Perhaps only in Northern Ireland could a Commissioner for Victims and Survivors think that a proposal that adds insult to the injury of victims, fits within his job description.
The proposal to include terrorists who died by their own hand in the definition of victims of the Troubles is pathetic, predictable and amoral. Thomas Begley who died whilst planting the Shankill Road bomb in 1993, was not a victim of the Troubles, he was a perpetrator.
Any definition of a victim that gives equal status to the victim and the victim maker is not only morally vacuous, but furthers the long standing strategy of some in our society to re-write history.
I wrote a blog last year on how corroded our rule of law had become. Our society is awash with symbols, slogans and songs that eulogise terrorism. Racist and homophobic content merits a swift response, but largely speaking expressions of support for proscribed terrorist groups are ignored.
The pursuit of peace in Northern Ireland was and is a noble endeavour; but it is sullied by an unnecessary indulgence of terrorism. The people of Northern Ireland voted (many whilst holding their nose) for the early release of terrorist prisoners within two years as part of an overall political settlement. It was a defined concession, predicated on terrorist groups ending violence and leaving the stage.
They did not vote for amnesties, shadowy on the run letters, clandestine ‘confidence building measures’ or the numerous blind eyes and turned heads of both governments to violence. The weakness of both governments created a culture which has infected the agencies of the state and played into the hands of those who sanitise terrrorism.
Only last month we saw further evidence of this culture. The watchdog established to report on proscribed terrorist groups produced it’s sixth report in December. The Independent Reporting Commission’s (IRC) report failed to name a single one of the proscribed groups that it is paid to monitor.
The IRC proposed ‘direct engagement’ with terrorist groups in order to wean them away from violence. The criminals who tried to murder DCI John Caldwell last February are just that, criminals. The terrorist groups, both loyalist and republican, who kneecap youngsters, extort businesses and terrorise communities need their collars felt, not a cuddle.
Those who support the Victim’s Commissioner’s latest proposal play straight into the hands of those who seek to legitimise terrorism during the Troubles. The argument that by not including the bereaved families of terrorists like Thomas Begley is punishing them for the sins of their father is misplaced.
Such defenders of the Victims Commissions proposal are conflating two different issues – a payment for Troubles victims and support for those in our society affected by the Troubles.
Sadly, lots of people in Northern Ireland lose loved ones prematurely through illness and accidents and a range of welfare benefits exists to support those who are financially distressed.
Indeed, it would be perverse that if you are orphaned because your father was killed in a farming accident you get no lump sum payment, but if your father died blowing people up you do.
Of course the innocent families of dead terrorists are already quite rightly able to access the normal welfare support, in accordance with their individual needs.
They would also benefit from more funding for counselling and support services to address Troubles related generational trauma. Such a proposal would benefit everyone who is affected here and it would be both positive and uncontentious.
However a perpetrator is not a victim, not now, not in the past, not in the future. A payment for victims and the bereaved families of Troubles victims is long overdue; the UK government should now swiftly right that wrong without creating yet another one.
Burrows Blog 