THE mother of a teenager shot dead by loyalists at the Dairy Farm complex has issued an appeal for witnesses ahead of a High Court action over security force collusion.
17-year-old Damien Walsh was murdered by the UDA on March 25 1993, as he worked at a fuel depot in full view of the British Army surveillance unit.
His mum, Marian Walsh, is suing the PSNI and the Ministry of Defence (MoD) over failures linked to the killing.
In July 2021, a Police Ombudsman report into the murder found "significant failures" and "collusive police behaviours" in the investigation.
It also found that the RUC suspended a surveillance operation against Damien's killers just days before the shooting.
Ombudsman Marie Anderson stated that the RUC decision to suspend a surveillance operation against the UDA's 'C company' had "indirectly contributed" to their being able to carry out the killing without impediment.
Ms Walsh's legal action holds that Damien's name was on a list of potential targets, which his killers gathered with the assistance of the so-called security forces. The case will be heard over five days, beginning on November 7.
Supported by Relatives for Justice, Mrs Walsh appealed for anyone who may have witnessed her son's murder, or who may have been in the area at the time, to come forwards.
"We're hoping that people who were here at the Dairy Farm that evening – maybe attending the First Aid classes in the library, or people who were waiting on taxis after doing their shopping – might come forward," she said.
"Perhaps even people who were travelling up and down the road in Black Taxis who might be aware of army checkpoints in the area.
"Some of the things in the Police Ombudsman report might remind people of certain things and they might be able to help us with the answers now."
Looking forward to the case, she concluded: "We want to highlight the fact that collusion is a government policy. This isn't just a one-off case. With all the reports that have been released recently I think that's evident."
Mike Ritchie from Relatives for Justice commented: "The report proves what many people thought about the levels of collusion that there were, and shows that there was a level of government responsibility and police responsibility.
"The other thing that we're hoping is that it may have jogged people's memories. People who haven't come forward before may come forward now.
"The lawyers will also be particularly interested in anything people may have noticed in the days leading up to the shooting – was there anything unusual, were there any people hanging around that they didn't recognise, were there other things in the report that stirred the memory?"
Paul Butler from Relatives for Justice encouraged anyone with information about checkpoints in the area to come forward.
"There was a ring of steel around Belfast at the time," he said.
"The RUC and the British Army always had a checkpoint, but when Damien was murdered there seemed to be no checkpoint, so they (UDA) had a free run to come in and kill him."
