Madam, - Am I missing something? A parliamentary report finds very strong evidence that the security forces of a neighbouring friendly nation were involved in terrorist bombings and mass murders committed within this jurisdiction, and further that the government and authorities of this friendly nation refused to cooperate with the parliamentary investigation.
Where is the national shock, where is the official outrage, where is the government anger? Our administration should be reacting with something approaching apoplexy; the news should be dominating the print, radio and television media for the next month. Where is the recall of the Irish ambassador for urgent consultations, where is the calling in of the British ambassador to hear the Government's anger and outrage? Instead we get measured expressions of "concern", and the almost routine media coverage of a story which in other jurisdictions and circumstances would be taken as justifying the immediate severing of diplomatic relations.
Imagine the French government learned that members of the German security forces had organised and carried out bombings and mass murders in France, and the German authorities had shrugged their shoulders in indifference when asked to explain the allegations. Or that the Canadian parliament uncovered evidence that CIA had bombed Canadian cities and murdered Canadian citizens. Either would provoke an international crisis. Yet in Ireland the reaction of both media and government is muted to say the least.- Yours, etc,
BRIAN MACGABHANN, Galway.
Madam, - The Oireachtas report citing widespread collusion between British state forces and loyalist murderers should now compel the Government to pursue the British state through the European courts in order to get it to reveal its murky past. The Government should also demand the withdrawal of the decorations given by Queen Elizabeth to the RUC and the UDR.
These organisations were awarded the George Cross and the Conspicuous Gallantry Cross respectively for services to the British government. Now that we know that each force was deeply involved with murdering, not only their Catholic neighbours, but also citizens of a separate sovereign state, these bravery awards are not only ill-deserved, but an insult to all the victims of their murderous activities. - Yours, etc,
GORDON KENNEDY, Botanic Road, Glasnevin, Dublin 9.
Madam, - I was a showband musician from 1964 to 1974. The main reason our band - Dee Leydon and the Powerman - broke up was because we reluctantly decided we could no longer play in Northern Ireland.
There were stories circulating on both sides, Catholic and loyalist, of a plot to plant a bomb on a showband van which would explode south of the Border.
I and many other musicians were deeply saddened but not surprised by the Miami Showband massacre of July 30th, 1975. - Yours, etc,
JOE McDONAGH, Chapel Street, Sligo.