Northern Ireland

Time for Truth march to highlight British 'intransigence' on legacy

The Time for Truth campaign will hold a march on June 9. Picture by Mal McCann
The Time for Truth campaign will hold a march on June 9. Picture by Mal McCann The Time for Truth campaign will hold a march on June 9. Picture by Mal McCann

A second 'Time for Truth' march in Belfast next month will highlight the "continued intransigence of the British state" on dealing with the legacy of the past.

A march in February last year saw more than 7,000 people take to the streets.

Victims of the Troubles behind the campaign have called for the Stormont House Agreement legacy mechanisms to be implemented and adequately resourced "in a human rights compliant manner".

They have also called for resources for the Lord Chief Justice’s five-year plan to clear a backlog of legacy inquests and for the Police Ombudsman's office to allow it to complete outstanding historical investigations.

This year's Time for Truth march will take place on Sunday June 9.

Spokesman Ciarán MacAirt said: "Yet again, the continued intransigence of the British state and its failure to deal with the legacy of the past has forced our families to take to the streets to seek our basic human rights.

"Some of our families have been fighting for nearly half a century for a proper investigation or inquest into the death of loved ones."

Mr MacAirt claimed the British state had failed to implement the Stormont House Agreement of December 2014 and blocked or underfunded other avenues families have for seeking truth and justice for relatives killed during the Troubles.

He added: "In October 2018, we gathered nearly 15,000 responses to the NIO consultation, Addressing the Legacy of the Past, and were promised that we would see the British government’s response to that by January 2019. We are still waiting for that response.

"In the meantime, we have gathered thousands of signatories in a petition supporting our three demands."