Carrie Twomey with a response to today's ruling in the Bell case

I am so sorry for everyone that has had to go through this for so many years. For the waste of time, resources, and money, chasing something that was always a sham and mockery of justice.

The Boston College archive was an oral history, with all that entails: memory, a rough draft, and opinion. Oral histories are a guidebook, sign-posts, maps to be used in excavating history. They are not confessions for use in prosecution, nor are they perfect or corroborated histories. They are not meant to be. They are one person's recollections. They are meant to be challenged, and filled out. They turn history into people and their personalities, with all their flaws and imperfections. They are important and they have their value and place.

Their place however is not in a courtroom. Today's ruling recognizes that. This is something we have said all along. The Boston College archive was worthless as evidence. It is a travesty of justice that it has taken as long as it has, and cost as much as it has, in terms of people's lives, emotions, expectations, and in monetary terms, for the court to finally put an end to their pursuit. Farce does not begin to cover what this has been.

We are in the Supreme Court in London next week fighting the subpoena of Anthony's materials, another sham case pursued in part I believe to create the pretext to arrest Anthony in order to put pressure on him to become a witness in the Bell case, something they were never going to achieve regardless.

The Bell case collapsed because the court ruled the tapes are inadmissible. It ruled that their inadmissibility goes beyond the narrow Trial of the Facts, and the PPS has declined to appeal the ruling.

“The tapes will become public with the end of this trial. Everyone who reads about them can form their own view, informed or otherwise, on the many issues they raise. But in the context of a criminal trial they are just not reliable or fairly obtained evidence.” - Judgement: Application to Exclude the Boston Tapes Evidence

We knew that from the first subpoena issued. Boston College had a duty to fight much harder against the subpoenas than what they did for precisely this reason: they were not evidence, they would never stand up in court, the pursuit of them was an abuse of process, and an egregious abuse of the US-UK MLAT. Shame on Boston College. Shame on them for not standing up for history. Shame on them for not protecting their researchers, their research, and, most importantly, their research participants. Shame on them.

A lot of things have been, are being, and will be said about Anthony and his involvement in the project. Some of which we would agree with, especially with the gift of hindsight! But I still passionately believe history belongs to people, and it is important it be told – especially in times and eras where it is contested, silenced, censored, and oppressed. The Belfast Project meets all those criteria. It is a history that the state wanted suppressed. State actors, supporters, and agents never wanted the histories contained in the Boston College archive told. We know this by the lengths they have gone to in destroying it. The histories in the archive are a means of unravelling the state’s carefully constructed façade.

Keep digging, keep pushing against the pricks, keep telling your truth.

History Belongs to People, Not the State


Carrie Twomey with a response to today's ruling in the Bell case

I am so sorry for everyone that has had to go through this for so many years. For the waste of time, resources, and money, chasing something that was always a sham and mockery of justice.

The Boston College archive was an oral history, with all that entails: memory, a rough draft, and opinion. Oral histories are a guidebook, sign-posts, maps to be used in excavating history. They are not confessions for use in prosecution, nor are they perfect or corroborated histories. They are not meant to be. They are one person's recollections. They are meant to be challenged, and filled out. They turn history into people and their personalities, with all their flaws and imperfections. They are important and they have their value and place.

Their place however is not in a courtroom. Today's ruling recognizes that. This is something we have said all along. The Boston College archive was worthless as evidence. It is a travesty of justice that it has taken as long as it has, and cost as much as it has, in terms of people's lives, emotions, expectations, and in monetary terms, for the court to finally put an end to their pursuit. Farce does not begin to cover what this has been.

We are in the Supreme Court in London next week fighting the subpoena of Anthony's materials, another sham case pursued in part I believe to create the pretext to arrest Anthony in order to put pressure on him to become a witness in the Bell case, something they were never going to achieve regardless.

The Bell case collapsed because the court ruled the tapes are inadmissible. It ruled that their inadmissibility goes beyond the narrow Trial of the Facts, and the PPS has declined to appeal the ruling.

“The tapes will become public with the end of this trial. Everyone who reads about them can form their own view, informed or otherwise, on the many issues they raise. But in the context of a criminal trial they are just not reliable or fairly obtained evidence.” - Judgement: Application to Exclude the Boston Tapes Evidence

We knew that from the first subpoena issued. Boston College had a duty to fight much harder against the subpoenas than what they did for precisely this reason: they were not evidence, they would never stand up in court, the pursuit of them was an abuse of process, and an egregious abuse of the US-UK MLAT. Shame on Boston College. Shame on them for not standing up for history. Shame on them for not protecting their researchers, their research, and, most importantly, their research participants. Shame on them.

A lot of things have been, are being, and will be said about Anthony and his involvement in the project. Some of which we would agree with, especially with the gift of hindsight! But I still passionately believe history belongs to people, and it is important it be told – especially in times and eras where it is contested, silenced, censored, and oppressed. The Belfast Project meets all those criteria. It is a history that the state wanted suppressed. State actors, supporters, and agents never wanted the histories contained in the Boston College archive told. We know this by the lengths they have gone to in destroying it. The histories in the archive are a means of unravelling the state’s carefully constructed façade.

Keep digging, keep pushing against the pricks, keep telling your truth.

9 comments:

  1. Carrie,

    Anthony is like the rest of us ... perfectly imperfect.

    That said though, if there were more like him, if there were more who were wise enough and prepared enough to doggedly put in the hard and difficult work of rising above inculcated positions and more who would strive for objective reasoning, the world would be a better and saner place.

    Humanity calls out for courageous citizens of integrity like Anthony.
    Best wishes,
    HJ.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Read the article in the Irish News I think, that gobshite Adams couldn't lay straight in bed. Keep up the fight Anthony, I may kick with the other foot but I agree with 90% of what ye say!

    ReplyDelete
  3. AM (and family)

    Mr Justice O'Hara has delivered a fair and reasoned judgment that effectively vindicates your position all along. He does make some criticism of your inexperience in conducting the oral history but that is to be expected because the Belfast Project was a novel concept and has since informed the ethics committees of all universities on how similar research projects are to progress in future. I am sure you yourself would agree with that in hindsight.
    The most significant victory for you is that judge has repeated what you have said all along: 'the Boston tapes are for the public to judge and not juries in criminal proceedings'. That is s fantastic win for you!! Congratulations because I know it has come at a heavy personal cost.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Using Anthony as a scapegoat is a perfect deflection for both the Brits and quisling $inn £anny , both of which has far to many dirty secrets to allow the "ordinary volunteers" their say in our recent past,which would have probably happened had the Boston project been allowed to continue , history recorded by each and every side involved ,,that would have been something else not the sanitised narrative that both the Brits and Quisling $inn £anny keep feeding us,if anything comes from that secret court,s judgement yesterday it is once again British courts are an affront to decency and justice ,,,

    ReplyDelete
  5. Keep up speaking truth to power, Anthony.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Nice result....that should be an end to any future subpoenas no doubt....I was at a funeral recently and and ex POW asked me what the fuck did I think about these Boston tapes and what was Mackers thinking about by producing them in the first place!
    My answer was simple,

    'I couldn't give a rats arse as I am not on the tapes.'

    ReplyDelete
  7. Henry Joy, I agree with every word you have written about AM.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Carrie,
    good concise summary of recent events. A great shame it came to this point, that you and Anthony in the face of it had to stand alone. Shame on Boston College, and shame on Sinn Féin for not doing the proper thing. My heart hurts with this and recent Spotlight exposures. I thank you kindly for your bravery.XX.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I thought this case was thrown out due Ivor Bells ill health?

    ReplyDelete