Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Victims fury over amnesty for armed forces
» Families join parties North and South in fury at proposal » Move would shield armed forces and ex-paramilitaries
VICTIMS and politicians reacted angrily yesterday to the prospect of a form of amnesty on Troubles prosecutions.
The DUP and Sinn Fein both criticised the reported move by the UK Government to introduce a statute of limitations on prosecuting offences committed prior to the signing of the 1998 Good Friday peace agreement.
The Irish Government also made clear its opposition, with Taoiseach Micheal Martin claiming any such proposal would represent a “breach of trust”.
Ministers in the Republic are angered that Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis did not mention the plan during a range of engagements in Dublin on Wednesday.
Victims of republican, loyalist and State violence have also expressed outrage at what would amount to blanket protection from prosecution for ex-security force members and former paramilitaries.
DISGRACEFUL
Mark Kelly was a teenager when he saw his 12-year-old sister Carol-ann die after being struck on the back of the head by a plastic bullet in Belfast in 1981.
Describing the move as “absolutely disgraceful”, he said: “When I heard the news I was just so angry. I felt like I did on the day Carol-ann was killed.
“I think I am even more angry now than I was then.”
The Times and Daily Telegraph reported the plan yesterday.
The bar on prosecutions would apply to the vast majority of Troubles killings, though an exemption would be made for war crimes such as torture, according to the papers.
The move, some detail of which could be announced in next week’s Queen’s Speech, would signal the scrapping of a key mechanism agreed by the UK and Irish Governments and main Northern Ireland parties in the 2014 Stormont House Agreement.
This included a new independent investigation unit to re-examine all unsolved killings.
Mr Martin said: “The Irish Government is very clear. It has an agreement in place with the British Government and parties of Northern Ireland and many victims’ organisations. That is the Stormont House Agreement.
“Any unilateral move from that would be a breach of trust, as far as we are concerned. For us the victims are the priority and the victims will remain the priority.”
The main parties outlined differing reasons for their opposition.
Sinn Fein portrayed the move as an attempt to protect British veterans from due process while the DUP is angered by the prospect of paramilitaries evading justice.
Gavin Robinson said veterans should not be subjected to a “cycle of reinvestigations” without new evidence. However, he insisted access to justice was a vital principle in how Northern Ireland deals with its past.
The Belfast East MP added: “Anyone who committed a crime should be held accountable for that if evidence can be put before a court and a conviction secured.
MURDER
“There has been a deliberate attempt by some to conflate protections for armed forces veterans with some sort of blanket protection against any prosecution.
“We must be clear that if someone has committed murder, they should be prosecuted for that crime regardless of who they are.
“Anyone who suggests our veterans should be treated in the same way as paramilitaries are wrong and that is why the suggestion of an amnesty is wrong.
“The Government should not seek to evade its responsibility to those who served in our armed forces through such an approach.” Sinn Fein president Mary Lou Mcdonald said the reports had come as a “devastating blow” to victims and urged the Irish Government to “stand up” for the Stormont House deal.
She said: “Many of these families have spent decades trying to get the truth about the killings of their loved ones in the face of cover-up, wilful destruction of evidence and failures to
Anyone who committed a crime should be held accountable for that
GAVIN ROBINSON DUP MP YESTERDAY
What Boris is doing is an attempt to put British soldiers above the law
MARY LOU MCDONALD SF LEADER YESTERDAY
Any unilateral move from Stormont House deal would be breach of trust
MICHEAL MARTIN TAOISEACH YESTERDAY
investigate crimes including murder. What Boris Johnson and the British Government is doing is an attempt to put British soldiers above the law and prevent investigations into murder, torture, shoot-to-kill and collusion involving British forces in Ireland. “This is an attack on the rule of law.” PSNI chief Simon Byrne said he had no advance notice of what the Government is planning, other than that an announcement is anticipated in Tuesday’s Queen’s Speech.
He declined to be drawn on whether or not he would support the move.
EVIDENCE
However, he made clear the PSNI had “consistently” voiced its support for the Stormont House Agreement mechanisms.
Last March, Mr Lewis announced an intention to unilaterally move away from the Stormont House deal.
He said only Troubles killings where compelling evidence had emerged would receive a full police reinvestigation, adding most unsolved cases would be closed and a new law would prevent them being reopened.
On Tuesday, the trial of two former paratroopers accused of the murder of Official IRA commander Joe Mccann in 1972 collapsed due to legal issues.
A British Government spokesman did not deny the reports that a statute of limitations was planned.
He said: “The Government has clear objectives for addressing the legacy of the Troubles and delivering its manifesto commitments to veterans who served in Northern Ireland.
“It is clear to all that the current system is not working for anyone.”