On the occasion of a trial which is to last four weeks, the Belfast court is plunged back into the heart of the “Troubles”, three decades of clashes in Northern Ireland between Catholics, supporters of reunification with Ireland and Protestants, favorable to the British crown. Nearly fifty years after the events, two veterans of the British parachute regiment thus appeared for the murder of Joe McCann on Monday April 26.
In court, they denied their involvement in the death of this 24-year-old member of the Irish Republican Army (IRA), shot three times in the back in Belfast in 1972, at the height of the “Troubles”. The lawyer for one of them explained at the hearing that Mr McCann was suspected of being involved in the murders and said the military were facing the “Binary choice” shoot to stop it or let it escape. “The level of force used was unreasonable”, for his part estimated a representative of the prosecution.
Government wants to protect veterans
The government has vowed to legislate to prevent further prosecution of members of the military as six former servicemen have been charged with “Troubles” related offenses, according to a British Parliament briefing document released in February. The prosecutions include Bloody Sunday, January 30, 1972, when soldiers opened fire on a peaceful civil rights march in Londonderry’s Bogside neighborhood, killing 14 people. The “Troubles”-era lawsuits are controversial in Northern Ireland, where community tensions are still high despite the peace agreement reached in 1998.
British soldiers arrived on a peacekeeping mission in 1969, but were involved in some of the bloodiest episodes of the conflict, which left a total of 3,500 dead. According to the Sutton Death Index, compiled by the University of Ulster, the British military is responsible for around 300 homicides during operations which officially ended in 2007.
The government of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has pledged to protect former soldiers, a highly controversial campaign pledge that rocked the Irish government. Secretary of State for Veterans Affairs Johnny Mercer resigned his post last week, expressing frustration at the lack of progress in implementing that pledge.
Mr Mercer was in Belfast court on Monday to offer support to the ex-soldiers. “I think it’s unfair to try to retrospectively apply today’s operating standards and try to get justice.”, he told reporters. He added that the soldiers had “Served their country” and “Do their best”.