Jim Allister: Relatives of people murdered by terrorism must look at all this focus on Finucane and think there is a hierarchy of victims

A letter from Jim Allister on November 30:
By The Newsroom
Published 30th Nov 2020, 22:10 BST
Updated 2nd Dec 2020, 13:29 BST
The aftermath of the 1987 IRA bomb massacre at Enniskillen. Relatives of those smothered under the rubble there or burned alive in La Mon, or blown to pieces on Bloody Friday will look at the attention paid to the Finucane case and conclude that some victims are more equal than othersThe aftermath of the 1987 IRA bomb massacre at Enniskillen. Relatives of those smothered under the rubble there or burned alive in La Mon, or blown to pieces on Bloody Friday will look at the attention paid to the Finucane case and conclude that some victims are more equal than others
The aftermath of the 1987 IRA bomb massacre at Enniskillen. Relatives of those smothered under the rubble there or burned alive in La Mon, or blown to pieces on Bloody Friday will look at the attention paid to the Finucane case and conclude that some victims are more equal than others

Today’s announcement on Finucane is to be welcomed in so far as, for now at least, it means we will not see a public inquiry.

My thoughts are with the countless victims who don’t have hours of broadcast media time and acres of newsprint devoted to their loved ones.

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The output of some media platforms, particularly the BBC, will cement the belief of many that there is a hierarchy of victims.

Letter to the editorLetter to the editor
Letter to the editor

The relatives of those burned alive in La Mon, blown to pieces on Bloody Friday or smothered under the rubble of Enniskillen will look at the attention paid to this case and conclude that some victims are more equal than others.

Those who call for a multimillion-pound public into this one case while ignoring all those who didn’t get so much as a Historical Enquiries Team report — which in the best of cases amounted to no more than a review of existing police papers – need to seriously reflect on their comments over the last few days.

Jim Allister QC, MLA, North Antrim

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Related topics:Jim AllisterBBCEnniskillen