RFJ Responds to Paisley Jr.’s “Shoot-to-Kill” Comments

The following press release was issued today by Mark Thompson, Director of Relatives for Justice. Mark will be a featured speaker at our annual conference this October.

In a statement response to Ian Paisley Jnr., who last night called for a shoot-to-kill policy to ‘eradicate and ‘take out’ republicans engaged in armed actions against the PSNI, Relatives for Justice spokesperson Mark Thompson said:

‘The vast majority of ordinary people realize that this is an emotional outburst by Ian Paisley harking back to days of failed policies and practices that led to numerous deaths in pre-planed premeditated shoot-to-kill incidents in which the rule of law, due process, and accountability were disregarded and citizens deliberately killed when there existed ample opportunity to make safe and effective arrests without the loss of life and within the rule of law.

‘His comments are offensive to all right thinking people. We must uphold the highest standards of human rights especially given our past whereby the British Government facilitated the RUC and the British army in implementing its policy of shoot-to-kill. This only deepened and sustained the conflict and it is in that context that we must reflect on the silliness of his comments.

‘It was precisely because of policies like shoot-to-kill that the RUC had to go. If we have learnt anything from the past 35 years it is that such measures will undoubtedly lead us all back into conflict. For him to suggest that there is wide spread support is somewhat fanciful and it is clear that the he has not yet taken the antidote for silly season politics.

‘We are still living with the legacy of those years and events and attempting to resolve them as part of transition. Indeed we are supporting many of the families affected by shoot-to-kill in on-going litigation within the domestic courts after successfully winning landmark judgments in the international courts regarding the illegality of these actions.

‘His comments must also be seen in the context of the debate for the devolution of policing and criminal justice powers in which we all must be vigilant in terms of ensuring transparency, accountability and above all the promotion and protection of human rights by all the institutions of law and order.

‘The comments also reveal why he is no longer in a ministerial position.’ENDS