The conclusion of inquests from the Troubles era signifies the “death of justice,” according to Seán Brown’s grandson, who publicly addressed a demonstration as a contentious new UK law came into effect. Daman Brown, who stood amidst approximately a hundred protesters displaying banners and pictures of their loved ones lost to the centuries-old conflict in Northern Ireland, delivered his speech at midday on Wednesday from outside the Northern Ireland Office (NIO) of the UK in Belfast.
The 35-year-old decried the UK’s Legacy Act as an “abhorrent act”. He highlighted that its only achievement was to bring together people from all communities.
The inquest into Mr Brown’s murder is one among 38 such procedures involving 77 individuals that were stalled due to the new law that was implemented post-midnight on Tuesday. In 1997, Mr Brown was abducted and killed by loyalist militia while he was closing the gates of the Bellaghy Wolfe Tones GAA club in Co Derry.
Bemoaning his family’s unfulfilled quest for justice, Daman Brown said, “The British government’s actions are completely unjust. With families barred from court access, it equates to the death of justice”.
This sentiment was shared by the numerous families around him who had either received landmark inquest verdicts, including the 1971 Ballymurphy massacre, or who were still seeking justice. The protest included a symbolic black coffin bearing the word justice, surrounded by monochrome pictures of victims, each labelled as ‘innocent’. A minute of silence was observed in honour of all the deceased.
The family members of five victims who were tragically killed by the British army in the Springhill/Westrock region of western Belfast in 1972 were participants in a recent protest. A unique coroner’s court held on the weekend allowed all evidence to be presented, marking this as the final inquest from the time of the Troubles.
Harry Gargan, only 12 years when his elder sister Margaret, 13, was shot, expressed the joy of getting their case completed but also mentioned the sorrow thinking about other families who could not attain the same. “All we ever wanted was an inquest,” he said and pledged their unwavering support for those families. He shared a poignant memory of their last living parent, David McCafferty, who lost his son David at 15 and passed away recently at 94, which according to him, was deeply saddening.
A significant piece of legislation, the UK Legacy Act, has faced vehement opposition from leading political parties in the North, the Irish Government, legal professionals, and human rights organisations. This Act has discontinued earlier investigation methods into past incidents, shifting the liability for all inquiries from the Troubles period to a new entity, specifically, the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery (ICRIR). Bereaved families along with victims and specific public authorities are entitled to request the ICRIR to initiate an investigation.
The Act, in which the most critical argument revolves around a conditional amnesty for offenders, is under scrutiny with legal attacks lodged in the Belfast and European courts, pending a decision.
John Finucane, an MP from North Belfast, addressed the protest, describing the day as one of “infamy”. The Sinn Féin MP was just eight when loyalist attackers entered his home, shooting 14 times at his father, solicitor Pat Finucane, in front of his young eyes and his siblings back in 1989. His mother was also shot in the incident but survived.
“Today, our court-based legal battles officially draw to a close,” he informed the protesters, referring to families who, in some instances, have been waiting almost half a century for the basic, democratic privilege to ask questions in court and to secure an inquest for their lost ones.
“We are aware of the significant number of investigations that remain unfinished. Their inability to conclude is due to the fact that the UK government and its associated departments were prepared for this day.
As of today, the British Government has formally taken away the autonomy of our courts in examining our history.”