FR. MC MANUS JOINS IN CALL FOR DISSOLUTION OF HET – Backs Relatives For Justice

Posted by admin on July 5, 2013

 
CAPITOL HILL. Thursday, July 4, 2013

Fr. Sean Mc Manus — President of the Capitol Hill-based Irish National Caucus  has backed the demand by Relatives For Justice ( Belfast) that HET be dissolved.
Speaking shortly after he called for a Congressional Hearing into HET’s cover-up of State-killings, Fr. Mc Manus said: ” I fully support Mark Thompson’s call for the dissolution of HET. We will be disseminating his statement [see below] on behalf of Relative For Relatives to Members of Congress. Mark graphically raised the whole issue of the HET when he  testified before Congress in 2012.And Irish-Americans will be working for another Congressional Hearing on this whole issue. British Government cover-up continues to be a cancer at the heart of Northern Ireland. It is  nonsense to claim, as the Northern Ireland Government does,  that the peace-process is “solid” when there is such cancerous growth.”
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                                               STATEMENT BY RELATIVES FOR JUSTICE
 
Speaking in response to today’s news that the Policing Board has no confidence in the leadership of the HET in light of yesterday’s damning report by HMIC, Relatives for Justice has issued the following statement;
 
‘Removing the HET Director and senior staff, even removing the Chief Constable will not suffice in addressing the fundamental and systemic problems that lie at the very heart of the HET.
 
‘Such actions would be superficial and cosmetic as the real problem rests with the leadership and intelligence section of the PSNI that in effect created, oversaw and covered the illegal policy practice of the HET in respect of killings by the British Army.
 
‘The facts are that this policy was overseen by the Chief Constable even though he was aware of this illegal practice since coming into office. His Assistant Chief Constables were aware of it since at least 2009.
 
‘Such disregard for the rule of law on the part of new policing at the highest levels has clearly demonstrated to families that the PSNI cannot be allowed to reinvestigate these killings. They cannot be trusted.
 
‘Transferring British Army killings to the PSNI will result in similar tactics aimed at protecting soldiers from prosecution with the continued practice of state impunity for state actions.
 
‘In order that the British government meet their investigative obligations they must create an independent body similar to the Police Ombudsman to examine British Army killings.