|
|
JUNE
2001
NORTHERN IRELAND IS
ONCE AGAIN ON THE BRINK
The outcome of the
general election and district council elections in Northern Ireland showed that
unionism is split and positions in both the nationalist and unionist communities
have polarised. Sinn Féin and the
Democratic Unionist Party have made significant gains at the expense of the SDLP
and the UUP. For a full analysis of
the results, visit our website at http://www.birw.org.
David Trimble’s threat to resign as First Minister if the IRA does not
de-commission its weapons by the end of this month has turned a problem into a
crisis. Once again the Assembly may
have to be put on hold. And waiting
to rush in to the political vacuum is Drumcree.
Serious rioting in Ardoyne in recent days has shown what may be in store,
and has seen the RUC deploying the new type of supposedly non-lethal plastic
bullets, albeit under scrutiny by the Police Ombudsman.
It is deeply
troubling that against this background many people in Northern Ireland,
including lawyers and relatives of people murdered in the conflict, have
recently received warnings from the RUC that their names have been found on a
loyalist computer. The RUC has
advised people to look to their personal safety, but has given them so little
information about the threat they face that this advice is more ominous than
helpful. British Irish Rights
Watch has written to the Secretary of State, John Reid, asking for better
details. We anxiously await his
response.
submission to the
un human rights committee
Later this year the United Nations will again assess the UK’s human rights record. British Irish Rights Watch has put in a detailed submission, suggesting a number of questions for the Human Rights Committee to pose to the UK delegation, ranging from collusion to abuse of lethal force to ill-treatment to human rights education, and much more. A copy of our submission is available on our website. On July 2nd the Committee will hear oral submissions in Geneva from NGOs concerning their examination of the UK. Fiona Murphy will attend on our behalf.
A
UK-WIDE HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION?
The parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights has sent out a consultation document on the question of whether there should be a Human Rights Commission for the UK. We have responded, arguing for strong local commissions in Northern Ireland, England, Wales and Scotland, and for an umbrella UK-wide commission made up of representatives from the local commissions. A copy of our response is available on our website.
CHRISTIE WALSH
The Northern
Ireland Court of Appeal heard Christie Walsh’s appeal on 11th June
after the Criminal Cases Review Commission referred his case back to them.
Katie Wiik attended as our observer.
Judgment was reserved and is still awaited.
We hope that Christie Walsh will not have to wait much longer in his
quest for justice.
ROSEMARY
NELSON
June saw a spate of
arrests by Colin Port’s police team. Although
so far no-one has been charged with any offence relating to the murder in1999 of
Lurgan solicitor Rosemary Nelson, two people have been charged with other
murders. Jim Fulton has been
charged with the murder of Elizabeth O’Neill, who died in a pipe bomb attack
on her home in June 1999. Muriel
Gibson has been charged with the 1998 murder of council worker Adrian Lamph.
A number of other people have been charged or reported to the Director of
Public Prosecutions concerning a range of terrorist offences.
bloody sunday
We are extremely grateful to the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust for agreeing to extend their funding for our independent observer at the Bloody Sunday Inquiry. Catherine McKenna’s weekly reports on the often absorbing and frequently shocking revelations in Derry are available on our website. Her reports also provide a useful service to relatives of the dead and the injured, journalists, and lawyers who cannot always attend the hearings or need an impartial overview. No such reports were available when the infamous Widgery Tribunal conducted its whitewash. Now anyone who wants to scrutinise the new public inquiry can do so, without spending many hours wading through the transcripts.
JOHNNY ADAIR
On 19th June a UTV Insight programme in which I participated was broadcast concerning the revocation of loyalist Johnny Adair’s prison licence. British Irish Rights Watch is concerned that, during the hearing by the Sentence Review Commissioners to determine whether Johnny Adair should remain in jail after the Secretary of State revoked his licence, evidence was given against him in his absence and in the absence of his lawyer. That evidence partly decided his fate. Such a procedure is a clear breach of the right to a fair trial, which includes the right to know what offence you are charged with, the right to answer those charges and the right to counsel of your own choosing. No matter what a person is accused of, he or she is entitled to a fair trial and it is our job as a human rights groups that serves all sides of the community to speak out when someone’s human rights have been violated.
Intimidation
of defence lawyers
I am glad to report that, not before time, the RUC is drafting a Force Order setting out the proper relationship between police officers and lawyers. This is a very welcome development and we have offered to comment on the draft order, an offer which the RUC has accepted.
ireland
renews omagh laws
These laws, described by the Taoiseach as “draconian”, were brought in hastily in the wake of the appalling Real IRA bombing of Omagh in 1998 and were due to expire at the end of June, but have been renewed for a further year. British Irish Rights Watch has consistently argued against the use of special laws to combat terrorism. We say that they create a twin-track system of justice based on the alleged motivation of suspects and defendants which deprives those it is supposed to deter of crucial due process rights – such as the right to remain silent – thus giving rise to many claims of miscarriages of justice. The fight against terrorism needs to be normalised. The ordinary criminal law is perfectly adequate and its use would send a signal to dissident paramilitaries that they are marginalized.
winter
flees south
I will be on holiday in France from 29th June to 15th July. Normal service will resume on 16th July.
Jane Winter,
Director,
28th June 2001.
For Peace Justice & Human Rights
