Page 8

“There may be heroism in war,
but there is nothing heroic about
torture; it is a squalid, cowardly
bestial business. In theory, at
least the laws of war attempt to

limit suffering; there are no laws
or turture, no limits beyond which

it will not go, no groups of men,
women or even children, the old
or sick towards whom the torturer
recognizes any duty of humanity.
The state, whose chief function
is the protection of the helpless,
instead protects the torturer, pro-
viding” him with the tools and
security in which he can carry on
his trade of physically and men-
tally violating his victims until
body and mind have been re-
fashioned to the shape that sat-
isfies the torturer’s masters.”
This statement was made by Eric
Baker of the International Execu-
tive of Amnesty International.
Amnesty, a highly reputable or-
‘ganization operating in 40 dif-
ferent countries in Africa, Asia,
Europe and the Middle East, acts
as an international watchdog and
protector of human rights. Doc-
umented reports gathered by Am-
nesty indicate the escalating use
of torture as an instrument of
routine government administra-
tion. It is a link in the chain of
repression that has become com-
mon in many societies. Torture is
employed as a means by which
the state seeks to control or
eliminate political opposition to
unpopular regimes.

The use of torture by the British

in Northern Ireland has become
common and widespread in the last

ten years. It has been an essential
component in the ‘‘conveyor belt’’
system of the Diplock courts. This
judicial procedure, named after
the English Lord Diplock, relied
heavily on ‘‘confessions’’ made by
Irish men and women suspected
of being associated with the
Republican movement or the IRA.
‘‘Confessions’’ made under cond-
itions of sensory deprivation and
torture are later introduced as the
sole source of incriminating ev-
idence. No witnesses, no jury,
just a conveyor belt from the
court to the H-Block prisons and
continued beatings and ill treat-
ment. This was the conclusion ot
the 1978 Amnesty International
investigation of conditions in
province of Northern Ireland.

“‘Between 70 and 90 per cent of
the convictions are based wholly
or mainly on admissions of guilt
(self incriminating statement)
made to the police during inter-
rogation, only in a minority of
cases is other evidence - forensic
evidence, intelligence evidence or
testimony of witnesses - produced
in court to secure a conviction.”’

In 1971 the British Army had
worked out a new style of torure
interrogation. It was a mixture of
physical brutality and severe men-
tal presure broght about by sen-
sory deprivation.

 

The Other Press

(— Special to thé Other Press by Neil Huestis of the
Vancouver Irish Prisoner of War Committee

British Torture in Northern Irelan

In Northern Ireland in the sum-
mer of 1971, 342 men _ were
interned (no charges, no trials).
they were held for two days in
military centres where they were
subjected to beatings, sleepless-
ness, bad food, verbal abuse,
dogs, strippings, intimidation and
interrogation. Twelve men were
then transferred to solitary con-

finement for special physical and
mental torture. They were tran-
ferred to a special interrogation
centre on August 11, 1971.

All twelve men were subjected to
the following procedure:

1. Hooding

His head was hooded by a
member of the RUC (Royal Ulster
Constabulary) in a black heavy
denim bag. At times the ends
were twisted so that he nearly
suffocated. During interogation
when it was removed a bright
light was shone into his face. He
was made to wear the hood for
almost the entire six days of the
procedures.

2. Search position

He was made to stand, agains
He was made to stand, again for
almost six days, in the British
Army search position, that is,
standing against the wall, finger
tips touching the wall, on the
toes, back pushed in, head pulled
back. If he moved or fell he was
beaten.

3 Boiler suits.

He was dressed in a loose-fitting

green overall over his naked body.

the suit the
middle.
4. Noise.

He was subjected to a_ high-
pitched noise like escaping steam.
Again for most of the six days. In
the rest period towards the end
when he was allowed to lie on a
mattress this was replaced for
some of them by a hissing sound
or else by a discordant mixture of
playing records.

was open down

5. Sleep
The internee was deprived of
sleep for six days. There is

mention of rest but little sleep.
6. Deprivation og Food and Drink.

