Veterans deserve justice in Troubles legacy cases too, says commissioner as he complains 'not one penny' of £350m inquiry bill spent investigating atrocities against the military
Troubles legacy cases are “focused almost exclusively on the actions of lawful state forces”, Northern Ireland’s veterans commissioner has hit out, insisting that old soldiers deserve justice too – not just paramilitaries.
David Johnstone spoke as the province marked the 27th anniversary of the signing of the Belfast Agreement, stating that despite legacy inquiries racking up a total bill of £350m, there has been “not one penny of public money investigating atrocities against the military”.
He pointed to the Narrow Water massacre as evidence. That 1979 atrocity saw the IRA bomb a British Army convoy close to the border at Warrenpoint, before opening fire on the survivors from their hiding place in a wood in the Republic, and then detonating a second 800-pound bomb close to a rescue helicopter while it airlifted away wounded.
The deadliest single attack on the army during the Troubles, 18 soldiers were killed and 20 wounded. No one has ever been brought to justice for it.
Describing the massacre as “an IRA terrorist attack instigated in the Republic”, Mr Johnstone said “the UK and Irish governments are tone deaf when it comes to an inquiry about this, or many other similar events”.
The commissioner stated: “Everyone in a civilised society should have the right to justice, but it must be equal justice – not a legal process that only scrutinises the actions of the security forces and ignores the context of the incidents and the reality of what was going on in Northern Ireland at that time.”
Many veterans are victims too, he reinforced – yet recent verdicts leaving old soldiers open to prosecution have them “quite rightly feeling betrayed”.