Bloody Sunday: Soldier F faces murder charges

[mancity2012_eamo]

Soldier F, or Dave to give him his first name, was offered full immunity if he told the truth and the whole truth during the inquiry.

He didn't. He chose to continue lying and was by accounts extremely smug about it. Thus he voluntarily gave up his right to immunity and now must face the consequences.

Good. The lying, murdering, cowardly shit house.

If convicted I only hope he is sentenced to serve time in a Belfast prison. We shall then see how brave he is. My guess is, not very.

That really doesn't help.

 

[AlexWilliamsGloves]

That is patently not true is it and i dont mean you here for clarity.

True, you dont want that soldier prosecuted

 

[blueinsa]

True, you dont want that soldier prosecuted

No i dont as many dont want terrorists from either side prosecuted and as per the GFA, that was supposed to be the now default position.

Move on, the past is in the past etc but here we are and whilst one community will be happy with the prosecution, another wont.

Will that help the GFA?

 

[AlexWilliamsGloves]

As far as i can see the GFA is being adhered to...by and large...so im content.

Everyone guilty of crimes should be held accountable and prosecuted...and that process is still on going.

To bring about the peace we have today, and the various cease fires, many who had been found guilty and imprisoned were released on licence. They werent absolved or found not guilty....they were released on licence.
A price the country was prepared to pay for peace.

It was not agreed that people got away with murder, or could get away with murder or not be investigated for past crimes.

 

[Mike D]

I notice that you haven't responded to my post.

Please just answer whether you think that it's right that terrorist murderers were set free and some promised they wouldn't face prosecution yet a similar policy shouldn't apply to former members of HM Forces.

This is not black and white is it, think about it? I am no legal expert but there are genuine reasons why you can't apply the simple logic that you are insinuating.

 

[blueinsa]

As far as i can see the GFA is being adhered to...by and large...so im content.

Everyone guilty of crimes should be held accountable and prosecuted...and that process is still on going.

To bring about the peace we have today, and the various cease fires, many who had been found guilty and imprisoned were released on licence. They werent absolved or found not guilty....they were released on licence.
A price the country was prepared to pay for peace.

It was not agreed that people got away with murder, or could get away with murder or not be investigated for past crimes.

Im sorry but the letters of comfort, sent to those suspected of being involved in over 300 murders say differently and point to this being nothing but a political prosecution.

 

[mancity2012_eamo]

I'm not sure you're final paragraph is correct. There were over 200 deaths in NI related to the troubles in the 3 years before Bloody Sunday. It wasn't in anyway comparable to the poll tax riots. The situation had seriously deteriorated since the introduction of internment in August 1971.

Part of the problem was that the Parachute Regiment was entirely the wrong unit to be deployed in such a sensitive situation.

I'm reluctant to go into the where it all started and who shot who first discussion as I don't know how helpful it is to this individual case or
the wider moving forward process, as a whole. Internment had been introduced as early as 1964 when the civil rights movement first raised their heads.
However if you are interested and I do agree that the context of what was happening in the lead up to this is hugely significant, have a look at the timeline of events leading up to
January 1972. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_the_Northern_Ireland_Troubles_and_peace_process
It makes grim reading.
First bombings 1966 by the UVF killing an innocent Protestant woman.
July 13th 1969: RUC beat 67 year old man to death at riot/civil rights march clashes. Some say this is the first recognised death of The Troubles.
Aug 5th UVF plant bomb in The Republic of Ireland.

Things deteriorated terribly in 1970-1971 and the first soldier was shot in February 1971 and UDR soldier was killed in August 1971 after 14 had been killed by British soldiers, 11 in the Ballymurphy massacre.

etc., etc., it really was a grim period, but looking at the context of why a community had barricaded themselves into what they called Free Derry, they were not only protecting themselves from The Unionist police force and UPV counter demonstrators, but also the Army who were supposedly sent to protect them as equal citizens.

It is hard to comprehend now, for any of us living in a normal society. Society in Northern Ireland was so unequal and people were being beaten for protesting.
I just hope to God those days are over for good.
I don't think either side comes out of it very well, but the The Crown should have been impartial and the rule of law should have been upheld for all.
I hope your present government have long memories and have learned the lessons of ignoring that part of their Union for so long.

 

[BobKowalski]

No issue with that but how about we support the prosecution of all those that have shot or bombed and murdered all unarmed, innocent civilians be they Nationalist, Loyalist or as is the case, British servicemen if prosecution is the way things are now going to go?

Because I am not sure that is the way we are going. We are not prosecuting the other dozen or so soldiers who were identified as being involved in the shootings. Nor am I aware of any other soldiers currently facing prosecution in other shootings nor do I have any knowledge of any other soldiers who have been prosecuted even when involving unarmed IRA members such as the operation in Gibraltar. There may have been cases I am unaware of but it’s not as if we are actively rounding up soldiers for prosecution is it?

In this case one soldier has been charged and until I know the facts behind that decision and what makes this individual different to the other soldiers involved I am reserving judgement.

 

[KS55]

One law for terrorists and one law for British soldiers, it can’t be right.

I think it is right. The British Army is an arm of the state, not a paramilitary organisation. The Saville enquiry concluded that
1. The troops were totally out of control
2. None of those killed, with one exception, were armed.
3. None of those killed were members of the IRA.
4 Many soldiers lied to the enquiry, making up stories about being fired on.

The soldier charged can think himself unlucky compared to his colleagues, but, if he fired on unarmed civilians, that is a crime.
Bloody Sunday was the best recruiter the IRA ever had.

 

[Trojan1962]

I think it is right. The British Army is an arm of the state, not a paramilitary organisation. The Saville enquiry concluded that
1. The troops were totally out of control
2. None of those killed, with one exception, were armed.
3. None of those killed were members of the IRA.
4 Many soldiers lied to the enquiry, making up stories about being fired on.

The soldier charged can think himself unlucky compared to his colleagues, but, if he fired on unarmed civilians, that is a crime.
Bloody Sunday was the best recruiter the IRA ever had.

Easier for people to pass judgement in the cold light of day. People who lead these enquires have never faced an angry man in their life. If shots were fired from the crowd I think I too like most people including soldiers would react in that way. I don’t know what the evidence is against this particular soldier but without cctv etc it must be difficult to convict him.