Exemption for veterans would be ‘illegal’, say campaigners

Representatives of those killed during the Troubles say the inquiry is an opportunity for justice for all sides.

Anti-sectarian human rights campaigners at the Pat Finucane Centre pointed out that anyone who failed to uphold the law – not only members of the armed forces – will be investigated.

The organisation argued any exemption for veterans would be “illegal, immoral and certain to contradict both the spirit and the letter of the peace process.”

A spokesman said: “Where they didn’t uphold the law, they should be subject to investigation and prosecution, as with anyone else.

“It was the actions of some soldiers, who killed unarmed civilians not posing any threat to them or others, that inflamed and aggravated the conflict in the early ’70s.”

Solicitor Pádraig Ó’muirigh, who represents the family of 11-year-old plastic bullet victim Stephen Mcconomy, said those affected are seeking closure.

“They want everyone investigated fairly, whether they had a uniform on, whether they were a loyalist or a republican,” he added.

A spokesman for the Police Service of Northern Ireland said: “Between January 1 1969 and April 10 1998, there were 3,200 homicides in Northern Ireland and 1,186 of these deaths feature on the PSNI’S Legacy Investigation Branch Case Sequencing Model. Almost one third are to be reviewed by PSNI’S Legacy Investigation Branch.

“Of those cases which remain to review, 45.5% of the deaths are attributed to republican paramilitaries, 23% to loyalist paramilitaries, 28.5% to the security forces. For the remaining 3%, the background of those primarily responsible is unknown.”