Troubles legacy consultation results to be published today

By The Newsroom
Published 5th Jul 2019, 09:50 BST
An IRA gunman displays an M60 Machine Gun on streets of Londonderry Pacemaker Press Intl. 29 Jan. 1978. 44/78/BWCAn IRA gunman displays an M60 Machine Gun on streets of Londonderry Pacemaker Press Intl. 29 Jan. 1978. 44/78/BWC
An IRA gunman displays an M60 Machine Gun on streets of Londonderry Pacemaker Press Intl. 29 Jan. 1978. 44/78/BWC
The Northern Ireland Office is to publish a summary today of response to a public consultation on proposals to deal with the legacy of the Troubles.

More than 17,000 public responses were received when the consultation took place over five months and ended in October 2018

On Thursday afternoon, the Stormont parties viewed the document on an embargoed basis.

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It is a summary of responses to the proposed legacy plans from the Stormont House Agreement, rather than a statement of government policy.

The public consultation process on the legacy of the Troubles was launched by the government in May 2018.

The legacy consultation document and draft bill outlines plans for:

:: An Historical Investigations Unit, which would investigate about 1,700 deaths

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:: An Independent Commission on Information Retrieval, which would seek to answer questions if requested by families

:: An oral history archive, which would collect recorded memories

:: An implementation and reconciliation group involving state and political appointees to ensure the plan is rolled out

According to the South East Fermanagh Foundation, which held information meetings around the UK on the consultation, the number one concern among attendees was the statutory definition of a victim, which they see as making no distinction between perpetrators and their victims.

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The Police Federation, which represents thousands of rank and file police officers, described the proposals as an attempt to equate paramilitaries with police officers.

DUP MLA Doug Beattie has repeatedly voices concerns that the proposals would focus strongly on the actions of the state as opposed to those of terrorists.

Grainne Teggart, Amnesty International’s campaign manager for Northern Ireland, said the proposals “neglect the rights to investigations of those tortured and injured in the conflict”.