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Breaking News, 66 Year Old Former Soldier Arrested In Bloody Sunday Probe.
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/// Former MP Peter Hain, who was Secretary of State for Northern Ireland between 2005 and 2007, previously stated that he believes the British troops involved in the killings should be given an amnesty from prosecution as terrorists have been. ///
Totally agree with Peter Hain, why should some mass killers get off, yet some of our now elderly ex-troops face this probe, and possible prison sentence?
/// Former MP Peter Hain, who was Secretary of State for Northern Ireland between 2005 and 2007, previously stated that he believes the British troops involved in the killings should be given an amnesty from prosecution as terrorists have been. ///
Totally agree with Peter Hain, why should some mass killers get off, yet some of our now elderly ex-troops face this probe, and possible prison sentence?
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Perhaps he can be given one of the "comfort letters" as given to 187 former IRA members, including those suspected of the Birmingham pub bombings:
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I don't know why they bother to give guns to people in the Army. Seems that as soon as they shoot somebody they are up before the Beak on a murder charge.
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I don't know why they bother to give guns to people in the Army. Seems that as soon as they shoot somebody they are up before the Beak on a murder charge.
This is a very complex situation on many levels - most relavent of which is the simple passage of time which is going to mean that obtaining an credible evidence is going to nigh on impossible.
I would be wary of letting justice slide on the basis of the 'our boys' school of thought - the notion that soldiers were provoked and under attack and retaliated.
The fact is, professional soldiers are just that - professional, as in trained not to react individually, but to follow orders. That is what separates them from the mob they confronted, and that level of professional behaviour and training should have been in evidence, and it appears that it was not.
However, it is going to be impossible to get a definitive version of what went on during that day, and we should seriously wonder what is to be gained by pursuing a result which may simply be unobtainable in the final analysis.
I would be wary of letting justice slide on the basis of the 'our boys' school of thought - the notion that soldiers were provoked and under attack and retaliated.
The fact is, professional soldiers are just that - professional, as in trained not to react individually, but to follow orders. That is what separates them from the mob they confronted, and that level of professional behaviour and training should have been in evidence, and it appears that it was not.
However, it is going to be impossible to get a definitive version of what went on during that day, and we should seriously wonder what is to be gained by pursuing a result which may simply be unobtainable in the final analysis.
I Am fence sitting on this one.
One the one hand, people were killed on British Streets, and those responsible evaded justice because they hid behind a uniform and there was an establishment cover up.
On the other hand, it is difficult to see what it will achieve and who it will benefit.
Perhaps a compromise is a comfort letter. As part of the agreement we have seen many IRA members not presecuted and others released. Maybe this man (if there is evidence of his guilt) should be prosecuted and justice should be seen to be done. But any sentence given shoyld be commuted by the Home Secretary citing the Agreement and precident set previously.
One the one hand, people were killed on British Streets, and those responsible evaded justice because they hid behind a uniform and there was an establishment cover up.
On the other hand, it is difficult to see what it will achieve and who it will benefit.
Perhaps a compromise is a comfort letter. As part of the agreement we have seen many IRA members not presecuted and others released. Maybe this man (if there is evidence of his guilt) should be prosecuted and justice should be seen to be done. But any sentence given shoyld be commuted by the Home Secretary citing the Agreement and precident set previously.
Were Rules of Engagement issued to our troops, at that time, and were they complied with? That's as much as this can amount to.
If the order was to fire warning shots, over their heads, or over rooftops but some troops aimed at individuals or into the crowd, then they are individually culpable, surely?
The fact that troops would not have been there in the first place, had it not been for the civil disorder, is another matter, entirely.
If the order was to fire warning shots, over their heads, or over rooftops but some troops aimed at individuals or into the crowd, then they are individually culpable, surely?
The fact that troops would not have been there in the first place, had it not been for the civil disorder, is another matter, entirely.
If Peter Hain thinks an "amnesty" has been given to terrorists then he is wrong, unless I am much mistaken. All unsolved crimes are still "on the books" and in theory at least under investigation. For example, I don't think there is any "amnesty" for the perpetrators of punishment shootings.
Prisoners were released under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement but only after being prosecuted and serving at least some of their sentence.
Whether it is right or not to prosecute people for Bloody Sunday, that should not be a reason.
Prisoners were released under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement but only after being prosecuted and serving at least some of their sentence.
Whether it is right or not to prosecute people for Bloody Sunday, that should not be a reason.
Ich,
// Some 200 suspects received messages telling them they were unlikely to face prosecution unless new evidence against them came to light as part of the Northern Ireland peace process.
The existence of the letters only emerged last year following the collapse of the trial of John Downey, who was charged with murdering four soldiers in the Hyde Park bombing. //
// Some 200 suspects received messages telling them they were unlikely to face prosecution unless new evidence against them came to light as part of the Northern Ireland peace process.
The existence of the letters only emerged last year following the collapse of the trial of John Downey, who was charged with murdering four soldiers in the Hyde Park bombing. //
// Some 200 suspects received messages telling them they were unlikely to face prosecution unless new evidence against them came to light as part of the Northern Ireland peace process.
//
That doesn't sound like an "amnesty" exactly. I draw your attention to the words "unless new evidence against them came to light" :-)
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That doesn't sound like an "amnesty" exactly. I draw your attention to the words "unless new evidence against them came to light" :-)
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