Daily
Dispatch Friday 6th October 2006
MAGINNESS
WARNS AGAINST REVIVING COLLUSION DEAL
SDLP Justice Spokesperson Alban Maginness said there should be
no question of dealing with the On-The-Runs issue by reviving
the ‘colluders charter’ agreement with Sinn Fein which
the government abandoned under pressure earlier this year.
He said: “On-The-Runs have to be dealt with, but it must
not be done through another side deal with Sinn Fein like the
one the British government tried to do with the NI Offences Bill
last year.
“That side deal covered state forces too, and Sinn Fein
knew it would. Nobody in the police or the British Army who committed
murder or other crimes would ever have gone to prison. In return,
Provo killers would be given a get-out-of-jail-free card without
even appearing in court. This was collusion on the past between
Sinn Fein and the British Government - each helping the other
to cover up their dirty secrets.
“The
needs and feelings of victims must come before those of perpetrators.
Whatever arrangements are made for the reintegration of OTRs into
society, it must be time limited to six months to a year. That
way, those who have been responsible for the hundreds of unsolved
loyalist, republican and state murders have some incentive to
come forward and give their victims closure.”
