THE BRITISH and Irish governments have adopted a guarded response to the Eames- Bradley proposals on dealing with the legacy of the Northern Troubles.
The recommendations were announced yesterday by Lord Robin Eames and Denis Bradley amid angry and emotional scenes.
Dublin and London indicated it would “take months” before they would issue their definitive response to the report of the Consultative Group on the Past, although two senior well-placed sources last night indicated that ultimately British prime minister Gordon Brown and Taoiseach Brian Cowen would support the general thrust of the report.
The proposal to pay £12,000 to the next of kin of everyone killed in the conflict, regardless of whether they were allegedly involved in paramilitarism or state collusion, continued to generate strong responses yesterday.
This was reflected in the scenes at the launch of the report in the Europa Hotel. During the launch Protestant victims’ representative William Frazer and former unionist Assembly member Cedric Wilson barracked the joint heads of the group as they presented their report.
Mr Wilson also directed a verbal tirade against Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams who was in the audience.
Members of unionist and nationalist victims’ groups clashed verbally before, during and after the presentation of the report.
Lord Eames and Mr Bradley defended the proposed £12,000 payment but admitted they could have presented it better. They said it was not offered as compensation but as an acknowledgment of the suffering of all those bereaved by the violence. They stressed the purpose of their report was to provide justice and reconciliation and urged everyone to carefully consider their proposals.
They emphasised how the all-embracing nature of the report must not be lost amid the controversy. These proposals, which are likely to cost £300 million, include:
- A five-year legacy commission to oversee how the consequences of the Troubles are addressed;
- An information recovery unit to allow the bereaved discover how and why their loved ones were killed;
- A new investigative body under the commission replacing the Historical Inquiries Team to investigate more than 3,000 killings;
- £100 million for projects to address sectarianism and other reconciliation issues;
- No further public inquiries into controversial killings.
Nationalist politicians were guarded in their response while DUP deputy leader Nigel Dodds condemned the proposals in the House of Commons as “obnoxious”.
The prime minister said he understood why the £12,000 payment provoked controversy, but added: “I believe that some of the recommendations will be acceptable to all parties, such as settling outstanding cases, pushing forward with reconciliation, and having a reconciliation fund that will help different groups to come together so that we can get away from the incidents of the past.”
Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin, who visits Belfast today, said the Government would take time to provide a considered response.