Historic cases that affect whole communities are tricky things. On the one hand, there is the entirely right and proper desire for justice to be done. On the other hand, there is a need to draw a line under the past so that the community can move on. Any moves towards the former comes at the expense of the latter and vice versa. So it is in the tricky case of the troubles in Northern Ireland.
The government have proposed replacing the Legacy and Reconciliation Act, the 2023 law that ended many civil cases and inquests examining killings during the Troubles. That legislation included a conditional amnesty for suspects in historic cases related to violence in the conflict.
The Times report:
Conservative MPs had long pushed for the legislation to protect former soldiers from prosecution but the act’s provisions also apply to republican and loyalist paramilitaries, provided they co-operate with a new information recovery body.
Labour’s election manifesto pledged to repeal the law and Benn said last year that it was “completely wrong” that it had barred victims’ families from pursuing new inquests or civil action in the courts. He has promised to abolish immunity for suspects, including veterans.
Here then is the basic issue. To draw a line under the troubles and allow Northern Ireland to move on, some are arguing for an effective amnesty on all who participated in the conflict. Others argue, in response, lines cannot be drawn until justice is done. How can families who have lost loved ones – whether at the hands of paramilitary groups or the British army – move on when their killers, and those who gave the commands, are still at large? Are we for justice or are we for reconciliation? Can there be genuine reconciliation before there has been any justice? How can the region ever move on if some insist they cannot move on apart from justice being done whilst others insist reconciliation will never come if justice is mercilessly pursued? It is not an uncomplicated matter.
There have been proposals that amount to the worst of all worlds. The ability to prosecute paramilitaries but not soldiers and, at other times, amnesty for paramilitary men but the pursuit of British Army veterans. It doesn’t take a lot of thinking to see the problems here. Either amnesties are offered to all participants or they are available to none of them. Either justice is done across the board or lines are drawn under historic cases for all.
Whilst those combatants may breathe a sigh of relief at the thought of amnesties all round, families of their victims were understandably less enamoured. An amnesty for soldiers and paramilitary men was viewed as entirely unacceptable to the families who lost innocent civilians who had no part in the conflict. But if prosecutions are still a live threat, what chance is there of ever learning the truth? Nobody will come forward and admit anything, nobody will name anyone, for fear of incrimination.
There are no easy answers here. Whatever one does there is the potential for justice to be left undone and for some to remain forever unsatisfied. Either full prosecutions are pursued so justice might be done but no participants will come forward and the truth will never be properly known. Alternatively, amnesties are offered across the board on condition of full compliance with an information recovery committee, but families are left with the cold truth and no satisfaction knowing that murderers are let off scot-free. To think about these issues too long makes one’s head hurt and those who offer simple solutions neither understand the complexities involved nor the ramifications of what they are peddling.
It is in moments like this that the church really does have a better answer. We know that nobody escapes ultimate justice. One day, before the Lord, all the deeds of men will be laid bare and each must give an account. There will be no need for a truth and reconciliation committee because the Lord knows all that took place. The truth will out and those who remain unrepentant will face justice.
At the same time, there is grace for repentant sinners. Those who admit their sin and – more than just uttering an apology – are truly repentant (cf. Luke 19:1-10 is instructive in what true repentance looks like), they receive God’s mercy and grace. As Jesus puts it:
31 Then Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, ‘If you continue in my word,[c] you really are my disciples. 32 You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.’
33 ‘We are descendants[d] of Abraham,’ they answered him, ‘and we have never been enslaved to anyone. How can you say, “You will become free”? ’
34 Jesus responded, ‘Truly I tell you, everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin. 35 A slave does not remain in the household for ever, but a son does remain for ever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you really will be free.
The truly repentant are those who turn from their sin and towards obedience of Jesus. Even the worst of sinners may repent and find welcome with Jesus. But it is the truth that sets them free, it is the owning of their sin, it is genuine repentance and a desire to follow Jesus that leads to real freedom. Such repentance will be seen in a change of heart, a change of action, a submitting to justice and a seeking to make restitution for the things done wrong. That applies to soldiers and paramilitary men alike as much as it does the rest of us.