Terror victims should not be “written out” of the Belfast Agreement anniversary
Terror victims should not be “written out” of the Belfast Agreement anniversary in the same way they were back in 1998, a DUP MLA has said.
Emma Little-Pengelly said the victims have again found it difficult to watch the anniversary being marked, with little or no acknowledgement of those who suffered the most prior to the peace agreement 25 years ago.
“Much of the focus around the anniversary of the agreement has been difficult for victims,” the Lagan Valley MLA said.
"Their story is not an inconvenience to be ignored, as it largely was in the agreement. Just as it was in 1998, the back-slapping and self-congratulations of those who engaged in violence stands in stark contrast to the overlooked dignity of those who suffered at their hands.”
The anniversary is being marked in Northern Ireland with tours, talks, art exhibitions and theatre productions on both sides of the Irish border and in the US.
A programme of events will also take place Hillsborough Castle, where many of the negotiations took place.
The castle’s website says that throughout April it will “welcome diplomats and politicians who played key roles in the Good Friday Agreement as well as other significant negotiations that paved the way for political progress in Northern Ireland”.
In a statement, Ms Little-Pengelly said: “There has been little real focus on the price demanded by terrorists to set down their bullets and bombs. They wanted huge concessions to stop something which never should have started and which was being steadily undermined through infiltration by the security services. The desire to make it work came as so many were so tired of the killing and the chaos.“It was the St Andrews Agreement that fixed the significant problems of the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement – winning decommissioning as a requirement before government, greater collective responsibility in the Executive and mandatory support for policing and the rule of law for those who sought elected position or ministerial office.”She added: “The events to mark the agreement should rightly recognise those who built the peace. It must not write out of history those who suffered the most and continue to hurt to this day – the victims and survivors.”