Paisley setting-up people for assassination
Up to two dozen men named in the House of Commons by Ian Paisley are
now in living in fear of their lives.
Ian Paisley, on Wednesday 27 January, used parliamentary privilege to
read out a list of names which he claimed were IRA members and were
involved in attacks which go as far back as 23 years ago. Paisley has
claimed that the information came from an RUC dossier.
Paisley said, ``there is obviously something seriously wrong with any
country - and any government - that permits known killers to walk the
streets with impunity, while their victims lie in cold graves''. This
statement has created a genuine fear as to what the DUP man's true
intentions are, with many of those named along with those who share
the same names, now fearing for their lives.
Ian Paisley named father of seven Eugene Reavey as being involved in
an attack in which ten Protestants were killed in 1976. However, Mr
Reavey was making arrangements for the funeral of his two brothers
and visiting the other in hospital, the three of whom were shot by
loyalists the previous day.
Stressing his innocence he pointed out that he has never even been
questioned by the RUC and has accused Paisley of putting his life in
danger.
Many others who were named have protested their innocence in equally
strong terms.
Gerry Adams has said that an RUC dossier leaked to the DUP leader
amounted to ``collusion'' and added that the named people had been
``set-up'' as potential targets for loyalist death squads.
Bairbre de Brun, Sinn Fein spokeperson on policing, added, ``Once
again we have evidence of the extent to which elements within the RUC
are prepared to use their position to collude in the provision of
information to loyalist and other elements.
``It is a fact that thousands of files on nationalists have been given
over the years to loyalist death squads, from within the ranks of the
RUC. Hundreds have died as a result''.
This is not the first time that MPs have used the House of Commons in
order to set people up for assassination. In one of the first
instances Reverend William McCrea, also of the DUP, named Sinn Fein
councillor John Davey from County Derry as a member of the IRA. Davey
was shot dead by loyalists in February 1989.
Civil rights lawyer Pat Finucane, who had represented many charged
with Republican offences, was shot dead by loyalists shortly after
claims were made in the House that some solicitors were sympathetic
to Republicans. Ardoyne man Eddie Copeland was named as a Republican
and was later the victim of a loyalist assassination attempt.
This latest move by Paisley comes soon after the revelation that the
weapons which were being used by the Orange Volunteers and the Red
Hand Defenders have come from the same shipment which was bought by
MI5 in South Africa and supplied to various loyalist groups including
the Ulster Resistance Movement of which Paisley was a founder member.
The DUP leader has indicated that he may carry out similar actions in
the future with him naming more of what he regards as IRA members.
Such actions will undoubtedly place many innocent peoples lives in
danger especially since the revelation that members of the new
Assembly will have the same privileges as MPs in the House of Commons
and will be able to name people without facing libel claims.
Meanwhile claims by the RUC that the files passed on to Paisley were
not RUC files have been dismissed as an attempt by the RUC to cover
up their collusion. Bairbre de Brun added, `this collusion, and its
cover-up by the RUC, are two reasons why the RUC is unacceptable to
the nationalist community, and why there must be a new policing
service'.
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