SAOIRSE32

News Letter
28 January 2009

FURTHER searches last night by police into Real IRA claims that an RPG warhead was lying abandoned in Newtownbutler found nothing.
On December 19 last year the Real IRA claimed to have fired a rocket at police on patrol near the village 48 hours earlier.

Police immediately warned people to be careful and carried out a search operation but nothing was found.

On January 20 the same group made further claims that a device remained in the area.

Following the latest search, Chief Superintendent Michael Skuce said once again the lives of members of the community had been put at risk.

He said: “Let us be clear: these are not just attacks on police officers, they place the lives of every man, woman and child in the area at risk.

“Those who operate under various flags of convenience are simply terrorists and criminals.

“They offer our community nothing but a willingness to drag everyone back to the dark days of the past by using violence as a so-called political tool.”

News Letter
28 January 2009

PLANS for a £240m multi-sport stadium on the site of the Maze prison have been axed after years of wrangling.

Sports Minister Gregory Campbell has finally dumped controversial proposals for the site which had driven a wedge between Republicans and Unionists.

Controversy

The plan for a 38,000 seater arena for rugby, football and gaelic games at the Maze site on the outskirts of Lisburn contributed to the Stromnt deadlock last year.

In a paper to executive colleagues, Mr Campbell said the plan did not enjoy sufficient political consensus.

He added a net loss to the economy of between £156m and £193m did not compensate for the non-monetary benefits which may flow from a shared stadium.

Terrorism

Controversial plans for a Conflict Resolution Centre on the infamous H-blocks where the 1981 Hunger Strikes happened proved a major sticking point in the plan as Unionists feared it would become a shrine to terrorists.

Plans

There are still plans to help the three sports develop in Northern Ireland.

This could involve upgrades of existing grounds.

Officials will now work with Linfield Football Club and the IFA to carry out a limited remedial programme at Windsor Park so international football can be played there until a permanent solution is agreed.

Mr Campbell also wants to review the work being undertaken by Belfast City Council which says it wants to build its own stadium in the city.

News Letter
28 January 2009

THE authors of a report dealing with the legacy of the Troubles have hit back at critics.

Lord Robin Eames and Denis Bradley insisted their offer of £12,000 to all victims of decades of conflict - including killers - was a recognition of the pain suffered and not compensation.

Backlash

Unionists and some victims’ groups have blasted the proposals to hand over taxpayers’ cash to the families of IRA and loyalist terrorists.

The men said: “It is a small gesture by our society to acknowledge the grief of the families left devastated by the last 40 years.”

Their 190-page report due out later today will contain more than 30 recommendations on how Northern Ireland should deal with its bloody legacy.

Commission

Proposals are thought to include a £160m legacy commission which would be led by an international figure.

The commission would take over the work currently carried out by the Police Ombudsman - which investigates complaints against the police and the Historical Enquiries Team - a specialist police unit set up to investigate unsolved killings throughout the Troubles.

The report was compiled by the Consultative Group on the Past, an independent group set up to deal with the legacy of Northern Ireland’s Troubles, during which more than 3,000 people died.

One of its greatest critics gas been DUP leader Peter Robinson.

Yesterday he met Northern Ireland Secretary Shaun Woodward to outline opposition to the payment plans, which make no distinction between the families of paramilitaries and civilians killed.

Complex

Former Church of Ireland Primate Lord Eames said it was a “challenging and complex report” on what was “too important an issue for instant responses”.

“When we undertook this work, we were under no illusions that it would be extremely difficult for our society to escape the dark shadows of the past,” he added.

“Today we will set out a whole range of issues that will have to be addressed if we are to build the shared and reconciled future that we all want to see.”

Denis Bradley reacted to speculation over his group’s plans to make recognition payments to the families of those bereaved during the conflict.

“Over the past number of days we have heard some victims’ groups saying we don’t want money, we want justice,” he said.

“Others have said we don’t want money, we want truth.

“They are right to say that and our report will reflect both points of view.

Truth

“Equally they have to respect those who told us that they wanted neither justice nor truth.

“Others that we met want recognition by our society of their loss and suffering.

