Politicians to be briefed on truth commission plans
British and Irish members of parliament will tomorrow be briefed on what is being described as an effective truth commission on the North's Troubles.
It emerged today that the group considering how to deal with the legacy of decades of violence could recommend a five-year commission to re-investigate murders.
Unlike the South African model, there are no plans for public hearings, but in cases where convictions cannot be secured it is proposed amnesties will be available for those who can provide information on killings, including paramilitaries.
The leaders of the Consultative Group on the Past, Denis Bradley and Lord Eames, will tomorrow privately brief representatives of Westminster and the Dáil at a meeting of the British-Irish Inter-Parliamentary Body in Newcastle upon Tyne.
The Eames-Bradley report is expected to be released before Christmas but today politicians in the North reacted to speculation about its contents by insisting the needs of victims be paramount.
The Group on the Past would today only say that its work was continuing, but it is understood the proposed commission would be led by an investigative unit which would seek to secure prosecutions.
But where convictions seemed unlikely – and if bereaved relatives agreed to the move – the case would be taken over by an information recovery unit where amnesties would enable those involved in murders to provide details on what happened without fear of prosecution.
It is understood that organisations such as the IRA, loyalist groups and security forces could appoint representatives to the commission who would provide information on incidents their respective groups were involved in.
The findings would then be passed to the families of victims in the hope that they would at least receive some answers on how and why their loved ones were killed.
Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) Junior Minister Jeffrey Donaldson said it was important that bereaved families were not denied the opportunity to see those responsible for murder brought to justice.
He warned any such move would have political implications.
Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) deputy leader Danny Kennedy said dealing with the past was not an academic issue and said the pain of bereavement continued to cast a shadow over the lives of victims.
“For that reason, governments, commissions and elected representatives must realise that in attempting to address the past they are dealing with deeply sensitive issues,” he said.
“It remains our view that any whole-sale amnesty, by-passing due process of law and the courts, is entirely unacceptable.”
He added: “Any other process aimed at ’truth recovery’ must include terrorist perpetrators, who were the chief human rights abusers during our Troubles”.
It is understood that enquiries already under way into alleged security force collusion in murders such as those of loyalist leader Billy Wright and solicitor Rosemary Nelson, would be allowed to reach a conclusion, but that no further such probes would be held.
The Historical Enquiries Team and the North's Police Ombudsman office could see their workload of historic cases taken over by the investigative wing of the new commission.
The Relatives for Justice victims group said it would be important that any new commission was entirely independent to ensure its findings commanded confidence.
Sinn Féin spokesman on victims issues, Mid Ulster Assembly member Francie Molloy, said his party called for an independent truth recovery process.
“We are still however awaiting the outcome of this report, which remains to be published. Any process must be one that can deliver the truth to bereaved families as a result of independent investigation and be victim-centred.
“Being victim-centred means that it must embrace all the victims, all the protagonists, whether they live in Ireland or England or elsewhere. There must be no hierarchy of victims.
He added: “There is of course understandable concern about the British government’s commitment to a truth recovery process as we have seen numerous occasions where the British have hampered or retarded the flow of information and evidence. All relevant parties must play a full role giving full co-operation for any truth process to be valid and successful.”
Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams is already on record as saying that any truth recovery process must involve all organisations – a signal that republicans would have to cooperate.
