webfact Posted September 3, 2014 Share Posted September 3, 2014 IRA suspects to lose immunity from prosecutionPatrick Sawer and Peter DominiczakLONDON: -- Hundreds of Irish Republican Army terrorism suspects learnt they no longer have immunity from prosecution on Wednesday as the British government announced that hundreds of controversial "comfort letters" have been rescinded.Theresa Villiers, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, was to tell MPs the letters, issued to individuals suspected of terrorist offences committed before the signing of the Good Friday Agreement of 1998, are worthless. The Good Friday Agreement effectively ended attempts by the IRA to achieve a united Ireland by military means.Suspects are to be told that the letters, which informed them they were unlikely to face prosecution unless new evidence against them came to light, have been annulled and are "not worth the paper they are written on".New letters are now likely to be issued telling terrorist suspects that police will be prepared to mount a prosecution should officers believe there is already enough evidence against them to do so.Full story: http://www.theage.com.au/world/ira-suspects-to-lose-immunity-from-prosecution-20140903-10bqf8.html-- The Age 2014-09-03 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJP Posted September 3, 2014 Share Posted September 3, 2014 Oh why oh why now? Why on top of all the other problems being faced do we have to kick this off again? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Codesh Posted September 3, 2014 Share Posted September 3, 2014 Oh why oh why now? Why on top of all the other problems being faced do we have to kick this off again? Yes - I also thought the problems of north and south ireland had been buried. But they still chase and catch 90 years old nazis. And in Chile the dictator Pinochet got done for his crimes after about 50 years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJP Posted September 3, 2014 Share Posted September 3, 2014 Oh why oh why now? Why on top of all the other problems being faced do we have to kick this off again? Yes - I also thought the problems of north and south ireland had been buried. But they still chase and catch 90 years old nazis. And in Chile the dictator Pinochet got done for his crimes after about 50 years. Aye! It won't bring anyone back, but it'll sure likely cause more suffering and more death. Imagine this kicks the whole thing off again? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuchulainn Posted September 3, 2014 Share Posted September 3, 2014 Sitting quietly on the sidelines.......................watching. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post smedly Posted September 3, 2014 Popular Post Share Posted September 3, 2014 The problem and the likely reason for this is the fact that some of those that received immunity are still active, this leaves the authorities the freedom to investigate and pursue them unhindered 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJP Posted September 3, 2014 Share Posted September 3, 2014 The problem and the likely reason for this is the fact that some of those that received immunity are still active, this leaves the authorities the freedom to investigate and pursue them unhindered Not thought of that but it's been a long time since any real IRA activity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post smedly Posted September 3, 2014 Popular Post Share Posted September 3, 2014 The problem and the likely reason for this is the fact that some of those that received immunity are still active, this leaves the authorities the freedom to investigate and pursue them unhindered Not thought of that but it's been a long time since any real IRA activity. you are kidding right ? Possibly under a different name but the motive and actions are the same - bombs - murders - organised crime - drugs etc and that is on both sides of the divide, some people will never change, the alternative lifestyle from being Mr Big to being a nobody just doesn't sit well with some 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJP Posted September 3, 2014 Share Posted September 3, 2014 (edited) The problem and the likely reason for this is the fact that some of those that received immunity are still active, this leaves the authorities the freedom to investigate and pursue them unhindered Not thought of that but it's been a long time since any real IRA activity. you are kidding right ? Possibly under a different name but the motive and actions are the same - bombs - murders - organised crime - drugs etc and that is on both sides of the divide, some people will never change, the alternative lifestyle from being Mr Big to being a nobody just doesn't sit well with some No not kidding, I've not seen any razing of city centres of late. Surely these 'comfort letters' were an amnesty for past IRA "struggle" related crimes and not immunity for present ones like murder and drugs and organised crime related activity? Edited September 3, 2014 by MJP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mosha Posted September 3, 2014 Share Posted September 3, 2014 The fools gave interviews naming names . On proviso details were not released until their deaths. They've started getting to that stage. Hence the recent events with Adams. