The Five Demands

Presa di posizione dell’Historical Enquiries Team dopo la manifestazione unionista all’esterno del quartier generale della polizia a Belfast

Il Progressive Unionist Party ha tenuto una manifestazione martedì 15 marzo, in protesta contro la tendenza dell’HET a perseguire i lealisti.
Il lavoro di investigazione dell’Het sui fatti più sanguinosi dei Troubles, ha portato all’arresto di 72 persone, 65 delle quali  appartenenti alla brigata UVF di North Belfast.
“Stanno trattando la comunità operaia unionista con disprezzo,” ha dichiarato Bria Ervine, leader PUP.
“Io non ho problemi con le indagini storiche – è il modo in cui stanno proseguendo su questo argomento.”
A scendere in difesa dell’Historical Enquiries Team, è Dave Cox. Ha spiegato infatti che lo squilibrio è dovuto al fatto che l’organismo ha agito nell’ambito dell’Operation Ballast (investigazioni in reati di criminalità organizzata, attività paramilitari ed omicidi settari) su ordine del Police Ombudsman.
Basil McCrea, rappresentante UUP e membro del NI Policing Board, ha criticato anch’egli l’organizzazione. “Ho avvertito più volte il Policing Board che, se non ci occupiamo di questo squilibrio percepito, c’è poi il rischio della nascita di problemi nei mesi e negli anni a venire”, ha dichiarato a NewsLetter aggiungendo:  “Si deve ricordare che la maggior parte delle uccisioni sono state effettuate dal Provisional IRA e l’eventuale prosecuzione del processo di pace che non riconosce questo fatto, corre il serio pericolo di provocare disordini considerevoli.”

Video News

HET denies anti-loyalist bias claim (UTV)
The Historical Enquiries Team has defended itself against allegations of bias against the unionist community, after a protest was held outside police headquarters in Belfast.
Members of the Progressive Unionist Party held the demonstration on Tuesday morning, claiming the HET are unfairly targeting loyalists.
The investigations of the special unit, which was formed re-examine Troubles deaths between 1968 and 1998, have led to 72 arrests so far.
Of these, 65 were part of Operation Ballast, which examined the activities of the UVF in north Belfast, primarily a unit based in the Mount Vernon estate.
“They are treating the working class Unionist communities with utter contempt,” PUP leader Brian Ervine told UTV.
“I don’t have a problem with historical enquiries – it’s the way they’re going about it.”
Dave Cox, from the HET, explained that they had taken on Operation Ballast following orders from the Police Ombudsman, and this had led to an imbalance.
He told UTV: “The imbalance is because we were investigating Operation Ballast out of sequence, as referred to us by the Police Ombudsman – really a huge case involving serious, organised crime as well as paramilitary, sectarian murders.
“The HET had to take on this case because we were passed it by the ombudsman as a matter of public interest, but because of the scale of the case it has now been taken back by the PSNI to progress.”
UUP representative and Policing Board member Basil McCrea also criticised the organisation in a newspaper interview.
“I have been warning repeatedly at the policing board that if we do not deal with this perceived imbalance then there is the potential for problems in the months and years to come,” he told the News Letter.
“It must be remembered that the majority of killings were carried out by the Provisional IRA and any continuation of the peace process that does not recognise that fact is in danger of causing considerable unrest.”

Articoli Correlati

• 70 of 71 HET arrests have been loyalists: state sectarianism? (politics.ie)
• Basil McCrea and Brian Ervine on the HET (sluggerotoole.com)