“This is not about compensation nor is it about financial reward.

“It is a small gesture by our society to acknowledge the grief of the families left devastated by the last 40 years.”

He added: “Of course that will only recognise the suffering of the bereaved families.

“Many others have been left injured and scarred, both physically and psychologically, by the violence.

“Their needs are equally important and will be addressed in our report.”

The pair have spent the last 18 months consulting victims and other groups on its plans.

Lord Eames added: “At the heart of those proposals will be justice, truth and importantly reconciliation. It is a challenging and complex report.

“In many ways it reflects the opposing views of our community but we have to find a way of moving to the future together.”

He asked everyone to take time to read the report and said it may take weeks and months to reflect on its recommendations.

“This is too important an issue for instant responses,” he said.

Alert

On the eve of the document’s publication, however, police were responding to a bomb alert in Castlewellan, Co Down, where a major security operation was launched.

Read Lord Eames’ exclusive statement on the proposals for the News Letter here:

VICTIMS’ PLAN: Eames’ statement

.PDF file of the full report >>here

Consultative Group on the Past’s website >>here

News letter
28 January 2009

LORD Robin Eames responds to his critics in this special statement for the News Letter.

As a former Protestant churchman who attended countless funerals and offered spiritual support to hundred sof victims of the Troubles, Lord Eames has been the focus of widespread anger and criticim over the plan to pay dead terrorists’ families £12,000.

Here is his response:

“I understand and accept the anguish of those who have been angered by the suggestion of a recognition payment for families which lost a loved one during the 40 years of violence.

Many of those families I know personally.

Pain

I walked beside them as they buried their husbands, parents, son or daughter who served in the RUC, UDR, RIR or British Army – or because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Throughout my Church career I have always condemned violence no matter where it came from.

I will always do so.

I would never condone violence or justify the actions that led to the grief I witnessed.

Considered

Over the last 18 months the group has listened to many families left broken from 40 years of violence.

They came from every sector of our community. Such burdens will remain with them for the rest of their days.

How society faces up to this is a vital part of how it deals with the past.

Our group has listened to the despair of those who ask: what was it all for – what was it really about?

Let me make it perfectly clear.

Grief

Our reference to a recognition payment did not come out of thin air.

In our consultations, victims, victims’ groups, widows of UDR and RUC members, politicians and individuals pressed us to make a recommendation on recognition of their grief and sorrow.

This is not compensation by any means.

To think that money can lessen such pain is insulting and wrong.

As a leading unionist politician said to us, “there is no difference in a mother’s tears”.

Our group sought advice from experts in this field. So our mention of a recognition gesture is a response to what responsible people asked of us.

We have had to accept the definition of a victim or survivor as that stated in the Victims and Survivors (Northern Ireland) Order 2006.

The Irish government made one acknowledgement payment to their citizens affected by the violence – surely we should give similar recognition to those who live in the United Kingdom?

Divided

The reaction that has ensued over the last four days reminds us we live in a deeply divided society.

Thankfully the bombs and bullets have stopped but to deal with the past will mean each of us searching deep into our souls to find a way to a truly shared and reconciled future. Some have said they simply want justice.

Others say they simply want truth.

Both are right to ask that and we will address both in our report.

However, they have to also accept that many others just want wider society to recognise their suffering.

But our report is about much more. This is only one of over 30 recommendations.

Whitewash

Some have voiced concerns that this is all some elaborate plan to whitewash or revise history.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

Others have urged us to draw a line under the past now. This would mean amnesty.

The people of Northern Ireland do not want that.

Others said there was no chance of getting a prosecution.

We reject that argument.

If the evidence is there then people should be put before the courts and sent to jail.

The current legal processes are one-sided and unfair.

Fair

They unfairly place all the investigation on the security forces. This unbalanced approach has to stop.

Expensive and time-consuming public inquiries are not the way to deal with the past.

We will recommend a new way that is fair to all.”

Just as questions of alleged collusion need to be answered so too do questions about horrific atrocities and the accusations of IRA cleansing of Protestants along the border.

Only when all the questions are put and answered can we finally draw a line under the past.

