Republican News · Thursday 31 January 2002

British attempting to cover-up killings

On Tuesday 19 November, another preliminary hearing into the scheduling of four inquests surrounding the killings of four men at Clonoe, three men at Coagh, both by the SAS, and 76-year-old pensioner Roseanne Mallon at Dungannon, in collusion with loyalists, opened at Cookstown Court House.

In the village of Coagh, Co Tyrone, Tony Doris, Lawrence McNally, and Pete Ryan, were ambushed and killed in 1991 by the SAS in a pre-planned operation.

At Clonoe in Coalisland, County Tyrone in 1992 the SAS ambushed and killed Kevin Barry O'Donnell, Peter Clancy, Sean O'Farrell, and Daniel Vincent, also in a pre-planned operation.

On the outskirts of Dungannon, County Tyrone, in 1994, loyalists shot dead Roseanne Mallon in her home. A neighbour accidentally stumbled upon sophisticated surveillance cameras trained on the pensioner's home. A covert British Army unit was also dug in and had been observing the Mallon home at the time of the killing. Statements from the covert unit, disclosed through civil action taken by the family, revealed that they were ordered not to act as the killing occurred.

In light of the European Court on Human Rights ruling (ECHR Article 2) condemning the way in which the British government has consistently failed to properly investigate state killings, including killings in which collusion is alleged, the families, through Róisín Uí Mhuirí, issued the following statement:

"The killings of our loved ones were unjust and unlawful. In two incidents there was ample opportunity to make arrests and prevent the loss of life, yet a very conscious decision was taken to kill our loved ones. Those responsible for that decision must now be made accountable. So too must those who carried out the killings.

"In the remaining incident loyalists were involved and collusion between the death squads and the State is widely believed and strongly evidenced.

"The inquest system is completely insufficient in terms of dealing comprehensively with the killings of our loved ones. Although four separate incidents, all of these killings occurred in highly controversial and disputed circumstances which to date remain contested and at variance with official versions of events provided by the State. If we are to have the full facts then we must have a full and proper examination of each of these killings.

"Additionally, the inquest system does not comply with international human rights standards nor the international obligations to which the British government has signed up to and which it are duty bound to uphold. The European Court of Human Rights recently highlighted this in relation to four very similar incidents.

"The implications of the European ruling mean that the investigations into the deaths of our loved ones must be reopened and independently examined. As yet in cases where state forces are implicated or involved in the taking of life, the British government has failed to implement proper independent investigative mechanisms that comply with international human rights agreements.

"This inquest, and the attempt to push it through in advance of any compliance with the European Court ruling, is in direct violation of those agreements and our rights as bereaved relatives. This is also a matter of public interest. A public that will increasingly ask what it is the British have to hide.

"The attempt to carry on with this inquest hearing will not determine the full facts nor will it bring to public attention exactly what happened when eight lives were violently taken. This is precisely the aim of the British. In

short, the State should not be investigating itself.

"The failure by the British Ministry of Defence to even provide the coroner with documentation surrounding the killings is further evidence that this inquest will not provide the necessary answers to the many outstanding issues around all of the killings.

"As a matter of urgency, we are now calling for proper independent investigations that comply with international human rights standards into these four incidents.

"Furthermore, we are in contact with the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Summary and Arbitrary Executions to also examine all of the killings.

"We will also be seeking urgent meetings with the British Secretary of State, Paul Murphy, and the Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs, Brian Cowen."