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A SILENT TROOP in civilian dress – some with UN blue berets and medals – will hold a vigil outside Government buildings this afternoon.
They will be paying their respects to Private Derek Smallhorne and Private Thomas Barrett who died while serving with a United Nations peacekeeping unit 34 years ago to the day.
According to a group of soldiers and former colleagues, silence is something that the loved ones of the deceased have been met with far too often in their three-decade-long quest for answers. The man who has reportedly admitted his alleged involvement in the killing of the two soldiers, Mahmoud Bazzi, is living openly in Detroit and working as an ice-cream man.
On 18 April 1980, the UN Peacekeeping patrol was ambushed in south Lebanon. The kidnappers – the pro-Israeli militia grouping loyal to the Haddad – tortured and killed Private Smallhorne, 31, a father of three, and Private Barrett, 29, who had a baby daughter in Ireland. They tortured and shot a third Irishman, Private John O’Mahony. He survived.
Today’s wreath-laying ceremony at the National Monument in Merrion Square and the silent vigil has taken on extra significance, says ‘Justice for Smallhorne and Barrett’ spokesman Robbie Masterson.
The steady momentum building behind their campaign on both sides of the Atlantic, the presence of the surviving member of the surviving member of the attack, John O’Mahony, along with some of the Irish Defence Forces most distinguished officers will add to the atmosphere and may force the issue up the Department of Foreign affairs agenda, he says.
‘‘For the first time in 34 years we see an open door and we are just trying to force our way through it,’’. This open door that Robbie speaks of has given the ‘Justice for Smallhorne and Barrett’ group the belief for the first time that Bazzi may at the very least be forced to answer questions for what the then Taoiseach Charlie Haughey described as ‘wanton murder’.
Despite living uninterrupted in the States for over three decades Bazzi initiated proceedings to become a full American citizen sometime in 2013. As with all new applications for citizenship, a review of the applicant’s record by authorities is procedure. US Homeland officials began looking into Bazzi’s background and requested a meeting with Steve Hindy, a former Middle East correspondent for the Associated Press who happened to be with the Irishmen when the abduction occurred.
Hindy was kidnapped with the Irish soldiers and has identified Bazzi as the man who kidnapped them.
Private O’Mahony has also identified Bazzi as the man who shot him.
Hindy confirmed that Department of Homeland Security investigators contacted him last June with concern about Bazzi’s past and potential future presence in the States. They confirmed for the first time that that Bazzi had illegally entered the country.
This is the first time that American investigators have showed a will to bring Bazzi to task for his actions in the Lebanon, it is also the first time that Bazzi’s illegal entry to the US has been acknowledged by the authorities.
Steve Hindy is bewildered by the American handling of the case up until now:
“I think that the US authorities do not appreciate myself and others writing about the Bazzi case. The spotlight makes it more difficult for them to ignore the fact of Bazzi’s involvement in the kidnap and murder of the Irishmen, and the shooting of John O’Mahony.”
He alleges that Bazzi was – at the very least – involved in the murders:
Bazzi (…) did drive off with both men (Smallhorne and Barrett) and the two men did turn up hours later, tortured and executed. At the very least, Bazzi should answer for his complicity in the murders, and of course for shooting O’Mahony.
The London Embassy of the United States subsequently contacted the surviving Irish soldier John O’Mahony asking him to meet them in September of 2013 to discuss Bazzi. Two days before O’Mahony was due to fly out, the London Embassy cancelled the meeting.
“So many things about this case don’t sit right” Robbie added. “I mean you hear about people being deported from America for far more trivial things.
Why at the very least have the American authorities not brought Bazzi before some sort of hearing to account for his actions?
“You would think that the murder of two UN Peacekeepers, the near fatal wounding of another and the kidnap of an American citizen (Hindy), would have forced the Americans to at least question Bazzi.”
This week Fianna Fáil TD Dara Calleary called strongly on the “US Homeland Security Department to act on this issue and ensure that the allegations against Mr Bazzi are fully tested in court”.
“The families of John Barrett and Derek Smallhorne deserve justice. They were international peacekeepers who were murdered whilst carrying out UN duty, hence a UN member such as the USA should not give succour to anyone who may have been involved in their murder.”
“It would be a victory to get him to a hearing” Robbie says, as he is only too aware that “if he (Bazzi) is granted citizenship it’s over”.
“The game will be up, and at the minute we don’t know how far along his application is.
“I mean what it really comes down to is this do the American people really want Bazzi wrapping himself in an American flag? I hope not and I think if the American public were aware of his past they would want nothing to do with him.”
