Gerry Adams arrested...

[Westdene Seagull]

Like others have said I thought he couldn't be prosecuted and so arresting him would seem rather pointless.

That said, not sure how I feel about it. Surely peace is worth a few get-out-of-jail free cards ? The British have carried out equally vile actions in Ireland as the IRA - are those people going to be prosecuted as well ? Nope, leave well alone and let peace have a chance.

 

[Baldseagull]

Is that true ? As in let's say they had nailed on evidence of him taking part in some way of a murder they cannot prosecute or charge him for a murder ? How the hell can that be ? Murder is murder, imagine if you were a family member of the deceased the injustice one would feel. Wrong on so many levels if that is true.

It is not quite true, the agreement allowed for those already convicted to be released and for some who spoke about what they and others did, however, Police in Belfast gave notice in writing to many wanted men that they were not being sought for prosecution after the Good Friday Agreement and the Hyde Park Bombing suspect John Downey had his case thrown out earlier this year as he was one of those told he was no longer being sought. Paratroopers responsible for Bloody Sunday are immune from prosecution for that as part of giving evidence to the Saville enquiry, but some may still be prosecuted for giving false evidence to the enquiry.

If there is evidence Gerry Adams was involved I believe he can and will be prosecuted for this.

 

[severnside gull]

Truth and morality vs political pragmatism......... only one winner

 

[Surf's Up]

The "allegation" against GA, as I understand it, is that he gave the order for the execution to take place. The problem with this is that it first has to be proved he was in the IRA, something that will be impossible to do unless someone's got a death wish. He has consistently denied being in the IRA.

 

[severnside gull]

The "allegation" against GA, as I understand it, is that he gave the order for the execution to take place. The problem with this is that it first has to be proved he was in the IRA, something that will be impossible to do unless someone's got a death wish. He has consistently denied being in the IRA.

and in other news the Pope declined to confirm that he is a catholic......

although as I understand it the Boston transcripts that are behind the current review of what really happened to the "disappeared" will in all probability prove to be inadmissable as they are only a partial record (edited by the US courts) of the admissions of some of those reputed to have been involved

 

[WATFORD zero]

NSC is right of course. Let's hang him and get back to bombing and shooting one another

 

[Tom Bombadil]

The problem is to have a chance at a lasting peace some very nasty people on all sides will escape punishment. Personally i think it's a price worth paying. No more bombs in pubs and shopping centres. No more peaceful marchers shot.No taxi drivers killed for coming from the wrong side of the city. No soldiers killed by roadside bombs. No suspected informers shot and buried on beaches. No car bombs for policeman's families.I don't miss those regular news stories from Derry and Belfast and Warrington. And yes there is still the occasional terrible episode, like the prison officer in 2012 coming back to haunt us, but surely that should remind us of the progress we've made and lead us to renew our efforts to ensure we don't return to the awful times we suffered.

 

[User removed 4]

Like others have said I thought he couldn't be prosecuted and so arresting him would seem rather pointless.

That said, not sure how I feel about it. Surely peace is worth a few get-out-of-jail free cards ? The British have carried out equally vile actions in Ireland as the IRA - are those people going to be prosecuted as well ? Nope, leave well alone and let peace have a chance.

Can you let me know what "equally vile" actions the British have carried out in Ireland ?

 

[Dorset Seagull]

On a lighter note when I came back from holiday last year I was walking out of the terminal at Bristol airport and Mcguinnis was walking towards me and our eyes fixed on each other as we brushed shoulders. I recounted this tale on Facebook and how it was obvious that he realised I knew who he was as we stared at each other.

A mate posted "I bet he shit himself, Kev"

Made me chuckle

 

[mikeyjh]

NSC is right of course. Let's hang him and get back to bombing and shooting one another

Eh? I think the responses have been balanced and mature in general.

 

[Footsoldier]

If they put him behind bars it would all kick off again.

Correct. They all are above the law. I've got all the books written by British agents who were working inside the IRA, 'Killing Rage' by Eamon Collins, 'Unsung Hero' by Kevin Fulton, 'Fifty dead men walking' by Martin Mcgartland and probably the best is called 'Steaknife' Britain's Secret Agents in Ireland. After reading these then you understand the dirty war in Ireland. The British government allowed British agents to kill and main innocent people and that includes other British agents to protect agents higher up in the IRA.

 

[pastafarian]

If there is evidence Gerry Adams was involved I believe he can and will be prosecuted for this.

Considering one person has been charged in connection with the murder and reports on others are with the prosecution service i think you are correct.

Lets not forget the lady in question who was abducted and murdered by the gang was deemed a complete innocent after an official investigation.

I dont buy into the thinking that seeking to find those guilty of this murder will kick start the troubles again,i think the people of Ireland are too intelligent for that and like the peace that they find themselves in now.They will see the crime for what it is,cold blooded murder of an innocent woman.

 

[Buzzer]

Would the violence kick off again? Of course not, not with Martin McGuinness as deputy first minister of NI. The Republicans have far too much to lose, even if Adams went to jail over this (as he should do but clearly won't). The IRA/Sinn Fein will not risk giving up the power they now have.

