TROUBLES REPORT: Team defends pay-outs
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
VIDEO:
The Eames-Bradley report will be officially launched at the Europa Hotel in Belfast later today and the News Letter will be posting an exclusive video of the unveiling here.
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