British Government's legacy failure highlighted in families' full-page ad in daily newspaper

CAMPAIGN GROUPS Justice for the Forgotten and the Pat Finucane Centre have said that today’s full-page advertisement in The Irish News addressed to British Secretary of State Theresa Villiers “is a sign of the anger, frustration and bitter disappointment felt by over 150 bereaved families at the abject failure of the politicians and British Government to implement the legacy proposals set out in the Stormont House Agreement”.

In a joint statement, the orgainsations pointed out that the Stormont House Agreement was the third attempt at finding an agreed truth-recovery mechanism after the Eames/Bradley and the Haass/O’Sullivan proposals.

“It is completely unacceptable that no process has yet been established in which families can have confidence,” they said.

“Such a process MUST be sufficiently independent within the terms of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). Shamefully, the British Government is currently in ongoing violation of the Convention.

“This breach is intolerable and calls into question public confidence in the credibility of the other institutions set up by the Good Friday Agreement (the Stormont Assembly, the power-sharing Executive and the accountability mechanisms over the PSNI).”

The Pat Finucane Centre’s Paul O’Connor said:

“Further action in support of the right to truth is being planned, including a possible full-page ad in a British daily newspaper. We would be keen to hear from families and NGOs who support these views.

“The anger and hurt expressed by bereaved families today is the tip of a very large iceberg. Families, whether Catholic or Protestant, from both communities, in the privacy of their own homes, are both angry and grieving.

“The use of 'national security' as a veto by the British Government over the release of information by the proposed Historical Investigations Unit to families is unacceptable. While living individuals have rights under Article 2 of the ECHR, 'national security' cannot be used as an excuse to withhold evidence of criminal wrongdoing and other vital information from bereaved families.

“This is not an insolvable impasse. With goodwill, common sense and respect for international legal standards, the legitimate wish of families to the truth they so earnestly desire, and deserve, can be achieved.

“They, and we, appeal to every concerned member of the public – and all politicians – to renew their efforts to reach agreement on how to investigate the past.

“Now is the time to set the truth free.”