The Derry Journal has a copy of the strand of the Stormont House Agreement dealing with the legacy of the North's conflict. The paper's editor, Eamon Sweeney, considers the implications.


Kate Nash, whose brother was killed during Bloody Sunday protests behind the Alliance Party leader David Ford Talks begin at Stormont, in east Belfast, aimed at saving the power sharing Northern Ireland Assembly in September.
 
  • Read the legislation in full on the ‘Journal’ website
  •  This legislation is to be presented to Westminster next week
  • A previous Freedom of Information request to view this document was refused
  
The ‘Derry Journal’ has obtained a copy of the strand of the Stormont House Agreement dealing with the legacy of the Northern Ireland conflict.
 
The ‘Journal’ understands that the parties involved in the current negotiations received the legislation on September 29. It is also understood that the legislation is due to be placed before Westminster as early as next week with October 12 being the most likely date.





Previously a Freedom of Information request seeking to view the details of the proposed bill was refused on the grounds that releasing such information was:

likely to prejudice development and subsequent implementation and could allowed targeted lobbying by certain groups that could inhibit objective decisions being made.

 
 
Despite obvious public interest in the issue, the refusal of the freedom of Information request also cited:

Although the proposed policies will involve changes which could have a significant effect on the general public, the disclosure of the information may have an adverse effect on the policy makers in that they would be less likely to provide a full and frank advice or opinions on policy proposals.

 

A central part of the legislation concentrates on the setting up of a Historical Investigations Unit (HIU) which will take over from the Historical Enquiries Team.
 
Helen Deery, on the left whose brother was killed by the British Army in 1972 along with sisters Linda and Kate Nash, whose brother was killed during Bloody Sunday.
  
The document reveals that the responsibility for appointing the head of the HIU will fall to the First and Deputy First Minister who will also hold the power to dismiss them.
 
Relatives of Derry people killed during the Troubles have already given a scathing assessment of the draft policy version of the Stormont House Agreement (SHA), released on September 23. 
 
Kate and Linda Nash whose brother was shot dead on Bloody Sunday and whose father was seriously wounded on the same day have been scathing of the arrangements and of the fact that sight of this legislation had been denied to them.
 
Kate Nash said:

Forty-three years on from the murder of our loved ones and we are no further forward in our quest for justice. The police, military and some politicians know who fired the shots. If this was happening in any other country in the world, the outcry from the international community, including the British government would be deafening. For us, justice being delayed is justice being denied.

 

Theresa Villiers also recently stated that the five political parties in the Stormont Executive-DUP, Sinn Fein, SDLP and Alliance, as well as the British and Irish Governments all agreed to these proposals last December as part of the SHA negotiations.
 
Some relatives of people shot dead in Derry had long held suspicions that a deal allowing perpetrators of killings to make a confession and walk away with assurances of immunity from prosecution. And, despite this being denied by political parties and the Northern Ireland Office, the assertions were subsequently confirmed by the Northern Ireland Secretary of State.
   
The Secretary of State said that in order to encourage perpetrators to come forward structures agreed during the Stormont House Agreement (SHA) last year will mean confessions will not be made known to victims’ and that any information given over will not be admissable in legal proceedings.
 
However, Secretary of Stare Theresa Villiers said the proposals are not tantamount to an amnesty and that confessors could still face prosecution if evidence comes to light from other avenues.
 
However, Kate Nash told the ‘Journal’:

With the HIU expected to take on cases such as Bloody Sunday, this will mean further delays in the case. At present, the PSNI could arrest up to 56 soldiers in connection with the Bloody Sunday massacre, but haven’t done so. So, we question whether the HIU will be any different in their approach than the HET.

 

Stormont House Agreement: ‘Journal’ Obtains A Copy Of The Draft Legislation

The Derry Journal has a copy of the strand of the Stormont House Agreement dealing with the legacy of the North's conflict. The paper's editor, Eamon Sweeney, considers the implications.


Kate Nash, whose brother was killed during Bloody Sunday protests behind the Alliance Party leader David Ford Talks begin at Stormont, in east Belfast, aimed at saving the power sharing Northern Ireland Assembly in September.
 
  • Read the legislation in full on the ‘Journal’ website
  •  This legislation is to be presented to Westminster next week
  • A previous Freedom of Information request to view this document was refused
  
The ‘Derry Journal’ has obtained a copy of the strand of the Stormont House Agreement dealing with the legacy of the Northern Ireland conflict.
 
