carnage mounted, the battle was joined by equally ruthless groups of loyalist terrorists working in

tandem with renegade members of the security forces. It quickly became a war replete with agents and double-agents, touts and sleepers, mercenaries and madmen in which, particularly towards the end, it was difficult to work out who was fighting whom. The events examined by the Oireachtas committee’s report are a small sample of the outrages perpetrated during the Troubles. The committee, chaired by the Fianna Fail TD Sean Ardagh, held hearings into nine atrocities on both sides of the border between 1972 and 1976 in which 18 people were killed. The incidents included the bombing of pubs in Dundalk and Castleblayney, the murder of three members of the Reavey family in Markethill, Co Armagh, and the shooting of three members of the Miami Showband near Newry in 1975. It found that collusion inspired most, if not all, of the attacks, revealing evidence of intelligence sharing between members of the RUC and the Ulster Defence Regiment and outlawed loyalist terror groups

such as the Ulster Volunteer Force. Little of this is new. It follows earlier investigations into these attacks by a former supreme court judge, Henry Barron. The report’s central findings are also likely to be confirmed by the senior counsel Patrick McEntee’s inquiry into the 1974 Dublin and Monaghan bombings. With the pattern of collusion well established by these and other inquiries, it’s time to draw a line under this squalid affair. Bertie Ahern should use his close working relationship with Mr Blair to encourage the prime minister to formulate a credible response that offers some degree of closure for victims’ families, while recognising the changes in attitudes on all sides. It should not be forgotten, however, that the officers and agents involved in collusion were far from representative of the British security forces. Many courageous men and women risked and, in many cases, gave their lives to protect citizens from the actions of homicidal extremists. For

their fate there have been no expressions of remorse.