00:00I'm the Department of Commissioner for Health Ireland.
00:03I'm going to read a prepared statement.
00:06I'm not going to take any questions.
00:08This is going to be a very sensitive case.
00:11The role I'm doing is a prepared statement.
00:13And then, in the background, you'll make a statement.
00:17This is my prepared statement.
00:20The conclusion of the trial today,
00:24with the epittle of social ed,
00:27has once again brought into sharp focus
00:31the deep pain and division
00:35that events from over 50 years ago continue to cause.
00:39And this is very important,
00:41and I hope the press cover this bit.
00:44I said at the outset of the trial
00:46that we would be mindful
00:48if families lost loved ones
00:51on the 30th of January
00:53of 1972.
00:56Those families are at court today,
00:59just like many others
01:01who had relatives killed in 1972,
01:04including the two police officers
01:07just 72 hours earlier.
01:08And the families of those
01:10who have lost loved ones through the coverage
01:12continue to experience pain
01:15at the loss of loved ones.
01:18And we should not forget that today.
01:21The veteran community in Northern Ireland
01:24will welcome today's outcome.
01:26Based on precedent and similar legacy court cases,
01:30it has become increasingly clear
01:33that the admissibility of certain types of evidence,
01:36particularly those based on decades-old recollections,
01:40remains deeply problematic in a fair legal process.
01:46Soldier F has faced legal scrutiny in various forms
01:52for more than a quarter of a century.
01:55And it is my hope that today's ruling by Judge Lynch
01:59brings that long and arduous process to your close.
02:03I would like to take this opportunity
02:05to thank those veterans
02:06that we have attended throughout this trial
02:09and the dignity
02:10on which they have shown respect
02:12and support to soldier F.
02:14Saudi and Northern Ireland must find a way
02:17to gauge its legacy issues
02:19in a fair and in a balanced way.
02:22One which will not disproportionately focus
02:25on the actions of the military or police
02:27and distort the historical record of the conflict.
02:31It must be remembered that 9 out of 10 deaths
02:34during the troubles were caused by
02:36terrorist organisations.
02:38And many veterans are rightly concerned
02:41that too often legal processes are used
02:44to push the truth, rewrite history
02:47and shift them away from reality
02:50that terrorists on both sides,
02:52terrorists on both sides were responsible for the conflict
02:55and there was never any justification for terrorist action.
02:59veterans commissioner, I will continue to advocate
03:04for a legacy process that ensures fairness for all
03:08and that does not facilitate for wholesale demonisation
03:12of those who serve.
03:14the vast majority of them did so with restraint and professionalism.
03:21With the sole motivation in the main
03:24to protect all sections of our community
03:26during the Caribbean years of our country.
03:30Thank you very much.
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