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US politicians are working on plans to have the House of Representatives in Washington adopt a resolution around St Patrick’s Day that urges the UK government to drop plans for an amnesty for killings during the Troubles in Northern Ireland.
The resolution, which has so far been backed by 44 members of Congress from both Democratic and Republican parties, also calls for the full implementation of the Northern Ireland protocol and for individuals who committed crimes on Bloody Sunday in Derry in 1972 to be charged.
The sponsor of the resolution, Representative Bill Keating of Massachusetts, said at the weekend its backers were seeking agreement to suspend some existing congressional rules to allow the resolution be brought forward more quickly.
“We hope we can move it forward without any objection and maybe have it coincide with when dignitaries from Ireland and the UK are here to celebrate our St Patrick’s Day,” he said.
As the resolution had received support from some Republican members, he hoped there would not be objections to an accelerated process allowing it to move past some of the regular procedural steps.
He said if there were objections to a fast-track process, the resolution would be brought through the traditional route. However, he was confident it would have sufficient support to be adopted.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin is scheduled to visit Washington next week .
Peace and stability
The proposed resolution before the House of Representatives calls for the full implementation of the Belfast Agreement, supports justice for the victims of Bloody Sunday and the Troubles as well as for their families and “opposes any attempt by the British government to implement amnesty or statute of limitation laws that would end or inhibit investigations and prosecutions of crimes committed during the Troubles, including on Bloody Sunday”.
It also urges “the involved parties to fully implement the Northern Ireland protocol as agreed upon in the interest of maintaining peace and stability on the island of Ireland”.
Last summer the UK government indicated it wanted to end all investigations and prosecutions of military veterans and former paramilitaries for incidents relating to the Troubles predating April 1998.
The Ancient Order of Hibernians, which initiated the House of Representatives resolution with Congressman Keating, argued it was “inconsistent” for British authorities to urge prosecution of Russians for their actions in Ukraine while ruling out any action against its forces for activities carried out in Northern Ireland.
The order’s president, Danny O’Connell, said it “agrees with the British prime minister and members of the British cabinet who have said Russia’s military and political leadership should be prosecuted if found guilty of war crimes in Ukraine, and agree that the International Criminal Court should immediately investigate the attacks on civilians in Ukraine.
“However, we also believe it is entirely inconsistent of the British, at the same time, to continue to pursue statute of limitations legislation which would end all prosecutions of crimes committed by former British soldiers and police officers prior to 1998 in Northern Ireland. ”