Post by An Fear Dubh on Jun 22, 2007 16:38:59 GMT
This is probably one of the most difficult aspects of peace that everyone has to deal with. Some want to lay the blame squarely with one section of our society. Some want to claim that their conscious is clear and they have no blame in the society that has developed. Others want a heirarchy of blame with one section more to blame than themselves, and some do not want to move on but to continue to political point score because that is what they have always done.
Not that long ago some public figures have been splashed across the media because they sing a certain tune that is popular with the London administrations view. John Dunlop and Maurice Hayes to name but two. Now Maurice was an Irish Senator and London minister adviser, he said. “The general political will that the institutions should be made to work (and) should be allowed to do so could easily be frustrated if we insist on picking at the sores of old wounds, raising old ghosts, revive old animosities and suspicions, and most of all shattering the burgeoning trust which is a prerequisite for peaceful co-existence and co-operation, “
He singled out the 'Saville Inquiry' (Bloody Sunday), and basically said what we all know that in the end, there will be no new truth uncovered, no one brought to account, and peoples views will be exactly the same as they were before the Inquiry started, so why are we spending so much money on it? Which seems a fair point, but what he is actually asking is that victims forget about their suffering because it costs too much. And that people should not expect anyone to tell the truth.
One political journalist Malachi O'Doherty put it this way, “I would not bury the past. I can see why pragmatic government institutions concerned with their own survival would not pay good money to unearth material that would jeopardise them. But I would not trust the history of Northern Ireland not to erupt again as bloodily as before unless we had staked it down with the most comprehensive understanding. And if the state won’t do that, others must.”
What Maurice should have said is that his past friends in the London government should have saved us the expense of the Saville Inquiry by coming forward and releasing all information. Instead of as we see with the Billy Wright case countless documents go missing or destroyed. Or the rush of the London admin to change the law to limit the scope of Inquiries recommended by by Judge Cory. This is not the actions of a government that want to help find the truth and settle society here. These are the actions of a government that wants to keep us in the dark and divided over the past.
Lord Eames and Denis Bradley are to co-chair a consultive group. While I do not question both mens integrety I do wonder if they are the type to rock the boat and demand that the London admin do a bit more than play games, and start to uncover the truth. There is no point in having any look at the past if all sides are going to try and score political points and not tell the truth or want to seek out the truth. Once everyone wholeheartedly seeks to reveal the truth then the healing can begin, but if one side evades the truth or put obsticles in the way of finding the truth then we are going down another cul-de-sac.
The remit for this new consultive group is - “how Northern Ireland might approach its past in a way that heals rather than poisons, that enables everyone to focus on building a shared future, not looking constantly over shoulders to a divided past.”
In going about its work, the Consultative Group should consider:
i. the landscape of initiatives that have already been taken by Governments and non-Governmental groups;
ii. work already done – and ongoing – in this area, including consultation exercises;
iii. the resources that would be required to implement any recommendations that it makes.
In addition to the two chair other members are; Jarleth Burns former GAA captain of Armagh. The Rev Lesley Carroll, a Presbyterian Minister in North Belfast, Willie John McBride, former captain of the British and Irish Lions rugby team. James Mackey, a former lecturer in philosophy at Queen`s University Belfast and visiting professor at Trinity College, Dublin. Elaine Moore, alcohol and drugs counsellor at Magilligan Prison in Co Londonderry. David Porter, director of the Centre for Contemporary Christianity in Ireland. In addition the former Finnish Prime Minister Martti Ahtisaari - who oversaw the decommissioning of IRA weapons and sealing of arms dumps - and South African lawyer Brian Currin - who at one time was called in by the Government and tried to mediate over the Drumcree Orange parade dispute - have agreed to act as international advisors to the panel.
u.tv/newsroom/indepth.asp?id=83163&pt=n
Not that long ago some public figures have been splashed across the media because they sing a certain tune that is popular with the London administrations view. John Dunlop and Maurice Hayes to name but two. Now Maurice was an Irish Senator and London minister adviser, he said. “The general political will that the institutions should be made to work (and) should be allowed to do so could easily be frustrated if we insist on picking at the sores of old wounds, raising old ghosts, revive old animosities and suspicions, and most of all shattering the burgeoning trust which is a prerequisite for peaceful co-existence and co-operation, “
He singled out the 'Saville Inquiry' (Bloody Sunday), and basically said what we all know that in the end, there will be no new truth uncovered, no one brought to account, and peoples views will be exactly the same as they were before the Inquiry started, so why are we spending so much money on it? Which seems a fair point, but what he is actually asking is that victims forget about their suffering because it costs too much. And that people should not expect anyone to tell the truth.
One political journalist Malachi O'Doherty put it this way, “I would not bury the past. I can see why pragmatic government institutions concerned with their own survival would not pay good money to unearth material that would jeopardise them. But I would not trust the history of Northern Ireland not to erupt again as bloodily as before unless we had staked it down with the most comprehensive understanding. And if the state won’t do that, others must.”
What Maurice should have said is that his past friends in the London government should have saved us the expense of the Saville Inquiry by coming forward and releasing all information. Instead of as we see with the Billy Wright case countless documents go missing or destroyed. Or the rush of the London admin to change the law to limit the scope of Inquiries recommended by by Judge Cory. This is not the actions of a government that want to help find the truth and settle society here. These are the actions of a government that wants to keep us in the dark and divided over the past.
Lord Eames and Denis Bradley are to co-chair a consultive group. While I do not question both mens integrety I do wonder if they are the type to rock the boat and demand that the London admin do a bit more than play games, and start to uncover the truth. There is no point in having any look at the past if all sides are going to try and score political points and not tell the truth or want to seek out the truth. Once everyone wholeheartedly seeks to reveal the truth then the healing can begin, but if one side evades the truth or put obsticles in the way of finding the truth then we are going down another cul-de-sac.
The remit for this new consultive group is - “how Northern Ireland might approach its past in a way that heals rather than poisons, that enables everyone to focus on building a shared future, not looking constantly over shoulders to a divided past.”
In going about its work, the Consultative Group should consider:
i. the landscape of initiatives that have already been taken by Governments and non-Governmental groups;
ii. work already done – and ongoing – in this area, including consultation exercises;
iii. the resources that would be required to implement any recommendations that it makes.
In addition to the two chair other members are; Jarleth Burns former GAA captain of Armagh. The Rev Lesley Carroll, a Presbyterian Minister in North Belfast, Willie John McBride, former captain of the British and Irish Lions rugby team. James Mackey, a former lecturer in philosophy at Queen`s University Belfast and visiting professor at Trinity College, Dublin. Elaine Moore, alcohol and drugs counsellor at Magilligan Prison in Co Londonderry. David Porter, director of the Centre for Contemporary Christianity in Ireland. In addition the former Finnish Prime Minister Martti Ahtisaari - who oversaw the decommissioning of IRA weapons and sealing of arms dumps - and South African lawyer Brian Currin - who at one time was called in by the Government and tried to mediate over the Drumcree Orange parade dispute - have agreed to act as international advisors to the panel.
u.tv/newsroom/indepth.asp?id=83163&pt=n