micheailin o'cinnsealach (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} fenian32) wrote,@ 2009-10-13 03:27:00 |
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Bradley warns Tories will bin report on legacy of Troubles
By Suzanne McGonagle
Irish News
12/10/09
A future Conservative Party government in Britain will “bin” a report addressing the legacy of the Troubles, one of its authors has claimed.
Denis Bradley of the Consultative Group on the Past has warned that failure to address problems of the past risks creating a “new generation of victims”.
The former vice-chairman of the Northern Ireland Policing Board made the comments as he addressed the Progressive Unionist Party conference in Belfast on Saturday.
It was the party’s first conference since the decommissioning of weapons by the UVF, a paramilitary group to which it is linked.
Mr Bradley said he feared that if the Tories took power they would destroy proposals for a commission to examine murders from the Troubles and probe the causes of the conflict.
“If what I am hearing is correct then the Conservatives will bin this report,” he said.
“In its place they will suggest a memorial hospital and a moving on, leaving the past behind.
“It will not be as crude as that but it will amount to leaving the past to be dealt with by the passage of time and the death of those who feel most affected by the effects of the Troubles.”
Mr Bradley is part of the Consultative Group on the Past, an independent group set up to deal with the legacy of the Troubles.
He co-authored with Lord Eames a 190-page report containing more than 30 recommendations.
Secretary of state Shaun Woodward ruled out its most controversial recommendation of a £12,000 payment to all families bereaved as a result of the Troubles – paramilitary victims, members of the British armed forces and police and civilians.
Mr Bradley told the conference that he recognised that people were tired of hearing about the Troubles and continuing disputes but he warned that history could not be forgotten.
“Buried memories fester in the unconscious minds of communities in conflict only to emerge later in even more distorted and virulent forms to poison minds and relationships,” he said.
“The animosity between the communities continue, as is clear not least in the politics of the Stormont assembly.
“When future generations ask ‘why?’ they will, if reasons are not considered and recorded, make up their own minds about what happened based on age-old beliefs of the communities they come from.”
Mr Bradley appealed for support for his proposals and said Sinn Fein’s demands for a system free of British influence risked blocking progress.
“If Sinn Fein continue to set their face so dogmatically against a legacy commission which can deliver a lot of truth and analysis of the causes of conflict, they are in danger of depriving a lot of victims of what they need and deserve,” he said.
By Suzanne McGonagle
Irish News
12/10/09
A future Conservative Party government in Britain will “bin” a report addressing the legacy of the Troubles, one of its authors has claimed.
Denis Bradley of the Consultative Group on the Past has warned that failure to address problems of the past risks creating a “new generation of victims”.
The former vice-chairman of the Northern Ireland Policing Board made the comments as he addressed the Progressive Unionist Party conference in Belfast on Saturday.
It was the party’s first conference since the decommissioning of weapons by the UVF, a paramilitary group to which it is linked.
Mr Bradley said he feared that if the Tories took power they would destroy proposals for a commission to examine murders from the Troubles and probe the causes of the conflict.
“If what I am hearing is correct then the Conservatives will bin this report,” he said.
“In its place they will suggest a memorial hospital and a moving on, leaving the past behind.
“It will not be as crude as that but it will amount to leaving the past to be dealt with by the passage of time and the death of those who feel most affected by the effects of the Troubles.”
Mr Bradley is part of the Consultative Group on the Past, an independent group set up to deal with the legacy of the Troubles.
He co-authored with Lord Eames a 190-page report containing more than 30 recommendations.
Secretary of state Shaun Woodward ruled out its most controversial recommendation of a £12,000 payment to all families bereaved as a result of the Troubles – paramilitary victims, members of the British armed forces and police and civilians.
Mr Bradley told the conference that he recognised that people were tired of hearing about the Troubles and continuing disputes but he warned that history could not be forgotten.
“Buried memories fester in the unconscious minds of communities in conflict only to emerge later in even more distorted and virulent forms to poison minds and relationships,” he said.
“The animosity between the communities continue, as is clear not least in the politics of the Stormont assembly.
“When future generations ask ‘why?’ they will, if reasons are not considered and recorded, make up their own minds about what happened based on age-old beliefs of the communities they come from.”
Mr Bradley appealed for support for his proposals and said Sinn Fein’s demands for a system free of British influence risked blocking progress.
“If Sinn Fein continue to set their face so dogmatically against a legacy commission which can deliver a lot of truth and analysis of the causes of conflict, they are in danger of depriving a lot of victims of what they need and deserve,” he said.
