12 April 2001 Edition
The death of Colum Marks
BY LAURA FRIEL
No medical assistance was given. No ambulance was called. No one alerted the hospital that a seriously injured man was on his way. The hospital was just a minutes drive away but it was at least 30 minutes before the injured man arrived.
These are a few of the facts which have prompted the family of Colum Marks, an IRA Volunteer fatally wounded in an RUC shoot to kill operation in April 1991, to raise their concerns with the recently established Human Rights Commission.
ÒWe believe that anyone who examines Colum's case will see that he was denied basic human rights, said a spokesperson for the Marks family. They will conclude that there was never any justification for the shooting dead of Colum Marks.
To mark the tenth anniversary of Colum Marks death in Downpatrick, relatives and friends organised a vigil this week close to the scene where the 29-year-old IRA Volunteer was shot. Here are a few more facts.
Colum Marks was alone and unarmed at the time of the shooting. Armed RUC personnel had sealed all escape routes. No attempt was made to arrest him. Witnesses dispute the RUC claim that any warning was issued prior to the shooting.
Local residents saw flares prior to hearing the shooting. Evidence suggests that the RUC used the first flare to flush out their quarry and the second to illuminate their unarmed prey. The RUC, with the exception of one officer, claim flares were only used after the shooting.
The seriously wounded man, lying striken on the ground, was told to roll over and was handcuffed and his hands placed in forensic bags by the RUC but he was not searched. The RUC disinterest in looking for a weapon suggests that they already knew Colum was unarmed.
The RUC have admitted that immediately after the shooting Colum Marks was conscious and able to speak. A witness saw two RUC men drag the wounded Volunteer through a gateway, out of the field and down the side of an empty house. Abrasions on the body appear to confirm this.
Voices heard at the side of the house suggest that the seriously wounded man was interrogated before being thrown into the back of an RUC vehicle and driven to hospital. The RUC claim Colum Marks was taken to hospital within five minutes of the shooting but it was at least 30 minutes before he arrived.
The RUC have also admitted they had detailed prior knowledge of the IRA operation and knew the identities of the IRA unit planning to carry it out.
The RUC had ample information and time to secure arrests but instead allowed the operation to proceed. The only rationale for this was to establish a killing zone in which they intended to ambush the IRA unit in situ. The killing bears all the hallmarks of a classic shoot to kill operation.
ÒHis family need to establish the truth behind Colum's death, says a family spokesperson. We hope to highlight questions which need to be answered. We are asking for recognition of Colum Marks human rights.Ó
No medical assistance was given. No ambulance was called. No one alerted the hospital that a seriously injured man was on his way. The hospital was just a minutes drive away but it was at least 30 minutes before the injured man arrived.
These are a few of the facts which have prompted the family of Colum Marks, an IRA Volunteer fatally wounded in an RUC shoot to kill operation in April 1991, to raise their concerns with the recently established Human Rights Commission.
ÒWe believe that anyone who examines Colum's case will see that he was denied basic human rights, said a spokesperson for the Marks family. They will conclude that there was never any justification for the shooting dead of Colum Marks.
To mark the tenth anniversary of Colum Marks death in Downpatrick, relatives and friends organised a vigil this week close to the scene where the 29-year-old IRA Volunteer was shot. Here are a few more facts.
Colum Marks was alone and unarmed at the time of the shooting. Armed RUC personnel had sealed all escape routes. No attempt was made to arrest him. Witnesses dispute the RUC claim that any warning was issued prior to the shooting.
Local residents saw flares prior to hearing the shooting. Evidence suggests that the RUC used the first flare to flush out their quarry and the second to illuminate their unarmed prey. The RUC, with the exception of one officer, claim flares were only used after the shooting.
The seriously wounded man, lying striken on the ground, was told to roll over and was handcuffed and his hands placed in forensic bags by the RUC but he was not searched. The RUC disinterest in looking for a weapon suggests that they already knew Colum was unarmed.
The RUC have admitted that immediately after the shooting Colum Marks was conscious and able to speak. A witness saw two RUC men drag the wounded Volunteer through a gateway, out of the field and down the side of an empty house. Abrasions on the body appear to confirm this.
Voices heard at the side of the house suggest that the seriously wounded man was interrogated before being thrown into the back of an RUC vehicle and driven to hospital. The RUC claim Colum Marks was taken to hospital within five minutes of the shooting but it was at least 30 minutes before he arrived.
The RUC have also admitted they had detailed prior knowledge of the IRA operation and knew the identities of the IRA unit planning to carry it out.
The RUC had ample information and time to secure arrests but instead allowed the operation to proceed. The only rationale for this was to establish a killing zone in which they intended to ambush the IRA unit in situ. The killing bears all the hallmarks of a classic shoot to kill operation.
ÒHis family need to establish the truth behind Colum's death, says a family spokesperson. We hope to highlight questions which need to be answered. We are asking for recognition of Colum Marks human rights.Ó