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News :: Miscellaneous |
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Wondering About That "Rubber" Bullet in the Display Case at the IMC? |
Current rating: 0 |
by Commandante Lucas
(No verified email address) |
10 May 2001
Modified: 11 May 2001 |
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This article tells more about this brutal device of political control. It may look harmless enough sitting behind glass, but "rubber" and "plastic" bullets can kill. The one in the case at the IMC was brought back from Quebec by the U-C IMC Newsteam. This article is based on the extensive history of the use of these "non-lethal" projectiles in Northern Ireland. |
5 reasons to ban plastic bullets
In situations of conflict, security forces around the world have developed various methods of controlling and suppressing legitimate political opposition. Where the eyes of the media are watching, they need to tread carefully. Plastic Bullets were introduced in the north of Ireland as \'non-lethal\' weapons to control riot situations and to maintain civil order. They replaced rubber bullets and were marketed by the security forces as being \'soft, squidgy and harmless\', to be used under strict controls.
The brutal reality has seen rubber and plastic bullets murder 8 children and 9 adults. They have seriously injured thousands of others, maiming and disfiguring many for life. They have left a catalogue of carnage, grief and brutal sectarian oppression. Independent international studies of plastic bullets have shown that they are lethal and excessively dangerous weapons; that their use is not monitored and; those who have used them to kill or maim innocent people have not been brought to justice.
The United Campaign Against Plastic Bullets wants an end to this nightmare. We believe that the use of Plastic Bullets should be banned immediately. Here\'s our reasons why:
1. Plastic bullets cause horrific injury and are in fact, vicious killers.
17 deaths and thousands of injuries later, those who argue that plastic bullets don\'t kill or maim are either callously insensitive or are afraid that they will lose a media-friendly weapon of sectarian oppression. Plastic Bullets are made of rock-hard PVC, they are 3.5 inches long, they leave the barrel at 160 MPH and according to the US army, they cause \'severe damage resulting in such injuries as skull fractures and fragmentation of the liver.\' In a study carried out by the Royal Victoria Hospital it was found that in comparison to rubber bullets, injuries to the skull and brain tended to be more severe, resulting in more deaths. Of the 90 sample patients, 44 sustained injury to the upper body, 8 had fractured skulls and 3 died.
After the first four deaths in 1981, Paul Rosenhead wrote: \'They are the most tragic victims...only a fraction of which are ever reported in the media. Eviscerated eyes, smashed hands, triple fractures of the leg, head wounds requiring 40 stitches, injuries to the kidney, liver, groin and throat\'. When 12 year old Paul Corr was shot by Royal Marine Commandos, the plastic bullet tore off part of his nose, shattered and ripped out his palate, and forced his teeth down into his mouth. It\'s not surprising that even the European Parliament has passed four separate motions calling for their banning.
2. The rules governing the use of plastic bullets are not adhered to.
According to official rules, plastic bullets should only be fired:
1.to disperse a crowd whenever it is judged to be the minimum and reasonable force in the circumstances 2.they should be aimed so that they strike the lower half of the target\'s body directly 3.rounds must not be fired at a range of less than 20 metres except where the safety of soldiers or others is seriously threatened
There has been documented wholesale abuse of the rules governing the use of plastic bullets. Time after time they have been used in non-riot situations, target victims have been struck in the upper body and head, rounds have been fired from close range. Plastic bullets have also been used to intimidate and terrorise individuals, including children. There are countless tragic examples on record: Michael Donnelly was killed by a plastic bullet in the chest, fired at a range of 15-20 yards. The High Court accepted there was no rioting. Nora McCabe died after being struck on the head by a plastic bullet fired from a police landrover. Video evidence proved categorically that \'at all material times Mrs McCabe was an innocent passer-by\' and that rules were not adhered to. Stephen McConomy was fatally shot in the head by soldiers in a Saracen from a distance of 17 feet. There are many more cases of the rules being ignored or circumstances being covered up. It seems that the rules exist, not to protect the public, but as a cynical security forces\' PR weapon.
3. those who use plastic bullets get away with murder.
The rules for engagement of Plastic Bullets can not be enforced through the existing legal system. Throughout the history of the misuse of rubber and plastic bullets, the 17 deaths, the thousands of maimings, disfigurations and blindings, no member of the security forces has ever been convicted. The clear signal to colleagues is - you can get away with murder. The army and police offer large compensation to the victims and families to evade the embarrassment of public scrutiny. In some cases the compensation has been clawed back by the witholding of state benefits.
The security forces have effectively been given unofficial immunity from prosecution. Families of victims who have pursued redress have been harassed and intimidated. In some cases like that of John Downes, the State refused to hold an inquest. In other cases there has been a charade of justice, in which the impunity with which police and army can kill and disfigure its victims, the frustration of the families of the dead and injured do nothing to further the cause of peace so dear to our hearts.
4. Plastic bullets have been used as a sectarian and intimidatory weapons
It\'s not insignificant that 16 of the 17 deaths caused by rubber and plastic bullets were Catholics. These weapons are systematically used as a means of intimidation in Nationalist areas. They are dangerous, lethal weapons and sliould not be used agaiiist anyone, under any circumstances, in any areas. However even when they are deployed, an analysis of their sectarian use questions their impartiality and legitimacy. Nationalist political protest against British Government policies is met with plastic bullets. They are used not just as riot control weapons but as a means of political control.
5. Plastic Bullets have not furthered peace, they have prolonged the conflict
The lethal and trigger-happy use of rubber and plastic bullets has only caused further alienation of Nationalists and increased distrust of the security forces. The flaunting of justice, the impunity with which police and army can kill and disfigure its victims, the frustration of the families of the dead and injured do nothing to further the cause of peace. The British Ministry of Defence admitted in 1991 that the gun used to fire plastic bullets
nstable and inaccurate by as much as 10 feet at a distance o 30 yards. With so many deaths and injuries, why hasn\'t this information come to light sooner? - design faults have been known since 1974. Why must the killing and maiming go on? Why should the police and army continue to murder with impunity?
Plastic Bullets are lethal and highly dangerous, they are regularly used in non-riot situations, rules of engagement are ignored, the police and army are not subject to t law and their continued use is an obstacle on the road to peace. The United Campaign Against Plastic Bullets demands that these weapons be banned now.
Recent official reports (M.O.D. and the Criminal Justice Department at Reading University) have shown that the guns used to fire plastic bullets are grossly defective. Incredibly, they were found to be unstable and inaccurate by as much as 10 feet at a distance of 30 yards. With so many deaths and injuries, why hasn\'t this information come to light sooner? -design faults have been known since 1974.
Why must the killing and maiming go on? Why should the police and army continue to terrorise and alienate the Nationalist Community? Plastic Bullets are lethal and highly dangerous, they are commonly used in non-riot situations where rules are ignored, the police and army are not subject to the law and they are holding back the progress towards peace.
The United Campaign Against Plastic Bullets believes that these weapons should be banned now. Thank you.
Issued by the United Campaign Against Plastic Bullets, c/o 195 Whiterock Road, Belfast, BT12 7FW, Telephone (+44 1232) 622854
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See also:
http://www.geocities.com/capitolhill/4521/
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