24/08/2007
by Paul Donovan, Irish Post
There are striking similarities between the way in which the cases of Brazilian Jean Charles De Menezes and Irish solicitor Pat Finucane have been dealt with by the British state.
Since Jean Charles de Menezes was shot dead by the Metropolitan Police on 22 July 2005, his family have been deceived and denied full disclosure of the reports conducted by the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC).
The family and friends have been effectively stopped from properly grieving as they strive to obtain truth and justice for the loss of their loved one.
Unfortunately, the De Menezes family are proceeding down a well trodden path of impunity and denial. The Finucanes are another family that has been fighting for truth and justice for the past 18 years. It was on 12 February 1989 that Belfast solicitor Pat Finucane was shot dead by Loyalist paramilitaries at home in front of his wife and children. Lord John Stevens, the former Metropolitan Police Commissioner, conducted an exhaustive inquiry into the murder of Mr Finucane. As a result, Loyalist paramilitary Ken Barrett was convicted for the murder, serving just under two years. However, Lord Stevens investigation revealed a whole labryinth of collusion between security agencies working for the state in Northern Ireland and Loyalist paramilitaries. Prominent republican figures like Mr Finucane were effectively being targeted for execution.
The Finucane case is a cause of major embarassment to the British Government. Many believe the collusive structures that resulted in the murder of Finucane reached right up to Downing Street. Lord Stevens has already declared that then Home Office minister Douglas Hogg was ompromised. Weeks before Mr Finucane‚s death Mr Hogg had declared in the House of Commons, that "some solicitors were unduly sympathetic to the IRA."
The Finucane family have insisted from the start that they wanted a full independent public judicial inquiry into the murder. They have been backed in this call by lawyers, human rights bodies like Amnesty International and the UN Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers. Even an investigation set up jointly by the British and Irish Governments and conducted by Canadian Judge Peter Cory recommended a full public inquiry. However, to this day the British Government has refused to acede to the demand.
Indeed, just as the De Menezes family have been denied access to the first report of the IPCC into the shooting of Jean Charles De Menezes so the Finucane family have not seen the full report compiled by Lord Stevens. Both the IPCC report and the Stevens report remain unpublished.
Many believe that it was the danger of what would be revealed if there were a full inquiry into the Finucane murder that led the Government to bring in the Inquiries Act (IA). The IA effectively hands control of any public inquiry to the minister concerned. So the minister can decide the terms of reference, appoint each member of the inquiry panel, dismiss members of the inquiry, decide whether there will be public access, decide on disclosure of evidence and whether the final report will be published. Following the Cory inquiries, investigations under the IA were set up into the murders of lawyer Rosemary Nelson, nationalist Robert Hamill and Loyalist paramilitary Billy Wright. The Finucane case remains deadlocked because the family will not accept an inquiry under the restrictions of the IA while the British Government refuse to look at any other option.
What both the De Menezes and Finucane cases prove is the existence of a culture of cover up and collusion at the heart of government. Time management appears to be the watch word. The families are kept waiting years while they battle away seeking the truth. Annoucements come few and far between. The first is usually that there will be no prosecutions of those from state agencies involved. There is then more delay while inquiries are conducted that never see the light of day.
This approach helps neither the families concerned or the public interest. The lack of accountability means that similar acts will be repeated in the future.
The families of those who have died and the wider public deserve better. There must be full publication of any reports conducted into wrongdoing.
If a full open public inquiry is needed - as the Finucane family are demanding - then that must take place. There also need to be actions taken against those found culpable thereby bringing accountability and restoring public confidence in the system.
SOURCE: Irish Post
|
