Final Campaign Message from Jean MacColl

December 2009

Dear friends,

October 11th was a great success. I think Claire surpassed herself and would like to thank her and all those who worked to make the day such a success. I would like to thank everybody for their letters of support and understanding since we decided, sadly, to close the campaign. As the Mexicans were closing the case we had no alternative. No-one had disputed the testimonies of the Gonzalez family and Cen Yam. Wealth and power is a formidable weapon. It needs courage to stand up and be counted but as one resident told me, "I have a wife and children to feed. You don’t argue with Dons."

I have been heartened by all the e-mails you have sent me and hope you will understand that I cannot reply to them all. At a bad time they cheered me up. Yes, we have done our very best and I am grateful to all the committee for their hard work. Fred for his human rights knowledge, Alan for the website, Charlie for all his photographs, Philip for handling the finances, Leni for her media expertise and Denise for taking all the minutes. Claire, of course with her annual "function", and the Pogues, who supported the campaign magnificently and helped to raise a lot of money to keep us going along the way.

However, I am not giving up entirely. I am joining forces with several worldwide organisations to make life safer for tourists abroad. The JFK campaigners have been asked to help because of their high profile. Although I no longer have a committee officially, the ex-committee have said they will support my endeavours to make the world a safer place for tourists.

Then, of course, we have the memorial. I had hoped to have heard from our campaign lawyer Demetrio as to how far we have got with it. As soon as I hear I will let you all know. Meanwhile I have asked a friend to place flowers on the spot where the accident happened off shore. I hope other people will follow this lead especially on December 18th each year.

Thank you once again for your support. We have wide media interest. I am doing two Irish radio interviews and another with an Irish newspaper. You will have seen the Guardian page.

I will keep working for Justice for Kirsty MacColl and other people on the international acene. If a chink appears in the Mexican case, we’ll be back.

Meanwhile have a Happy Christmas. Let's raise a glass to each other and to Kirsty.

The family join me in their love and thanks,

Jean

Jean uses her maiden name of Newlove for her professional work in the theatre. Her married name is MacColl and she wished to use that name for the campaign, which was totally separate from her own professional career.

Announcement from the Justice for Kirsty Campaign

5 December 2009

The committee which has led the fight to achieve justice for Kirsty MacColl has agreed to cease campaigning. It will disband and stop collecting money to fund its activities. The remaining funds will be distributed to charities of which Kirsty would have approved.

The committee recently received news that the Mexican government have closed their case file on Kirsty’s death, and regard this as the end of the matter. They said they had exhausted all avenues of investigation and taken statements and affidavits from many witnesses. None of these had led to further information as to who may have been implicated, apart from the boat hand Cen Yam, who had already been convicted of causing the accident.

Once the case was closed there was virtually nothing left for the committee to campaign for. We are not able to bring any more pressure on the Mexicans than we have achieved already.

After Kirsty’s tragic death in Cozumel, Mexico in December 2000, her mother, Jean MacColl, launched the Justice for Kirsty campaign. Its primary purpose was to establish whether the Mexican judicial system had investigated the case sufficiently thoroughly for Kirsty’s family, friends and fans to accept that justice had been done in accounting for her untimely death. It did so by rallying the outrage and anger at the accident, and raised funds to allow Jean and the committee to pay for lawyers, and to approach governments at the highest level.

The committee was successful in achieving most of its aims. The Mexican government was compelled to re-open its enquiries after pressure from the campaign and the British government exposed the clumsy cover-up that followed the accident. In the unstable circumstances in Mexico in recent years, it is unlikely that any more could be achieved: the case has been re-examined very thoroughly.

Jean intends to continue working in a personal capacity to raise public awareness of the key issues in the campaign: committee members have pledged their informal support for her efforts. She wishes to thank everyone who has contributed in any way to helping her and the campaign. The support of The Pogues and Billy Bragg have been especially important in increasing the public profile of the campaign.

The two charities receiving the remaining campaign funds are:

• Casa Alianza Mexico, which provides care and rehabilitation for homeless children and others at risk in Mexico
• Cuba Music Solidarity, which Kirsty had supported enthusiastically.