Efforts to find out where the investigation on Bazzi is at by American journalists like such as IrishCentral.com’s Sheila Langan have thus far been fruitless.
The latest update came in January this year when Steve Hindy was told that agents in Detroit are now handling the case. He has been refused the names of these investigators. Hindy has confirmed to this week that he is considering filing a Freedom of Information request for information about the proceedings with Bazzi in the US.
Efforts to work with the Irish Government by the ‘Justice for Smallhorne and Barrett’ group are still being explored and the group have said they hope to start receiving answers by 4 July or they will be forced to up their efforts in their long overdue quest for justice.
A small number of the group met Minister for European Affairs Paschal Donohue yesterday afternoon, a session described as ‘‘a briefing exercise on the case and a request for assistance from the Irish Government which was very positively received”.
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Sounds good, but please let these houses be earmarked for working taxpayers
@Newto2016:
Currently a housing estate being built in my town, 37 houses. All bought by the council for social housing.
2 new developments due to start shortly, all bought by respond.
We are locked out of the market even before it opens.
@Newto2016: they should go to the people that are on the waiting list longest. There are whole families living in B& B , Hotels etc There are 3,500 children homeless in this country. They deserve a home.
@Jurga Moylan: talk about ignorance you do know social housing is not to do with your employment status its to do with income, I am on a housing association committee and majority of tenants are working and paying tax, I’m surprised you didn’t me tion free houses while you were at it even though there is no such thing rent is income based not employment so yourself and newto2016 need to cop on to yourselves
@Jurga Moylan: do you already own a home ? Or are you in private renta? If you are in private rental you should be on the housing list. l , there are plenty of homes on the market for private buyers. It is the lack of social housing is the problem..
@nelliekel: who pays for the building of the house.
@Paul Buckley:
We are private renting, with sky high rents,our income is considered too high so we are not even considered for the social housing list.
We have 3 kids, the usual bills and the usual cost of living.
Trying to save 25 to 30k to buy a 2nd hand house is not exactly a walk in the park.
@nelliekel:
It’s not ignorance whatsoever, it’s my reality.
Paying big rent. Raising 3 kids, working full time, considered to be earning too much.
We could afford a house in one of those new developments but we don’t even get the chance to buy one. The help to buy scheme will give us the rest of the deposit we would need. BUT THE COUNCIL HAVE THEM ALL BOUGHT.
Bring that to your housing committee and see what you can work up for the likes of me and the thousands of others in the same predicament.
@Paul Buckley: “If you are in private rental you should be on the housing list” What world are you living in?
@Jurga Moylan: Spot on, its a nightmare at the moment for both sides of the coin. Under no circumstances should the council be allowed to buy a full development, it should be split.
@Jurga Moylan: so because council brought them you will blame others, at least you have some hope of owning House one day what if you were working full-time for minimum wage do you really think bank will give a mortgage,
@Mark: everyone is entitled to be on a local authority housing list…
@nelliekel:
Is this the way you go into your committee meetings, by reading into a narrative that hasn’t been implied? I’ve never blamed any one individual, I’ve mentioned the council in all my comments. I blame the council and the government for allowing this to happen.
Are u OK now hun?
@DeWitt:who pays for house you buy!!! Obviously if a mortgage the bank pays for it not you and you pay mortgage and until paid off they hold deeds, now incase you need it pointed out the council obviously pay for council house and collect rent on them but the tenants won’t ever own it unless they are allowed buy it of them at some stage and here’s a bit of info for you some tenants would have brought house twice over but banks aren’t to quick to give mortgage to someone on minimum wage,
@Paul Buckley:
That’s not correct.
Look it up!
@Jurga Moylan: the real problem is in your reply “sky high rents” Greedy people buying 4 / 5 homes there is one TD who owns 4 blocks of apartments and 5 homes.
And you should not be discriminated against because your income is too much.
Furthermore, I cannot understand how a standard house build in Ireland costs twice as much as it does in the UK.
I wish you well , I think everyone should get a fair crack of the whip.
@Paul Buckley:
To be fair to my landlord I think he’s just about breaking even with the rent I’m paying him. It’s more a long term investment rather than a quick buck. You’re right, everyone should get a fair crack but it’s all focused on the social housing at the moment.
@Newto2016: everyone in Ireland is a tax payer.
Unless you think we should discriminate against certain tax payers?
@nelliekel: the council uses the tax payers money.
@nelliekel: DCc is owed €35 million in back rent. Some of the tenants are not paying and the council cant evict them.
@Newto2016:
Agreed, social housing could be allocated to all workers, with rent based on income. So your tax helps you (and others).
