British Prime Minister Truss’s campaign pit-stop in Northern Ireland offered no comfort for the families of more than 1000 civilians killed in N. I. She has pledged support for a cover-up bill which would grant amnesty to the killers, end litigation, deny liability claims and close the books on any future investigations into, for example, the senseless slaughter of British Army and loyalist no-warning bombing of Dublin and Monaghan shopping centers killing 33. Most victims were targeted because they were Catholic and or supporters of and associated with Sinn Fein; their deaths barely investigated. A pattern in the killings involved intelligence sharing, targeting and escape collaboration between loyalists and the British forces. The Ministry of Defense reckons more investigations would risk a ‘State sponsor of terrorism” label for Britain.
London cloaked in secrecy the corruption of the police and justice process. Parliament changed the rules only for N. I. Coroner’s Inquests: a verdict of unlawful killing was no longer permitted and the Coroner could no longer compel the appearance of Special Branch police officers. Prime Minister Thatcher sacked former Manchester Chief Constable John Stalker for getting too close to the truth and she pressured the New York Times to remove Jo Thomas who wouldn’t settle for British Army press releases to explain the killing of Aidan McAnespie. Sir John Stevens, former Metropolitan Police Commissioner, conducted three investigations in N. I. The British Army instructed those he interviewed to lie. His office and files in N. I. were destroyed by arson. Stevens recommended 25 individuals be prosecuted, but the British Attorney General Sir Patrick Mayhew “declined to prosecute for reasons of national security.” The phony effort of the Historical Enquiries Team was abandoned because only retired police officers could be hired as investigators. As soon as the Police Ombudsman work exposed police collaboration and corruption, it was defunded. To this day the Ministry of Defense obstructs every inquiry and legal appeal into these killings.
President Clinton’s initiatives in the Irish peace process were in part due to this legacy of lawlessness. National Security Advisor Dr. Tony Lake said dealing with the Department of State was “a struggle for the soul of diplomacy.” Author Peter Quinn cites “the Anglophilia of the foreign policy elite.” Although the so-called amnesty bill in Parliament would basically abandon the rule of law, Secretary of State Blinken has evinced no interest. This is no surprise. The British have so insinuated themselves into our military, intelligence and diplomatic institutions that the annual State Department human rights reports take no notice of these crimes in N. I. or the proposed cover-up. There are other voices expressing concern. House leaders Speaker Pelosi, Ways & Means Chair Neal and Foreign Affairs Chair Meeks have warned Britain’s hubris undermines the Good Friday Agreement and mocks the values of the “new” Atlantic Charter. A ‘special relationship’ it is not!
However, the U. S. Senate takes the lead in foreign relations, and apart from the mantra “the UK must support the GFA” there is silence. Britain is not the only nation that makes war on its citizens. In 1989 the tiny nation of El Salvador was targeting dissent and killing civilians with impunity including 6 Jesuit priests. Senator Claiborne Pell (D-RI) Chair, U. S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee spoke to the issue plainly: “I am devastated by these cold bloodied murders…intended to silence human rights activity and ask that those responsible for the murders be brought to justice as swiftly as possible.” Can such clarity from a U. S. Senator stop Prime Minister Truss from abandoning the rule of law and pushing the criminal cover-up bill?
Michael J. Cummings, Secretary
American Brexit Committee
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