OLDEST IRISH AMERICAN NEWSPAPER IN USA, ESTABLISHED IN 1928
Category: Archive

McGuinness sticks to honor code

February 16, 2011

By Staff Reporter

As he left Derry’s Guildhall after a grueling two days in the witness box, McGuinness was defiant after being warned legal action could be taken against him for his refusal.
The two addresses he had refused to give were: the house where he gave orders to IRA volunteers not to shoot at the British army on Bloody Sunday and where they met after the shootings and the house where arms were secured to prevent them being used on the same day.
McGuinness said he had approached people who had provided assistance to the IRA in January 1972 and they had asked him not to disclose the addresses. “In my view their attitude is totally understandable,” he said.
He believed that those who had provided the IRA with logistical support were open to prosecution by the authorities. “Family members would be put at grave risk of attack by loyalist paramilitaries who continue to target republicans,” he said.
“I’m confident that the families of those who were murdered on Bloody Sunday understand my position,” he added.
It would be ironic, he said, if he was the only one to face prison as a result of the tribunal when those who had pulled the trigger did not. He was cheered by members of the public as he finished giving evidence and as he left the Guildhall.
On both days, McGuinness had been followed to and from his home by cameramen and photographers.
Although most journalists had expected him to face a tough grilling by the “superstar” lawyers working at the tribunal, in the event there was a general consensus that they hadn’t landed any significant punches on the Sinn Fein MP.
On several occasions, he turned the tables on his questioners. Asked what he understood by the term “Green Book” (the named used to denote the IRA’s own internal rules), McGuinness said he understood it was a book that was green.
He elaborated on this later, explaining that the “Green Book” had not existed in 1972, Asked by another lawyer about the British army theory that soldiers had killed IRA men on Bloody Sunday but their bodies had been buried in secret across the border, McGuinness was scathing.
If anyone died in Derry, he said, there would be wakes, month’s minds, anniversaries and a gravestone. He told the lawyer that people didn’t disappear without explanation in Derry – although he didn’t know what kind of society the lawyer lived in.
The chairman of the tribunal, Lord Saville, temporarily adjourned the inquiry after complaining that McGuinness was failing to properly answer questions relating to events on the day.
McGuinness questioned whether the inquiry was truly independent. “I accept that it is a distinguished tribunal, but I do not accept it is independent,” he said when questioned about why he had initially not co-operated with it.
He then quickly clarified his views, saying “One of the important things that has happened over the course of the last 10 years is that a British prime minister came on the scene who decided to do things differently from any other British prime minister.
“So whilst I have expressed my reservations about the independence of this tribunal, that does not necessarily mean that I do not have confidence that this tribunal can get to the truth and finally clear up what has been a running sore.”
Senior Ulster Unionist David McNarry, however, criticized the Sinn Fein MP for not being more forthcoming.
“Martin McGuiness is a leading exponent for truth and reconciliation, yet in front of the Saville inquiry he singularly refused to come clean and tell the truth about his involvement with the IRA,” McNarry said.
“He has a magnificent opportunity to do the decent thing and be transparent about historical facts. If he were to do so he would lay to rest a lot of concerns and cynicism that exists about his ability to work for the future.”

Other Articles You Might Like

Sign up to our Daily Newsletter

Click to access the login or register cheese