A failure to deal comprehensively with the past and its legacy in Northern Ireland is a barrier to political progress, writes David Ford
More than 12 years on from the original paramilitary ceasefires and eight years after the Belfast Agreement, many people retain deep hurt over what has happened to them and their families.
Some may argue that focusing in on the past is counter-productive as it keeps wounds open and that society should move on. Alliance disagrees with this view.
We believe that addressing the past and its legacy is fundamental to the process of reconciliation and building a shared future. The failure to do this in a comprehensive and holistic manner is a barrier to political progress.
To date, efforts to deal with the past and its legacy have been handled on a very piecemeal basis. These matters have been allowed to create further division. Alliance believes that only through the creation of a comprehensive approach can this tendency be countered.
One of the major absences from the Belfast Agreement and its subsequent implementation is any holistic and comprehensive approach to transitional justice.
Many other conflict resolution processes have involved some type of tribunal, domestic or international, to punish those responsible for serious offences. Others have established commissions to address truth and reconciliation issues.
It is debatable if either course of action by itself can deliver reconciliation. However, Northern Ireland has not been placed on either course and reconciliation remains an elusive goal.
Already, there have been some efforts to deal with elements of the past.
Paramilitary prisoners were placed on a very generous early release programme. This aspect of the agreement turned out to be the most controversial and painful one. There was no requirement for the organisations involved to engage in any wider process of revealing the details on past acts.
However, the issue of how to deal with the so-called "On the Runs" remains outstanding.
Unsolved cases from the Troubles are still open and should still remain open to investigation. A special Historical Enquiries Team has been established within the PSNI for this purpose, but it faces an uphill struggle.
Related to this is the need to ensure that all past instances have been properly recorded and indeed investigated. This has been highlighted through a number of recent cases investigated by the Police Ombudsman.
There have been some limited efforts to find the "truth" behind selected incidents during the Troubles. These entirely relate to actions of the state.It is right that the state is held to the highest standards, but while these inquiries hold out the prospect of some degree of truth emerging for the families of a few victims, they leave the needs of many others unaddressed. Most policy initiatives have been focused on addressing financial assistance and the provision of services for them.
However, there is much more that can be done. In outlining some of these areas, I acknowledge that it is probably not right for political parties to be overly prescriptive on the options.
First, there is scope for the creation of some type of permanent memorial. There is room for creativity in this regard.
Second, a special day could be set aside for remembrance and reflection. At least initially, no particular form of remembrance should be prescribed. Instead, it would be for individual citizens and civic society to develop it organically.
Third, a forum for testimonials would allow victims, as they define themselves, to place their stories, both positive and negative, on the record, leading to some form of permanent archive.
Fourth, while a mechanism for testimonials may provide a partial solution, there may be a need for a wider process that forces those responsible for situations, whether they be paramilitary organisations or the state, to face up to their actions and the consequences thereof.
Alliance acknowledges that the issue of the "On the Runs" will have to be addressed. This matter has been in abeyance since the British government withdrew legislation at the end of 2005. Any independent commission should revisit this issue, and make proposals as to how it may be addressed in the future.
There is now an opportunity for the British and Irish governments to put in place a process that could lead to a more comprehensive and holistic approach to dealing with the past and its legacy.
The governments should appoint an independent commission, composed of domestic and international experts, to consult, deliberate and make a series of recommendations which would address outstanding issues relating to the past and its legacy and their linkage to the promotion of reconciliation. The commissioners should be asked to report back within nine months.
Any such commission could build on the work of the Interim Victims Commissioner, and take on board the proposals of organisations such as Healing Through Remembering.
This process could consolidate a number of different debates and initiatives that are currently under way and also deal with other unaddressed aspects of how to deal with the past.
It would then fall to the governments, and possibly the Northern Ireland Executive, to determine how to take forward any recommendations that would be made by any such commission.
David Ford is the leader of the Alliance Party