PUBLIC MEETING
HELD AT GLENAMOY COMMUNITY HALL, COUNTY MAYO
TESTIMONY GIVEN BY CONCERNED CITIZENS
TO INTERNATIONAL DELEGATION OF ENVIRONMENTALISTS AND
HUMAN RIGHTS SPECIALISTS
MONDAY, 26 FEBRUARY 2007
Meeting Chairman: Mr B. Peek, South Africa
Hearing Panel Member: Ms H. Jongepier, Netherlands
Hearing Panel Member: Mr D. Larson, United States of America
Hearing Panel Member: Mr P. de Clerk, Brussels
Hearing Panel Member: Ms H. Griffiths, United Kingdom
I certify the foregoing to be a correct and complete transcript of my shorthand notes: E. Crowley, Court Reporter
First Testimony:
MR ED COLLINS: Good evening. Thank you, ladies and gentlemen, for taking the time to speak to me. My name is Edward Collins. I have been a peaceful protester for two years at the Bellanaboy gate. I do it for my children and their children. My particular situation, I was born in America of all-Irish descent. I feel it’s my duty to help my neighbours to protest, to alleviate this project, to make it go away to sea. A strange few things happened to me in the beginning.
I have been beaten, assaulted, kicked, choked, punched. I made small statements, I never ever made a complaint. But I will tell you my complaints now. I will start off: I was taking photographs of the protest on the morning of November 10, 2006. When we walked away they were smashing a car when we came around the side and we were going up towards Bellanaboy bridge, there were about 40 of us.
I was taking photographs. Sixty or more Gards came up to us. There were 3
Gards behind us. They surrounded us. The force was like a tidal wave. They
compacted us. They threw their jibes, they threw their punches and kicks. I managed to go at the back of the gate – at the back of where the Gards were – and was walking, proceeding down the road. I put my camera away under my jacket because it was starting to rain out. A BanGarda ran up to me, she grabbed me by the arms, I told her I was going home. She said with foul language, “You’re fucking not going anywhere.” I said, “Please, I want to go home.” Once again she said I’m not going anywhere. She proceeded to grab my thumbs and laid in a series of kicks at my legs, she kicked me in the privates, she kicked me in my groin. I bent over.
She grabbed me by my camera strap, she started swinging me. All of a sudden a Garda I believe is GW 304, he’s about six-five and about 270, came running, charging, at me with kicks. He gave me such a kick and a shove I flew about six feet in the air, with the BanGarda because she had her hand wrapped around my camera strap when she was pulling me. We flew down a 15-foot drain. She landed face-down, I landed sitting down. I had water up to my waist. I thought – I don't know what I thought, do you know, but I panicked. I scrambled up. Three Gards ran down and picked her up. I asked for help, they told me to go fuck myself. I pulled myself up and I heard shouts and screams up on the street, I couldn’t see. Some people tried to rescue me but were pushed and kicked back. Finally two people did manage to come and pull me up. I laid on the road for about an hour.
Anyways, an ambulance came and it was a site ambulance and they looked at
me and they said I was finished, there was nothing they could do, so they drove
away. About 40 minutes later another ambulance came and they took me to the
hospital. On arrival I guess, I couldn’t breathe, I was in excruciating pain all over my body, my blood pressure was 193:120. I had a series of pain medication injections. I was sent to the orthopaedic ward. I had serious contusion in my lower back and I couldn’t walk, I couldn’t feel my feet, I couldn’t move my toes for three days in the hospital. They said I would get better, they sent me home. I went into another hospital.
The next morning my legs swelled up twice the size. They sent me back to the hospital, where they took x-rays and they sent me home again and said I would get better within three weeks. It has now been 15 weeks. I was at the hospital this morning for MRI. It seems that I was kicked so forcibly in the back of the knee that my leg and my knee is going two different directions, and I probably will have surgery within the next 10 days.
That was why I made a complaint. I have been kicked and battered from Day One. I just took it that I knew it was wrong for them to be doing it but I’m a big boy and I thought, you know, I wasn’t going to make a fuss about what they were doing.
I’ve had a Sergeant Gill from Bangor Erris, he actually charged at me with his open fist and throttled me by the neck and kicked me in my right knee. I had to forcibly remove his hand before he made me go unconscious. I had another Gard throw me off a car and crack my right knee, I was on crutches for two weeks, pain medication.
I found the treatment of An Garda Siochana appalling. It seems that they take it
upon themselves to do anything and everything to subdue us, and I don't think it’s right. Like I said, I have been charged at, kicked at, kneed in the face when we sat down on the road, it’s just - and sometimes, sometimes I get afraid, but I have to tell myself, “Don’t be afraid, I have done nothing wrong, I only stood and it was a peaceful protest.”
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