Tag Archives: Inan Ul-Haq Bashir

9th February – Deaths & Events in Northern Ireland Troubles

Deaths in the Troubles, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Key Events & Deaths on this day in Northern Ireland Troubles

9th February

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Tuesday 9 February 1971
BBC Memorials

www.bbc.co.uk/broadcastinghouse/memorial

Five men, two of them British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) engineers, the others construction workers, were killed near a BBC transmitter on Brougher Mountain, County Tyrone in a landmine attack carried out by the Irish Republican Army (IRA).

[It was believed that a British Army (BA) mobile patrol, which had been visiting the site, was the intended target.]

Wednesday 9 February 1972


William Craig, who had been Northern Ireland Minister for Home Affairs, launched ‘Ulster Vanguard’ as an umbrella movement for the right-ring of Unionism.

[The new group held a series of demonstrations and marches over next few months. These demonstrations intensified when Stormont was replaced and ‘direct rule’ introduced.]

A Report (Cmnd. 4901) was published by a committee headed by Lord Parker on the methods used by the security forces in to interogate those interned. The methods included: ‘in-depth interrogation’, hooding, food deprivation, use of ‘white noise’ to cause disorientation and sleep deprivation, and being forced to stand for long periods leaning against a wall with their finger-tips. Two members of the committee, including Lord Parker, held that the techniques were justified. Lord Gardiner disagreed.

Saturday 9 February 1974

  

Anthony O’Connor & Hugh Duffy

Two Catholic civilians were shot dead at O’Kane’s Bar, Grosvenor Road, Belfast, by Loyalist paramilitaries.

Sunday 9 February 1975

Two Catholic civilians, both aged 19, were shot dead by Loyalist paramilitaries as they left St Brigit’s Catholic Church, Malone, Belfast.

The Irish Republican Army (IRA) announced that it was reinstating its ceasefire for an indefinite period as of 6pm on 10 February 1975.

Monday 9 February 1976


Two Protestant civilians were shot dead by the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) in the Shankill area of Belfast. It was believed that the two men were mistaken for Catholics.

Monday 9 February 1981

Ian Paisley, then leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), and other senior members of the DUP held a rally at Belfast City Hall were they signed a covenant, the ‘Ulster Declaration’, based on the Ulster Covenant of 1912. Paisley also announced a ‘Carson Trail’ which was to be a series of protest rallies against the continuing dialogue between Margaret Thatcher, then British Prime Minister, and Charles Haughey, then Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister).

Friday 9 February 1990

Tommy Lyttle, then leader of the Ulster Defence Association (UDA), appeared in court on charges of having a threatening letter sent to the sister of Brian Nelson.

Amnesty International published a report which claimed that there was “mounting evidence” of collusion between the security forces and Loyalist paramilitaries. The RUC said that the claims were “utter nonsense”.

Thursday 9 February 1995

Sinn Féin (SF) called off a planned meeting with Northern Ireland Office (NIO) officials after the party claimed that the room where the meeting was to have taken place was bugged.

Friday 9 February 1996

End of IRA Ceasefire
The Irish Republican Army (IRA) exploded a large bomb at South Quay in the Docklands area of London. The lorry bomb killed two people, injured many more, caused millions of pounds worth of damage, and marked the end of the IRA ceasefire after 17 months and 9 days. A statement had been issued by the IRA one hour before the explosion occurred at 7.01pm.

See Docklands bombing

Monday 9 February 1998

Brendan Campbell (30), a Catholic civilian, was shot dead outside a restaurant on the Lisburn Road, Belfast. Campbell was alleged to be a drugs dealer and the group called Direct Action Against Drugs (DAAD) claimed responsibility.

[Many people believed that DAAD was a cover name (pseudonym) used by the Irish Republican Army (IRA). The killing of Campbell (and Robert Dougan on 10 February 1998) led to the expulsion of Sinn Féin (SF) from the multi-party talks on 20 February 1998.]

A political row broke out between Ken Maginnis, then Security spokesperson for the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), and Marjorie (Mo) Mowlam, then Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.

In a letter to David Trimble, then leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), Mowlam demanded an apology from Maginnis for allegedly calling her “a damned liar” during a session of the talks at Stormont. Maginnis said he had “no intention whatsoever” of apologising.

