Letter: Justice and truth blurred in a cesspit of falsehoods, and evil continues to thrive

There are some who have rightfully described it as a form of madness adding that de-proscription could legitimise terrorists/'paramilitaries.'

Forgive me if I, like many others have got this wrong, but is that not what happened with the 1998 Belfast Agreement? Terrorists/paramilitaries were given legitimacy, then lauded on the world stage, without acknowledging their wrongdoing. They were then given the freedom to stand for and be elected to the legislative Northern Ireland assembly and to sit on the Northern Ireland Policing Board.

They were further aided to bury their crimes through a farcical decommissioning process, and appeased with OTR letters and Royal pardons, their apologists continue to eulogise terrorists with impunity and there is little-no response from Government of whatever hue.

Abhorrent as that was and is to innocent victims of terrorism, it has set a precedent whereby it encourages and emboldens others to explore and want the same things. Have the chickens come home to roost? When you give legitimacy to one group then can you refuse the other? Justice and truth become blurred in a cesspit of falsehoods, and empty assurances that delivers nothing, and evil continues to thrive in whatever form in the vacuum that is left behind.

Surely, we can do better, surely all innocent victims deserve better.

Canon Alan Irwin, Lack, County Fermanagh