Tom Elliott MLA, Ulster Unionist Justice spokesperson, has called for an end to the piecemeal approach for dealing with the past and instead, serious consideration given to bringing in processes to take account of the fact that terrorists were responsible for 90% of the killings with republicans responsible for over 2000 murders.
Mr Elliott said:
“The piecemeal approach to dealing with past must end. The current processes of Public Inquiries, the Office of the Police Ombudsman, Coroners Courts and the Historical Enquiries Team (HET) are incomplete, imperfect and unbalanced, putting an almost exclusive focus on the actions of the State and its representatives, politicians and former members of the security forces.
“It is a matter of historical record that the security forces are accountable for only one death in every ten. Republicans were responsible for 60% of the killings and loyalists 30%. Those statistics are not reflected in the case load of the likes of the HET, and if it is to survive its current spate of crises then it must go forward in a manner that shines its investigative light in a fair and equitable manner, reflective of the burden of responsibility republicans must bear for 2,000 killings.
“We must also demand honesty not only about what happened, but also its awful legacy that is so toxic today. Patrick Asimkar, Mark Quinsey, Stephen Carroll, Ronan Kerr and David Black died because the current batch of violent republicans use the same analysis that Sinn Fein used to justify the killings, that the "conditions" made it inevitable. In short, the republicans who populated PIRA and Sinn Fein in the 1970s and 80s and 90s wrote the manual and drew the roadmap for today's terrorism. No one can change that, but we can insist on processes that acknowledge that fundamental truth. Recalibrating the processes to take account of the fact republicans were responsible for 60% of the killings would be a declaration of intent.
“And instead, serious consideration given to investigating the past based upon the fact that terrorists carried out 90% of the killings with republicans having murdered over 2000 people.”