LONDON, ________ May 11 (Reuters) - Britain plans to introduce legislation to give greater protection to former soldiers who served during decades of sectarian conflict in Northern Ireland.
Prosecutions linked to the violence are increasingly unlikely to result in convictions, the British government said in a briefing document issued alongside the Queen's Speech, which sets out the government's legislative agenda.
The government said more details will be announced in the coming weeks.
"The government will introduce a legacy package that delivers better outcomes for victims, survivors and veterans, focuses on information recovery and reconciliation, and ends the cycle of investigations," the government said.
"This package will deliver on the commitments to Northern Ireland veterans, giving them the protections they deserve as part of a wider package to address legacy issues in Northern Ireland."
Allegations over unresolved crimes from Northern Ireland's "Troubles" - three decades of confrontation between Irish nationalist militants, pro-British "loyalist" paramilitaries and British military that killed around 3,600 people - remain a contentious issue 23 years after a peace deal was struck.
The Irish government last week urged London not to seek to shield former soldiers who served during conflict from prosecution, describing reports of such plans as deeply alarming.
Members of Northern Ireland's power-sharing government, including its Irish nationalist deputy first minister, also strongly opposed any such move.
A ban on prosecutions could add to tensions in the British-run region, where young pro-British loyalists rioted in recent weeks, partly over post-Brexit trade barriers that they feel have cut them off from the rest of the UK.
A murder trial of two ex-British soldiers accused of shooting dead an Irish Republican Army commander collapsed last week.
A separate trial of a soldier accused of murdering 13 unarmed Catholic civil rights marchers in Londonderry in 1972, when British paratroopers opened fire on the group on what became known as on "Bloody Sunday", is ongoing.
(Reporting by Andrew MacAskill; Editing by Kate Holton)
Britain to introduce legislation to protect N.Ireland army veterans
por Swen Royster (21/09/2021)
LONDON, ________ May 11 (Reuters) - Britain plans to introduce legislation to give greater protection to former soldiers who served during decades of sectarian conflict in Northern Ireland.
Prosecutions linked to the violence are increasingly unlikely to result in convictions, the British government said in a briefing document issued alongside the Queen's Speech, which sets out the government's legislative agenda.
The government said more details will be announced in the coming weeks.
"The government will introduce a legacy package that delivers better outcomes for victims, survivors and veterans, focuses on information recovery and reconciliation, and ends the cycle of investigations," the government said.
"This package will deliver on the commitments to Northern Ireland veterans, giving them the protections they deserve as part of a wider package to address legacy issues in Northern Ireland."
Allegations over unresolved crimes from Northern Ireland's "Troubles" - three decades of confrontation between Irish nationalist militants, pro-British "loyalist" paramilitaries and British military that killed around 3,600 people - remain a contentious issue 23 years after a peace deal was struck.
The Irish government last week urged London not to seek to shield former soldiers who served during conflict from prosecution, describing reports of such plans as deeply alarming.
Members of Northern Ireland's power-sharing government, including its Irish nationalist deputy first minister, also strongly opposed any such move.
A ban on prosecutions could add to tensions in the British-run region, where young pro-British loyalists rioted in recent weeks, partly over post-Brexit trade barriers that they feel have cut them off from the rest of the UK.
A murder trial of two ex-British soldiers accused of shooting dead an Irish Republican Army commander collapsed last week.
A separate trial of a soldier accused of murdering 13 unarmed Catholic civil rights marchers in Londonderry in 1972, when British paratroopers opened fire on the group on what became known as on "Bloody Sunday", is ongoing.
(Reporting by Andrew MacAskill; Editing by Kate Holton)