Plastic Bullets Kill

By Yamila Petruschansky

A new report into the use of plastic bullets in the North says that two in every five plastic bullet injuries inflicted during the 1996 Drumcree standoff were potentially life-threatening.

The report, carried out by five of the North's most senior doctors and published in the Journal of Trauma Injury, Infection and Critical care, revealed that 39 per cent of the 8,165 plastic bullets were fired during Drumcree crisis were life-threatening.

The doctors noted that in the past, injuries to the face, head and neck were considered to be potentially life-threating but now, as a result of their survey, they considered injuries inflicted to the body from the abdomen up to the head as constituting a risk to life.

The survey noted that during the 1996 Drumcree crisis,19 per cent of injuries were to the face, head and neck while 20 per cent were to the chest and abdomen.

In that period, 42 people were admitted to hospital, three requiring intensive care.

Since plastic and rubber bullets were introduced into the Six Counties by the British army in 1973, 17 people have been killed, seven of which were children.

Its predecessor, the rubber bullet, first used in 1970, resulted in three deaths and many serious injuries, but the British government withdrew it, saying its inaccuracy led to the serious injury rates.

The plastic bullet, however, despite the death and injury it has caused, is still in use with the British government refusing to withdraw it.

Jim McCabe, from the United Campaign Against Plastic Bullets, (UCAPB) speaking to An Phoblacht, said that he was not ``surprised of the results of the investigation''.

``These bullets are fired at any part of the body, ignoring the rule that they should not be fired at determined parts of the body. Theoretically, plastic bullets should be fired at the lower part of a target's body and from a distance greater than 20 metres.

``People who abused this rule do not just ignore this rule but all the rules for the use of plastic bullets. The British Army and RUC have clearly broken the law because they have shown they intended to inflict serious injury or death. In all the cases where people died, the British Army and RUC were not protecting life or property.''

McCabe, whose wife, Nora, was killed by a plastic bullet, fired by the RUC, in 1981 during the Hunger Strike, added: ``The result of inquests have shown that the people killed were innocent. These people were shot in the upper body, head and chest and were totally innocent.

``We welcome the fact that the medical profession publicly supports the view that the rules covering the use of this weapon have been ignored with impunity. The report also supports the opinion that the British Army and RUC were totally unconcerned for the lives of innocent men, women and children.''

He called once again for a total ban on the use of plastic bullets.