So as we launch our recommendations today I would appeal to each and every one of you to take time to read the report and to reflect on its proposals.

News Letter
28 January 2009

EIGHT people worked as the Consultative Group on the past before controversial plans were drawn up to pay all victims of our conflict - including terrorists’ families.

The News Letter reveals their backgrounds:

:: Lord Robin Eames: Chairman of the group: He stepped down as Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of the Church of Ireland in 2006 after 20 years in office.

Playing a prominent role at the bloodiest periods of the Troubles, he and was a leading advocate for peace.

He also played a key role in a commission to build consensus for the future and avoid a split over issues such as gay clergy.

:: Denis Bradley: Co-chair of the report, he is former vice-chair of the Northern Ireland Policing Board.

An ex-Catholic priest, he was at Bloody Sunday in Derry in 1972, when British troops shot dead 13 civilians in a civil rights march, while a 14th died later from wounds.

He acted as an intermediary to help end the IRA campaign of violence and has a long history of helping combat addiction to alcohol and other drugs.

:: Jarlath Burns: From south Armagh, he is one of two senior sports figures on the group.

Best known as a former star of Gaelic football, he captained his county team.

A Gaelic games pundit on television and in print, he has also held a number of senior posts in the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) and currently chairs the committee marking its 125th anniversary.

A fluent Irish speaker, he is vice principal of a major post-primary school and teaches at summer schools in an Irish-speaking area of Donegal.

:: James Mackey: A retired lecturer of philosophy and professor of theology born in Waterford, he holds a doctorate in philosophy from Queen’s University Belfast.

He has in the past led a major international conference on the conflict in Northern Ireland, publishing its findings.

In 2005 he served on a panel for the assessment of the Northern Ireland Policing Board and took special responsibility for the matter of human rights implementation.

:: Elaine Moore: A development worker with Northlands Drugs and Alcohol Project based in HMP Magilligan.

Born in Derry, she acquired a masters degree in medical science in addiction studies in 1997 and also holds a BA degree in youth and community work.

She started her career as a youth worker in Liverpool and subsequently worked in a rehabilitation unit in Belize before working for the Northern Board on the Tackling Drugs Together initiative.

:: Rev Dr Lesley Carroll: Born and grew up in Coalisland, Co Tyrone, she has worked in North Belfast for 20 years and is minister at Fortwilliam and Macrory Presbyterian Church.

She co-convenes the Presbyterian Church in Ireland’s Church and Society committee and is a member of the General Board.

She is a regular broadcaster and has been involved in community projects.

:: Willie John McBride: A former rugby star who played for Ireland and the British Lions.

He played 63 Tests for Ireland including 11 as captain, and toured with the Lions five times - a record that gave him 17 Lions Test caps.

In 1997 he was an inaugural inductee into the International Rugby Hall of Fame.

He worked in the banking industry from 1959 to 1994 and was conferred a doctorate of law by University College Dublin in 2004.

:: David Porter: A director of the International Centre for Reconciliation and Canon Director of Reconciliation Ministries at Coventry Cathedral, is also the former director of the Centre for Contemporary Christianity in Ireland.

In 2000 he was appointed a member of the Northern Ireland Civic Forum set up under the 1998 Belfast Agreement as a consultative body to the Assembly and also serves on the Truth Recovery and Acknowledgement sub group of the Healing Through Remembering project.

The Consultative Group received advice from:
Martti Ahtisaari: Former president of Finland, who sat on the team overseeing the inspection of paramilitary weapons decommissioning in Northern Ireland, and

:: Brian Currin: A South African legal expert, who was involved in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in his native country.

He also tried to mediate in the infamous and often violent parades dispute at Drumcree, Co Armagh.

News Letter
28 January 2009

THE legacy being dealt with by the Eames-Bradley report is almost 4,000 people killed over four decades.

Between 1966 and 2006:

2,087 civilians were killed.

201 officers from the RUC and 102 members of the RUC Reserve were murdered.

206 members of the Ulster Defence Regiment and its successor, the Royal Irish Regiment, died.

503 other soldiers killed.

395 republican paramilitaries from various groups were killed.

167 loyalist paramilitaries died.

