Gentlemen, – On a day (March 4th) that coincided with the publication of another letter from Padraig Yeates, of the Truth Recovery Process, in your newspaper, an inquest into the assassination of Sean Brown by loyalists in 1997 was suspended by a coroner in Belfast. This was due to documents being withheld by the UK government on the basis of national security (News, March 4th). The coroner plans to communicate with the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, requesting a public probe into the crime.
Yeates’ recent correspondence refers to a denial of integral components of the NI Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act by Belfast’s High Court. It also mentions the £40 million Kenova investigation concluding without yielding a single indictment that fulfils the quota for initiating a plausible lawsuit. Yeates opines that these “are the most recent manifestations of the courts’ failure to attain truth and justice in many instances”.
The proceedings in the High Court were initiated by the deceased’s kin attempting to thwart the UK government’s denial of truth and justice. The lack of judicial proceedings originating from the Kenova inquiry is a decision made by the Public Prosecution Service, not involving any court.
Moreover, Yeates suggests in his letter that conditional pardons may be granted if the victims and survivors acquiesce to such an option, and former fighters would not be able to incriminate others. How would this apply to a soldier involved in multiple homicides, such as a member of the Glenanne Gang? Would all relatives of this infamous gang’s victims have to consent to the conditional pardon? What happens if some do and others refuse? – Yours Faithfully,
DANNY BOYD,
Belfast.