Families of those killed by British soldiers in 1971 protest against UK inheritance proposals
Leonard T. Koonce
2 min read
A protest took place in Hillsborough, Co Down during a visit by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson over his government’s proposals for dealing with Northern Ireland’s troubled past.
Some of the families of the 11 people killed by soldiers at Ballymurphy in west Belfast in 1971 have protested against plans to offer an effective amnesty for Troubles-related crimes.
The Troubles in Northern Ireland (Inheritance and Reconciliation) Bill will see immunity offered to some based on their cooperation with a new independent commission for reconciliation and information retrieval.
The new organization aims to help individuals and their family members seek out and receive information about deaths and serious injuries related to The Troubles.
It is also designed to produce a historical record of what is known in relation to each death that occurred during the Troubles.
The proposals leave open the avenue of prosecution if individuals are deemed not to have earned their immunity.
Amnesty International has urged the UK government to “retreat from a dangerous course of unilateral action on the legacy of the conflict”.
Gráinne Teggart, campaigns manager at Amnesty International UK, said the government was on a “collision course with rights and the rule of law”.
“They must step back, now, from a dangerous course of unilateral action on legacy and protocol,” she said.
“We have yet to see any real deviation from plans to legislate for a de facto amnesty. We will be watching closely, with the victims, to see if the strong objections and warnings about the violation of human rights have been heard.
Ms Teggart also expressed concern about the government’s approach to the Northern Ireland protocol.
She said any dismantling of the international agreement between the UK and the EU “could threaten the safeguards of the protocol, including essential human rights protections for people in Northern Ireland”.
