After BBC Panorama League Say Open Files on Dirty War

This news published by the Celtic League:

After BBC Panorama League Say Open Files on Dirty War

NEWS FROM THE CELTIC LEAGUE

The Celtic League has written to the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Theresa Villiers MP, following last weeks BBC Panorama programme which covered the extent of collusion between British security forces and paramilitaries in murders and bombings committed on both sides of the border during ‘the troubles’.

The League says:

“It is shameful that twenty years into the ‘peace process’ these victims still have to press for inquests to be held or seek judicial reviews in an attempt to get at the truth.”

The programme revealed that the names of all of those who organized the collusion, some at very senior levels in the military and government, are known but are being protected by a failure to release information.

The League also says:

“It is quite shocking that 15 years into the twenty-first century we know more about the evils perpetrated by the Stasi in east Germany than we do about the collusion of your country’s Security Forces in murders committed in Ireland”.

The correspondence to Ms Villiers is set out below. The documentary presented by BBC NI journalist Darragh MacIntyre is at the link below.

“The Secretary of State,
Theresa Villiers,
NIO, 1 Horse Guards Road ,
London
SW1A 2HQ

1st June 2015

Dear Minister

The programme last week by BBC Panorama ‘Britain’s Secret Terror Deals’ set out starkly the sheer depth of collusion between the Security Forces and paramilitaries over many years.

The most moving element of the programme however was not the analytic outline of the horrific murders undertaken but the quiet determination even after all these years of the victims and their relatives to obtain justice. It is shameful that twenty years into the ‘peace process’ these victims still have to press for inquests to be held or seek judicial reviews in an attempt to get at the truth.

Fundamental to their quest for justice is the release of all information on this shameful episode in British history relating to the operation of the Army, its specialised counter-insurgency units and the Security Services.

It is quite shocking that 15 years into the twenty-first century we know more about the evils perpetrated by the Stasi in east Germany than we do about the collusion of your countries Security Forces in murders committed in Ireland, on both sides of the border.

Successive British governments bring shame on themselves and the British people by refusing to be open about this dark period.

Can, we wonder, there ever be a successful and lasting ‘peace process’ when this ‘baggage of secret files’ on unsolved crimes perpetrated on both sides of the border against every section of the community remains hidden.

We urge you to conclude your tenure (however long that is) as Secretary of State for N. Ireland with a legacy of openness.

Yours sincerely

J B Moffatt (Mr)
Director of Information”

Link:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b05x8gzs/panorama-britains-secret-t...

J B Moffatt (Mr)
Director of Information
Celtic League

01/06/15

(Please note that replies to correspondence received by the League and posted on CL News are usually scanned hard copies. Obviously every effort is made to ensure the scanning process is accurate but sometimes errors do occur.)

ISSUED BY THE CELTIC LEAGUE INFORMATION SERVICE.

The Celtic League was established in 1961and has branches in the six Celtic Countries. It works to promote cooperation between these countries and campaigns on a broad range of political, cultural and environmental matters. It highlights human rights abuse, monitors all military activity and focuses on socio-economic issues

Download our News App for Android here.

Internet site at:

http://celticleague.net

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/celtic_league/

#celticleague