In another row, involving Sinn Féin (SF) and the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), John Hume, then leader of the SDLP, defended his party colleague, Seamus Mallon, from accusations by Republicans that his attitude at the talks had been “extremely unhelpful”.
The British government published proposals, Your Voice Your Choice, for reforms to the Northern Ireland Police Authority (NIPA).
The Standing Advisory Commission on Human Rights (SACHR) submitted a report to Marjorie (Mo) Mowlam, then Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, expressing concern about the continuing high levels of Catholic unemployment despite the introduction of two Fair Employment acts. The report entitled Employment Equality: Building for the Future examined the effectiveness of fair employment legislation and the impact of government policy. Figures on unemployment showed that Catholics continued to be twice as likely to be unemployed as Protestants.
A number of UUP members, who opposed the party’s involvement in the multi-party talks, established a new pressure group called the ‘Committee for Traditional Ulster Unionist Values’. The new grouping was led by Nelson McCausland.

Tuesday 9 February 1999

The Orange Volunteers (OV) admitted carrying out an attack on a Catholic owned public house in Castledawson, County Derry.

The Belfast Telegraph (a Belfast based newspaper) published the results of an opinion poll. The poll showed that, of those questioned, 50 per cent believed that the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) should join Sinn Féin (SF) in a power-sharing Executive even without prior decommissioning.

Tuesday 9 February 1999

A middle-aged man discovered an unexploded pipe-bomb outside a public house in Crumlin, County Antrim. The Loyalist paramilitary group the Orange Volunteers (OV) claimed they had targeted the bar.

Saturday 9 February 2002

An estimated 80 people were involved in rioting in the Whitewell Road area of north Belfast. The disturbances broke out in the Arthur Bridge, Longlands estate, and Gunnell Hill areas along the Whitewell Road and eight petrol bombs were thrown. One man was arrested on suspicion of riotous behaviour.

[There were further disturbances in the area on Sunday evening (10 February 2002) and again on Monday morning (11 February 2002).]

A gun was found close to Coronation Park, Aughnacloy, County Tyrone. The main Aughnacloy to Monaghan road was closed for a while on both sides of the Northern Ireland border while the security alert was on-going.

The Executive committee of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) held a meeting at which it was decided to seek an increase in affiliation fees from the Orange Order. It was believed that the UUP would be seeking £12,000 per annum. The Orange Order has 120 of the 860 seats on the Ulster Unionist Council (UUC) which is the policy making body of the UUP.

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Remembering all innocent victims of the Troubles

Today is the anniversary of the death of the following  people killed as a results of the conflict in Northern Ireland

“To live in hearts we leave behind is not to die

– Thomas Campbell

To the innocent on the list – Your memory will live  forever

– To  the Paramilitaries  –

There are many things worth living for, a few things worth dying for, but nothing worth killing for.

17 People   lost their lives on the 9th  February  between  1971 – 1998

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09 February 1971


 John Eakins,   (52)

Protestant
Status: Civilian (Civ),

Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Killed while travelling in Landrover, which detonated landmine on track, Brougher Mountain, near Trillick, County Tyrone. British Army (BA) mobile patrol intended target.

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09 February 1971


 William Thomas,  (35)

nfNI
Status: Civilian (Civ),

Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Killed while travelling in Landrover, which detonated landmine on track, Brougher Mountain, near Trillick, County Tyrone. British Army (BA) mobile patrol intended target.

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09 February 1971
 Harry Edgar,  (26)

Protestant
Status: Civilian (Civ),

Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Killed while travelling in Landrover, which detonated landmine on track, Brougher Mountain, near Trillick, County Tyrone. British Army (BA) mobile patrol intended target.

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09 February 1971
 David Henson,  (24)

nfNI
Status: Civilian (Civ),

Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Englishman temporarily working in Northern Ireland. Killed while travelling in Landrover, which detonated landmine on track, Brougher Mountain, near Trillick, County Tyrone. British Army (BA) mobile patrol intended target.

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09 February 1971


 George Beck,   (43)

Protestant
Status: Civilian (Civ),

Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Killed while travelling in Landrover, which detonated landmine on track, Brougher Mountain, near Trillick, County Tyrone. British Army (BA) mobile patrol intended target.

