Survivors and relatives of victims of the Dublin and Monaghan bombings yesterday led calls for an independent truth commission into atrocities committed during the Troubles.
A coalition of victims' organisations on both sides of the Border called for an international commission, after they examined how truth commissions worked elsewhere. The coalition includes the Dublin-based Justice for the Forgotten, which has been campaigning for the victims of the Dublin and Monaghan bombings.
It also includes the Pat Finucane Centre, Relatives for Justice, the Ardoyne Commemoration Project, An Fhirinne, and Firinne Fermanagh. The groups claim to represent families of more than 1,000 victims of the conflict in Northern Ireland.
The coalition launched its plans in Stormont on Monday and travelled to Dublin yesterday to call for the establishment of the commission.
Margaret Urwin of Justice for the Forgotten said the past had to be dealt with in a positive way "because if it's not dealt with it's going to raise its head again in the future". She said the commission would be a mechanism for all victims who wanted to have their cases investigated thoroughly, with the focus on truth and acknowledgement rather than prosecutions.
Paul O'Connor, of the Pat Finucane Centre, said most of the hearings would have to be held in private as many families were too afraid to go public. "They wish to have their privacy and their intimacy respected and we must respect that."
However, public hearings could be held on issues such as the impact of internment, plastic bullets or the bombing campaign.
He said the commission could be made up of between five and 13 commissioners from Ireland, Britain and the international community. Asked about costs, he said it would cost "much less than probably the Iraq war costs in one week . . . you just can't lose this argument because it's certainly going to be more cost-effective [than several individual inquiries]".
Mark Thompson of Relatives for Justice said he did not fear there would be retribution when the truth emerged about various incidents.
