Sinn Féin MP Paul Maskey has welcomed a delegation from the Oireachtas Good Friday Agreement Committee to West Belfast to meet relatives of victims of the Ballymurphy and Springhill Massacres.

The West Belfast MP said:

“During a recent Oireachtas committee meeting, I invited the members to come to West Belfast to meet with the relatives of the Ballymurphy and Springhill Massacre families and this visit took place today. 

“The Ballymurphy and Springhill Massacre families have campaigned with dignity and courage over five decades years for truth and justice,. Today they spoke with common purpose in calling for the British Government to stop compounding their hurt through its amnesty proposals.

“These British Government proposals completely disregard the views of victims and their families; they are designed with the exclusive purpose of covering up Britain’s dirty war in Ireland.

“The proposals would place British armed forces above the rule of law and shut the door on families being able to go to the courts in pursuit of the truth.

“There is consensus among victims’ groups, political parties across the island, the Irish government, the UN, US Congress and academics that these proposals should be binned.

“The British Government is standing alone and in stark contrast to the views of victims, democratically elected parties in Ireland and the international community. 

“The Stormont House Agreement was signed by the British Government in 2014, and there is no alternative for dealing with the legacy of our conflict.

“Sinn Féin will continue to work for the implementation of the Stormont House legacy mechanisms in a human rights compliant manner.”