The time is not yet right for the creation of a truth and reconciliation commission in Northern Ireland, Sir Kenneth Bloomfield advises in his report on violence victims. Such a commission would be possible only if a wide-ranging political accord was established.
Sir Kenneth, in his report, We Will Remember Them, said many people had argued strongly for a commission but he suggested that before it could be feasible, there must first be reconciliation.
With such a conflict of public opinion in terms of whether the focus should be on prisoner punishment or prisoner amnesty, a commission was not yet advisable.
"It has to be appreciated that while some in our society are talking of amnesty and general jail delivery, others are arguing that their sufferings can best be recognised by condign punishment visited upon the perpetrators. A clear approach to truth may demand the corollary of reconciliation.
"Unhappily, `truth' can be used as a weapon as well as a shield. If any such device were to have a place in the life of Northern Ireland, it could only be in the context of a wide-ranging political accord." If the required level of reconciliation was ever achieved, a truth and justice body could be modelled on the South African commission.
"If the political leaders of Northern Ireland at some stage wish to pursue this possibility, I have no doubt that senior figures from South Africa would be more than willing to speak from their experience," said Sir Kenneth.
He found from meeting victims of violence that they often felt they were not properly consulted about those who had committed crimes against them or their loved ones. Many felt they should be alerted about the imminent release of prisoners to avoid unexpectedly coming face to face "with someone found guilty of murderous attack".
"Others pointed to frequent situations when the involvement of individuals in attacks upon them was common knowledge, but the lack of evidence and/or witnesses willing to come forward left the malefactors at liberty in close proximity to their victims or survivors.
"Many, again, expressed great concern about their treatment in court. They found the robust approach adopted by many barristers in the context of our adversarial system of trial to be deeply disturbing when added to their other burdens."
Others told Sir Kenneth that they believed they were the victims of "state terrorism". Bloody Sunday in Derry, the SAS killings of three unarmed IRA members in Gibraltar, and other controversial killings were cited in support of these claims.
"Their firm view was that the revelation of the full truth of such killings was far more important than any other consideration."
Sir Kenneth also met a number of people who were directly or indirectly affected by the loyalist bombings in Dublin and Monaghan in 1974, which killed 33 people.
"Without exception, they expressed great concern that no one had ever been brought to trial for these crimes and that, as they saw it, so little effort had been made to establish or to admit the truth of what had occurred.
"Some of them gave voice to a passionate conviction that there had been collusion and cover-up," recorded Sir Kenneth.
"They asked me to register their firm view that all questions of memorialisation or compensation were secondary in their minds to the establishment of the full truth."