And I'm sorry but I don't buy this bullshit about giving Adams immunity for the greater good of the province. If Adams is committed to peace (he claims he is) then he owes it to the people of Northern Ireland - and the people of Northern Ireland don't owe him a sodding thing in return - to come clean about what happened to that poor mother, dragged away from her children, tortured, shot in the back of the head and then the body left dumped for 30 years. The Republicans have had so many concessions, they bombed the British government into submission, they got the RUC disbanded, they got their enquiry into Bloody Sunday, they got the likes of McGuinness, the IRA chief in Londonderry at the very top and very heart of NI politics. Is it too much to ask for them also to admit their own wrongdoing?

Adams clearly knew more about this than he let on when the amnesties were being handed out like confetti. If he had any semblance of contrition or even a moral compass that worked only occasionally he could and should have come clean about this murder at that point. Failing that, he could have urged others to come clean. He/they would have got his amnesty from prosecution in a heartbeat. He didn't, he kept quiet about it and now the evidence is stacking up. He shouldn't now be given an amnesty from prosecution in this case.

 

[edna krabappel]

To be clear, while there is no longer a large scale mainland bombing/ terror campaign thanks to the Good Friday agreement & all that, Northern Ireland is still far from a peaceful place.

An awful lot of sectarian violence still goes on, punishment beatings (and worse) are still dished out, and people in all sorts of walks of life still watch their backs. The Provisional IRA signed a ceasefire but the other groups didn't- the Real IRA, the Continuity IRA, the I Can't Believe It's Not The IRA etc.

All of these groups are still active. PSNI officers are at constant risk, especially those from Catholic backgrounds. There have been bombs under people's cars still in recent years and threats at every level. We were told at work that if any of us were to go to Northern Ireland on holiday, that we shouldn't mention to a soul what we do for a living, such are the stated aims of certain groups within Ulster.

So in essence, while life for us in Britain is much changed from the days of coded bomb warnings & evacuations of town centres, in reality, the paramilitaries in NI are still very active, just in different ways.

 

[Greavsey]

Always remember as a kid wondering why they dubbed over Gerry Adams voice when he spoke on the news, and this thread has reminded me that I still don't know why that was. Anyone care to update me?

And for what it's worth, having heard tales of the troubles from a guy I used to work with who was a squaddie in NI in the eighties, we should do anything we can to try and avoid going back to those days however distasteful it is that these gangsters and murderers are still free.

 

[mikeyjh]

To be clear, while there is no longer a large scale mainland bombing/ terror campaign thanks to the Good Friday agreement & all that, Northern Ireland is still far from a peaceful place.

An awful lot of sectarian violence still goes on, punishment beatings (and worse) are still dished out, and people in all sorts of walks of life still watch their backs. The Provisional IRA signed a ceasefire but the other groups didn't- the Real IRA, the Continuity IRA, the I Can't Believe It's Not The IRA etc.

All of these groups are still active. PSNI officers are at constant risk, especially those from Catholic backgrounds. There have been bombs under people's cars still in recent years and threats at every level. We were told at work that if any of us were to go to Northern Ireland on holiday, that we shouldn't mention to a soul what we do for a living, such are the stated aims of certain groups within Ulster.

So in essence, while life for us in Britain is much changed from the days of coded bomb warnings & evacuations of town centres, in reality, the paramilitaries in NI are still very active, just in different ways.

While a lot of this true, NI is a very different place to what it was 20 years ago, I have friends who are PSNI officers and its absolutely the case that they are still very much on guard, it's wrong to suggest that things haven't changed for the better.

 

[edna krabappel]

While a lot of this true, NI is a very different place to what it was 20 years ago, I have friends who are PSNI officers and its absolutely the case that they are still very much on guard, it's wrong to suggest that things haven't changed for the better.

Oh I appreciate that, it is a better place I'm sure, and the public there must be grateful that they're not constantly on watch for abandoned bags while out shopping.

I was only saying that there's still an awful lot of violence going on under the surface. Those men who used to bomb people have to do something with their time, and it's a bit like the gang violence that exists in some cities in Britain (luckily not really in Brighton & Hove). But in the main, it seems to be between the paramilitary organisations & their enemies, not aimed at the general populace any more.

 

[Baldseagull]

Always remember as a kid wondering why they dubbed over Gerry Adams voice when he spoke on the news, and this thread has reminded me that I still don't know why that was. Anyone care to update me?

And for what it's worth, having heard tales of the troubles from a guy I used to work with who was a squaddie in NI in the eighties, we should do anything we can to try and avoid going back to those days however distasteful it is that these gangsters and murderers are still free.

Thatcher was annoyed at hearing the man speak so a law was passed banning the direct broadcast of anyone deemed to be supporting terrorism in NI, so the media just dubbed him as a work around.

 

[Greavsey]

Thatcher was annoyed at hearing the man speak so a law was passed banning the direct broadcast of anyone deemed to be supporting terrorism in NI, so the media just dubbed him as a work around.

Really!? Ridiculous in a way that our media gave him a platform to peddle his bullsh1t.

 

[Buzzer]

He comes from such a lovely family. An uncle that aided Luftwaffe raids to Belfast shipping yards, a paedophile rapist brother and cuddly Gerry complicit in the murder of a mother of 10. Even John Terry's family would think twice about having them round for tea.