McCARTNEY SPEECH

 

Speech by Jean Lambert MEP

Delivered to the Plenary, European Parliament, Strasbourg, 9 May 2005

This weekend, I attended a vigil in London to commemorate the 10th Anniversary of the death of Brian Douglas at the hands of the police. No-one has been prosecuted, no-one held accountable.

Brian's family is not alone, there are many such cases in the UK where people have lost loved ones to such violent deaths, yet no-one is punished and held to account publicly in a court of law. The families will tell you of their burning sense of injustice at this state of affairs and their anger that the killer/killers of their loved one continue to lead their lives, see their children grow, spend time with friends and all these things which the killers have taken from their victims. Robert McCartney will never see his children grow.

Witnesses will often fail to come forward for one of 2 reasons: A misplaced sense of loyalty and/or fear of the consequences.

In Robert McCartney's case, we have both set against a political backdrop which has further constricted the truth.

Such silence hands the rule of law in to the hands of thugs and those who can only feel powerful, in creating a culture of fear. These people fear the truth. The offer from the IRA to 'Shoot the killers of Robert McCartney' was an affront to justice and showed breathtaking arrogance. The IRA are not the law.

In Northern Ireland, whatever the past, the ballot box now holds sway and the rule of law goes with that. There can now be no argument for paramilitary justice for any sector of the community. My Group believes there never has been.

So the death of Robert McCartney holds a symbolism for the future. This is why my group has decided to support this resolution, despite some of the wording and the difficulties around the possible financial contribution from the Union. Some of us will support the case on a personal financial basis.

This case offers an opportunity to break free from a culture of secrecy and fear and to bring the killers to court. It is time to break the stranglehold of the IRA and for politicians of all parties to tell people to go to the police and for the police and other authorities to handle the process fairly. We have to create a climate where witnesses can come forward and justice can be done, not a culture which colludes with murder. This is about human rights.

I do not want Robert McCartney's children, partner and sisters or anyone else in his family to face the years of pain and anger that the family of Brian Douglas has undergone.