Families Acting for Innocent Relatives

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Families Acting for Innocent Relatives (FAIR) is a group founded in 1998 by unionist victims of the Troubles in South Armagh, who claim to feel marginalised by their perception that too many concessions were granted to Irish Republicans during the peace process, as well as by the inclusion of the Sinn Féin party (regarded by them as the political wing of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA)) members in the government of Northern Ireland, under the terms of the Good Friday Peace Agreement of 1997.

Contents

[edit] History

FAIR claims to represent the Unionist and Protestant victims of Irish Republican terrorism in South Armagh, Northern Ireland.

FAIR is led by South Armagh man Willie Frazer who lost five members of his close family to PIRA violence during The Troubles, and who has supported collusion between British security forces and loyalist paramilitaries. [1] It is the largest such group in Northern Ireland, with approximately 600 members. FAIR is determined to placing "innocent" victims' rights and issues high on the British government's agenda, and support the exclusion of Sinn Féin from the government of Northern Ireland. FAIR is supportive of the Unionist Democratic Unionist Party, which has also opposed Sinn Féin involvement in the government of Northern Ireland[citation needed].

FAIR has called for full public inquiries into alleged collusion between Irish authorities and Republicans in the deaths of Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) officers, Loyalist terrorists, and Northern Protestant civilians [1]. Representatives have met with the Smithwick Tribunal for this reason.

[edit] Controversies

A criticism of FAIR is that it only represents the victims of republican violence, downplaying and ignoring the numerous civilian victims of Loyalist terrorists and British security forces. Willie Frazer has defended his group's record by saying it is for South Armagh victims. He argues that the majority of the victims in South Armagh were caused by the IRA. However, Fair has included as a victim of IRA violence, Robert McConnell, alleged to be a member of both the Ulster Defence Regiment and of the illegal Ulster Volunteer Force. McConnell was implicated in the killing of the brothers of Eugene Reavey on January 4 1976, and in the Dublin and Monaghan bombings of 1974.

FAIR has been criticised for promoting Ian Paisley's allegation in 1999 that Eugene Reavey was involved in the killing of ten Protestant civilians at Kingsmill, the Kingsmill massacre, on January 5 1976. [2] FAIR has refused to accede to Police Service of Northern Ireland demands that the allegation be removed. The then RUC Chief Constable, Ronnie Flanagan, dismissed the allegation against Reavey. In January 2007 the PSNI Historical Enquiries Team (HET) apologised to Reavey for the promotion of the allegation by elements within the RUC, who then passed the information to Ian Paisley in 1999. [3]

Susan McKay, the author of Northern Protestants, an Unsettled People, has said of the organisation: "Fair, Frazer admitted to a House of Commons select committee hearing... is controversial. "We are seen as the bad boys within the victims sector," he said. This is largely because of its aggressive insistence that there are "innocent" and "genuine" and "real" victims, and there are others who have no right to call themselves victims at all. According to Fair and the DUP, Eugene Reavey is in the latter category. It is an appalling lie." [4]

[edit] 2006 Dublin Riots

In February 2006, FAIR as part of the Love Ulster organization attempted to hold a protest march in Dublin in the Republic of Ireland to bring to the attention of Dublin citizens their view of the plight of Protestant victims of IRA violence. The march resulted in violence against the Gardai and against property. "Gardai.. concluded there [was] no evidence to indicate the rioting had been orchestrated in advance. They blamed the violence on a group of opportunistic thugs who had been drinking or congregating in the city centre before the start of the march. They believed that, after the violence and looting began, many of the thugs had contacted their friends and encouraged them to travel into the city centre to join in." [5] The Love Ulster supporters withdrew under police cover, and were ferried by bus to meet the Irish Minister for Justice, Micael McDowell. Though Sinn Fein, Republican Sinn Fein and others were initially accused of orchaestrating the riot, this was later dismissed after a Garda investigation. "Anti-terrorist officers believe the group of Republican Sinn Fein and Irish Republican Socialist Party supporters, who had gathered earlier to confront the Love Ulster marchers, had stayed out of the rioting. The scale of the violence caught Gardai by surprise as intelligence had indicated that the protest planned by the dissident republicans would be low-key. Senior garda officers had held several meetings with members of Republican Sinn Fein as well as with Dublin City Council and the organisers of the Love Ulster march, the loyalist victims' group, Families Acting for Innocent Relatives (Fair)." [6]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Bitter hatreds that underpin Love Ulster parade in Dublin, Susan McKay, Irish Times, Feb 25th 2005
  2. ^ [http://www.indymedia.ie/article/80602 Disgusting justification for sectarian murders, by Susan McKay, Irish News January 30 2007.
  3. ^ ibid
  4. ^ Bitter hatreds that underpin Love Ulster parade in Dublin, Susan McKay, Irish Times, Feb 25th 2005.
  5. ^ 100 Suspects Identified in march rioting, Irish Independent, September 18 2006
  6. ^ ibid


[edit] External link

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