Patrick mentions on his Amnesty blog that today is International Day of the Disappeared.The purposeful vanishing of murder victims by the IRA and INLA was among the most brutal and evil acts of the Troubles. As if it wasn't enough to snuff out the lives of these men (and women in Jean McConville's case), their killers took it upon themselves to put the families of the deceased through a lifetime of agony, unable to give their loved ones a decent burial.Perhaps the most prominent of those family members was Vera McVeigh, whose son Columba was among those whose body has never been found, nor its location revealed. Vera died last year never having been able to lay her son to rest properly.Meanwhile, other relatives of the Disappeared continue to wait in hope for details of the whereabouts of...
It was with sadness that I learnt of the death of Vera McVeigh, an 82-year old Donaghmore, Co. Tyrone resident. On the face of it, Vera was a normal, decent, family woman. However, like many other similar such people, Vera was bereaved when her son was murdered by the provisional IRA. Not only that, but the provo child killers who slew her son buried his body in secret. It was Vera's wish that she would get her son's body back to give him a decent burial before she herself died. Unfortunately this simple hope was never realised.The 'people' behind this terrible crime are below contempt. There was absolutely no justification for the murder of this young man, still less for the hiding of his body.The same goes for other murderous thugs such as those in that great slur on the good name of...