11 December 1997 Edition
Not such open minds
By Mary Nelis
``Loose talk costs lives''. Remember that old slogan which used to be written on walls all over nationalist areas? It's true that language and its relationship to the war in the North has profoundly affected our perceptions of events over the past 30 years. Certain words and phrases have become familiar only to those of us who live here, words like clarification, decommissioning, phrases like shoot-to-kill, the wrong place at the wrong time, loose talk.
My favourite is the phrase used by the RUC when they want to cover the truth about some ghastly deed. ``Keeping an open mind,'' was how they announced the brutal murder of Gerard Devlin, a respected member of the GAA and father of two children. It was the RUC ``first strike'' report and a deliberate example of how reports of incidents involving loyalist paramilitaries can be distorted to create the impression that such incidents had no sectarian involvement.
The instant the RUC stated that they were ``keeping an open mind'' on this brutal murder, the entire nationalist population of the North knew that this was a sectarian murder carried out by the loyalist paramilitaries specialising of attacks on pubs, bookies shops, taxi firms, mobile shops and GAA clubs.
The RUC, loyal collaborators that they are, kept an open mind on the murder for these days, until it became such a media farce that Ronnie Flanagan was wheeled on to admit it was sectarian. Apart from the news value of the open mindedness of the RUC, such announcements usually give the killers ample time to go to ground.
The propagandists for the RUC officers understand the importance of the first report, the first headline, which goes out over the wire taps, the satellites and the Internet.
Most RUC press statements are formulated to avoid showing loyalist connections to the murder of nationalists. Indeed, the impression is created that such murders have no paramilitary connections, unless of course there is republican involvement.
The RUC Press Office then goes into overdrive. If the international media picked up the RUC report of Mr Devlin's murder, they could be forgiven for believing he died in a pub brawl, for it was reported initially as a neutral death.
The budget for the RUC and British army propaganda machine must be collossal, since we know from event such as Bloody Sunday and Gibraltar that the first reports relating to those tragic events were written before the actual happenings.
Even though such reports are later exposed as lies and distortions of the truth, the media, with few exceptions, are willing accomplices in the British government propaganda war in the North.
Investigative journalists are an endangered species. How often have we heard of the media sitting in posh hotels, waiting for the press release of events from RUC headquarters?
We are now in a situation where the peace talks are being used by the British government in a plea bargaining scenario with loyalist paramilitaries, in an effort to keep on board the unionist community as a whole. The role of loyalist organisations in the murder of Catholics must be played down.
``Keeping an open mind'' simply means that despite the best efforts of those sincerely committed to trying to find a resolution within the talks, the RUC and the Intelligence Services have decided the nationalist community should be exposed to the loyalist death squads.
This scenario was clearly illustrated by Ronnie Flanagan after the attack on the residents of Garvaghy Road when he stated that if he re-routed the Orange march, loyalist paramilitaries would kill Catholic civilians. The march was not re-routed and Catholics are continually being murdered.
Ronnie Flanagan feels no obligation to protect them. Such pronouncements by the Head of the RUC gives the clear impression that the murder of Catholics is viewed as an essential political tactic to keep loyalists in the talks. But then Unionist leadership, the law and order brigade, have not called for their expulsion. And the media has decided that Gerard Devlin's death is part of an acceptable level of Catholic murders.
``Loose talk costs lives''. Remember that old slogan which used to be written on walls all over nationalist areas? It's true that language and its relationship to the war in the North has profoundly affected our perceptions of events over the past 30 years. Certain words and phrases have become familiar only to those of us who live here, words like clarification, decommissioning, phrases like shoot-to-kill, the wrong place at the wrong time, loose talk.
My favourite is the phrase used by the RUC when they want to cover the truth about some ghastly deed. ``Keeping an open mind,'' was how they announced the brutal murder of Gerard Devlin, a respected member of the GAA and father of two children. It was the RUC ``first strike'' report and a deliberate example of how reports of incidents involving loyalist paramilitaries can be distorted to create the impression that such incidents had no sectarian involvement.
The instant the RUC stated that they were ``keeping an open mind'' on this brutal murder, the entire nationalist population of the North knew that this was a sectarian murder carried out by the loyalist paramilitaries specialising of attacks on pubs, bookies shops, taxi firms, mobile shops and GAA clubs.
The RUC, loyal collaborators that they are, kept an open mind on the murder for these days, until it became such a media farce that Ronnie Flanagan was wheeled on to admit it was sectarian. Apart from the news value of the open mindedness of the RUC, such announcements usually give the killers ample time to go to ground.
The propagandists for the RUC officers understand the importance of the first report, the first headline, which goes out over the wire taps, the satellites and the Internet.
Most RUC press statements are formulated to avoid showing loyalist connections to the murder of nationalists. Indeed, the impression is created that such murders have no paramilitary connections, unless of course there is republican involvement.
The RUC Press Office then goes into overdrive. If the international media picked up the RUC report of Mr Devlin's murder, they could be forgiven for believing he died in a pub brawl, for it was reported initially as a neutral death.
The budget for the RUC and British army propaganda machine must be collossal, since we know from event such as Bloody Sunday and Gibraltar that the first reports relating to those tragic events were written before the actual happenings.
Even though such reports are later exposed as lies and distortions of the truth, the media, with few exceptions, are willing accomplices in the British government propaganda war in the North.
Investigative journalists are an endangered species. How often have we heard of the media sitting in posh hotels, waiting for the press release of events from RUC headquarters?
We are now in a situation where the peace talks are being used by the British government in a plea bargaining scenario with loyalist paramilitaries, in an effort to keep on board the unionist community as a whole. The role of loyalist organisations in the murder of Catholics must be played down.
``Keeping an open mind'' simply means that despite the best efforts of those sincerely committed to trying to find a resolution within the talks, the RUC and the Intelligence Services have decided the nationalist community should be exposed to the loyalist death squads.
This scenario was clearly illustrated by Ronnie Flanagan after the attack on the residents of Garvaghy Road when he stated that if he re-routed the Orange march, loyalist paramilitaries would kill Catholic civilians. The march was not re-routed and Catholics are continually being murdered.
Ronnie Flanagan feels no obligation to protect them. Such pronouncements by the Head of the RUC gives the clear impression that the murder of Catholics is viewed as an essential political tactic to keep loyalists in the talks. But then Unionist leadership, the law and order brigade, have not called for their expulsion. And the media has decided that Gerard Devlin's death is part of an acceptable level of Catholic murders.