Chief Commissioner for Britain’s new Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery(ICRIR), Declan Morgan, calls the Historical Enquiries Team (HET) the “most successful” of past legacy mechanisms - Victims and Survivors have faced delays and been disappointed for far too long- May 13th.
It is unclear how the HET, binned after crown inspectors uncovered double standards for murders committed with British state involvement, could be considered successful. Families, meanwhile, are making legal challenges against the British commission, seeking reinstatement of inquests and Ombudsman Reports.
Victims have indeed suffered “disappointment and delay” in their search for truth. However decades of heartbreaking delays were not caused by failure “to implement a comprehensive approach to the examination of events.” Justice was deliberately withheld by a British strategy to prevent victims’ families from getting to the truth on issues like collusion.
Victims have indeed suffered “disappointment and delay” in their search for truth. However decades of heartbreaking delays were not caused by failure “to implement a comprehensive approach to the examination of events.” Justice was deliberately withheld by a British strategy to prevent victims’ families from getting to the truth on issues like collusion.
Deny the truth, until the truth becomes undeniable. Delay discovery, legacy inquests, ombudsman reports or any legal path to justice, until no further delays are possible. When families finally began to break through this strategy, then just take away inquests, like that which exonerated the Ballymurphy Massacre victims or Ombudsman Reports which uncovered collusive behavior in multiple RUC command areas.
This strategy was evident, as coroners hastened to complete inquests before the May 1st shutdown date. Crown officials delayed, and failed to provide court ordered discovery records. They lodged frivolous appeals to prevent inquest judges from releasing even a ‘gist’ or redacted summary of intelligence reports, in cases where the central issue was the role of British crown agents in murders.
Victims’ relatives are now being told that the new British commission was created to give them the answers they have long been seeking. Why did British officials go to such lengths to prevent inquests from reaching verdicts, unless they believed the crown would get much better results from their new commission?
The British Labour Party says it intends to repeal and replace the NITLR Act, if as expected it prevails in the next British General Election. How much damage will be done before then? The Irish government has challenged the Act in the European Court. Victims’ relatives have lodged their own legal challenge. Boris Johnson, Brandon Lewis and Chris Heaton–Harris, who pushed through the Act against the objections of all northern political parties, will not even be standing for election. They leave behind a legacy of injustice.
This strategy was evident, as coroners hastened to complete inquests before the May 1st shutdown date. Crown officials delayed, and failed to provide court ordered discovery records. They lodged frivolous appeals to prevent inquest judges from releasing even a ‘gist’ or redacted summary of intelligence reports, in cases where the central issue was the role of British crown agents in murders.
Victims’ relatives are now being told that the new British commission was created to give them the answers they have long been seeking. Why did British officials go to such lengths to prevent inquests from reaching verdicts, unless they believed the crown would get much better results from their new commission?
The British Labour Party says it intends to repeal and replace the NITLR Act, if as expected it prevails in the next British General Election. How much damage will be done before then? The Irish government has challenged the Act in the European Court. Victims’ relatives have lodged their own legal challenge. Boris Johnson, Brandon Lewis and Chris Heaton–Harris, who pushed through the Act against the objections of all northern political parties, will not even be standing for election. They leave behind a legacy of injustice.
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| Martin Galvin is long time Irish American activist. |
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