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Operation Demetrius was a British Army operation in Northern Ireland on 9–10 August 1971, during the Troubles. It involved the mass arrest and internment (imprisonment without trial) of 342 people suspected of being involved with the Irish Republican Army (IRA), which was waging a campaign against the state. It was proposed by the Northern Ireland Government and approved by the British Government. Armed soldiers launched dawn raids throughout Northern Ireland, sparking four days of violence in which 20 civilians, two IRA members and two British soldiers were killed. All of those arrested were Catholic Irish nationalists. Due to faulty intelligence, many had no links with the IRA. Ulster loyalist paramilitaries were also carrying out acts of violence, which were mainly directed against Catholics and Irish nationalists, but no loyalists were included in the sweep.〔(Internment - Summary of Main Events ). Conflict Archive on the Internet (CAIN)〕 The introduction of internment, the way the arrests were carried out, and the abuse of those arrested, led to mass protests and a sharp increase in violence. Amid the violence, about 7,000 people fled or were forced out of their homes. The interrogation techniques used on the internees were described by the European Commission of Human Rights in 1976 as torture, but the European Court of Human Rights ruled on appeal in 1978 that while the techniques were "inhuman and degrading", they did not constitute torture.〔http://www.worldlii.org/eu/cases/ECHR/1978/1.html〕 It was later revealed that the British Government had withheld information from the ECHR and that a policy of torture had in fact been authorized by British Government ministers.〔('British ministers sanctioned torture of NI internees' ) (5 June 2014)〕 In December 2014 the Irish government asked the European Court of Human Rights to revise its 1978 judgement.〔('State to apply to have 'Hooded Men' judgment revised by ECHR' );('Government asks European court to revise "Hooded Men" ruling' ); ('Hooded men: Irish government bid to reopen 'torture' case' )〕 The policy of internment was to last until December 1975 and during that time 1,981 people were interned; 1,874 were Catholic/Irish republican, while 107 were Protestant/loyalist. The first Protestant/loyalist internees were detained in February 1973.〔 ==Background and planning== Internment had been used a number of times during Northern Ireland's (and the Republic of Ireland's) history, but had not yet been used during the Troubles, which began in the late 1960s. Ulster loyalist paramilitaries such as the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) had been engaged in a low-level violent campaign since 1966. After the August 1969 riots, the British Army (BA) was deployed on the streets to bolster the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC). Up until this point the Irish Republican Army (IRA) had been largely inactive. However, as the violence and political situation worsened, the IRA was divided over how to deal with it. It split into two factions, the Provisional IRA and Official IRA. In 1970–71, the Provisionals began to retaliate against the British Army and the RUC. The Officials stated that their policy was one of defence.〔(The Irish Story - Internment is introduced in Northern Ireland )〕 During 1970–71 there were numerous clashes between state forces and the two wings of the IRA, between the IRAs and loyalists, and occasionally between the IRAs. Most loyalist attacks were directed against Catholic civilians, but they also clashed with state forces and the IRA on a number of occasions.〔 The idea of re-introducing internment for Irish republican militants came from the unionist government of Northern Ireland, headed by Prime Minister Brian Faulkner. It was agreed to re-introduce internment at a meeting between Faulkner and UK Prime Minister Edward Heath on 5 August 1971. The British cabinet recommended "balancing action", such as the arrest of loyalist militants, the calling in of weapons held by (generally unionist) rifle clubs in Northern Ireland and an indefinite ban on parades (most of which were held by unionist/loyalist groups). However, Faulkner argued that a ban on parades was unworkable, that the rifle clubs posed no security risk and that there was no evidence of loyalist terrorism.〔http://www.theirishstory.com/2012/08/10/today-in-irish-history-9-august-1971-internment-is-introduced-in-northern-ireland/#.Vccbufmqqkp〕 It was eventually agreed that there would be a six-month ban on parades but no interning of loyalists and that internment would go ahead on 9 August, in an operation carried out by the British Army.〔 On the initial list of those to be arrested, which was drawn up by RUC Special Branch and MI5, there were 450 names, but only 350 of these were found. Key figures on the list, and many who never appeared on them, had got wind of the swoop before it began. The list included leaders of the non-violent Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association such as Ivan Barr and Michael Farrell. But, as Tim Pat Coogan noted, What they did not include was a single Loyalist. Although the UVF had begun the killing and bombing, this organisation was left untouched, as were other violent Loyalist satellite organisations such as Tara, the Shankill Defence Association and the Ulster Protestant Volunteers. Faulkner was urged by the British to include a few Protestants in the trawl but, apart from two republicans, he refused.〔Coogan, Tim Pat. ''The Troubles: Ireland's ordeal 1966-1996 and the search for peace''. London: Hutchinson. p.126 (Internment - Summary of Main Events )〕 In a subsequent case brought to the European Commission of Human Rights by the Irish government against the government of the United Kingdom, it was conceded that ''Operation Demetrius'' was planned and implemented from the highest levels of the British government and that specially trained personnel were sent to Northern Ireland to familiarize the local forces in what became known as the 'five techniques', methods of interrogation described by opponents as "a euphemism for torture".〔Parker, Tom. ''Frontline'': ("Is torture ever justified?" ). PBS.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Operation Demetrius」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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