Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s involvement in South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission gave a Christian interpretation to the word reconciliation. Hate the sin and forgive the sinner may not have been the intended meaning by the Commission, but the coming together in peace to resolve differences was less apparent.
Did it draw a line under criminal investigations and offer amnesty to the perpetrators of horrific acts of cruelty? Yes is the short answer. Those who cooperated and provided evidence of unexplained deaths in custody etc offered some solace to the victims’ families.
Drawing a line under the Troubles atrocities is the British government’s intention. Current legislation has been passed by the Commons and the House of Lords is set to increase the investigation powers of the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery (ICRIR).
Victims groups, the Victims’ Commissioner and all political parties in Northern Ireland and the Republic are opposed to ‘drawing a line’ under the Troubles. The Legacy bill may rob victims of their access to justice and contravene the European Convention on Human Rights.
What new evidence might the ICIR elicit? Would former IRA members reveal where the disappeared are buried? Would paramilitaries confirm the extent to which they collaborated with Special Branch and the RUC to target Catholics? Would those truths be a price worth paying for justice denied?
Criminal investigations and public enquires have exposed unlawful killings by British soldiers but gathering evidence against paramilitaries is much harder. The cover ups and codes of silence may bury the truth forever. It is debatable whether the offer of amnesty would encourage the perpetrators of atrocities during the Troubles to speak up.
odespinner 