35 Years Later, British Apologize For Schoolgirl Killing

Majella O’Hare was 12 years old when she was shot twice in the back by a British army soldier in 1976. Photograph courtesy of Pacemaker.
Majella O’Hare was 12 years old when she was shot twice in the back by a British army soldier in 1976. Photograph courtesy of Pacemaker.

By Christina Berger
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

BELFAST, Northern Ireland — The British government has issued a formal apology to the family of a schoolgirl who was killed by the British army in Northern Ireland in 1976. The apology, coming almost 35 years after the incident, has acknowledged that the version of what happened as told by the solider involved is “unlikely.”

Majella O’Hare, a 12-year-old Catholic girl, was walking with school friends to church in county Armagh during the summer of 1976 when she was struck in the back by two bullets. Her father, who was the school caretaker, witnessed the shooting. Majella died in a helicopter on the way to the hospital.

The paratrooper who fired the shots, Private Michael Williams, claimed that he had fired the shots in response to an IRA sniper hiding in the bushes. The RUC conducted an initial investigation, and found that Williams was not returning fire at a gunman. The RUC recommended Williams be charged with manslaughter and prosecuted. Williams was prosecuted but he was acquitted by a senior Belfast judge.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland’s Historical Enquiries Team (HET) has been conducting investigations into more than 3,000 unsolved killings, many of which took place during the Troubles. The HET reinvestigated Majella O’Hare’s case and concluded that there was never any evidence to suggest there had been an IRA gunman present. Last summer, the HET’s director urged the army to apologize for killing Majella. This was in addition to campaigning for a formal apology which British Irish Rights Watch, a civil liberties group, has done for years.

The apology, signed by secretary of defense Liam Fox, was hand-delivered to Majella’s 88-year-old mother by the Northern Ireland secretary. The letter read in part: “I apologise for Majella’s death and offer you my heartfelt sympathy…both the initial investigation by the RUC and the more recent review have concluded that it was unlikely that there was a gunman in the area when the soldier involved opened fire and struck Majella, as he claimed. The soldier’s actions resulted in the loss of a young and innocent life, causing sorrow and anguish for those who knew and loved Majella. On behalf of the army and the government I am profoundly sorry that this tragic incident should have happened.”

This was only the second apology to ever be issued by the British government for army conduct during Northern Ireland’s Troubles. Last summer, a general apology was issued in response to a report that rejected the army’s defense for what happened on Bloody Sunday in 1972, when 13 Catholic demonstrators were killed. Groups like British Irish Rights Watch hope that this signals a change in the attitude of politicians and military figures, and in the future they might be more willing to acknowledge that what happened in certain cases was wrong.

Majella’s family has welcomed the apology, though they’ve noted it’s been a long time coming. “It’s good to get this apology,” Majella’s brother Michael said. “It’s not going to bring Majella back but at least it will set the record straight for history.”

For more information, please see:

IRISH TIMES — Apology but no new criminal case over 1976 shooting of girl in North — 29 March 2011

AP — British apologize for ’76 killing of Catholic girl — 28 March 2011

GUARDIAN — Ministry of Defence says sorry for killing of Majella O’Hare — 28 March 2011

Civil War Looms in Jordan after Fierce Clashes between Civilians and Government

By Eric C. Sigmund
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

AMMAN, Jordan – Civil unrest in Jordan continues to rise as protesters, unsatisfied with government concessions, become more emboldened, spurring violate clashes between protesters and government supporters.  Saturday’s clashes were the bloodiest yet in the country, leaving 2 protesters dead and 160 injured.  Concerned that Jordan is edging closer to civil war, King Abdullah II called for national unity and announced that the government “is going ahead with political and economic reforms, strongly and enthusiastically.”

Protesters Remain Strong Three Months Later Despite Crackdowns (Photo Courtesy of The Medial Line)
Protesters Remain Strong Three Months Later Despite Crackdowns (Photo Courtesy of The Medial Line)

Pro-reform protest continued to remain resilient three months after their initial outbreak despite security crackdowns from government supporters and police forces.  While the King has expressed his commitment to address the concerns of discontent citizens, some of his proposed reforms face significant opposition from Parliament.   In particular, the Jordanian Parliament has been unwilling to limit the King’s power, claiming that a diminution of the King’s constitutional authority represents a “threat to Jordan’s survival.”  Commenting on Saturday’s deadly clashes, Parliamentary leaders announced that it will “make sure [the King] remains powerful to preserve the Jordanian identity and the constitution” and warned that “political blackmail is rejected.”  

