I paused in my blogging yesterday for two reasons; first I was busy, busy, busy at work and second because I was too disgusted with the BBC's coverage of the Saville Inquiry to post anything coherent. Nearly 24 hours on and I think I can keep my anger under control enough to post this.
The BBC's coverage of the Saville Enquiry during the Radio 4 Today programme was as one-sided and blinkered as I would have expected. It was the BBC's stance on 'reporting' on Northern Ireland that first lead me to realise that the BBC was not the unbiased news reporting organisation that I had always been told it was, but was in fact a campaigning organisation willing (indeed wanting) to brainwash the British public in order to spread its views and further the ends of itself and its comrades.
James Naughtie's report was typical of the BBC's coverage with its sympathetic setting out of the Nationalist ca(u)se with several soft human interest stories/claims and the grudging slipping in of one balancing argument from Patrick Mercer (obviously in the wrong as he was a TORY). Naughtie's piece conveniently and blatantly rewrote history as he claimed the IRA was very weak at the time of Bloody Sunday and was playing second fiddle to the civil rights movement and that the IRA membership increased massively as a direct result of the deaths.
Anyone, who didn't know the history of 'the Troubles', listening to the BBC yesterday would have been left with the impression that Bloody Sunday was the cause of the Provisional IRA's murderous terrorist campaign. This is factually incorrect. It is generally accepted that the Provisional IRA's killing campaign started in 1969, three years before Bloody Sunday. Indeed by the time of Bloody Sunday the Provisional IRA had already murdered dozens of British soldiers and civilians. One incident that a decent BBC would commemorate happened on 9 February 1971 when an IRA landmine killed five men near a BBC transmitter on Brougher Mountain in County Tyrone.
Two of the dead were BBC engineers, the other three were construction workers. It was believed their vehicle was mistaken for a British Army Landrover. British mobile patrols frequently inspected the transmitter.
Will there ever be an 'Inquiry' into the deaths of thousands of people at the hands, guns and bombs of the IRA? There seems to be no appetite in government and certainly
not any interest at the BBC. Martin McGuinness for example has often been given a platform to make unchallenged claims about Bloody Sunday and other aspects of Northern Ireland. So it seems unlikely that Martin McGuinness, the second in command of the Provisional IRA on that day in January 1972, will ever be questioned by the BBC as to his role on that day. However if they ever do interview him they might ask what he was doing armed with a Thompson submachine gun in Londonderry on Bloody Sunday and why the Saville Inquiry concluded that he had been "engaged in paramilitary activity" on that day? Maybe the BBC could also remind the British public, before their next soft-soap interview with him, that Martin McGuinness was convicted in 1973 by the Republic of Ireland's Special Criminal Court after being caught with a car containing 250 lb (113 kg) of explosives and nearly 5,000 rounds of ammunition. A crime for which he received the derisory sentence of six months imprisonment. Maybe the BC could ask Martin McGuiness how he squares his proud boast in the 1973 trial that 'I am a member of Óglaigh na hÉireann and very, very proud of it' with his claim after the 1993 Cook Report programme that "I have never been in the IRA. I don't have any sway over the IRA"? Finally maybe someone could ask Martin McGuinness about his role as head of the IRA's Northern Command which had advance knowledge of the IRA's 1987 Enniskillen bombing which left 11 civilians dead.
