Britain guilty over Gibraltar Justice at last

An Phoblacht/Republican News, 28 September 1995

The British government has treated with ill-concealed contempt the judgement of the European Court of Human Rights which condemns the killing of three IRA Volunteers by British forces in Gibraltar in March 1988. British Deputy Prime Minister Michael Heseltine totally rejected the decision and said it would encourage a terrorist mentality.

Heseltine said plainly that British forces would do the same again as they did that March day when the SAS shot down Sean Savage, Daniel McCann and Mairead Farrell. The three Volunteers were unarmed and had been under surveillance for days by both the Spanish police and the British. It is clear from all the evidence that they were allowed into a carefully-laid trap with the aim of executing them.

The go-ahead was given by Margaret Thatcher herself. The killings were immediately followed by a cover-up with lies from the British Ministry of Defence which falsely stated that a suspected bomb had been found in Gibraltar.

Now the government which boasts of its adherence to the rule of law is dismissing the European Court judgement. But the ruling stands and not since the court's judgment on torture in internment camps in the Six Counties in the '70s has Britain been so exposed internationally. The Gibraltar killings were just three of nearly 400 carried out by British forces in their Irish war. Only a handful of those forces have ever been prosecuted, let alone convicted. Now the entire military and legal apparatus which has been used to fight Britain's war has been challenged before the world.

British government found guilty

In an historic decision the European Court of Human Rights has found the British government guilty of violating Article Two of the European Convention which protects a person's right to life. In the first decision of its kind against a government, the court stated that the British had failed to uphold the standard expected of a democratic government when they shot dead three IRA Volunteers in Gibraltar in 1988.

The verdict, announced on Wednesday September 27th, was described by the relatives' legal representative, Barra McGrory, as of enormous significance. It has obvious implications for others, such as relatives of those killed at Loughgall, Bloody Sunday, and others who have been victims of Britain's shoot-to-kill' policy. The way is now open for many who have been denied justice by the legal system of the Six Counties.

The events surrounding the deaths of the three, Mairead Farrell, Daniel McCann and Sean Savage, on March 6,1988 are now well known. However, from day one the British government tried to suppress the truth about these events, and so justify the actions of the SAS and of themselves.

Despite statements by British ministers, it soon became clear that far from posing a threat, the three were unarmed, and indeed, as witnesses stated, Mairead Farrell and Daniel McCann, had their hands raised and Sean Savage was shot in the back. This SAS operation was described by the European Court as careless and negligent of the right to life, and there was no justification for such use of force.

The reaction to the verdict has been widespread; it has ranged from the predictable attempt by British ministers to undermine the significance of the judgement, to that of human-rights organisations who have welcomed the decision. British deputy prime minister, Micheal Heseltine, stated that the European decision was incredible, that the British government intended to ignore the Court, and they were going to do nothing about it.

A spokesperson for Amnesty International challenged these remarks, pointing out that the judgement although not legally binding said that the right to life had not been adequately protected. Adding that the European verdict had profound implications for the [British] government, the spokesperson hoped that it would build-up pressure for change.

BRITISH REACTION

DAMNING VERDICT

The Committee for the Administration of Justice (CAJ) found the verdict equally damning, stating that without doubt it necessitates a fundamental overhaul of law and practice as regards the use of force by the security forces. They added: A government which has freely committed itself to respect the minimum standards of the European Convention on Human Rights must not only respect these basic human rights, but also the judgement of the court.

Fianna Fail also recognised the significance of the judgement, and in a statement their spokesperson for foreign affairs Ray Burke stated that the British government had from time to time resorted to terrorism, using their own paramilitary forces, the SAS and special units of the RUC.

The European Court did not believe the lies, the excuses, the smears and the cover-up that emanated from the highest level and that were echoed in a disreputable manner in sections of the British press, he said.

Niall Farrell, Mairead's brother, on behalf of the families said that, with the court decision, they had been totally vindicated in what we said.

The relatives' legal representative, Barra McGrory, pointed out the legal implications of the case which had highlighted the inadequacy of the domestic procedings which had been abruptly terminated by the use of public interest immunity certificates.

WITNESS VILIFIED

A key eye-witness to the shootings, Carmen Proetta, who was villified by the British press, said that she was very pleased for the families. She added that it was sad that it should have happened, but justice had been done in the end.

Sinn Fein President, Gerry Adams, welcomed the landmark decision by the European Court. He pointed out that this guilty verdict is only the tip of the iceberg in Britain's long 'dirty war' in Ireland; a war in which almost 400 people have died at the hands of the British state forces.

There is now a clear need for a full, independent and internationally based judicial investigation into all disputed killings by British forces.