Police Ombudsman’s Report on Kingsmills Massacre…

I read that the Police Ombudsman has found that the RUC failed to arrest or interview 11 individuals who had been identified by intelligence as potentially involved in the sectarian murders of 10 men at Kingsmills in 1976. The revelation came as part of an investigation into how the killings were investigated.

The murders occurred after the sectarian murders of six members of two separate families the previous day.

The ombudsman’s report criticises significant investigative failings, including missed opportunities to pursue leads and hold suspects accountable, and an NI Coroner’s Office inquest found last year that the attack was an ‘overtly sectarian’ act carried out by the IRA, involving at least 12 perpetrators.

The inquest also cites:

An issue raised by those close to the inquest concerned the contention that the Army was ordered not to patrol in the area of the attack on the evening of 5 January 1976. The Army’s Commanding Officer at the time described the claim as “nonsense” and stated that the area was not out of bounds. The Coroner was satisfied that the overwhelming evidence was that the Army was present in the vicinity of the Kingsmill attack as it took place. Evidence also pointed to there having been an Army patrol on the ground within 1½ miles of where the attack was taking place. Another rumour surrounded the purported involvement of Captain Robert Nairac. This was likely to have arisen due to the fact that the terrorist who brought the minibus to a stop had an English accent.

This week, I listened to the only survivor of the attack, Alan Black, and Karen Armstrong, the sister of John McConville, who was killed in the attack, speak on Radio Ulster.

The relatives and survivors of Kingsmills absolutely deserve a public inquiry into the murders but a word of warning, don’t think that just because there have been inquiries into Bloody Sunday and Ballymurphy that the State will hand an inquiry to them. Both the inquiries above were a result of tireless lobbying, campaign building and sheer determination to bring the British military institution kicking and screaming to public inquiry. The astronomical costs of Bloody Sunday were a result of the British MOD attempting to obstruct and frustrate the public inquiry process at every turn. It took the Ballymurphy families fifty years to do the same and, of course, Hilary Been has also stated that it’s his intention to establish an independent inquiry into the Finucane murder.

To those wishing for a public inquiry into Kingsmills, I’d advise that you’ll get no help from anyone unless you follow the determination of the Bloody Sunday, Ballymurphy and Finucane families and metaphorically kick down every door closed in your face. This will require constant effort to build alliances and support with politicians, human rights groups, political activists, (the more prominent the better), in order to keep the case in the public eye and pressure on the authorities.

To those who would support the Kinsmill families and survivors, I’d advise that those who have previously had relatives murdered and successfully campaigned for inquiries aren’t your enemies. It’s with those who are denying the inquiry that the blame lies.