"Bombe umane dell'IRA" e intelligence britannica

Ve la riporto come letta su Irish Voice, il principale giornale degli irlandesi espatriati.

Il British-Irish Rights Watch (BIRW) denuncia lo "zampino" dell'Intelligence Britannica in alcuni casi di "human bomb" attribuiti all'IRA.

La "human bomb" è una famigerata tattica assassina che consisteva nell'obbligare un civile coinvolto con le forze armate britanniche (generalmente un impiegato o un fornitore di servizi) ad entrare con la propria auto imbottita di esplosivo, all'interno di basi militari.

Group Says British Made Human Bomb
By Brendan Anderson

THE IRA’s deadly “human bomb” tactic of tying a civilian to the wheel of his explosives-laden vehicle was devised by a British intelligence agency, a human rights group has claimed.

The respected British-Irish Rights Watch has revealed that “at least two” Special Branch agents within the Republican movement were involved in masterminding the much-criticized tactic in 1990.

The investigation by the long-standing pressure group again raises the issue of the involvement of intelligence agencies in killing their own personnel to protect valuable informers.

Human bombs, as they were they were daubed by the media at the time, were usually civilians working in British bases in the North. They included building contractors engaged in strengthening the defenses of barracks, civilian cooks, delivery men and clerks. Many Republicans regarded them as legitimate targets, reasoning that they played an integral part in the British war against the IRA.

The most notorious human bomb case involved Derry man Patsy Gillespie, who worked at an army base in the county. Gillespie was forced to drive a huge bomb to a British army checkpoint at Coshquin near Derry city.

The bomb was detonated remotely while he was still in the driver’s seat. Gillespie and five soldiers were killed instantly.

On the same night, at Killeen, near the border town of Newry, another soldier was killed when a 68-year-old civilian, James McEvoy, was forced to drive a van to a checkpoint. McEvoy, who had been told his two sons would be shot if he refused to comply, escaped with injuries. A third human bomb attack on a British army barracks in Omagh, Co. Tyrone, was aborted when the explosives failed to detonate.

The allegations by British-Irish Rights Watch (BIRW) follow a spate of revelations of collusion and dirty tricks which have come to light since the IRA announced the end of its campaign of violence last year.

The human rights group has sent a copy of its file on the three bombings to the Historical Enquiries Team, the police team set up to deal with unsolved killings during the years of the Irish troubles.

In a report published Monday, the BIRW said, “It is known that at least two security force agents were involved in these bombings and allegations have been made that the human bomb strategy was the brainchild of British intelligence.

“Questions arise as to whether the RUC (now defunct police force), An Garda Siochana (Irish police) and the army’s Force Research Unit (covert operations group) had prior and/or subsequent intelligence about the bombings. These questions in turn lead to concerns about whether these attacks could have been prevented and why no one has been brought to justice.”

The handling of the police investigation into the Killeen bombing is the subject of an inquiry by the North’s Police Ombudsman (complaints commissioner) Nuala O’Loan.

Many Republicans and supporters were highly critical of the human bomb strategy and viewed it as not only cruel but also a public relations disaster. After Patsy Gillespie’s killing, the Bishop of Derry, Dr. Edward Daly, said the IRA had “crossed a new threshold of evil”.

The tactic, however, caused huge concern in British military circles at the time and led to a review of security at army bases throughout the North.

per fare una croce ci vogliono due legni e i britannici hanno senz'altro quello più lungo...molto più lungo

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Scritto da: Marcellino.bergamo 01/09/2006 9.47
per fare una croce ci vogliono due legni e i britannici hanno senz'altro quello più lungo...molto più lungo

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In foto: la croce di Sant'Andrea, diventata il simbolo della Scozia