Comments on The Pensive Quill: Gerry McGeough: One Year On

Good luck Gerry. Stay strong and know a lot of pe...

2012-03-11T23:36:31.893Z

Good luck Gerry. Stay strong and know a lot of people are wishing you well.

Robert, I am not sure this addresses the point. ...

2012-03-11T21:55:14.803Z

Robert,

I am not sure this addresses the point. Political policing existed and was addressed, albeit in a highly unsatisfactory manner. McGeough and others did not benefit from political policing but from the corrective to it. Now that corrective has been shown to be defective itself. But perhaps more importantly, the selective targeting of McGeough demonstrates the political rather than the legal dimension of the current policing arrangement.

Arguments about SF's failure (or intention) not to solve the OTR issue are not germane to the points made here about political policing.

Nice to see you still throwing your hand in by the way.

Marty, '..is not all policing political a car...

2012-03-11T21:39:05.511Z

Marty,

'..is not all policing political a cara,?'

Yes and it can be beneficial and detrimental.

Anthony, 'The argument can be made that Gerry...

2012-03-11T21:17:44.061Z

Anthony,

'The argument can be made that Gerry McGeough was a beneficiary of a corrective to political policing rather than political policing per se.'

But the 'corrective' was not being applied as a remedial measure to defective policing but rather to the failure of Sinn Fein to secure the exemption of OTR's from the prosecutorial process during the original GFA negotiations. Gerry was not OTR due to an issue within policing that required reform.

Marty, I think that is the point Robert might be ...

2012-03-10T11:51:13.042Z

Marty,

I think that is the point Robert might be making: if all policing is political then it is not really political policing that is being complained about but who is politically policed. I offered him a different way of looking at it which he might reject.

Robert is not all policing political a cara,?

2012-03-10T10:03:20.360Z

Robert is not all policing political a cara,?

Robert, I am not sure that works. The argument ca...

2012-03-10T09:19:35.116Z

Robert,

I am not sure that works. The argument can be made that Gerry McGeough was a beneficiary of a corrective to political policing rather than political policing per se. Something like affirmative action designed for the purposes of correction.

There was no other way to correct defective policing other than by a political intervention. Just like stopping police torture. If a person then claims the right not to be tortured on the grounds that a political intervention precludes torture he can hardly be accused of benefitting from political policing.

Political policing was a part of the problem in the North and this was accepted in the outcome. That it might only have been accepted for pragmatic reasons is neither here nor there.

Gerry, 'Who said political policing is a thin...

2012-03-09T21:06:33.353Z

Gerry,

'Who said political policing is a thing of the past in the six counties?'

The charge of political policing rings somewhat hollow in your case given that you were the beneficiary of an act of political policing that was agreed at Weston Park. You are therefore, demonstrably, not an opponent of political policing in principle but only in the manner that it has been dispensed.

Statement from Gerry McGeough, March 8, 2012: Ex...

2012-03-09T07:00:40.055Z

Statement from Gerry McGeough, March 8, 2012:

Exactly five years ago today, I was arrested outside the election center in Omagh. Despite having campaigned openly for 6 weeks in a high profile election, the PSNI claimed ‘they were not able to locate me’. I was subsequently charged and sentenced by a Diplock court for 20 years on 30 year old troubles related incidents that no one showed the slightest interest in prior to that.

Who said political policing is a thing of the past in the six counties?

From Helen McClafferty: It is a measure of the si...

2012-02-27T18:39:34.445Z

From Helen McClafferty:

It is a measure of the significance of tomorrow’s postponement of the decisions on my Appeal and Judicial Review that today already the Unionist and the British Secretary of State have been stating ‘there should be no troubles-related amnesties.’

One wonders, if that is the case, why they are not demanding the prosecution of British crown force personnel for the slaughter of innocent Irish Catholic civilians over a 25 year period by the British and their Unionist allies? This hypocrisy is no longer sustainable nor should it continue to be tolerated.

My family and I, along with all the hard working supporters of this campaign, have never stopped struggling against this injustice, since my arrest 5 years ago; and we will continue the struggle until I and all those who have been wrongly imprisoned on troubles-related charges dating back prior to the GFA are free.

From Helen McClafferty: I have just been informed...

2012-02-27T18:06:16.679Z

From Helen McClafferty:

I have just been informed by Gerry McGeough's attorney who was just notified by the Court Office that the judgment in the Judicial Review will not be delivered until Friday. He also checked with the Court of Appeal Office and they too have just confirmed that they will not be delivering judgment tomorrow. Gerry's attorney has asked for an explanation and he is waiting to hear from them. I will let you know as soon I hear anything.

Adh mór Gearoíd, Beannaigh

2012-02-20T20:57:31.298Z

Adh mór Gearoíd, Beannaigh

This is one of those political cases where exempla...

2012-02-19T18:34:55.851Z

This is one of those political cases where exemplary punishment is meted out to let eveyone know where the power lies and who has the ability to put manners on who. Best wishes to Gerry

I see Martin Mc Guinness has cited ,that Marian Pr...

2012-02-19T18:11:45.585Z

I see Martin Mc Guinness has cited ,that Marian Prices detention goes against natural justice.
He also said she was entitled to due process! Funny, when it came to himself and his side kick being confronted by the same due process they both created a smokescreen of deceit and lies.
I hope something turns up for you soon Gerry.

Good luck Gerry, and you are 100% correct about SF...

2012-02-19T15:39:43.658Z

Good luck Gerry, and you are 100% correct about SF, they are just Puppets in the same old regime, "Stormont",if we all read between the lines correctly as to why the in denial "P.I.R.A. chief Gerry Adams", moved to Southern Part Of our Island to gain a seat, well to me that says it all.
Back to square one, Diplock Courts and Internment.

Gerry for my part I will write to all politicans a...

2012-02-19T10:21:53.883Z

Gerry for my part I will write to all politicans and the so called Justice Department. Every opportunity I get. I will highlight the case of Interment but for now stay strong.

keep the spirit strong, Gerry, at this terrible ti...

2012-02-19T09:33:32.441Z

keep the spirit strong, Gerry, at this terrible time for you and your family.

Good luck Gerry,wish you well.

2012-02-18T21:18:03.891Z

Good luck Gerry,wish you well.