Victims’ images projected on Westminster Houses of Parliament as UK government urged to scrap legacy Bill
The Irish TimesSep 04, 2023
On Tuesday, the UK Parliament voted to adopt a bill granting immunity to participants involved in 30 years of sectarian violence in Northern Ireland known as the Troubles.
The Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Bill — which Rishi Sunak's government initially proposed in May 2022 — calls for the creation of a truth and recovery commission to offer conditional amnesty to British security personnel and paramilitaries.
This Bill is a horrible miscarriage of truth and justice which denies closure to the families of those killed in the Troubles. Lasting peace and reconciliation will only come if the victims of sectarian violence are prioritized and the perpetrators are held accountable for their atrocities.
It has been nearly 50 years since the Troubles first began and almost a quarter of a century since the Good Friday agreements were signed. This Bill provides reconciliation to victims' families, as they can finally know the circumstances surrounding the deaths of their loved ones.
There's a 33% chance that Northern Ireland will hold a reunification referendum before 2030, according to the Metaculus prediction community.