Sir, – In Fintan O'Toole's excellent article "The British, loyalists and Sinn Féin each have their reasons for distorted storytelling" (Analysis, Weekend Review, December 5th), he writes that, "If there is to be reconciliation, there has to be an honest accounting. And there is only one way to achieve it: an official truth recovery process that is centred on the rights of victims and that trades amnesty for honesty. The purpose of a shared island has to be underpinned by a project of shared memory".
This is a call that former combatants as well as victims and survivors are seeking and want to engage with rather than the expensive, time-consuming, highly selective and often futile processes available through the courts and public inquiries.
Over half of all those killed and injured suffered between 1970 and 1976. For these individuals and their families, it will soon be too late to discover the truth. For some, it is too late already. It is time for politicians to face up to their responsibilities and put the necessary legislation in place. – Yours, etc,
PADRAIG YEATES,
(truthrecoveryprocess.ie),
Portmarnock, Dublin 13.