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09 February 1972
 Patrick Casey,  (26)

Catholic
Status: non-specific Republican group (REP),

Killed by: non-specific Republican group (REP)
Died three days after being injured in an explosion at temporary council offices in school hall, Keady, County Armagh. Explosion occurred 6 February 1972.

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09 February 1974


 Anthony O’Connor,   (42)

Catholic
Status: Civilian (Civ),

Killed by: Ulster Freedom Fighters (UFF)
Shot while leaving O’Kane’s Bar, Grosvenor Road, Belfast.

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09 February 1974


 Hugh Duffy,  (24)

Catholic
Status: Civilian (Civ),

Killed by: Ulster Freedom Fighters (UFF)
Shot while leaving O’Kane’s Bar, Grosvenor Road, Belfast.

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09 February 1975
 Kevin Ballantine,   (19)

Catholic
Status: Civilian (Civ),

Killed by: non-specific Loyalist group (LOY)
Shot as he left St Brigid’s Roman Catholic Church, Derryvolgie Avenue, Malone, Belfast.

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09 February 1975
 Gerard Kiely,  (19)

Catholic
Status: Civilian (Civ),

Killed by: non-specific Loyalist group (LOY)
Shot as he left St Brigid’s Roman Catholic Church, Derryvolgie Avenue, Malone, Belfast

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09 February 1976


 Archibald Hanna,   (51)

Protestant
Status: Civilian (Civ),

Killed by: Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF)
Shot while sitting in stationary lorry outside newsagent’s shop, Cambrai Street, Shankill, Belfast. Assumed to be a Catholic.

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09 February 1976


 Raymond Carlisle,  (27)

Protestant
Status: Civilian (Civ),

Killed by: Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF)
Shot while sitting in stationary lorry outside newsagent’s shop, Cambrai Street, Shankill, Belfast. Assumed to be a Catholic.

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09 February 1989

Anthony Fusco,  (33)

Catholic
Status: Civilian (Civ),

Killed by: Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF)
Shot while walking to his workplace, West Street, Smithfield, Belfast.

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09 February 1993


 Michael Beswick,  (21)

nfNI
Status: British Army (BA),

Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Killed by remote controlled bomb hidden in wall, detonated when British Army (BA) foot patrol passed, Cathedral Road, Armagh.

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09 February 1996


 Inan Ul-Haq Bashir,   (29)

nfNIB
Status: Civilian (Civ),

Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Killed in lorry bomb explosion, left in car park, South Quay railway station, Isle of Dogs, London. Inadequate warning given.

See Docklands bombing

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09 February 1996


 John Jefferies,  (31)

nfNIB
Status: Civilian (Civ),

Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Killed in lorry bomb explosion, left in car park, South Quay railway station, Isle of Dogs, London. Inadequate warning given.

See Docklands bombing

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09 February 1998
 Brendan Campbell  (30)

Catholic
Status: Civilian (Civ),

Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Shot, shortly after leaving Planks Restaurant, Brookland Street, off Lisburn Road, Belfast.

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The London Docklands bombing – 9 February 1996

Deaths in the Troubles, Major events in The Troubles, , , , , , ,

 

Docklands bombing

1996

The London Docklands bombing (also known as the Canary Wharf bombing or South Quay bombing) occurred on 9 February 1996, when the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) detonated a powerful truck bomb in Canary Wharf, one of the two financial districts of London. The blast devastated a wide area and caused an estimated £100 million worth of damage. Although the IRA had sent warnings 90 minutes beforehand, the area was not fully evacuated; two people were killed and 39 were injured.

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IRA bombs Canary Wharf, London

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It marked an end to the IRA’s seventeen-month ceasefire. The IRA had agreed to a ceasefire in August 1994, on the understanding that Sinn Féin would be allowed to take part in peace negotiations. However, when the British government then demanded the IRA must fully disarm before any negotiations, the IRA resumed its campaign. After the bombing, the British government dropped its demand for the IRA to disarm before any negotiations

 

Background and planning

Since the beginning of its campaign in the early 1970s, the IRA had carried out many bomb attacks in England. As well as attacking military and political targets, it also bombed infrastructure and commercial targets. The goal was to damage the economy and cause disruption, which would put pressure on the British government to negotiate a withdrawal from Northern Ireland.[1] In the early 1990s, the IRA began another major bombing campaign in England. In February 1991 it launched a mortar attack on 10 Downing Street, headquarters of the British government, while Prime Minister John Major was holding a meeting. The mortars narrowly missed the building and there were no casualties. In April 1992, the IRA detonated a powerful truck bomb at the Baltic Exchange in the City of London, its main financial district. The blast killed three people and caused £800 million worth of damage; more than the total damage caused by all IRA bombings before it.[2] In November 1992, the IRA planted a large van bomb at Canary Wharf, London’s second financial district. However, security guards immediately alerted the police and the bomb was defused.[3] In April 1993 the IRA detonated another powerful truck bomb in the City of London. It killed one person and caused £500 million worth of damage.

