The Ancient Order of Hibernians is holding a live webinar on Saturday, December 6 that will focus on the Northern Ireland Troubles Bill that is currently making its way through the legislative process at Westminster.
The webinar will begin at 12 noon Eastern Time in the U.S., 5 p.m. in Ireland.
The AOH said in a statement that as the Northern Ireland Troubles Bill advances through Westminster, there are growing fears that demands for "special protections" for former British Army soldiers will bring amendments which deny justice for legacy victims murdered by British troops
The statement said that British veterans’ organizations, some retired British generals and the SAS Regimental Association want a special amnesty for former soldiers which would violate the European Convention on Human Rights and break with the Joint Legacy Framework agreement with the Irish government.
Victims’ relatives Mark Kelly and Clare Brown Loughran will join legal expert Christopher Stanley, and Dáil representative Peadar Toibin TD to provide a crucial update in the live webinar broadcast hosted by the Ancient Order of Hibernians.
The statement continued: "The Northern Ireland Troubles Bill introduced by British Secretary Hilary Benn, following the Joint Legacy Framework agreed last September by the British and Irish governments, marked a victory for victims’ relatives, who had defeated the Tory Legacy Act in the Court of Appeals and discredited the ICRIR Commission it set up, by refusing to participate.
"The Irish government was commended for taking Britain to the European Court and for getting Britain to agree terms that had the potential to give justice, after decades of bad faith and injustice.
"However, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer then announced there would be ‘special protections’ for former British troops. Public appeals by former generals, and veterans’ associations, have been taken up by British MPs.
"Safeguards for British veterans, rather than concerns for Irish victims have dominated the early parliamentary debates. A series of amendments have already been proposed which would not only revive the amnesty provisions of the Tory Legacy Act struck down by the Courts, but also extend ‘special protections’ to former members of the Royal Ulster Constabulary.
Victims’ relatives, the statement concluded, were now concerned that "special protections" may become a thinly disguised amnesty for troops who committed murder, or a pretext to block genuine investigations because of prior participation in sham investigations.
The Zoom Registration Link is https://aoh.com/Register-SpecialProtections-vs-Justice or https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89404364007?pwd=t6Aw7QWVH6NZjBxyQGWb7wzZUAmwhh.1
The YouTube Live Link https://aoh.com/Watch-SpecialProtections-vs-Justice or https://youtube.com/live/7u2zY8c3xko.
The panelists are Mark Kelly who is the brother of Carol Ann Kelly, who, in May 1981, at age 12, was, according to the AOH release, murdered by a British soldier firing a plastic bullet.
"There has never been a genuine investigation into the murder. Neither he nor other eyewitnesses have ever been interviewed."
The statement said that a "sham inquest" had rubber stamped fabricated claims of rioting to justify the murder of the young girl shot as she returned home with a pint of milk.
Clare Brown Loughran’s father, Sean Brown, was abducted and murdered in May 1997 as he locked up the local Gaelic club.
"No one was ever convicted of this murder, in which multiple British agents participated. The Coroner closed their Inquest and ordered a public inquiry because the British blocked information about the role of British agents. The Belfast High Court and Court of Appeals upheld the Coroner’s ruling but British Secretary Hilary Benn has refused and is taking the Brown family to the London Supreme Court.
The statement concluded by stating that legal expert Christopher Stanley will explain how ‘special protections’ for British veterans could bring more years of delays and disappointment to families who have waited decades for justice. He has been retained as legal advisor by Relatives for Justice.
Peadar Tobin, leader of the party Aontu, had raised the issue of "special protections" for British troops in a series of formal questions in the Dáil.
