With the Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Bill scheduled for a September 13 debate in the British House of Lords, members of the Ancient Order of Hibernians will bring together victims’ representatives to plan opposition to the controversial British amnesty bill - this in a Webinar planned for this Saturday, September 10
The bill, if it becomes law, will close down legal channels for justice in legacy killings.
Sean Slane - who as a nine year old boy, witnessed his father Gerard murdered by the same loyalist gang who assassinated civil rights lawyer Pat Finucane - and Mayo Dáil member Rose Conway-Walsh, will join the panel which already includes Fergus O’Dowd TD, chair of the key Irish parliamentary Committee for the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement, and former Police Ombudsman and now a sitting member of the British House of Lords, Nuala O’Loan.
The webinar broadcast will start at 11 a.m. Eastern, 4 p.m. Irish time.
Stated a release: "Sean Slane’s father, Gerard Slane, was murdered at his Belfast home on September 23rd 1988, in a killing linked to the murder of Civil Rights lawyer Pat Finucane.
"The De Silva review of the Finucane killing held that British agent Brian Nelson, working for the British Army’s Force Research Unit (FRU), played a key role in targeting Slane by providing his photograph, address and other information.
"There was no attempt to warn the victim that he was under threat, and after the killing Royal Ulster Constabulary took no action to arrest the killers, who carried out the Finucane murder 5 months later. The Attorney General has granted a new Inquest, but that inquest is now threatened under the new Amnesty law."
Rose Conway-Walsh, a Sinn Féin member of the Dáil from county Mayo, and also an influential member of the GFA Committee, is a late addition to the panel. She recently visited Washington to lobby Congress and has submitted a key question to Taoiseach Micheál Martin on a formal Irish government response to the Amnesty Bill.
Added the AOH release: "The debate scheduled for September 13th will be an early test of new British Prime Minister Liz Truss’ stance on Irish issues. She will decide whether to withdraw or push forward with the Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Bill introduced under her predecessor Boris Johnson’s leadership.
"The bill is opposed by all nationalist and unionist six county political parties, legal scholars and Catholic Bishops. It discards Britain’s Stormont House Agreement with the Irish government, specifically removing any Historical Investigations Unit (HIU) conducting genuine investigations of more than 1,000 controversial killings. The bill would also close down legal rights to inquests, Ombudsman reports and civil actions."
"Congress has also strongly opposed the British Amnesty bill. Most recently, following a House Foreign Affairs briefing on July 15th, more than 30 members of Congress co-signed a letter to key members of the House of Lords urging opposition to the Bill during the September 13th debate. The Congressional letter spearheaded by Congressman Bill Keating noted: 'Specifically, we believe the Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Bill before the House of Lords threatens the progress achieved by the Good Friday Agreement and undermines the human rights of all individuals impacted by violence and potential crimes committed during the Troubles. The Bill, which lacks support from both the unionist and nationalist parties in Northern Ireland and has been condemned by the European Court of Human Rights and the United Nations Human Rights Council, would do tremendous damage to the Good Friday Agreement as well as the rule of law.'"
It can be viewed at FFAI YouTube: https://aoh.com/LegacyLive or https://youtu.be/7QM4y1MutiU, FFAI Zoom Link: https://aoh.com/LegacyWebinarRegistration or https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_p2t_SOVDSVS3CI0i7UP5Pw