Only less than 5% of the population were unemployed before covid, there’s way more than 5% who live in social housing. So many in social housing had a job.
@Barry: if you get your income from social welfare and you pay VAT on goods, you just give the government back some of their own money. Income tax, corporate tax, etc are a net loss to the individual.
@Barry: actually we should
@DeWitt:
How much rent arrears is owed in the Private Renting sector?
How much mortgage arrears in the Home Ownership sector?
So we can compare these rent arrears with the social housing sector.
I expected a 1st world capitalist country to have eliminated homelessness.
@nelliekel: just wow
@DeWitt: don’t know were you get information from but council can evict someone for none payment of rent and do, and who’s money do you think bank uses to give mortgage
@Jurga Moylan: number one I’m not your Hun.. I agree everyone should have right to affordable housing but as long as our government allows vulture funds to buy up property and charge high rents fewer people will be able to buy houses, I’d rather see council buy them to house people then American and Chinese vulture funds, to get a mortgage now is beyond a joke my neice a nurse and her husband a Doctor had terrible trouble getting approved because he worked in two different hospitals in two years and they told them couldn’t guarantee income??? Another nephew and partner were refused twice even both in steady jobs while his brother an apprentice had no problem all of then ended up using a broker to get them one so I am well aware of the problems and to expect people to have savings of €20or €30 grand savings a joke while paying high rent but the content bitching I see about people getting free!!! Houses is getting beyond a joke, councils should be building houses instead of selling land then paying above market value for houses of the developers they sold land to shows how fe*led up country is,
@nelliekel: the problem of housing whether private or social originates in government policies protecting banks and profits. How many times have we read about the corrupt practices in NAMA? ALL the properties that have been sold to vultures should have been sold to the Irish private market and councils.
@nelliekel: Total nonsense. The rents they pay on a €400,000 house are nominal to the point its basically a free house. And no way would they pay for the house twice over, total ballox. And there should never, ever be the option to buy social housing after playing basically free rent for a few years. Totally and utterly unfair to tax payers struggling with mortgages that some scrote can just get €400k equity for nothing
@Dean: how much tax are you willing to pay off your earnings to make that happen?
@Jurga Moyla Where did Respong get the finances to buy up this housing stock?
@Newto2016: what have you got against unemployed taxpayers??
So 22% is the increased PLEDGE from this year. So this year we should have 7786 houses built but we have only 700 so 9% complete to target so far. Good luck believing this.
@Deirdre O C: TBF, this year is particularly challenging
@Cian – Wash your: I know, i get it however my problem is him parading out this 22% as a good thing when we only are 9% this year. It’s not an increase if we fail to deliver the target in the first place.
Surprised Leo didn’t make this wonderful announcement, he usually blathers on about mythical things in the future, while having convenient amnesia abut the previous announcements.
@Da_Dell: How much does Leo charge you for renting or cost renting that space in your head. You are obsessed.
More waffle from this egotist.
@Paul Mc:* egoist
Great, so can all renters expect to knock 30% off the rent, or home buyers off the mortgage?
This social housing construct is obviously lopsided in favour of a non contributory cohort of population,who benefit from modern top rate housing on a needs assessment, subsidised by taxpayers who cannot access their own housing.
Some rebalancing is needed to maintain some semblance of republican Egalite in this matter.
@William Kelly: I agree it should be allocated to workers only to stop this welfare dependence. However we need to massively expand the scheme to house workers. We have a huge working poor problem in Ireland. People who work in cafes sleep in dormitories.
Market values are distorted as it is! Many landlords are leaving property deliberately empty rather than rent them out cheaper! We desperately needed a Vacant Property Tax in yesterdays budget
Here’s an amazing thing but 80% of civil service entrants are entitled to social housing. Seriously you should check out your elugability
I am in my 6th year on housing list and despite applying for many houses on a weekly basis I cannot fee see me obtaining a house .
@Mary Mc Carthy: Upskill & work your way off that list. Much easier than applying every week for a hand out.
@Melissa Mahony: I unskilled and now have a gross of 70000 and a family 2+2, I am excluded from this list and I am excluded from a mortgage unless it’s very affordable Sligo or Donegal. Why can’t I live where I was born or at least 50 miles of it.
This notion of up-skilling is nonsense.
I completed university 3 times (up-skilled after my degree after the recession), and I still don’t earn enough to get a mortgage from a bank. The prices of private renting equals a large chunk of my wages.
And despite my education & years of work experience, I still get employers offering salaries as low as possible (they’d rather hire cheap from across Europe).
have your say