'Anyone with information on the Disappeared should bring it forward' – Martin McGuinness

» Martin McGuinness

'Our focus must be on encouraging anyone holding information to bring it forward.'

I WATCHED last night’s programme on those killed and secretly buried by the IRA.

What happened to those families was wrong, it was unjustifiable and it was cruel.  

I was involved some years ago in putting together the framework within which the Commission for the Disappeared could operate.

It allows for people to bring forward information without fear of prosecution.

A good deal of information has been brought forward. That has been confirmed by the Commission itself. Indeed the man tasked with conducting the searches Geoff Knupfer said:

"In a spirit of co-operation and reconciliation they [the IRA] are trying to help in every way they can. I am absolutely convinced that they are doing everything they can to assist. The support we have had from them has been absolutely 100 per cent from day one."

As a result of this co-operation a number of bodies have been recovered and the sites of the other burials have been identified.

Unfortunately many families remain waiting on the return of their loved ones for a Christian burial.

That is a wound which must not be left to fester. I will continue to make every effort both publicly and privately to see this grave injustice brought to an end.

I make that appeal again today to anyone with any information to bring that forward. I understand that these killings happened decades ago and those involved may be dead, may not have been active in Republicanism since that time or indeed may well be hostile to Sinn Féin and the Peace Process.

But despite these difficulties I do believe that we must continue efforts to see a positive resolution for the families.

I believe there is an imperative on everyone to help make that happen. Our focus must be on encouraging anyone holding information to bring it forward. This is a humanitarian issue. Those who seek to make political capital out of these terrible and tragic events will only dissuade them.

It is now over 10 years since the searches for the Disappeared began and 40 years since some of those were killed and buried. Regrettably changes to landscape and other practical issues also have frustrated the exhaustive work of Geoff Knupfer and the Commission.

It has long since passed the time when the families got the justice they deserve.

Achieving this remains a priority for me and for those of us in the leadership of Sinn Féin.