Equality before the law, also known as equality under the law, equality in the eyes of the law, legal equality, or legal egalitarianism, is the principle that all people must be equally protected by the law and equal in the eyes of the law, without discrimination. We’ve heard Arlene Foster say these words on many occasions, in fact many Unionist and Loyalist politicians and political commentators and indeed certain radio hosts have spouted these words and yet we knew it was ultimately false. In fact, as I write these words I find myself scoffing at the utter lies Catholics, Nationalists and Republicans are sold as truth.
Yesterday two British soldiers got away with murder – soldiers B and F. Soldier B was accused of the murder of 15-year-old Daniel Hegarty during Operation: Motorman in the Creggan estate in Derry on the 31st of July 1972. Ten years ago, an inquest found that Daniel had posed no risk to soldiers and had been shot twice in the head without warning. That, dear readers, is murder. A 15-year-old boy walking along the street, posing no danger to anyone let alone the soldiers, was shot twice in the head by a British soldier. In 2019 Soldier B was informed he would be charged with the murder of Daniel Hegarty after initially being told he would not face prosecution yet now we see he’s literally getting away ‘scot free’ without even a single day in court.
Soldier F of the famed banner campaign to stop his prosecution (apparently he’s some kind of Loyalist hero now), a former member of the Parachute Regiment, stood accused of murdering William McKinney and James Wray in Derry. Soldier F who was granted anonymity during a public inquiry, was also charged with the attempted murders of Joseph Friel, Joe Mahon, Patrick O’Donnell and Michael Quinn, yet he’s getting away with those murders too. That all these people were found entirely innocent by the Bloody Sunday Enquiry shows just how little the British justice system works for anyone other than British soldiers.
Indeed, going as far back as 1992, John Major, writing to John Hume stated: “The Government made clear in 1974 that those who were killed on ‘Bloody Sunday’ should be regarded as innocent of any allegation that they were shot whilst handling firearms or explosives”. So all these people were deemed innocent by the British Government, in fact they were found “entirely innocent” which dictates the British forces who killed these people murdered them in cold blood…and they’re not being tried by their own justice system for that crime. That people like these soldiers, who shot and killed innocent Catholics including children are heralded as heroes by Loyalism is a sad indictment of our country.
Is it any wonder Nationalists have absolutely no trust in the British justice system? With the cold light of truth shone on the murders of innocent people, I’ll quote what the ‘Veterans Commissioner for Northern Ireland Danny Kinahan said on the radio yesterday, “The soldiers were brought to Northern Ireland to protect the public and to stop a civil war”…only that’s not the truth, is it Danny? In fact it’s nowhere near the truth. How can troops be tasked with protecting the public and stopping a civil war when they actively fought against one side and took part in the civil war? No, the troops were brought onto the streets of the North because Catholics were beginning to get a bit too rowdy for Stormont’s liking, the B-Specials and RUC couldn’t deal with it and the anti-British sentiments were running at an all-time high so that had to be suppressed and put down. Damn those Catholics for looking for rights (that Gregory Campbell didn’t have apparently) and equal opportunities on a par with Unionists and Protestants.
What yesterday’s ruling shows is that we will never, and I do mean NEVER get justice through the courts and the British judicial system at this stage. The British Government has intentionally left inquiries and prosecutions so late in time that evidence is now seen as inadmissible due to the passage of time. If a veteran so much as claims he or she has Dementia or Alzheimer’s, any evidence admitted in the past will be found inadmissible and cases will be dropped against ex-British servicemen or women. Bloody Sunday resulted in the longest-running and most expensive public inquiry ever held in the UK and with legislation to limit historical prosecutions pending, families may now struggle to find any closure. At this stage the only thing we as a people can hope for is the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth and that means opening secret archives, secret military files and that means in Dublin too. However, going by the utter tosh spat out by the Veterans Commissioner in public yesterday, that may be a long time coming as I’m certain there will be skeletons in Britain’s closet they will be pained to divulge whether it is forced out in the open by law or not. Take the ‘Shoot to Kill’ campaign by British forces for instance. Many innocent Nationalists and Catholics were shot and killed by British forces simply because they weren’t British – do you really think the UK Government can afford to have that come out as being true…during a civil war? I think not.
Once again, we wait with bated breath for equality.
Comments are closed.