Rosemary Nelson Centre

A Chairde

Living as part of the Irish Catholic diaspora in the west of Scotland, I have over the years been all too well aware of how isolated and cushioned from the harsh reality faced on a daily basis by our family and friends in the Six Counties we have been. On Monday afternoon that reality intruded a little bit closer into my own life than it has never done before.

Early in the afternoon, I phoned my friend Paul O'Connor at the Pat Finucane Centre in Derry to enquire as to how the court case involving the McBride family had gone last week. I realised straight away that Paul was deeply upset, indeed he sounded to me as if he was in a state of shock. It turned out that he had only just heard over the phone that his friend Rosemary Nelson had been seriously (indeed as it quickly thereafter transpired, fatally) injured in a bomb attack on her car.

It is only over the past year or so I have become aware of the work done by the Pat Finucane Centre on behalf of the community, indeed at a distance I have tried to help it as best I can, in the only way I can, by doing some backround research as well as by writing letters to various newspapers (mainly about the Peter McBride case). I therefore recently read with great interest the report produced by Rosemary Nelson and Paul O'Connor, among others,about Pat Finucane's death.

And now this! Words fail me.

On behalf not only of myself and my family, but also on behalf of Tom and Sandra Smith, proprietors of McCormick's Bar, Bellshill, and all their staff and customers, may I convey to Paul, Rosemary's husband, and to her children Gavin, Christopher and Sarah, their relatives and friends, which so obviously includes her many clients, our deepest and heartfelt sympathy. They will all be in our prayers at this time and in the future.

To Rosemary's friend and colleague, and my friend, Paul O'Connor, I simply pledge that I will help him both with his next report into the death of a lawyer and in establishing a Rosemary Nelson Centre - if that is what her family and friends want.

Hugh McLoughlin

A Chairde

It appears that the truth is beginning to emerge for all to see as regards the doings of the RUC and the British army in the North of Ireland. It is a familiar story, indeed very like the recent exposé of the Met in the Lawrence case.

Black and Asian people in Britain have always been aware of the racism and insensitivity of the police and did not need to be told by a white establishment figure like MacPherson that they were discriminated against. Now the parallel is drawn very clearly between the Met and the RUC, as regards how much they can be trusted by sections of their respective societies. Although they are different countries they are motivated by the same prejudice and malice.

The latest revelations from a loyalist terror group member, Bobby Philpot, completely blows out of the water any denials from the authorities now. This of course is nothing new to the nationalists in the North of Ireland and when they tried to get this heard ten years ago, John Stevens, Deputy Chief Constable of Cambridge claimed there ``was no institutional collusion''. Sounds familiar?

Some years ago a friend of mine was told by the RUC that his files had been ``mislaid''. He was then advised to ``tighten his security''. They ended by telling him that there was nothing they could do. Smiling broadly, they then bid him goodbye and cheerily said they'd see him around. They obviously enjoyed every minute of this.

Files are kept on thousands of people in the North of Ireland, of course, and they do not have to be particularly active in politics. Besides Sinn Fein members, ordinary nationalists and also peace activists can expect to have extensive files held on them. Pretty scary when these are passed on to the likes of the killers of the UFF, UDA, etc.

Stephen Lawrence's case has brought some of the worms out of the can in this country. Let us hope this will be true of the situation in Ireland. Even people who might not want to know these things will be forced to see the corruption and evil of the British presence in Ireland.

The truth will out, even if it takes a long time. Now let us demand that something is done about it, like the disbanding of the RUC. They have taken part in terrorism in Ireland for many years and nothing less will do. The nationalist people cannot trust the RUC any more than black people can trust the Met in this country.

Val Cardwell
Islington.