The BBC's pro-nationalist policy that I first noticed in the 1980s is poisonous and just one example of the way the BBC has worked to destroy parts of the fabric of the United Kingdom. I am disgusted, but not surprised, by their reporting of the Saville Inquiry and their collective amnesia over the murders carried out by the IRA over the years. So as to show that some of us do remember here, from
Wikipedia is a list of the Provisional IRA's attacks and their victims
prior to Bloody Sunday:
'1970
* 26 June 1970: Three IRA volunteers and two young girls were killed when a bomb being assembled accidentally exploded in the Creggan, Derry.[1]
* 27 June 1970: IRA volunteers used firearms to defend Clonard monastery in west Belfast, the Short Strand in east Belfast (see Battle of St. Matthews) and other nationalist areas from attack by loyalist mobs. Six people (one Catholic IRA member and five loyalists Protestants) were killed in gun battles.[2]
* 3–5 July 1970: During the Falls Curfew the Official IRA and Provisional IRA fought a three day gun battle with 3,000 British troops who imposed a curfew on the Lower Falls area of Belfast, over 1,500 rounds were fired by British troops. Four civilians were killed.[3]
* 11 August 1970: Two RUC officers were killed by an IRA booby-trap bomb attached to an abandoned car in Crossmaglen, County Armagh. The bomb contained 20 lbs of gelignite and exploded when one of the officers attempted to open one of the car's doors.[4][5][6]
* 4 September 1970: IRA volunteer Michael Kane (35) was killed when a bomb he was placing at an electricity transformer in Belfast exploded accidentally.[4]
* 16 November 1970: The IRA shot and killed two alleged criminals in the Ballymurphy area of Belfast.[4] The men are alleged to have been involved in protection rackets, fencing stolen goods, minor racketeering, moneylending, burglary and robbery.[7]
[edit] 1971
* 6 February 1971: A British soldier on security duties, Gunner Robert Curtis, was killed by Billy Reid in a gun battle in North Belfast. Curtis was the first British soldier to die in Ireland since the 1920s. IRA volunteer James Saunders (21) was shot dead in a shoot out with the British Army in the Bone area of Belfast and one Catholic civilian was shot dead by three British soldiers. Eight British soldiers and five civilians were also injured in various gun battles around Belfast.[8][9]
* 9 February 1971: An IRA landmine killed five men near a BBC transmitter on Brougher Mountain in County Tyrone. Two of the dead were BBC engineers, the other three were construction workers. It was believed their vehicle was mistaken for a British Army landrover. British mobile patrols frequently inspected the transmitter.[10][11]
* 15 February 1971: A British soldier was shot and killed by an IRA sniper while taking part in a mobile-patrol in the Ardoyne area of Belfast. Two British Army scout cars came under sniper fire and had a bomb thrown at them. The soldier was shot in the head.[12][13]
* 26 February 1971: Two RUC officers who were attached to the forces Special Patrol Group (RUC) were killed in a gun battle with the IRA in the Ardoyne area of Belfast.[10][14]
* 8 March 1971: IRA volunteer Charles Hughes (26) was shot dead by the Official IRA in the Lower Falls area of Belfast. This was part of an ongoing dispute between the IRA and the OIRA.[12] In response the IRA shot and seriously injured a member of the OIRA.[15]
* 10 March 1971: The IRA abducted three off-duty British soldiers from Belfast and brought them to a mountain road outside the city, lined them up, and shot each of them in the head. They were the first off-duty soldiers to be killed in the conflict.[16][17]
* 15 May 1971: IRA volunteer Billy Reid (32) was killed during a gun battle between the IRA and the British Army on Academy Street, Belfast. Two British soldiers were wounded in the incident.[12][18]
* 25 May 1971: A bomb was thrown into Springfield Road British Army/RUC base in Belfast, killing army Sergeant Michael Willetts as he shielded civilians from the blast with his body. He was posthumously awarded the George Cross. Seven RUC officers, two British soldiers and eighteen civilians were injured.[12][19]
* 12 July 1971: A British soldier was shot dead by an IRA sniper at a British Observation post on Northumberland Street in Belfast. The IRA claimed his death was in retaliation for the killings of two civilians in Derry by the British Army the previous week.[12][20]
* 14 July 1971: A British soldier was shot and killed in an IRA ambush on a mobile-patrol in the Andersonstown area of Belfast. Three IRA gunmen using automatic weapons fired at least 35 shots at the patrol.[12][21]
* 8 August 1971: A British soldier was shot dead in an IRA sniper attack while on foot-patrol in the Ardoyne area of Belfast. The IRA said he was shot in retaliation for the shooting dead of a civilian by the British Army the day before on the Springfield Road.[12][22]
