The BBC's Panorama programme has uncovered evidence that soldiers from a secret unit used by the British Army during the Troubles in Northern Ireland in the early 1970s, shot unarmed civilians.
This was 40 strong unit operating a terror unit killing unarmed civilians, its operational records have been destroyed. They operated in West Belfast in unmarked cars.
The soldiers operated outside of the so called yellow card of only firing when lives in danger - this rule did not apply to MRF.
The MRF ran a number of front companies in Belfast during the early 1970s.
They included Four Square Laundry (a mobile laundry service operating in nationalist West Belfast) and Gemini Health Studios (a massage parlour on Antrim Road).
The MRF also had an office at College Square. All were set up to gather intelligence on the Provisional (IRA) and Irish nationalist movement.
The MRF was an application by the British Military of Sir Frank Kitson's ideas on counter insurgency warfare in Northern Ireland and it is thought that he established the unit when in Northern Ireland under the auspices of 39th Infantry Brigade..
For more essential information read here :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_Reaction_Force
You cannot study the activities of the MRF without clearly seeing that Catholic/Protestant sectarian strife was aim of the unit and Britain, as well as inter Republican fighting, - the direct opposite of the British narrative of these events as "peace keeping"
Mr Seamus Mallon is quoted at the BBC has saying :
"You had killings for which there was no logic. This type of incident where people were shot from a passing car, almost as if for fun.
"But was very clear that there was a strategy behind it and I think the huge question to be asked here is who ultimately authorised it, because it had to be authorised both in operational terms by a senior army figure and in political terms by a senior politician."
The right question are being asked but will we get answers.
No comments:
Post a Comment