For six days he was deprived of
food and drink until the last day,
when he was given an indication
tht his torture was over. Generally
speaking, most of them only
reveived a few drops of water and
a piece of dry bread pushed into
the mouth, which they could not
eat. A few received a small
amount of water.
7. Temperature

Extremes of heat and cold were
used a forms of torture.

’ 8. Physical Brutality.

The following are excerpts from
the statement of Patrick Joseph
McClean, a school teacher living
and working in Northern Ireland
during the Amnesty International
investigation of British torture in
Northern Ireland.

McClean was taken from the
internment camp to the _inter-
rogation centre after 48 hours. He
was handcuffed and hooded and
subjected the verbal and personal

abuse as he was transferred by
helicopter.

“I was taken into what I can
only guess was (a) room and was
made to stand with my feet apart
and my hands against a wall.
During all this time I could hear a
low droning noise, which sounded
to me like an electric saw or
something of that nature. This
continued for what I can only
describe as an indefinite period of
time. I stood there, arms against
the wall, feet wide apart. My
arms, legs, back and head began
to ache. I perspired freely, the
noise and the heat were terrible.
My brain seemed ready to burst.
What was going to happen to me?
Was I alone? Are they coming to
kill me? I wished to God they
would come to end it. My circula-
tion had stopped. I flexed by arms
to start the blood moving. they
struck me several times on the
hands, ribs, kidneys and my
kneecaps were kicked. My hood
covered head was banged aginst
the wall.’’

After a period, the length of
which McClean believes to be two
days and nights., they removed
him to an interrogation room,

‘‘ITcame to in what I believed to
be Crumlin Road Jail, having
been pushed into a chair. the
hood was removed and I was
handed what I was told was a
detention form. I was told to read
it. My eyes burned and were

filled with pain; they would not
focus and I couldn’t read the
form. I was thinking God that my
ordeal was over. No more pain,
now I could sleep. But no! the
hood was pulled over my bursting
head. I was roughly jerked to my
feet and half pulled, half kicked
and beaten for about 400 yards.
This was the worst and most
sustained beating to date. Fists,
boots and batons crashed into my
numbed body, someone else’s,
not mine. Hands behind the back,

 

handcuffs biting into my wrists.
Pain! Someone pulling and jerk-
ing my arms. Thrown headlong
into a vehicle - soft seats, beating
continued, boots, batons, fists.
Then the noise, that dreaded
helicopter again. Dragged out of
the vehicle by the hair, thrown
onto the floor of the helicopter.
Blacked out.’’

McClean was then interrogated
under blinding lights amid cont-
ued beatings while three men sat
at a table and wrote. He was
asked questions abut why he had
voted for Republican candidates
in previous elections in Northern
Ireland. McClean’s own conclu-
sions as to the purpose of the
internment and torture was to
escalate a campaign of violence
against the Irish people, to find
out attitudes of a selected cross
section of the popultion and get
information where possible. He

also believes the British were
attempting to scare people out of
the IRA, and to convince all
Republicans that if arrested they
should talk rather than face
torture - sign confessions and give
information,

The effect of this escalated
violence against the Irish, as we
know today, has been to increase
resistence to the British military
occupation of Northern Ireland.
the violence perpetrated by the
British continues in 1981, both in
the streets and in the prisons on
Northern Ireland. Violence, of
course begets more violence. The
British rulers, when or if they
learn, learn hard.

On Friday, Nov. 18,
couver Irish Prisoner of War
committee is holding a_ public
commenoration meeting for the
ten Irish Hunger Strikers. Michael
Quigley, the Hunger Strike Cam-
paign representative for Canada
will present an update on the
struggle of the Irish Republican
prisoners. The meeting begins at
7:30 pm at the Fishermen’s Hall,
138 East Cordova St. Everyone is
welcome.

the Van-

 

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