Proposals on legacy cases will deny justice to victims

Posted By: March 19, 2020

IRISH CONGRESSIONAL BRIEFING

Distributed to Congress by Irish National Caucus
“ There is deep concern about the announced British Government plans on how to deal with ‘legacy cases’ 
( past contentious killings, especially by British Government forces).
The attached Editorial from today’s Irish News states:’The proposals unveiled yesterday by Secretary of State Brandon Lewis cannot be viewed as a satisfactory means of dealing with profoundly sensitive and contentious killings dating back decades. According to the plans, only Troubles-related killings with ‘new compelling evidence’ and a realistic prospect of prosecution will receive a full police investigation. … Many families would point out that had the State been more open and constructive in tackling the controversial killings in which the security forces are implicated, then sustained campaigns and repeated applications to the courts would have been largely unnecessary…’
Famed and fearless Belfast victims campaigner Raymond Mc Cord —from a Protestant/Unionist background (and whom I recently had the honor of escorting around Congress) said:’Those in the British government do not care about justice. Once again they have shown that. It makes no difference whether the victim is Unionist or Nationalist, they continue to bury the truth. We, the victims should be deciding, not London-based politicians.’ “—Fr. Sean McManus

 


Irish News Editorial. Belfast. Thursday, March 19, 2020


As part of the New Decade, New Approach deal which resulted in the restoration of Stormont in January, the British government pledged to bring forward legislation within 100 days addressing the issue of legacy.

Finding an agreed way of tackling the contentious killings of our troubled past has proved extremely challenging.

The proposals unveiled yesterday by Secretary of State Brandon Lewis cannot be viewed as a satisfactory means of dealing with profoundly sensitive and contentious killings dating back decades. According to the plans, only Troubles-related killings with “new compelling evidence” and a realistic prospect of prosecution will receive a full police investigation. Most unsolved cases will be closed while a new law would prevent investigations being reopened, under proposed legislation announced at Westminster.

Mr. Lewis said: “The government will ensure that the investigations which are necessary are effective and thorough, but quick, so we are able to move beyond the cycle of investigations that have, to date, undermined attempts to come to terms with the past.”

The Secretary of State added that experience suggests the likelihood of justice in most cases will now be small and continues to decrease as time passes.

Many families would point out that had the State been more open and constructive in tackling the controversial killings in which the security forces are implicated then sustained campaigns and repeated applications to the courts would have been largely unnecessary.

As well as causing profound dismay among relatives who are seeking justice for their loved ones, the Secretary of State has also created a political row by departing considerably from previously agreed approaches.

Irish Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney warned that any significant changes to the 2014 Stormont House Agreement must be discussed and agreed by both governments and the political parties in Belfast.

He is correct to say that a collective approach is needed to deal with legacy issues comprehensively and fairly and in a way that responds to the needs of victims and survivors.

It is difficult to see how the British government thinks bereaved families who have been calling for justice for many years would find proposals that effectively closed the door on justice an acceptable prospect.