BY SARA DUDDY
The truth costs nothing; Set the truth free; Time for truth; For many victims and survivors of the conflict their demand seems modest enough- they want to know the truth about what happened to their loved one(s). Why did they die? How did they die? Who was responsible?
Making this simple demand a reality is, for some, much less straightforward.
Two weeks ago, the family of Kathleen Thompson [pictured above going into their mother's inquest] faced the soldier who shot their mother 47 years ago. It came to light that the soldier had, in fact, identified himself to the authorities in 2002 when he wrote to the RUC and asked for his details not to be released following coverage of the case in the Derry News and Derry Journal.
According to the Ministry of Defence (MOD) the other soldiers directly involved in the incident, soldiers A, B, and C, have not been traced.
The MOD maintain that they don’t keep records of soldiers involved in fatal shootings in the north. Soldiers were not required to attend inquests, their statements were read and a note with the identity of the soldier passed to the coroner and back again, then ripped up. No record was kept beyond this. Well, this is what they tell families demanding answers.
In 2013 an advocate from a peace school in Italy spoke at a conference in the Guildhall about the 1944 Nazi massacre of Monte Sole. Fascist forces slaughtered 800 people, mostly women and children. The names of the Nazis involved in the massacre are known. How? They were provided by the British Ministry of Defence!
Yet we are to believe that the names of those involved in the deaths of over 300 people killed on our streets thirty years after WWII are unknown.
Silence
Obfuscation and obstruction are not confined to the Ministry of Defence.
Next year it will be fifty years since Sammy Devenny (42) died from injuries sustained at the hands of the RUC at his home in William Street. Sammy had eight children aged from three to 21 years old, some of whom were at home and were themselves beaten by the RUC after they burst into their home in April 1969.
Following Sammy’s death three months later, the RUC Chief Constable Arthur Young took the unprecedented decision of calling in an independent police force. Detective Chief Superintendent Kenneth Drury from the Metropolitan Police in London set up an incident room above a shop in William Street to investigate the incident.
He was met with a ‘conspiracy of silence’ from within the ranks of the RUC. The officers involved in the attack were allegedly never identified, disciplined or prosecuted. To add insult to injury the Devenny family were never provided the report compiled by DCS Drury. The findings were paraphrased by the Police Ombudsman in 2001 following a complaint by the family.
Why are we talking about this now?
The Metropolitan Police have confirmed that they have two files relating to Sammy Devenny’s death police but refuse to provide them to the family. They were reclassified in 2012 in order to keep them closed for a further ten years.
The families of those killed by plastics bullets, including 11-year-old Stephen McConomy and 15-year-old Paul Whitters, are aware that documents concerning the testing and use of these weapons have been closed until 2071. Repeat - 2071!
The fact is that hiding the truth costs a lot.
At the opening session of the Thompson inquest counsel for the coroner outlined the legal and investigative journey the family have been through to arrive at this point. Multiple judicial reviews to confirm that the ‘investigation’ by the Royal Military Police was indeed flawed and unlawful, a biased ‘investigation’ by the Historical Enquiries Team, an application to the Attorney General, countless preliminary hearings.
It was shocking to hear counsel outline in black and white over twenty years of challenges by the Thompson family before the Ministry of Defence and British government were forced to respect and uphold their right to proper investigation into the death of their mother. This right is enshrined in both domestic and international law.
Many other families are still fighting for the truth and will continue to do so. This includes the family of Sean Dalton, who died in the Good Samaritan IRA bombing in 1988. The Dalton family are appealing the refusal of the Attorney General to grant them a new inquest.
On the table since 2014 is a framework to deal with the legacy of the past that includes the establishment of various bodies including an investigative mechanism with full policing powers. The bodies, as outlined in the Stormont House Agreement, have been agreed by the British and Irish governments and all the political parties however how the framework is implemented is awaiting public consultation. They could go some way in providing a level of truth, accountability and justice that victims and survivors deserve and are legally entitled to.
* Sara Duddy is a human rights advocate.
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