The ‘Journal’ understands that the parties involved in the current negotiations received the legislation on September 29. It is also understood that the legislation is due to be placed before Westminster as early as next week with October 12 being the most likely date.





Previously a Freedom of Information request seeking to view the details of the proposed bill was refused on the grounds that releasing such information was:

likely to prejudice development and subsequent implementation and could allowed targeted lobbying by certain groups that could inhibit objective decisions being made.

 
 
Despite obvious public interest in the issue, the refusal of the freedom of Information request also cited:

Although the proposed policies will involve changes which could have a significant effect on the general public, the disclosure of the information may have an adverse effect on the policy makers in that they would be less likely to provide a full and frank advice or opinions on policy proposals.

 

A central part of the legislation concentrates on the setting up of a Historical Investigations Unit (HIU) which will take over from the Historical Enquiries Team.
 
Helen Deery, on the left whose brother was killed by the British Army in 1972 along with sisters Linda and Kate Nash, whose brother was killed during Bloody Sunday.
  
The document reveals that the responsibility for appointing the head of the HIU will fall to the First and Deputy First Minister who will also hold the power to dismiss them.
 
Relatives of Derry people killed during the Troubles have already given a scathing assessment of the draft policy version of the Stormont House Agreement (SHA), released on September 23. 
 
Kate and Linda Nash whose brother was shot dead on Bloody Sunday and whose father was seriously wounded on the same day have been scathing of the arrangements and of the fact that sight of this legislation had been denied to them.
 
Kate Nash said:

Forty-three years on from the murder of our loved ones and we are no further forward in our quest for justice. The police, military and some politicians know who fired the shots. If this was happening in any other country in the world, the outcry from the international community, including the British government would be deafening. For us, justice being delayed is justice being denied.

 

Theresa Villiers also recently stated that the five political parties in the Stormont Executive-DUP, Sinn Fein, SDLP and Alliance, as well as the British and Irish Governments all agreed to these proposals last December as part of the SHA negotiations.
 
Some relatives of people shot dead in Derry had long held suspicions that a deal allowing perpetrators of killings to make a confession and walk away with assurances of immunity from prosecution. And, despite this being denied by political parties and the Northern Ireland Office, the assertions were subsequently confirmed by the Northern Ireland Secretary of State.
   
The Secretary of State said that in order to encourage perpetrators to come forward structures agreed during the Stormont House Agreement (SHA) last year will mean confessions will not be made known to victims’ and that any information given over will not be admissable in legal proceedings.
 
However, Secretary of Stare Theresa Villiers said the proposals are not tantamount to an amnesty and that confessors could still face prosecution if evidence comes to light from other avenues.
 
However, Kate Nash told the ‘Journal’:

With the HIU expected to take on cases such as Bloody Sunday, this will mean further delays in the case. At present, the PSNI could arrest up to 56 soldiers in connection with the Bloody Sunday massacre, but haven’t done so. So, we question whether the HIU will be any different in their approach than the HET.

 

3 comments:

  1. People should consider fully the implications to procedural fairness of any refusal to disclose details of the proposed bill that might assist "targeted lobbying by certain groups".

    When done fairly and above board, lobbying is a vital foundation stone to democracy.

    When valid lobby groups are excluded an improper imbalance results by disproportionately and unfairly facilitating any opposing lobby groups with clear and unfettered opportunity to ensure that only their views or interests are considered.

    When we know one lobby group then we often know who the opposing lobby group/s might be. For instance take the case that Kate Nash has robustly made on behalf of the Bloody Sunday Families and many other families. All these families have been specifically 'targeted for exclusion' because the views they would lobby are not wanted up in Stormont. In doing so, SF, the DUP and Alliance party are all facilitating undemocratic and unobstructed lobbying on behalf of the interests of those who murdered the Bloody Sunday victims and many others.


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  2. Are there any other links to the document? I have tried opening the document in Firefox and IE but it does not allow reading in either browser all the usual ISSUU functions appear to be disabled.

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  3. " The great unmentionable evil at the center of our culture is monotheism. From a barbaric bronze-age text known as the Old Testament, three antihuman religions have evolved -- Judaiism, Christianity, and Islam. These are sky-god religions. They are, lliterally, patriarchial -- God is the omnipotent father -- hence the loathing of women for 2,000 years in those countries afflicted by the sky-god and his earthly male delagates." - Gore Vidal

    ReplyDelete