In December 1993 the British and Irish governments issued the Downing Street Declaration. It allowed Sinn Féin, the political party associated with the IRA, to participate in all-party peace negotiations on condition that the IRA called a ceasefire. The IRA called a ceasefire on 31 August 1994. Over the next seventeen months there were a number of meetings between representatives of the British government and Sinn Féin. There were also talks—among the British and Irish governments and the Northern Ireland parties—about how all-party peace negotiations could take place.

By 1996, John Major’s government had lost its majority in the British parliament and was depending on Ulster unionist votes to stay in power. It was accused of pro-unionist bias as a result. The British government began insisting that the IRA must fully disarm before Sinn Féin would be allowed to take part in full-fledged peace talks. The IRA rejected this, seeing it as a demand for total surrender.[4] Sinn Féin said that the IRA would not disarm before talks, but that it would discuss disarmament as part of an overall solution. On 23 January 1996, the international commission for disarmament in Northern Ireland recommended that Britain drop its demand, suggesting that disarmament begin during talks rather than before.[5] The British government refused to drop its demand.

The bombing

At about 19:01 on 9 February, the IRA detonated a large bomb containing 500 kg of ammonium nitrate fertilizer and sugar,[4][6] in a small lorry about 80 yards (70 m) from South Quay Station on the Docklands Light Railway (in the Canary Wharf area of London), directly under the point where the tracks cross Marsh Wall.[7] The detonating cord was made of semtex, PETN and RDX high explosives.[4] The IRA had sent telephoned warnings 90 minutes beforehand, and the area was evacuated. However, two men working in the newsagents shop directly opposite the explosion, Inam Bashir (29) and John Jeffries (31), had not been evacuated in time and were killed in the explosion. 39 people required hospital treatment due to blast injuries and falling glass. Part of the South Quay Plaza was destroyed.[7] The explosion left a crater ten metres wide and three metres deep.[4] The shockwave from the blast caused windows as far east as Barking, approximately five miles away, to rattle.

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Victims

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09 February 1996


 Inan Ul-Haq Bashir,  (29)

nfNIB
Status: Civilian (Civ),

Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Killed in lorry bomb explosion, left in car park, South Quay railway station, Isle of Dogs, London. Inadequate warning given.

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09 February 1996


 John Jefferies,  (31)

nfNIB
Status: Civilian (Civ),

Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Killed in lorry bomb explosion, left in car park, South Quay railway station, Isle of Dogs, London. Inadequate warning given.

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Approximately £100 million worth of damage was done by the blast.[4] Three nearby buildings (the Midland Bank building, South Quay Plaza I and II) were severely damaged (the latter two requiring complete rebuilding whilst the former was beyond economic repair and was demolished). The station itself was extensively damaged, but both it and the bridge under which the bomb was exploded were reopened within weeks (on 22 April), the latter requiring only cosmetic repairs despite its proximity to the blast.

This bomb represented the end to the IRA ceasefire during the Northern Ireland peace process at the time. James McArdle was convicted of conspiracy to cause explosions, and sentenced to 25 years in prison, but murder charges were dropped.[citation needed] McArdle was released under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement in June 2000 with a royal prerogative of mercy from Queen Elizabeth II.[8]

The IRA described the deaths and injuries as a result of the bomb as “regrettable”, but said that they could have been avoided if police had responded promptly to “clear and specific warnings”. Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Sir Paul Condon said: “It would be unfair to describe this as a failure of security. It was a failure of humanity.”[9]

On 28 February, John Major, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, and John Bruton, the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland, announced that all-party talks would be resumed in June. Major’s decision to drop the demand for IRA decommissioning of weapons before Sinn Fein would be allowed into talks led to criticism from the press, which accused him of being “bombed to the table”.[10]

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