Mick

Is the issue whether no-one is prepared to provide information or is it that no-one is prepared (as yet) to give evidence in court? If the latter is the case, can anyone be surprised by this? Given the global attention this case has garnered, is it any wonder people are reluctant to put themselves in a position whereby they and their family world's be exposed to the world's media?

Seems to me that the media can also take quite a lot of blame for the fact that witnesses aren't coming forward.

When Brian Murphy was kicked to death outside a Dublin nightclub there were also dozens of witnesses and the media feeding frenzy over that case certainly didn't encourage any of them to come forward.

The media want a story not justice.

This is really a hard one - but I agree with both Dec and George. The IRA aren't the only reason why witnesses have not yet been forthcoming. There is a whole cloud of interests gathered around this case now, not to mention the plain fact that there are people who still would not consider going to the police simply out of principal (not as a result of intimidation).
Of course police credibility won't be hitting the headlines as part of this media storm, but it does have a role to play here.

Dec, that's an entirely fair point. I'd only say that the fact that no one can honestly tell what is actually going is weighing heavily against the IRA.

One of the Mc Cartney sisters stated last night that the fact that no one had came forwrd to finger anyone was an indication that intimidation MUST be taking place. It doesn't prove it one way or the other.
Of course in the present circumstances no one from the media is going to dig too deep to find out if actual intimidation is taking place.
It is quite amusing to see reporters from BBC and ITV (as well as the newspapers) just off the plane waxing lyrical about life in the Short Strand and other areas.

People need to just do the right thing and accept that the murderers must be punished. No matter what you think of policing etc, we have to begin to make our way towards a just society. That starts at home and with our own.

Why do these poor people have to keep fighting day in day out for what is their basic human dignity?

People are saying the IRA should hand over the killers. Do they want the IRA to drive the killers to a police station and hand them over? Then what if the killers keep silent and refuse to answer questions as is their right. maybe the IRA can beat signed confessions out of them to make it easier for the police. after all Hugh Orde said he and his officers know who the killers are. So what more can the IRA do?

All this supposed local, national, international and media support and still not one person is willing to stand up and be counted.

I think that it is not a case of fearing for one's personal safety that is preventing these people from coming forward but instead a sense of self preservation and mé féinism.

I certainly wouldn't want everyone in NI knowing I was the witness for the McCartney case, the biggest media circus of the year, which is probably the same reason why dozens of people continue to remain silent about what they saw of Brian Murphy's murder.

The selfishness of today's society I suppose.

George

It's pretty understandable though, especially if you have a family to consider. Plus, if Brendan Devine is unwilling to testify there's not much incentive for anyone else to step forward.

Understandable I agree, but a said indictment of where we find ourselves.

There seems to be a growing thirst for lynch justice by media in our society as evidenced by the Soham murders but at the same time a growing unwillness by the population as a whole to take social responsibility.

"Someone else will speak up" or "if nobody else is going to stand up then why should I" type of thinking. Or even worse, "what's in it for me".

The social contract is being ripped up before our eyes. Just a subjective observation I have made.