The ghost of Bloody Sunday haunts the British defense
(B2) The UK Ministry of Defense is currently considering ways to strengthen the legal protection of its soldiers serving in Northern Ireland in the last century.
A pending murder charge
It was the revelation that a former sergeant in the Parachute Regiment was charged with attempted murder for possibly injuring two people on Bloody Sunday in Londonderry in 1972 (1) that sparked this outcry. " We are currently in the process of consulting with new institutions to improve the current system and ensure that there is no unfair and disproportionate focus on former members of the armed forces and police “Said the Ministry of Defense.
An amnesty blocked by the protagonists of the conflict
The principle of a general amnesty had been mentioned. But it has so far been blocked by the two protagonists of the conflict: Sinn Fein wants British soldiers to be prosecuted for their action, while Protestants in the DUP fear that this will allow the former members of the army to go unpunished. 'IRA. Several Conservative MPs were moved by this state of affairs, circulating an email, which reached the daily Telegraph, which criticizes the Prime Minister for not having introduced a limitation period for former soldiers who are the subject of a criminal investigation.
Criminal investigation still ongoing
The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) opened a murder investigation after the 2010 Saville Report concluded that those killed or injured on Bloody Sunday were innocent. But this investigation is dragging on. It is highly sensitive, but also faces technical and legal difficulties, as Sir Hugh Orde, former PSNI chief constable (from 2002 to 2009), told the Spotlight program of the with the BBC. " It is very clear that after 50 years, the chances of arriving at evidence allowing a prosecutor to be able to prosecute are extremely low.. "The odds are even" highly unlikely “, he judges.
(1) Soldiers from an army parachute regiment deployed to maintain order had opened fire on civil rights demonstrators, killing 14 (13 dead during the demonstration, a fourteenth died later).
