Letter: Forging ahead with Legacy Bill plans without consent of victims' groups risks loss of credibility

We have never supported a statute of limitation, or an overt or covert amnesty for perpetrators, and this remains our position. We stand by the rule of law and have a consistent policy on all terrorism and other criminal violence. We believe that all should be held equally before the law.

Many will point to the litany of policy decisions taken by successive UK Governments (often backed up by Dublin) which have undermined the criminal justice system, and which have directly attacked the prospects of justice being served. Prisoner releases, decommissioning and enabling the destruction of evidence, OTR Assurance letters, Royal Prerogatives of Mercy are examples of the policy of appeasement which has been front and centre of the 'Peace Process' spanning the last quarter of a century.

However, the key common denominator in all of this is that the UK Government with consent from Dublin (in the main) has done to innocent victims/survivors, not with their knowledge or support. The key element of the new Legacy Bill is that in order for a victim/survivor to obtain information (whatever of its' quality) they will be required to acquiesce in the process of providing conditional immunity/amnesty to the very individuals who were responsible for the pain and injury which they have carried and continue to carry. For many this is not something they can accept especially when set against a backdrop where there has been a culture of denial from perpetrators and their apologists as to the wrong and illegitimacy of violence.

The Establishment is seeking to forge ahead with their flawed plans and have been engaged in conditioning efforts to try to present the Bill as constructed as a fair accompli. They have moved forward with commitment around memorialisation monies and have appointed the much-respected Sir Declan Morgan (former Lord Chief Justice) as Commissioner designate of the envisaged ICRIR body.

A survey has been released with the focus being, "making the Commission work for you" and there is a six-week window available for responses, with the survey closing on 10th September 2023, it is anticipated that the process of securing Royal Assent for the Bill (if passage continues unabated) will not have concluded until early October 2023 at the earliest.

We cannot submit an organisational response to this survey nor encourage our constituency to engage. The survey should never have been launched ahead of the Legacy Bill receiving Royal Assent, which remains a live issue.

If Royal Assent is given, then we will provide our perspective on these issues and we would expect these to be fully considered. The survey as constructed is not fit for purpose. It is restrictive and much too broad.

There are some running around pleading for responses to be made to this document to give an impression of engagement and acceptance of the current UK Government's ideological position.

We in partnership with the IVU umbrella of groups represent the largest constituency of innocent victims/survivors of terrorism and other Troubles related violence and any effort to move beyond us and without our consent means that there is no credibility to this process.

Kenny Donaldson

SEFF director, Lisnaskea, south Fermanagh