THE families of up to 200 people who were killed by the British Army and RUC during the conflict have written to the Secretary of State to express their concern and growing anger at the “tone of recent discussions about how to resolve the legacy of the conflict”.
The letter to Chris Bryant, which was issued by Relatives For Justice and the Pat Finucane Centre, comes as the House of Commons debate government amendments to the Troubles legacy bill. The British government has denied that it is handing an amnesty to former British soldiers with its changes to the bill.
In the letter to the Secretary of State, the signatories state that none of them “ever had justice through the criminal justice system”.
“No successful prosecutions have ever resulted from the deaths of our children, parents or siblings,” they go on.
“We have listened with great concern and growing anger to the tone of recent discussions about how to resolve the legacy of the conflict.
“We have read government statements and press releases and followed debates in parliament and recent media interventions made on the legacy – our legacy.
“It is as if we don’t exist and the only ‘real victims’ are veterans. We are entitled to lawful legacy mechanisms that serve all victims of the conflict and are human rights compliant."
They say that the tone of the debate in parliament and in the media "has been depressing and retraumatising for us as immediate relatives".
“There has been a de facto amnesty for state forces to date, as evidenced by the lack of investigations, prosecutions or even official acknowledgement that the state also caused great harm and suffering over decades.
“You are creating a hierarchy of victims which gives preference to those who killed our loved ones, which is morally wrong and cannot be justified. You must redress this.
“Any future legacy mechanism which is biased towards veterans and enforces this hierarchy of victims will not be lawful and will fail. Any such mechanism will not command our support or confidence."
