A debate must begin over whether amnesties should be offered in a truth and reconciliation process in Northern Ireland to those involved in murders during the troubles, the British government was told today.
As Northern Ireland Secretary Mr Paul Murphy embarked on a fact finding visit to South Africa to learn from its experience of having a truth commission, Northern Ireland's most senior policeman Mr Hugh Orde said the question of amnesties for giving evidence had to be considered.
"It would be a very emotive issue but part of the wider debate does include that debate around amnesties," he said. "Amnesties have been tried in other places. Peru, for example, had an amnesty and tried an amnesty and it worked in part.
"I think that is part of the process. I think it is also looking at some sort of conciliation process, be it truth and reconciliation notions, be it storytelling.
"I don't think there is one size which fits all here." Mr Murphy announced on Thursday the start of a two stage consultation process on dealing with the past. Mr Murphy said he would be consulting victims' families, church leaders, politicians and academics but insisted the Government was coming to the process with an open mind.
During his visit to Pretoria and Johannesburg this week, he will meet former South African president F W de Klerk and leading African National Congress official, Cyril Ramaphosa.
A total of 3,633 people were killed in Northern Ireland during the Troubles between 1966 and 1999.
It is estimated around a half of the investigations into those murders remain unsolved. Civilians accounted for 2,064 deaths (1,232 were Catholics and 698 were Protestant).
PA