Teribius,
I stated that many were killed because of British Army action, and that is the truth. I did not say how many or what percentage in North Belfast. I know for certain that young Duffy, shot be soldiers in Dawsaon stret was not only unarmed but also slightly mentally challenged and these heroes of britain cut him down in broad daylight. I know thatldier his only crime was trying to stop some young neighbours from rioting, the rubber bullet by the way killed him. I know also that Mrs Emma Groves was shot while in her own kitchen making dinner, she opened the window to let out some steam and was shot at close range (with a rubber bullet) by a british soldier who was so shit scared that he fired at anything that moved. this lady, a mother of a large family was left blind.
I know also from first hand that an aged gentleman pleaded with british soldiers not to fire their CS gas near his house because his daughter was asthmatic and in bed sick, The response was "too F....ing bad Paddy, get inside or we will shoot you", the gentleman was my father and the daughter my younger sister who had such a violent reaction to the gas that her heart gave out withing two days. My sister by the way was 26 years old and due to be engaged to a protestant the following week. Her death is not considered as a result of the troubles but never the less she may be alive today if not for the refusal of the army to respect my fathers request..
A big part of the problem was that these young english/scottish/welsh soldiers were not fully trained and were so skittish that nothing was safe, they even shot some cows down in Tyrone because of a noise behind a hedge.
I also know that when the army/police etc received a warning from the IRA that a bomb had been planted, many times the warning was ignored hoping for casualties that could be used for anti-IRA public relations.(maybe that was what Divis was referring to)
I did not try to hide the number killed by the IRA, but I believe that in North Belfast a district that sits between two loyalist communities (Tiger Bay and the Shankill Road) the number that would have been killed there by Loyalists/ Police and the army would have been greater than the 396 I referred to.
Just answer me one thing, what was the nationalist communities supposed to do?, who were they going to turn to for protection ?, certainly not the R.U.C. . definetely not the loyalists squads and definitely not the british army. The IRA was the only alternative, and with the IRA active in North Belfast it helped to lessen the threat from the others.