Legacy mechanisms must be implemented – Francie Molloy MP

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Sinn Fein

MolloyMPFrancie Molloy MP said today that Sinn Féin remains committed to the legacy mechanisms agreed to at Stormont House and are resolutely opposed to any suggestion of immunity to British state forces who tortured or murdered Irish citizens.
Francie Molloy was speaking after attending a seminar in London hosted by the Pat Finucane Centre (PFC) in conjunction with Amnesty International, the Committee on the Administration of Justice (CAJ), and Matrix Chambers.
The seminar presented further evidence that torture was carried out by British State forces in the Six Counties.
Speaking from London, Mr Molloy said:
“It is appropriate that on the 26th June – the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture – we took the time to examine these unearthed documents which prove – without any question – that British State forces were engaged in torture in Ireland during the conflict.
The documents exhibited this evening provide harrowing contemporary accounts of waterboarding, sexual assault, and electric shock treatment.
As someone from the Nationalist community who lived through the period of conflict this is not the first time I have heard such accounts of systemic brutality and cruelty at the hands of the British Army and RUC.
We always knew that such accounts were not fabrications. We always knew that the scars and bruises were not self-inflicted. These documents show the world that we were right all along. I welcome the fact that this seminar was held in London where its revelations will hopefully reach a wide audience.
I wish to thank the Pat Finucane Centre for uncovering these accounts from within the UK’s National Archives in Kew and in the O’Fiaich Library in Armagh – and for bringing them to wider attention. The evening’s discussion once again demonstrates the need for a holistic approach to the past. There can be no side deals on the legacy of the conflict.
As a party, Sinn Féin remains committed to the legacy mechanisms agreed to at Stormont House and we are resolutely opposed to any suggestion of immunity to British state forces who tortured or murdered Irish citizens.”