Belfast Telegraph
Confusion surrounds whether or not the Real IRA publicly claimed responsibility for the murder of former Sinn Fein administrator Denis Donaldson at an Easter commemoration event held in Londonderry yesterday. Around 200 people turned up for the 32 County Sovereignty Movement ceremony at the City Cemetery in Creggan, when a masked man appeared from the crowd and read a statement on behalf of the dissident terror group.
The event came just a day after the Dublin-based Sunday Tribune carried full details of the statement expected to be read out to the crowd, publicly admitting responsibility for shooting the west Belfast man in Co Donegal some three years ago. However, when the statement was read out, a line outlining its claim that it “fell to the volunteers of Óglaigh na hÉireann (the Real IRA) to carry out the sentence and punishment demanded in our Army Orders and by the wider republican family” was omitted.
The Sunday Tribune also carried an interview with a Real IRA leader, alongside the full statement, in which they claimed to have been involved in Mr Donaldson’s murder and alleged details of his final moments after the gunmen burst into his remote home.
Mr Donaldson, the former head of Sinn Fein's administration at Stormont, was murdered at a remote Glenties cottage after leaving Northern Ireland when he admitted to years of work as a British informer. The only reference to Mr Donaldson in the statement read out yesterday described him as a “traitor”, as the group also issued a thinly-veiled warning to Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness.
The terrorist organisation also threatened to carry out armed attacks in mainland Britain as part of its campaign for a united Ireland. And it warned young police officers they would be considered targets.
Youths were seen carrying petrol bombs at yesterday’s event. There was no visible security presence and the event passed off without incident. A colour party bearing flags and wearing berets was at the centre of the event. Martin Galvin, a former director with the Irish/American Noraid, which helped support the IRA’s campaign during the conflict, was present along with Francis Mackey from the 32 County Sovereignty Movement.
The Real IRA’s use of the term ‘traitor’ came after Martin McGuinness branded dissidents traitors when they killed two soldiers last month at Massereene army barracks in Antrim. The terror group’s Easter statement said:
“A former comrade, (McGuinness), has come full circle and with a knight of the British realm (PSNI Chief Constable Sir Hugh Orde) at his shoulder he has labelled our gallant volunteers as traitors to justify his Redmondite stance and home rule politics. Let us remind our former comrade of the nature and actions of a traitor. Treachery is collaborating with the enemy, treachery is betraying your country. “Let us give our one-time comrade an example. Denis Donaldson was a traitor and the leadership of the Provisional movement, under guidance from the British government, made provision for Donaldson to escape republican justice. No traitor will escape justice regardless of time, rank, past actions. The republican movement has a long memory.”
The Real IRA spokesman claimed, in an interview with the newspaper, that two of its members armed with a sledgehammer and a shotgun broke down the door of Donaldson's cottage. “He just ran into the back room. There was a struggle and he ended up on the ground. He didn't cry out or plead for mercy. He remained silent,” he said.
Previous Article
Post a Comment