Stormont House Agreement: Model Implementation Bill

McEvoy, Kieran; Bryson, Anna; Gormally, Brian; Greenberg, Daniel; Hill, J. D.; Holder, Daniel; Mallinder, Louise; McKeown, Gemma

doi:10.53386/nilq.v67i1.94

Cited by 1 publication

(2 citation statements)

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“…Against this backdrop, British Army veterans have framed the prosecution of a small number of veterans as a politically motivated 'witch hunt' against those previously cleared of wrongdoing. Their 'witch hunt' claim, however, fails to stand up to empirical statistical scrutiny and, just like Bradley's comments, overlooks well documented flaws in many of the original investigations (Bryson, 2021;McEvoy, 2020McEvoy, , 2022McGovern, 2019). Nevertheless, within the veteran constituency 'reclassifying' the past has become synonymous with the post-Good Friday Agreement (GFA) scapegoating of veterans, leading them to close ranks (Brewer and Herron, 2019: 56) and take to the streets in protest at legacy investigations.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These legacy case prosecutions, however, could be coming to an end should the UK Government successfully pass the Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Bill into law. Introduced to parliament in May 2022 under the pretext of bringing closure and providing information to bereaved families, the move to close down further criminal prosecutionsas well as civil cases and inquests -has been seen as legally, politically and morally problematic by legal experts, human rights groups and victims across the board (Bryson, 2021;McEvoy, 2022). Here, the Bill insulates NI veterans from criminal prosecution in a similar way that the recent Overseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Act 2021 protects those who served in Iraq and Afghanistan will (Mallory, 2022).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Closing the ranks: Bondedness, sense of self and moral injury during legacy case prosecutions

Hearty

2022

Irish Journal of Sociology

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This article represents an entry point for the sociological study of protests by British Army veterans opposed to legacy case prosecutions arsing out of the conflict in the North of Ireland. Acknowledging the lack of sociological analysis when compared with recent legal, criminological and political studies, it uses insights from military sociology, the sociology of emotions, and the social movement literature to understand how and why veterans have mobilised against these prosecutions. It argues that veterans have resorted to taking collective action for three reasons: out of loyalty to the handful of veterans currently facing prosecution; because these prosecutions challenge their self-image as peacekeepers; and because of their sense of betrayal by the British government. In making this argument, the article highlights how political and moral contestation over past political violence touches on collective and individual identities constructed during that violence, social solidarity within groups impacted by that violence, and different expectations of post-conflict justice in its aftermath.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%