FEATURE
Alastair Logan OBE
Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act 2023 – There may be trouble ahead…
“Man’s capacity for justice makes democracy possible, but man’s inclination to injustice makes democracy necessary.” — Reinhold Niebuhr WHAT ARE THE FACTS? Every day of the year marks the anniversary of someone’s death as a result of conflict in and about Northern Ireland. 3,720 people were killed as a result of the conflict. Approximately 47,541 people were injured. There were 36,923 shootings and 16,209 bombings. Between 1969 and 1998, 1,533 of the deaths as a result of the conflict were young people under the age of 25. 257 of those killed were under the age of 18. The largest age group (25% or 898 people) killed between 1969 and 1998 were those between the ages of 18 and 23. As of 1998, the largest group (54%) of the deaths as a result of the conflict were civilians. As of 1998, the largest group (68%) of those injured . were civilian 1 Overall, of those who were killed 52% were civilians, 32% were members of the British security forces and 16% were members of paramilitary groups. Republican paramilitaries were responsible for some 60% of the deaths, loyalists 30% and security forces 10%. Statistics about killings during the Troubles suggest that 87% of killings were perpetrated by paramilitary groupings, with the figure falling to 85% if evidence to date about collusion between paramilitary organisations and British state forces is taken into account. Responsibility for many of these killings is still disputed. Classifications of responsibility will continue to change as further evidence comes to light. 20 years on from the signing of the Good Friday Agreement over one third of killings carried out in Northern Ireland during the Troubles from January 1969 to the signing of the Good Friday Agreement on April 10 1998 are still being investigated by police. There were over 3,720 homicides in Northern Ireland from January 1969 to the signing of the Agreement, while hundreds more people were killed elsewhere in violence linked to the conflict. 1,186 of the Northern Ireland deaths are still part of the caseload of the Legacy Investigation Branch (LIB) of the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI). The figures represent an increase on numbers reported last year. “The police facing these ongoing enquiries are trying to unravel things that happened years ago. Where evidence is possible they’re prosecuting, where evidence is possible they are following it up, but in many cases the trail is cold and so they have still on their books…cases they’ve been unable to (investigate) further.”2 The latest PSNI figures are: 53 legacy inquests with the Coroners Service (these cases relate to 94 deaths). 27 legacy files actively being considered by the Attorney General’s office. 165 historical matters currently under investigation by the Police 26 | SURREYLAWYER
Ombudsman’s office, where a further 258 such cases are pending. Of the 1,186 killings that the PSNI’s Legacy Investigation Branch is assessing: 45.5% are attributed to republican paramilitaries. 23% are attributed to loyalist paramilitaries. 28.5% are attributed to the security forces. For the remaining 3% of deaths, the background of those primarily responsible is unknown. As to the Legacy Inquests being dealt with by the Coroners Service, of the 94 deceased who make up the legacy inquests, 60% were civilians who were not members of paramilitary organisations, 33% were members of republican paramilitary groups, 3% were involved in loyalist paramilitarism and 4% were members of the RUC. 81% were Catholic and 19% were Protestant. 55% were killed by state forces, 28% were killed by loyalists and 17% were killed by republicans. Nine of the killings occurred after the Good Friday Agreement was signed but are still considered legacy cases by the Coroners Service due to their political nature.3 WHAT DO THE LOVED ONES WANT? Lord Robin Eames, is an Anglican bishop and life peer, who served as Primate of All Ireland and Archbishop of Armagh from 1986 to 2006. He believes the legacies of the Troubles won't be solved by the new legislative proposals by the UK government. He sums it up thus: “First of all you have to relate that fact to the whole issue of what the legacy problem is. People look for justice. One person will expect to see somebody in the dock accused of a particular crime. Somebody will say that’s justice. Somebody else will argue ‘I simply want to know what happened’ and the third person doesn’t really know what they want. We also have to acknowledge many of the victims of those years are passing on. It’s one thing to investigate crimes to get a prosecution, it’s another to realise that as time goes on and time passes, much of those enquiries will have to be centred on simply ‘what do we know happened all those years ago.’ It’s a question of, do you keep those investigations going after all these years or do you simply say, ‘this is part of our history, and there is nothing we can do about it?” That is the opinion that many people are forming at the moment and it is very frustrating for relatives and victims. I know many of those people and I can share some of their sheer frustration.” ‘He believes that ‘Patient listening’ is crucial to promoting and finding reconciliation between divided communities. Listening doesn’t mean agreeing on everything, a sentiment he thinks Northern Ireland often questions. And that the church can play a role in this process.4
