Ballymurphy Independent Panel

Posted By: August 03, 2013

The Ballymurphy Massacre Committee is in receipt of a letter from the Historical
Enquiries Team (HET) announcing that it has suspended its “reviews” of cases
involving the British Army due to the damning report by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate
of Constabulary (HMIC).  This acknowledgement by the State publicly and officially
validates what the Ballymurphy families have been saying to each British Secretary
of State as far back as Shaun Woodward–that the HET is not independent.  Due to the
great work by Dr. Patricia Lundy they are now having to listen and concede.

It is inexcusable in an environment that is claimed to be a democracy, that from
August 1971until the present day, there has never been an investigation into the
murder of 11 innocent civilians from our neighborhood.  Successive governments have
ignored this atrocity and attempted to divert the cause of justice by offering only
a desktop review of the 11 cases through the HET.  With the HMIC condemning the HET
policies and practices which their report refers to as “illegal,” the State has no
excuse not to conduct a proper investigation.

As the HET letter to the Ballymurphy families indicates, there is now no mechanism
through which the British State is dealing with Army murders in Ballymurphy.  In the
40 year absence of any proper investigation, the Ballymurphy families have designed
a formula to address this.

The Independent Panel proposal presented to both governments by the Ballymurphy
Massacre Committee is based on the Hillsborough Independent Panel which was fully
supported by the British government.

We now call for both the Irish and the British governments to respond immediately to
the Ballymurphy Independent Panel proposal.

Ballymurphy Massacre Committee
(John Teggart 07512166867)
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