Supporters of the family of murdered Belfast teenager Peter Mc Bride are calling for an international week of action in early September to demand the dismissal from the British Army of the two Scots Guards convicted of the 1992 murder. The call comes amid growing anger at the delay by the Ministry of Defence in making known the decision on whether Guardsmen Wright and Fisher will be allowed to remain in the British Army despite their murder convictions.
The week of action will be focused around three key dates in the controversial case:
-on September 2 1998 the two Scots Guards were granted early release from life sentences outside the terms of the Good Friday Agreement.
-on September 4 1992 Peter Mc Bride was murdered in the New Lodge area of Belfast.
-on September 6 1999 a Belfast court ordered the Ministry of Defence to reconsider the decision to retain the two Guardsmen.
A spokesperson for the Pat Finucane Centre stated, "almost 12 months have passed since the MOD were ordered to reconsider whether convicted murderers should be allowed to continue serving in the British Army. The Mc Bride family are increasingly frustrated at the delaying tactics of the MOD and are asking concerned groups and individuals to support them in their search for justice." Members of the Mc Bride family, including Jean Mc Bride, will travel to London in September to mark these key dates in their campaign and demand the dismissal of the guardsmen. Recently a Downing St spokesperson confirmed that a letter handed in by the family in April of this year had been "lost". As a result the family will again present an appeal to the Prime Minister at Downing St.
Jean Mc Bride said, "Over the years our campaign has received messages of support from throughout the world. I would appeal to those people to support us in September. By going to London I want to take a simple message to Tony Blair. This has gone on long enough. If the British Government has any self-respect they will not allow convicted murderers to stay in their army."
The Pat Finucane Centre is appealing to supporters of the Mc Bride family to stage pickets and protests in Ireland and abroad on any one of the above mentioned dates. "The British Government would like this issue to simply disappear. We can assure them that it won’t. Our hope is that there will be protests here and at British embassies and consulates abroad."
The week of action begins with an event on Guildhall Square in Derry on Saturday 2nd September 2000 titled, State Justice-Lacking in Conviction. A large crime scene figure, representing Peter Mc Bride, will be chalked on the ground and will be surrounded by hundreds of other chalk figures symbolically representing other victims of state violence. Local families who have lost loved ones will assist in the event. The organisers aim to focus attention on the "complete failure of the criminal justice system to uphold the rule of law in disputed killings by the security forces. Killings by the security forces have been marked by a failure to investigate by the RUC and an unwillingness to prosecute by the office of the DPP. In the few cases where prosecutions and convictions did follow the Ministry of Defence has then refused to dismiss those convicted of murder as in the Mc Bride case. This is totally unacceptable."
The week of action continues with a protest in North Belfast on Monday, the anniversary of Peter Mc Brides death. Relatives for Justice are organising a vigil at the Memorial Garden at Donore Court on the New Lodge Road at 3pm.On Wednesday, exactly one year on from the Belfast Court decision that the MOD must reconsider the case, Jean Mc Bride, mother of the victim, will travel to London to hand in a letter at 10 Downing St. A spokesperson for Downing St has admitted that a letter handed in by the family in April of this year had been 'lost'. A representative of the Pat Finucane Centre will accompany Mrs Mc Bride who will then go to the nearby Ministry of Defence building to ask why the MOD is employing convicted murderers. On the same day events to highlight the case will take place at the city council in New York and in Sydney, Australia. (see further updates on Monday for details)