Truth Protests

From the BBC:

"Protests over Army Troubles prosecutions"

A protest against the prosecution of former soldiers for killings during the Troubles in Northern Ireland has been met with counter-demonstrations. Supporters of Army veterans have staged a protest at Horse Guards Parade in London, demanding an end to what they have called a "witch hunt". But campaigners seeking justice for those killed by soldiers want the prosecution cases to continue.  They have held counter-protests in London and four Northern Ireland sites. Supporters of the veterans have called their demonstration "I am Dennis Hutchings" to highlight the case of an elderly former soldier.

Mr Hutchings is facing trial for the attempted murder of a man who was shot dead in County Armagh in 1974.  John Patrick Cunningham, 27, was unarmed when he was shot in a field close to his home outside Benburb. Saturday's counter-demonstrations have been called "I am John Pat Cunningham - I'm dead". The dead man's friends held a vigil at Horse Guards Parade at the same time as the veterans' protest. At one stage, some people attending the veterans' protest shouted questions about past IRA atrocities at Mr Cunningham's supporters.  Those attending the vigil did not respond to the remarks. Other counter-protests took place in Belfast, Londonderry, Strabane in County Tyrone and at the scene of Mr Cunningham's shooting in County Armagh. They were organised by members of the Pat Finucane Centre and the Relatives for Justice campaign group. The protest in support of former soldiers was staged by a group called Justice for Northern Ireland Veterans.  Campaigners have previously described the prosecution process as a "one-sided witch hunt". They have claimed that former soldiers are being brought to court while paramilitary suspects have been granted immunity from prosecution. In January, the director of public prosecutions in Northern Ireland defended his record of impartiality in respect of the cases. Barra McGrory QC said critics who accused him of treating former soldiers unfairly had insulted him and his office.

^ I come from a long line of people who served/are serving in the military. With that said any person -in the military or not - who commits a crime (such as murder of innocent people) should be tried and punished. It doesn't matter if you are from the US or the UK. With regards to the British Military and The Troubles in Northern Ireland (1968-1998): what most people do not understand is that when these unjustified murders happened the British Military, and in my cases the British Government, covered-up their crimes at the time and often blamed the victim and/or their families for the deaths. For decades that was the "official" version. Since the British Military left Northern Ireland in 2007 and the British Government is finally admitting to their role in the deaths and cover-ups it may seem like a one-sided "witch hunt" targeting British soldiers now, but it wouldn't had the soldiers involved in the murders been tried and punished at the time they happened (sometimes nearly 50 years ago.) The official cover-ups stopped justice from being done at the time of the murders and now that the world knows they happened every single last one of the murders needs to be investigated and any soldier or official who either participated in the actual murder of the innocent man, woman or child or the cover-up needs to be held accountable for what they did. It doesn't matter if the murder happened 50, 40 or 30 years ago. In some cases (such as the 1972 Bloody Sunday Massacre) the British soldiers involved in the murder of innocent civilians not only were kept safe by a British Military and Government cover-up that lasted until 2010, but the soldiers also received awards from Queen Elizabeth II for their actions. The British Military and the British Government created the problem when they did not stop their soldiers from murdering innocent men, women and children in the 1960s, the 1970s, the 1980s and the 1990s and when they covered-up the soldiers' crimes for decades. Now that the truth of the official cover-up is publically known all those involved need to be brought to justice. Not every soldier of the British Military in Northern Ireland was a murderer, but there were a lot and because of the Government's decades-long cover-up any case that falls into question now needs to be investigated along with those that took part. To me that isn't a "witch hunt" it is righting a wrong that should have been done decades ago.  ^

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-41282400