Gaddafi to compensate protestant victims

The DUP released a statement on their website today stating that they have had a series of meetings at a very high level in Tripoli at the invitation of the Libyan authorities- The meetings were held to negotiate with the Libyan government over compensation for protestant victims of IRA violence, The DUP believe that Libya should compensate the victims because Colonel Gaddafi supplied the IRA with weapons and explosives during the troubles, the DUP said their MPs met with the Mayor of Tripoli, the Libyan minister for Europe and the Speaker of the General Peoples Congress. On his return from Libya Nigel Dodds said “This has been a constructive and positive first direct engagement with the Libyan authorities. It constitutes a major milestone in our campaign on behalf of Libyan involvement in helping IRA terrorism.”

The IRA’s connection with Libya began in 1972 when Libya’s eccentric leader Colonel Mummar Gaddafi praised the IRA as allies in a struggle against Western imperialism. The relationship was exposed in March 1973 when the Irish navy found a five-ton arsenal of weaponry provided by the Libyan government onboard a ship called the Claudia, off the coast of County Waterford. Joe Cahill (one of the founders of the Provisional IRA) was arrested onboard together with five others. The French authorities apprehended another ship called Eskund with 150 tonnes of weaponry that was on its way to Ireland and it is believed that at least three substantial shipments of arms from Libya reached the IRA.

So there is little doubt that Gaddafi assisted the IRA in their campaign of violence which resulted in a lot of innocent people dying, but as with everything in Northern Ireland there are two sides to the story and two sides to the community. What about catholic victims or IRA violence? Who is going to negotiate with Libya on their behalf? And what about catholic victims who were shot bombed and killed by other groups during the troubles?

When the DUP proposed the motion (compensation from Libyan Government) to the Northern Ireland Assembly on 14th of September 2009, Sinn Fein opposed the motion, in the Assembly Gerry Adams said, “It is unfair and partisan. Let me say for the record that Sinn Fein is not opposed to any victims lobbying any Government anywhere in the world for compensation.” The Sinn Fein President went on to say “ It would have been better had the members who proposed this motion consulted with other parties to bring forward a motion that would have united, rather than divided, us and would have reflected the suffering of all victims. The motion suggests that there is a hierarchy of victims, and that is wrong. The only way that political parties, in particular, and society in general can deal properly with all these issues is on the basis of equality of treatment for all. The motion, therefore, fails on that most important hurdle.”

The UUP supported the motion as did the Alliance party and SDLP, but SDLP MLA Alex Attwood said in the Assembly “From the outset, I wish to make it clear that, with caution, the SDLP backs the motion. An amendment to the motion was not accepted by the speaker, and we believe that the amendment would have more generously reflected the situation with respect to victims and survivors.”

I think the SDLP have the most pragmatic approach to this motion, their East Derry MLA John Dallat said “Nigel Dodds should be commended for his efforts to hold the Libyan regime to account for the Semtex and AK47s it supplied to the provisional murder machine. However for the sake of balance and the Shared Future to which his party is at least theoretically committed, he might want to look at the source of other weapons which killed people in large numbers. Collusion with rogue members of the security forces was of course a main source of weapons for the loyalist murder gangs. But there was also substantial shipment of arms from apartheid South Africa organised via Ulster Resistance at a time when First Minister Peter Robinson was sporting a Para-style red beret, holding rallies on hill-tops and invading County Monaghan. So if Nigel Dodds does get his delegation to Tripoli, he might like to continue southwards to Pretoria and check out who signed off on the weapons to Ulster Resistance.”