“A “kick in the teeth’ for those who lost loved ones”
Photo above – Jim Roddy (left) and Rev Harold Good said no political parties were invited to the event, which they described as “a seminar”
Secret legacy talks in London have been described as a ‘kick in the teeth’ for those who lost loved ones during the Troubles.
The BBC reported it was held “at Lambeth Palace on 2 November, those on the guest list included representatives of the British and Irish governments, veterans’ commissioner Danny Kinahan, senior republican Sean Murray, loyalist Winston Irvine and Judith Thompson, who was until recently the commissioner for victims and survivors.
“They discussed a report by Queen’s University academic Kieron McEvoy, who also attended.”
Campaigner Kenny Donaldson said victims were excluded from the discussions which involved officials from the NIO, Dublin’s Department of Foreign Affairs and former terrorists.
The spokesman for Innocent Victims United blasted the talks as “having absolutely no legitimacy” and said those he represented were furious.(1)
Ben Lowry (Deputy Editor) wrote in the News Letter about the Archbishop of Canterbury’s involvement in the thorny issue of Northern Ireland’s legacy. He said “The problem is that the secret Lambeth Palace talks have excluded all sceptics of the legacy process who think it unbalanced against state forces.”
“Did Most Rev Justin Welby not pause to ask if any IRA leader faces trial? Why terror godfathers such as Brian Keenan, Kevin McKenna, Billy McKee, Martin McGuinness never served time commensurate with their boodshed.”
“Did it not occur to him to research the difference in outlook between victims groups such as WAVE and Kenny Donaldson of the large Innocent Victims United umbrella group, the latter of which has persistently protested that legacy is being soft on terrorists?
“Did it not occur to him that retired police, representing ex RUC, were not present in his talks, but army concerns were present, and this might be because army have greater clout? (the PSNI, who were invited, have disgracefully distanced themselves from retired RUC concerns).
“Did it occur to him that people in his talks might be trying to depict IRA and state forces as equally culpable for the past violence? Because such voices are widespread.”
“Archbishop Welby has been played for a fool. But it is a deep betrayal of the UK government to let the Northern Ireland Office be in these secret talks, along with the organisation to which the NIO typically defers, Ireland’s Department of Foreign Affairs.
“Radio Ulster this week let that perpetual scold of the UK, Ireland’s foreign minister Simon Coveney, sermonise at length and with minimal contradiction on the need for yet more scrutiny of the appalling murder of Pat Finucane.” (2)
Two men behind the meeting in London have defended the event, after it was branded “a secret talks process which ignored victims”.
Londonderry city centre manager Jim Roddy and Rev Harold Good, a former president of Ireland’s Methodist Church, said they had asked the Archbishop of Canterbury to host it.
In a statement they said no political parties had been invited. (3)
The Ulster Human Rights Watch issued a statement confirming that it was not informed about the secret talks on legacy at the invitation of the Archbishop of Canterbury in Lambeth Palace. It concluded “On behalf of victims of terrorism, I will be writing to Mr Brandon Lewis, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, to ask him for clarification as to what these secret talks were about.”(4)
Web links
(3) [https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-55201483]
(4) [https://www.uhrw.org.uk/uhrw-needs-answers-to-secret-lambeth-palace-talks/]
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