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smedly Posted September 3, 2014 Share Posted September 3, 2014 The problem and the likely reason for this is the fact that some of those that received immunity are still active, this leaves the authorities the freedom to investigate and pursue them unhindered Not thought of that but it's been a long time since any real IRA activity. you are kidding right ? Possibly under a different name but the motive and actions are the same - bombs - murders - organised crime - drugs etc and that is on both sides of the divide, some people will never change, the alternative lifestyle from being Mr Big to being a nobody just doesn't sit well with some No not kidding, I've not seen any razing of city centres of late. Surely these 'comfort letters' were an amnesty for past IRA "struggle" related crimes and not immunity for present ones like murder and drugs and organised crime related activity? Excuse me "struggle" you call the bombing killing of innocent people a struggle - you have a very poor understanding of the true situation then - IRA INLA UDA UVF etc etc were all terrorist organisations involved in murder and organised crime - Power and money is what it was all about simple as that A solution to the perceived nationality issue was implemented a long time ago and should have been enough to satisfy everyone concerned, a border was defined in a top corner of the Island in order to satisfy the needs of all - but for some it wasn't enough - the solution was/ should have been accepted by any ones standards for a country divided - it worked in many countries through out history before and since the trouble in N.Ireland I'm not going to get into a debate about certain events that took place in the sordid history of the Island so don't bother even starting 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJP Posted September 3, 2014 Share Posted September 3, 2014 ^^ I know exactly what went on and how it worked. I lived and worked in NI during the troubles. I should have used the term IRA "troubles" related crimes. Gangsters, yes they were/are, all of them. But at the same time many beneath them were fooled into thinking it was something other than just money, it was a fight for freedom in their eyes. The last thing we need right now is a return to the "troubles" and this is what is likely to stir it up, 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post smedly Posted September 3, 2014 Popular Post Share Posted September 3, 2014 Fair enough and I agree with everything you said - sorry for being critical of your choice of words but there is a huge difference in the meaning of struggle and terrorist campaign 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJP Posted September 3, 2014 Share Posted September 3, 2014 Fair enough and I agree with everything you said - sorry for being critical of your choice of words but there is a huge difference in the meaning of struggle and terrorist campaign It's why I put "struggles" in inverted commas, because we both know it had nothing to do with any struggle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Cuchulainn Posted September 3, 2014 Popular Post Share Posted September 3, 2014 ................the sordid history of the Island................ I would call the history 'colourful' and 'very interesting'. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khunken Posted September 3, 2014 Share Posted September 3, 2014 This is not a very clever move as the country (all of it) has never been more peaceful than it is now. Reopening old wounds is never a good idea as you are undoing the healing process. Looks like retrospective repealing of a legal process to me. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nikthekiwi Posted September 3, 2014 Share Posted September 3, 2014 Oh why oh why now? Why on top of all the other problems being faced do we have to kick this off again? Yes - I also thought the problems of north and south ireland had been buried. But they still chase and catch 90 years old nazis. And in Chile the dictator Pinochet got done for his crimes after about 50 years. The problems of Ireland are still there though to a significantly less degree than they were... This is a significantly negative move on the part of the British government...and is likely to backfire on them....the Good Friday Agreement was entered into in good faith and should have remained as intended. Any Irish Republican prosecuted under this change will have grounds to sue the British government... They don't have to occupy the six north eastern counties of Ireland...where there happens to be a Catholic majority now...cough... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nikthekiwi Posted September 3, 2014 Share Posted September 3, 2014 This is not a very clever move as the country (all of it) has never been more peaceful than it is now. Reopening old wounds is never a good idea as you are undoing the healing process. Looks like retrospective repealing of a legal process to me. Quite right. It is a very stupid move and one which could potentially cause the violence to start again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PowermanFire Posted September 3, 2014 Share Posted September 3, 2014 who caused the Problem there the ones to blame, if you take land from someone you pay the price, and then there would not have been any IRA. The lack of history on Ireland a lot of people still don't know, no more to be said. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Codesh Posted September 3, 2014 Share Posted September 3, 2014 who caused the Problem there the ones to blame, if you take land from someone you pay the price, and then there would not have been any IRA. The lack of history on Ireland a lot of people still don't know, no more to be said. The history (in my limited understanding) shows the Irish did not want to be the exploited colonial servants of the English. They resented the English landowners in Ireland, and the poverty they were subjected to because of English landowner practices. This then got mixed into a stew of Protestant / Catholic just to complicate matters. I don't criticise the aim of the IRA - which was basically to regain control of Ireland by the Irish - but the actions used to achieve this aim were not pretty. If they were justifiable and necessary is a whole other argument. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joebrown Posted September 3, 2014 Share Posted September 3, 2014 I was in Birmingham on the night of the pub bombings, thankfully 200m from The Tavern in the Town. Having seen the aftermath and some of the shocking gore I hope that there is someone somewhere who can prevent this happening again. Noone will ever forget, but let's foregive and live in some form of peace. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
