Northern Ireland

US Congress members voice concern over British army amnesty proposals

US Congressman Peter King
US Congressman Peter King US Congressman Peter King

MEMBERS of the US Congress have written to British officials in Washington over concerns around the failure to address legacy issues in the north.

Six members of congress recently signed a letter to the Deputy British Ambassador Michael Tatum.

In the letter they said that constituents are concerned about failures to agree mechanisms to address legacy issues.

They added that relatives of people killed have also raised concerns about “government collusion” and “fear that they will not know the truth behind what happened to their family members”.

“This anxiety has been magnified by the potential consideration of a new statute of limitations for British military and constabulary,” they wrote.

Those who signed the letter include prominent congressman Peter King, Christopher Smith, Brian Fitzpatrick, Elliot Engel, Nita Lowey and Brendan Boyle.

The Ancient Order of Hibernians in America recently sponsored a US tour by Mark Thompson of Relatives For Justice and Professor Mark McGovern, author of Counterinsurgency and Collusion in Northern Ireland.

Senior AOH member Martin Galvin said loved ones are still denied justice.

"Justice and truth for relatives of victims killed by British troopers, or where British military or constabulary acted in complicity with loyalist criminals, continues to be denied,” he said.