RUC kill Catholic man John Downes with plastic bullet at Sinn Féin rally - West Belfast, August 1984 скачать в хорошем качестве

RUC kill Catholic man John Downes with plastic bullet at Sinn Féin rally - West Belfast, August 1984

On 12 August 1984, a protest organised by Sinn Féin was making its way through Andersonstown in West Belfast. It was outside the Sinn Féin office of Connolly House on the Andersonstown Road. Martin Galvin, an American lawyer and spokesman for NORAID (a group in the US accused of fundraising for the IRA) appeared at the rally. He was banned from Northern Ireland and the police began moving to arrest him. Scuffles began breaking out in the crowd as the police moved through wielding batons. Martin Galvin managed to evade arrest. During the incident 22 year old John Downes (also called Sean Downes) was shot in the chest at point-blank range with a plastic bullet. He died soon after in hospital from damage to his heart. The incident was caught on camera and broadcast around the world. He was the 15th person to be killed by plastic bullets in the Troubles. He had a new-born daughter with his wife. At least 20 other protesters were injured by police, some seriously. Mr Downes had previously been convicted of IRA membership in 1977 but had not been jailed and at the time of his death had had no connection to the group for many years. Catholic bishop Dr Cahal Daly said ‘The display of force and the use of force by the police cannot be said to have been justified by the behaviour of the crowd or to have been in proportion to it. Widespread indignation has been aroused even among moderate and peace-loving people who are totally opposed to paramilitary violence.’ The Economist magazine wrote ‘This has given the IRA success beyond its wildest dreams. Police officers either panicked or went on the rampage, firing off plastic bullets in contravention of their own rules. Sean Downes died on camera and the IRA gained a fresh martyr.’ The RUC officer who fired the round was a reservist. Tensions were further inflamed when the officer was acquitted of manslaughter in 1986. The judge said Mr Downes had been ‘running out fast in a very determined manner holding the stick or pole, and it must have been quite apparent to the accused that he was going to strike one or other of the police officers that were turned to him. In these circumstances of sudden attack I think it is probable that the accused did act almost instinctively to defend his comrades without having time to assess the situation.’ 5000 mourners attended Mr Downes' funeral. #IRA #UVF #UDA #troubles #northernireland #northernirelandconflict #northernirelandtroubles #thetroubles