The Saville report into Bloody Sunday

[Louis VI the Fat]

The fact remains that justice is done to serve a greater purpose than mere revenge.

But a greater good is served by prosecution. A good that trancends the British Isles.

Grave human rights transgressions are prosecuted to show all states, all armies, that human rights exists. It prevents states from grossly infringing on human rights by showing that it can't be done with impunity, regardles of internal politics, or settlements of conflicts.
It prevents men of arms from hiding behind a uniform, from hiding behind 'an order is an order'. It imposes morality on armies.

That is why I supported Garzon in prosecuting Pinochet, regardless of the Chilean resolution of the conflict. It is why I support current Argentinean and Spanish attempts to prosecute junta members and the military, despite their protests of 'let bygones be bygones, for the sake of internal peace'.


Lies and deceit for decades, cover-ups, combined with a self-declared amnesty, both kept up for decades until sheer passage of time becomes their argument for absolution. The pattern is the same everywhere.

A relentless pursuit of war crimes, international, with a patience and memory that outlasts a few decades of cover-ups - I'm all for it. If anything, it makes clear that there is a limit to the amount of violence a state or individual can use against civilians. It will make them think twice before employing it, and it embolds the ones who protest or refuse to participate.