A new victims’ forum to tackle the legacy of the Northern Ireland Troubles will include the bereaved relatives of security force members, republican and loyalist groups, plus civilians caught-up in the conflict, it was confirmed today.
Bereaved members of the forum have links to infamous episodes including the British Army shooting dead of 13 civilians on Bloody Sunday in Derry in 1972, the IRA’s Shankill Road bombing in which 10 people died in 1993 and the Real IRA’s 1998 Omagh bombing that claimed 29 lives.
The forum has been formed as part of wider efforts to address the needs of the victims of violence and will hold its first meeting in Belfast on September 22nd.
One of the four Northern Ireland Victims’ Commissioners appointed to co-ordinate efforts to help those bereaved and injured in the conflict, Brendan McAllister, welcomed the creation of the forum.
He said members of society had differing views on how and why the Troubles occurred, and on what constituted a victim, but he hoped common ground could be found on the needs of the bereaved and injured.
“We hope that we have designed a forum that does that, that upholds people’s individual integrity so that they are able to come into the same place without accepting necessarily everything about each other,” he said.
“You have people coming from opposing views, but we have sounded out everybody before they came in and we are satisfied they are going to make this work.
Members of the forum include people seriously injured by violence, while a number have also been bereaved by events.
While the forum includes 30 people directly affected by the conflict, it will also have nine members whose expertise in areas such tackling mental illness will help its work to aid victims.
All those involved in the forum take their places as individuals, rather than as members of groups they may have represented, organisers said.
Mr McAllister will co-chair the forum alongside his fellow victims’ commissioner Bertha McDougall.
The forum has been formed on a pilot basis and will run until June 2010 to test its success.
It will hold meetings at venues throughout Northern Ireland during that time and may also meet in the Republic of Ireland or in Britain.
Items on its agenda include the definition of a victim, the Eames/Bradley report on measures to deal with the fallout from the Troubles, while it will also consider what other publicly funded organisations need to be created to aid the bereaved and injured.
PA