Parliament’s statements however, have not been well received by government critics and have led some political analysts to issue their own warnings about the heightened possibility of civil war.  One commentator noted that “there is a sense that the situation may explode at any moment.”   While King Abdullah has already taken some steps to calm popular discontent, such as raising pensions and reshuffling his Cabinet, these reforms have largely been rejected as half-hearted reforms which do not address protester’s core demands.  Until all their demands are met, citizens will continue to clog the streets and pursue reform notes one protester.   Given Parliaments resistance to further constitutional reforms, the prospects for peaceful reform may be dwindling in Jordan. 

For more information please see:

The Media Line – Jordan Teetering on Civil War, Local Analysts Say – Mar. 28, 2011

Agence France Presse – Jordan King Urges Unity After Unrest – Mar. 27, 2011

Al-Jazeera – Jordan’s King Calls for National Unity – Mar. 27, 2011

Property Rights and the Demands of Transformation

Courtesy of Bernadette Atuahene, Assistant Professor, Chicago-Kent School of Law

UPDATE: More than One Million Ivorians Flee Violence and Chaos

By Daniel M. Austin
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

Refugees at a bus terminal trying to leave Abidjan. (Photo courtesy of Morris News).
Refugees at a bus terminal trying to leave Abidjan. (Photo courtesy of Morris News).

ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast – According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), up to one million people have fled the escalating violence in Ivory Coast. The UNHCR, along with other aid agencies, has not been able to access the western part of Ivory Coast due to increasing violence. Additionally, the United Nations Human Rights Council is sending a commission to investigate allegations of human rights abuses.

The number of refugees trying to escape the violence in Ivory Coast, and in particular the city of  Abidjan, has nearly double over the past two weeks. The most recent report from UNHCR claims the number of refugees has increased from half a million up to one million people. Specifically, the UNHCR has warned that somewhere between 700,000 and 1,000,000 people have fled their homes since the November election.

Violent clashes are taking place between forces loyal to former president Laurent Gbagbo and Alassane Ouattara, the president-elect. Much of the heavy fighting is occurring in and around the city of Abidjan. Consequently, most of the refugees being displaced are also from Abidjan.  The UNHCR has noted heavily populated neighborhoods such as Abodo, Adjamame, Willaimsville and Yopougon have seen many of their residents leave as violent clashes have intensified.

Fatoumata Lejeune-Kaba, a UNHCR spokeswoman for Africa, said her agency is finding new pockets of displaced people in Abidjan on a daily basis. UNHCR believes refugees are fleeing Abidjan for the more peaceful northern, central, and eastern regions of the country.

Further complicating this situation are reports that Liberian militiamen have been crossing the western border of Ivory Coast to loot, rape, and kill. The UNHCR does not believe these mercenaries are an extension of the Liberian government but simply groups of armed men who are taking advantage of the chaos in Ivory Coast. Aid agencies have curtailed operations in the western region of Guiglo because law and order has broken down and the police force is not operating.  In one incident, the UNHCR claims that English-speaking mercenaries, likely Liberians, looted a warehouse and office complex making off with supplies, office furniture, and pick-up trucks.

The United Nation Human Rights Council is sending a delegation to Ivory Coast to investigate post-election violence. Specifically, the Council has approved a request to establish a Commission of Inquiry that will look into allegations of human rights abuses that have taken place since the November 28th election. According to Human Rights Watch Director Julie de Rivero, the situation in Ivory Coast includes a “steady crescendo of abuses including targeted killings, enforced disappearances, politically motivated rape, and indiscriminate shelling.” De Rivero also notes the actions of the Council in “establishing a Commission of Inquiry for Cote d’Ivoire sends a strong signal to all parties to the conflict that they will be held accountable for their actions.”

For more information, please see:

Al Jazeera — UN: One million flee Cote d’Ivoire violence – 25 March 2011

AOL News — ‘Humanitarian Tragedy’ Unfolding in Ivory Coast – 25 March 2011

BBC — Ivory Coast: One million refugees feared, UNHCR says –25 March 2011

Bloomberg – UN Human Rights Council to Send Commission to Ivory Coast – 25 March 2011

BusinessWeek — Ivory Coast Unrest Forces Up to 1 Million to Flee, UN Says – 25 March 2011

Human Rights Watch – UN: Rights Body Acts Decisively on Iran, Cote d’Ivoire – 25 March 2011

Voice of America — UN: One Million Flee Ivory Coast Violence as Crisis Deepens – 25 March 2011

Zee News — Liberian mercenaries ‘loot, rape, kill’ in Ivory Coast – 26 March 2011