green job Posted September 3, 2014 Share Posted September 3, 2014 Oh why oh why now? Why on top of all the other problems being faced do we have to kick this off again? Its not finished yet, and I hope they get all of the Thugs YES the Thugs that were,and still are involved, I lost many mates,in NI and had a bad time. We also had our band blown up in Regents Park WE want all of them,every last one. Period 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mosha Posted September 3, 2014 Share Posted September 3, 2014 who caused the Problem there the ones to blame, if you take land from someone you pay the price, and then there would not have been any IRA. The lack of history on Ireland a lot of people still don't know, no more to be said. 1 claim I read was the the Ulster protestants were the original occupants. The catholics came over from Scotland Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
green job Posted September 3, 2014 Share Posted September 3, 2014 I was in Birmingham on the night of the pub bombings, thankfully 200m from The Tavern in the Town. Having seen the aftermath and some of the shocking gore I hope that there is someone somewhere who can prevent this happening again. Noone will ever forget, but let's foregive and live in some form of peace. Oh Come On!!! Forgive? NEVER EVER 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
green job Posted September 3, 2014 Share Posted September 3, 2014 The problem and the likely reason for this is the fact that some of those that received immunity are still active, this leaves the authorities the freedom to investigate and pursue them unhindered Not thought of that but it's been a long time since any real IRA activity. Sorry mate, not true Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nidieunimaitre Posted September 3, 2014 Share Posted September 3, 2014 Fair enough and I agree with everything you said - sorry for being critical of your choice of words but there is a huge difference in the meaning of struggle and terrorist campaign It's why I put "struggles" in inverted commas, because we both know it had nothing to do with any struggle. Did it not start as a struggle and later (like all civil wars) turn into crime / terrorism? And surely the reopening of criminal cases applies to all invoved parties? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steely Dan Posted September 3, 2014 Share Posted September 3, 2014 Oh why oh why now? Why on top of all the other problems being faced do we have to kick this off again? And hasn't the terrorism threat level just been raised? Are we looking to risk diluting the attention of the no doubt hard pressed intelligence services right now? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Codesh Posted September 3, 2014 Share Posted September 3, 2014 (edited) Did it not start as a struggle and later (like all civil wars) turn into crime / terrorism? And surely the reopening of criminal cases applies to all invoved parties? If there is chance of a both sides being investigated I bet first there will be some committee established, which will recommend a commission of inquiry, which will establish a number of sub-committees and working parties with a timeline of about 20 years to do their reporting. Then the final report and dissenting opinions will be published in small type in a document that will be filed away in a disused lavatory in the bowels of a forgotten government building in some nondescript little town in the backwaters of Cornwall or Essex. Edited September 3, 2014 by Codesh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
green job Posted September 3, 2014 Share Posted September 3, 2014 ^^ I know exactly what went on and how it worked. I lived and worked in NI during the troubles. I should have used the term IRA "troubles" related crimes. Gangsters, yes they were/are, all of them. But at the same time many beneath them were fooled into thinking it was something other than just money, it was a fight for freedom in their eyes. The last thing we need right now is a return to the "troubles" and this is what is likely to stir it up, I regret I have an axe to grind, But it seems that most do not understand what went on the NI If you take the time to read my attachment,you will see how the Thugs carried out thier work. This is an example of our day to day work peace keeping in Belfast http://www.royalgreenjackets.co.uk/rgjra_live/frontend/boards.asp?mode=view&postid=92&type=News` He was a great Lad. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HerbalEd Posted September 3, 2014 Share Posted September 3, 2014 ................the sordid history of the Island................ I would call the history 'colourful' and 'very interesting'. What would you call it if you'd had a loved one blown to bits? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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