Public's view on report was not surprising
PUBLIC opposition to the Consultative Group on the Past, drawn up by the Eames/Bradley team to deal with the legacy of the Troubles, was an inevitable development considering some of the proposals which effectively placed innocent victims on a par with the perpetrators of terror crimes.
Secretary of State Owen Paterson says he was obliged to publish a summary of public responses in the interests of the "transparent
and measured" approach which his government intends to take on this most
sensitive matter.
The report, presided over by former Church of Ireland primate Dr Robin Eames and former Policing Board vicechairman Denis Bradley, made 31 recommendations on issues such as victims, justice and information recovery and the great majority of responses from individuals
and interested groups rejected the findings.
By far the most controversial aspect was the suggested oneoff payment of 12,000 to the nearest relative of anyone killed during the conflict,
irrespective of whether the person killed was a totally innocent victim or one engaged in an act of terror.
This proposal was received with outrage and Owen Paterson has declared that this will not be an option.
Many unionists saw the exercise as "a one-sided truth commission" and the frosty response was also echoed in some nationalist circles.
Compiling an historical view of the Troubles that would find general acceptance across the divide was never going to be easy, but what is
paramount is the avoidance of equivocation on what constitutes victimhood.
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Tuesday 14 February 2012
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