* 9 August 1971: 343 suspects were detained as internment was introduced. In the following two days 17 people were killed in gun battles between the IRA and British Army.The IRA killed one British soldier and one UDR soldier while the British Army shot dead one IRA volunteer, Patrick McAdorey (24) and 14 civilians. Between 1971 and 1975, 1,981 people were interned; 1,874 were Catholic/Republican, while only 107 were Protestant/Loyalist.[10]
* 9 August 1971: A British Army UDR soldier was killed in a joined Provisional & Official IRA ambush in Clady, Tyrone.[23]
* 11 August 1971: IRA volunteer Seamus Simpson (21) was shot and killed by the British Army while carrying out a bomb attack on their patrol in the Andersonstown area of Belfast.[12]
* 16 August 1971: The commander of the Provisionals' Belfast Brigade, Joe Cahill, gave a press conference claiming only 30 IRA volunteers had been interned.[10][24]
* 18 August 1971: IRA volunteer Eamon Lafferty (20) was shot and killed during a gun battle between the IRA and the British Army in the Creggan area of Derry City.[12]
* 23 August 1971: A British soldier was shot dead by an IRA sniper on Flax Street in the Ardoyne area of Belfast. The soldier was shot in the head as he exited a British armoured vehicle.[12][25] Another British soldier from the same regiment was shot dead by an IRA sniper in Ardoyne during a gun attack on an observation post. He had been shot in the mouth. The Daily Express published a picture of the dead soldier, George Crozier, on its front page the next day.[26]
* 25 August 1971: A civilian was killed when the IRA bombed the NIES office on Malone Road in Belfast. An inadequate warning was given.[12]
* 29 August 1971: A British soldier was shot dead by an IRA sniper in near Crossmaglen in County Armagh. The soldier was travelling in a British patrol consisting of two armoured vehicles when they accidentally crossed the border into County Monaghan. When attempting to turn back angry locals blocked their way and set one of the vehicles on fire. After eventually managing to get back across the border the patrol had to stop to change a damaged wheel. While this was happening a six man unit from the IRA's Monaghan Brigade arrived on the scene and took up sniping positions in nearby fields. One soldiers was killed after being shot in the neck and another injured when he was struck in the shoulder.[27][28]
* 31 August 1971: A British soldier was killed when he was shot by an IRA sniper in Stockmans Lane in the Andersonstown area of Belfast. A single shot was fired by a sniper which passed through the shoulder strap of another soldiers flak-jacket before hitting the other soldier in the head.[12][29]
* 3 September 1971: A British Army UDR soldier was shot dead when an IRA unit attacked Kilawley British Army base in County Fermanagh.[12][29]
* 9 September 1971: A British Army bomb-disposal expert was killed attempting to defuse an IRA bomb in Drumankelly in County Antrim.[12]
* 14 September 1971: A British soldier was shot dead during an IRA attack on a British Army mobile-patrol in Edendork, County Tyrone.[12]
* 15 September 1971: A British soldier was shot dead by the IRA in the grounds of Victoria Hospital in Belfast.[12]
* 17 September 1971: A British soldier was shot and killed by an IRA sniper while on foot-patrol in the Ardoyne area of Belfast.[12]
* 18 September 1971: An RUC officer was shot and killed in an IRA gun attack on his foot-patrol in Strabane, County Tyrone.[12]
* 1 October 1971: A British soldier was shot dead in an IRA gun-attack on a British Army foot-patrol in the Ardoyne area of Belfast.[12]
* 2 October 1971: IRA volunteer Terence McDermott (19) died after the bomb he was transporting exploded accidentally outside Lisburn, County Antrim.[12]
* 11 October 1971: A British soldier was shot and killed by the IRA while on foot-patrol on the Letterkenny Road in Derry.[12]
* 15 October 1971: Two RUC officers were shot and killed when an IRA unit attacked their patrol car on the Woodvale Road in Belfast.[12]
* 16 October 1971: A British Army soldier was shot dead by the IRA during riots in the Bogside area of Derry.[12]
* 17 October 1971: Two British soldiers were killed when their armoured-mobile-patrol was caught in an IRA sniper ambush in Belfast.[12]
* 23 October 1971: Two unarmed female IRA volunteers, Maura Meehan (30) and Dorothy Maguire (19), were shot and killed by the British Army in the Lower Falls area of Belfast.[12]
* 24 October 1971: IRA volunteer Martin Forsythe (19) was shot and killed by undercover RUC officers during a bomb attack in Donegall Place, Belfast.[12]
* 27 October 1971: Two British soldiers were killed when the IRA bombed Rosemount British Army base in Derry.[12]
* 27 October 1971: An RUC officer was shot and killed by an IRA sniper while on patrol near Toome in County Antrim.[12]
* 27 October 1971: A British soldier was killed when a British Army armoured personnel carrier struck an IRA landmine in Kinawley, County Fermanagh.[12]
* 29 October 1971: An RUC officer was killed when the IRA bombed the RUC base on the Antrim Road in Belfast.[12]
* 30 October 1971: A British soldier was killed when the IRA bombed a British Army Observation Post on the corner of Cupar Street in Belfast.[12]
