Contrast lack of hunger for exposing NI terrorists with Russian Salisbury case

I read with interest an opinion piece in this paper dated October 17 by Mrs Daphne Trimble.
By The Newsroom
Published 23rd Oct 2018, 11:00 BST
One point made by Colin Worton, brother of Kingsmills victim Kenneth, is that whilst Russian suspects were named in the Salisbury poisoning (scene pictured above), there is little government resolve to expose NI terroristsOne point made by Colin Worton, brother of Kingsmills victim Kenneth, is that whilst Russian suspects were named in the Salisbury poisoning (scene pictured above), there is little government resolve to expose NI terrorists
One point made by Colin Worton, brother of Kingsmills victim Kenneth, is that whilst Russian suspects were named in the Salisbury poisoning (scene pictured above), there is little government resolve to expose NI terrorists

(News Letter, ‘We excluded perpetrators from victim fund until told to include them’).As someone who has lost a brother to terrorism, I care very much about the definition of a victim.

I cannot accept any form of equivalence between a victim and a perpetrator, financial or moral.

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Just who is responsible for the current definition of a victim?

Mrs Trimble states that funding for perpetrators was a bitter pill to swallow for the board for Northern Ireland Memorial Fund.

Let me go further and say it was an absolute kick in the teeth for innocent victims and their families.

Can we lay the blame at the door of the DUP / SF coalition? We need to have an open and honest discussion around what led to the current system and perverse definition.

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My family has suffered great pain and loss, as have others right across our wee country. I simply ask why those in power thought it reasonable or acceptable to financially award the perpetrators of violence, alienating many innocent victims, causing them to disengage from a process which was originally designed to aid them.

We have seen in recent weeks how the UK authorities have publicly named two Russian born suspects suspected of the Salisbury attack.

It’s a pity that the Government hasn’t the same resolve and determination to expose enemies of the state who reside within Northern Ireland.

In the Kingsmills inquest, we have only been given ciphers of suspects, not their true identities. How is that equality, compared with the Russians?

Colin Worton, Co Armagh

Related topics:GovernmentDUPNorthern Ireland