'Cold Case' Squad to review 2,100 Troubles Deaths

[capt_buzzard]

A Special team of 100 staff, including 50 detectives, is to be recuited to reinvestigate killings that took place during the troubles of Northern Ireland. More than 2,100 deaths will be re-examined.

Those recuited will include retired Royal Ulster Constabulary ( RUC) Northern Ireland, and Southern Irish Police(Garda) detectives as well as serving officers from British Forces. Two officers, one retired and one serving, are already working to set up the largest ''cold case'' review in British or indeed Irish history.

There has been speculation for some time that unsolved murders would be re-examined. Hugh Orde, (Police Service of Northern Ireland) chief constable, has now confirmed that the review will cover about 300 disputed killings by the security forces, not classified as murder, as well as 1,800 terrorist killings for which no conviction had been secured.

The security force killings that will be reopened range from plastic bullet deaths to SAS ambushes, such as the one that killed eight IRA men and a passer-by during an IRA attack on a police station in Loughgall in 1987.

The whole exercise is expected to take six years to complete.

Sunday Times Ireland,

www.sundaytimes.co.uk

Why wasn't it done sooner? Why wait all this time?

[A Karenina]

This is very interesting news. What is the general feeling there about it? Do you feel that the cold-case detectives are impartial?

[capt_buzzard]

A Karenina wrote: This is very interesting news. What is the general feeling there about it? Do you feel that the cold-case detectives are impartial?There has not being a whisper about it here yet.

[Bothwell]

Hope nobody is holding their breath Capn as the Bloody Sunday enquiry has been going for aeons and still no result. The Longhill one may be interesting, never know perhaps they could call Gerry and Martin to ask them (especially Martin in thi case) about Warrenpoint.

In truth I am not sure about the whole thing, if it was universal such as the Truth and Reconciliation Committee tried to be in South Africa then I would applaud it, in those hearings I believe that all the testimony was voluntary.

Who will try ex servicemen ?

[capt_buzzard]

Bothwell wrote: Hope nobody is holding their breath Capn as the Bloody Sunday enquiry has been going for aeons and still no result. The Longhill one may be interesting, never know perhaps they could call Gerry and Martin to ask them (especially Martin in thi case) about Warrenpoint.



In truth I am not sure about the whole thing, if it was universal such as the Truth and Reconciliation Committee tried to be in South Africa then I would applaud it, in those hearings I believe that all the testimony was voluntary.



Who will try ex servicemen ?Who will tell the truth. The same old question will arise, What's an English Judge doing in an Irish court.

[capt_buzzard]

And still no word to date. Most folk here, but especially in Britain will condemn the IRA for their atrocities in Northern Ireland, and rightly so. But there is an old saying 'it takes two to tango', the British establishment and collusions with the combined Loyalists para military groups who are well armed, and will perhaps never decommission their weapons.

[capt_buzzard]

So before anyone in the UK or indeed Ireland, starts criticizing American government's involvment in Iraq they should look to the home front. Its time the British left Irish soil.:-6