A further 59 people died in accidents linked to the Troubles or of conditions such as heart attacks related to the violence.

News Letter
28 January 2009

The 31 recommendations of the report on the legacy of the Troubles are summarised here.

Coming under six headings they are:

1 Legacy of the Past and Reconciliation:
An independent Legacy Commission should be established, combining the tasks of securing reconciliation, justice and information recovery.

A Reconciliation Forum should help the Legacy Commission and the existing Commission for Victims and Survivors for Northern Ireland (CVSNI) tackle issues linked to the conflict.

The Legacy Commission should have a £100 million bursary to tackle the issues.

2 Victims and Survivors:
The nearest relative of each person who died in the conflict should receive a £12,000 “recognition payment” as an acknowledgement of the suffering of people in Northern Ireland and Britain, after a similar scheme was introduced in the Irish Republic.

The CVSNI should address the needs of victims and their families, especially in the provision of services, funding, healthcare needs and compensation.

The Reconciliation Forum will help improve healthcare services linked to the conflict, such as trauma, suicide and addiction services.

3 The Legacy Commission:::
Would last five years.

It should be implemented by the British and Irish Governments and the Office of First and Deputy First Minister.

But it will be chaired by an international commissioner who would use the Reconciliation Forum to tackle issues such as sectarianism, promote reconciliation and administer the bursary. There would be two further commissioners.

The Legacy Commission would have four strands of work to help society towards a shared future, investigate historic murder cases, recover information on murder cases and examine themes emerging from the conflict.

4 Society Issues: Issues arising out of the conflict should be tackled, including sectarianism, remembering the past, ensuring economic development helps a wide range of areas and helping those exiled during the Troubles return to Northern Ireland.

The Reconciliation Forum should help address the society issues, prioritising activities and advising government.

The Legacy Commission should champion tackling such society issues.

The Legacy Commission should take the lead in ensuring sectarianism
is being addressed, highlighting the contribution all sectors of society can make.

It should also engage with the Christian churches in Northern Ireland asking them to help create a non-sectarian future, particularly in education.

Action should be taken to implement advice on ending discrimination in relation to employment and access to services for former prisoners.

5 Processes of Justice and Information Recovery:
A special unit with police powers should work within the Legacy Commission to investigate murders from the Troubles.

The new Review and Investigation Unit would replace the police Historical Enquiries Team (HET) and the Police Ombudsman’s unit dealing with historical cases, building on the work they have done so far.

Under a separate strand of the Legacy Commission, and overseen by a separate Commissioner, an Information Recovery unit would gather information on killings.

The Legacy Commission would examine themes of public concern from the conflict such as paramilitary activity and alleged collusion between security forces and paramilitaries.

There would be no new public inquiries. The promised inquiry into the loyalist murder of solicitor Pat Finucane and the evidence of security force collusion in the killing has yet to occur after the family objected to its terms, but the Group believes the case could be dealt with by the Legacy Commission.

Outstanding inquests would remain with the Coroners Service and criminal case reviews would remain with the Criminal Cases Review Commission.

The Group did not propose an amnesty for crimes linked to the conflict, but recommends that the Legacy Commission should make proposals on how a line might be drawn at the end of its five-year mandate.

6 Remembering:
The Legacy Commission should work with the Reconciliation Forum and CVSNI to help victims and survivors tell their stories from the conflict.

CVSNI should be encouraged to develop ways of remembering the impact of the conflict with educational projects and events to remember as a society as a whole.

Future “storytelling” initiatives from the Troubles should be developed.

Government, the private sector, and churches should back an annual Day of Reflection and Reconciliation, as initiated by the Healing Through Remembering group.

Each year at the time of the day of reflection the First Minister and Deputy First Minister should address the Assembly reflecting on the past in a positive way and confirming their commitment to a shared and reconciled future.

At the end of the five-year Legacy Commission, the Reconciliation Forum should co-ordinate a ceremony remembering the past and all those who suffered.

Also at the end of the five years, the Group asks political parties and the remnants of paramilitary groups to sign a declaration that they will never again resort to political violence.

A shared memorial to the conflict should be considered by the Reconciliation Forum.