Abstrakte Identiteter – Konkret Vold - DIIS

Asger Petersen Speciale Institut for Statskundskab, KU
Sikkerhedsstyrkerne
De nordirske sikkerhedsstyrker består af politiet, Royal Ulster Constabulary Force, hæren, Ulster De-
fense Regiment, støttet af infanterienheder fra den Britiske Hær (White og White 1995: 331).
Under protestmarchen i Derry, der resulterer i Bloody Sunday, dræbes 13 demonstranter af soldater fra
den Britiske Hær. Irish News konstruerer begivenheden som en massakre på fredelige og forsvarsløse
civile:
”And as the 1 st Batallion Parachute Regiment pulled out of Derry at midnight Miss Bernadette
Devlin who dived for cover as she stood on the back of lorry declared: 'it was mass murder by
the British Army. This was our Sharpeville 126 .” (Irish News 1972#1)
“Mr Eddie McAteer, President of the National Party, said: 'I was a simple massacre. There
were no petrol bombs, no guns, no snipers, no justification whatsoever for this well-organized
slaughter.” (Irish News 1972#1)
“Throughout the country – north and south – abroad, there was condemnation of the action
of the paratroops who fired indiscriminately according to eye-witnesses at fleeing people and
even at men on the ground.” (Irish News 1972#2)
Den Britiske Hærs handlinger under Bloody Sunday konstrueres som en uprovokeret massakre, der
umuligt kan forsvares. Ved at fremhæve at demonstranterne var ubevæbnede og fredelige, samt at hæ-
rens handlinger var ”velorganiserede”, konstrueres den Britiske Hær som en brutal aktør, der forsøger
at undertrykke den katolsk-republikanske befolkningsgruppe med magt.
Endvidere konstrueres den nordirske regering som ansvarlige for sikkerhedsstyrkernes handlinger:
“Mr. Faulkner and General Tuzo are the people who pulled the triggers in the massacre of
the marchers. They had given authority to the men on the ground act with effect in suspicious
circumstances. In other words, they have put into the hands of people with low I.Q, in some ca
ses of the criminal classes, the decision to shoot people dead and in the process dispensing
with judge and jury and the right to legal defense. This is the sort of vermin who have rifles in
their hands and have been sent out to preserve law and order, when law and order was already
being preserved by intelligent responsible people protesting in a non-violent way against the
most corrupt regime in Western Europe.” (Irish News 1972#3)
126 ”Sharpeville” hentyder til den såkaldte ”Sharpeville-massakre” i Sydafrika, den 21. march 1960, hvor sydafrikansk politi
skød og dræbte 69 demonstranter under en angiveligt fredelig demonstration for sortes rettigheder (Thörn 2009: 127)
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