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Andersontown News, March 19, 2005


Out of the West:
Locally, sympathy is turning to anger


How quickly things change. It was only three weeks ago that the McCartney sisters seemed to have a Roman Emperor-like control over the destiny of Sinn Féin and nationalist Belfast looked on transfixed to see whether the thumb would go up or down. No longer.

Frankly, I’ve been a little shocked by the rapid hardening of opinion against the McCartneys, even though it was probably as predictable as it was unfortunate. Where once family spokespersons had the ability to quieten a room, today the reaction is likely to be, at best, an impatient tut; at worst, an angry expletive.

It’s not their fault. They’re ordinary people, not PR gurus. They’re not trying to win a political argument, they just want to get justice for a loved one. They weren’t to know that the only thing worse than under-exposure is over-exposure, but the crack that has opened in the hitherto solid wall of support for the family’s campaign might just be one that the killer of Robert McCartney slips through.

The unprecedented concentration on a single killing by the media was never sustainable. There are too many stories out there, too much suffering and too much hurt. It’s hardly surprising that a community that knows of many deaths that never merited an investigation by the RUC, never mind a conviction, feels angry – bitter, even – at the sight of a single family being championed by the media and taken to the bosom of three states.

This is a constituency that has its own memories, its own history, neither of which bears the slightest resemblance to the official record, or to the media orthodoxy. A vast, unheard phalanx of grieving relatives believes that the British state was responsible for the death of their loved ones, either by direct action, or by manipulating loyalist killer gangs. Out there is a deep, dark well of untested information, of untried evidence: the foot patrols that appeared then disappeared; the surveillance equipment that saw and heard nothing; the threats before the murders; the vanishing roadblocks; the magically opening peacelines. And extensive as that information and evidence is, as compelling as those stories are, put it all together and it still didn’t get a fraction of the attention given to a single pub stabbing.

The most unedifying spectacle in all of this is the SDLP’s efforts to put the boot in. Like grammar school boys dressed up as bikers for a school play, they’re enthusiastic enough, but not terribly convincing. That’s because they have precious little experience of campaigning or agitation. Any time I reported on street demos and there was a member of the SDLP there – a rare enough occurrence, let it be said – the poor bloke always looked as if he’d much rather be somewhere else. Which is perhaps why they look so uncomfortable as they get stuck in; it’s as if they’re aware that the Short Strand community might at some point wonder where they were all those other times over the past 35 years when the people hit the streets.

Martin McGuinness was excoriated for advising the family to be “very careful” not to become embroiled in the world of party politics – his words were deemed a threat, and it’s clear now that it doesn’t matter what republicans say, a negative spin will be printed regardless. But the family should indeed be very careful, because if they do allow themselves, deliberately or unwittingly, to become poster girls for one party or another, then that will inevitably lead to more anger and resentment. They’re already well on the way. The Boston Globe reported this week: “During their trip to the United States, [Robert] McCartney's sisters are expected at some social functions to bump into [Gerry] Adams, a reputed IRA chief. Adams met the McCartneys last month and reassured them he would press for witnesses to come forward, but Catherine McCartney said she probably would not shake his hand. ‘He seemed genuine when he met us, when we thought the problem was just a matter of IRA intimidation,’ she said. ‘Now we know better. It’s clear that Sinn Fein is heavily into the cover-up.’”

To refuse to shake Gerry Adams’ hand – with all the quasi-racist DUP overtones that that involves – is insulting enough, not only to him but to every single person who voted for him; to accuse him of being involved in a continuing cover-up is preposterous and inflammatory and, far from advancing the campaign for justice for their brother, does it a grave disservice. That kind of scalding language may be a sign of frustration and anger, but just six weeks into their campaign, it does not augur well for the future. If the PSNI get a straightforward murder case into court in a year or 18 months they’re doing well; there are families whose relatives have been dead for many years who haven’t seen an inquest yet because it doesn’t suit the state to hold one. Legally speaking, six weeks is the blink of an eye.

Ironically, what could well do more damage to the McCartney cause than cover-ups and threats is the bandying about of names and accusations in the media by journalists who claim to be supporting the family in its pursuit of justice. Of course, any defence lawyer worth his salt would have a field day throwing up examples of trial by media that seriously compromise the judicial process. And if a judge – in the trial or the appeal – rules that a fair trial is impossible, who will accept the blame for that?


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