* 31 October 1971: A British soldier was killed in an IRA sniper attack on his patrol in Stockmans Lane, Belfast.[12]
* 1 November 1971: Two RUC officers were shot dead by an IRA unit while investigating a robbery at Avoca Shopping Centre in Belfast.[12]
* 2 November 1971: Three civilians were killed when the IRA bombed the Ormeau Road RUC base. The three were drinking in the Red Lion bar which is next-door to the base.[12]
* 4 November 1971: A British soldier was killed in an IRA sniper attack on Henry Taggart British Army base in Ballymurphy, Belfast.[12]
* 7 November 1971: A British soldier was shot dead in an IRA drive-by attack in Lurgan, County Armagh.[12]
* 9 November 1971: A British soldier was shot and killed by an IRA sniper on Foyle Road in Derry City.[12]
* 11 November 1971: Two RUC officers were shot dead by the IRA in Belfast. They had left the base to go into a shop on the street behind it when they were ambushed by an IRA unit.[12]
* 18 November 1971: A British soldier was shot and killed by the IRA while guarding a bus depot in the Short Strand area of Belfast.[12]
* 24 November 1971: A civilian was killed in the crossfire during an IRA attack on a British Army base in Strabane.[12]
* 24 November 1971: A British Army bomb disposal expert was killed attempting to defuse a car-bomb in Lurgan, County Armagh.[12]
* 27 November 1971: Two Customs Officials were killed when IRA snipers attacked Killen Customs Post near Newry, County Armagh. The soldiers guarding the post were the intended targets.[12]
* 27 November 1971: A British soldier was shot dead by an IRA sniper while on foot-patrol in the Falls area of Belfast.[12]
* 29 November 1971: An off-duty British soldier was shot dead by the IRA near Crossmaglen, Armagh.[12]
* 6 December 1971: A civilian was killed in an IRA bomb attack in Belfast. The bomb destroyed a business premises. The damage resulted in one of the walls collapsing in on top of the building next door, crushing a civilian.[12]
* 7 December 1971: A British Army UDR soldier was shot dead by the IRA in Curlagh, County Tyrone.[12]
* 8 December 1971: Two British soldiers were killed in separate IRA gun attacks in Belfast.[12]
* 10 December 1971: A British UDR soldier and an ex-soldier were killed when their car was attacked by an IRA unit near Clady. County Tyrone.[12]
* 11 December 1971: A bomb attack on a furniture shop on the Shankill Road in Belfast killed four Protestant civilians, including two children.[12]
* 16 December 1971: A British soldier was shot and killed by an IRA sniper in the Lower Falls area of Belfast.[12]
* 18 December 1971: IRA volunteers James Sheridan (20), John Bateson (19) and Martin Lee (19) died in Magherafelt, County Londonderry, when the bomb they were transporting exploded prematurely.[10]
* 21 December 1971: A Publican was killed when he picked up and attempted to remove an IRA bomb which had been planted in his bar on the Lisburn Road in Belfast.[12]
* 21 December 1971: Unarmed IRA volunteer Gerald McDade (23) was shot after being captured by the British Army in the Ardoyne area of Belfast.[12]
* 29 December 1971: A British soldier was shot dead in an IRA gun attack on a foot-patrol in the Brandywell area of Derry City.[12]
* 31 December 1971: IRA volunteer Jack McCabe (55) was killed when a bomb he was assembling exploded accidentally in Santry, Dublin.[12]
[edit] 1972
* 5 January 1972: A British soldier was shot and killed by an IRA sniper while on foot-patrol in the Lower Falls area of Belfast.[30]
* 7 January 1972: IRA volunteer Daniel O'Neill (20) was killed in a gun-battle with British troops in the Falls area of Belfast.[30]
* 12 January 1972: An off duty RIC officer was shot dead by an IRA unit in the Lower Falls area of Belfast.[30]
* 13 January 1972: A British UDR soldier was shot dead by an IRA sniper while driving a van through Newtownabbey, County Antrim.[30]
* 18 January 1972: A civilian was shot dead by the IRA after he came forward as a witness to the IRA hijacking of a bus in The Mount area of Belfast.[30]
* 21 January 1972: A British soldier was killed when he stepped on an IRA landmine near Keady in County Armagh.[30]
* 26 January 1972: IRA volunteer Peter McNulty (47) was killed when a bomb he was planting at an RUC base in Castlewellan, County Down, exploded accidentally.[30]
* 27 January 1972: An IRA unit which included Martin Meehan fought a 4-hour gun battle with a British Army detachment at Dungooley in south Armagh. The British Army alone fired over 4,500 rounds while the IRA returned fire with assault rifles and an anti-tank gun. There were no casualties in the battle with the exception of a farmers pig which was caught in the crossfire. 8 IRA volunteers were arrested south of the border but were eventually acquitted.[31]
* 27 January 1972: Two RUC officers were killed when their patrol vehicle was hit by IRA gunfire in the Creggan area of Derry City.[30]
* 28 January 1972: An off-duty RUC officer was shot dead in an IRA gun attack at a garage in the Oldpark area of Belfast.[30]
* 30 January 1972: A British soldier died four months after being injured in an IRA sniper attack in the Bogside area of Derry.[30]'
