11 June 1998 Edition
RUC put lives in danger
The lives of women and children in the Beechmount area of West Belfast were endangered last week when crown forces carried out two controlled explosions on a suspicious device without first alerting the residents or clearing the area.
The RUC had visited the house where the device was planted on two occasions.
The incident happened on Wednesday 3 June at 8.00am. An Phoblacht spoke to two residents who do not wished to be named.
The first, a single mother with a 21 month old baby, was awoken when the explosions shook her home in Beechmount Crescent. She rushed outside to find that the street had not even been cordoned off by the RUC. One RUC man claimed that they had tried to evacuate the area at 6am. However, when she phoned Grovesnor RUC barracks and spoke to a Sergeant Moneypenny she was told that there had been a shift change at that time and no attempt at evacuation had taken place. The woman said, ``I was appalled at their casual attitude and the way they just dismissed my fears.'' She will be making a formal complaint.
Another young mother, who is also making a formal complaint, was awakened from 7.00am and verified that the police had not alerted anyone. She added that after the operation the RUC laughed and jeered at her as they left the area.
Gerry Adams has condemned the ``cavalier attitude'' of the RUC saying, ``clearly residents, many with young families, were deeply shocked and extremely upset that they had not been informed and moved to safety. This callous disregard for the safety of people living in nationalist areas once again demonstrates the ineffectiveness of the RUC highlighting the need for a community-based policing service which has the interested of those it serves at heart.''
The RUC had visited the house where the device was planted on two occasions.
The incident happened on Wednesday 3 June at 8.00am. An Phoblacht spoke to two residents who do not wished to be named.
The first, a single mother with a 21 month old baby, was awoken when the explosions shook her home in Beechmount Crescent. She rushed outside to find that the street had not even been cordoned off by the RUC. One RUC man claimed that they had tried to evacuate the area at 6am. However, when she phoned Grovesnor RUC barracks and spoke to a Sergeant Moneypenny she was told that there had been a shift change at that time and no attempt at evacuation had taken place. The woman said, ``I was appalled at their casual attitude and the way they just dismissed my fears.'' She will be making a formal complaint.
Another young mother, who is also making a formal complaint, was awakened from 7.00am and verified that the police had not alerted anyone. She added that after the operation the RUC laughed and jeered at her as they left the area.
Gerry Adams has condemned the ``cavalier attitude'' of the RUC saying, ``clearly residents, many with young families, were deeply shocked and extremely upset that they had not been informed and moved to safety. This callous disregard for the safety of people living in nationalist areas once again demonstrates the ineffectiveness of the RUC highlighting the need for a community-based policing service which has the interested of those it serves at heart.''