Launch summary

Belfast

The Belfast launch took place at Farset International on Monday evening 22nd June 2009. There was a good and varied turnout. In total there were 36 who attended. 

The proceedings began with an address by the chair of Community Dialogue, Kathy Wolff, which was then followed by a power point presentation by Jim O’Neill, the Dialogue Development Worker, outlining the work of the project.  There was then a presentation by Bronagh Hinds, the author of the summary document on the Eames Bradley Consultative Group from the Past who broke her talk into two sections, one dealing with Societal Issues and the other addressing the structure and purpose of the proposed Legacy Commission.

The participants, who were broken into small groups, were given the opportunity to discuss the question, “Is a Legacy Commission the appropriate structure in dealing with the way forward?” Below is a summary of the issues raised from each of the groups.

Potential Barriers

  • How realistic is the timeframe of 5 years?
  • There is a danger of the Legacy Commission creating a hierarchy of victims
  • The issue of forgiveness will weigh heavily on the Legacy Commission
  • Will the Legacy Commission end up being another talking shop?  

Accountability

  • Who decides on prosecutions and amnesties and what impact will that have on victims and their families?
  • How much input will there be from victims/survivors into the Legacy Commission?
  • What is the commitment of the government to future findings?
  • How deep into issues would the legacy Commission go?
  • Who was consulted during the consultation process?
  • Is there a danger of information being leaked?
  • Having the proceedings behind closed doors, will that lead to more distrust?
  • There is no mechanism within the Legacy Commission to hold political leadership to account 

Structure

  • How appropriate is the structure of the Legacy Commission?
  • Who is going to oversee it and fix it if necessary?
  • Is there a need for an international figure to head it up?
  • How are the appropriate personnel identified to sit on the Commission? 

Truth

  • What is the complete truth?
  • Are there not multiple truths?
  • Do people want the truth or will it lead to bigger problems? 

Wider Society

  • The churches can be seen to be part of the problemAre we letting politicians and churches off the hook?
  • There is a need to address issues on the ground affecting working class communities  

Derry/Londonderry Launch

 

The launch was held at the Junction on 23rd June. The format was similar as to the launch in Belfast with the opening address from Kathy Wolff the chair of Community Dialogue and an outline of the project from Jim O’Neill the Dialogue Development Worker. Eighteen participants attended the event. 

Bronagh Hinds was unable to attend the event and her input was provided by Anne Carr, part time co-ordinator of Community Dialogue. She concentrated on the Societal Issues section of the document.

Participants then broke into small groups to address the following question: Are the suggestions such as storytelling, Day of Reflection and memorials adequate for the process of remembering?  The feedback was as follows: 

Storytelling

  • People are caught in a third space with no stories to tell
  • We need to ensure that the use of language doesn’t cause divisions
  • The importance of getting peoples’ voices heard
  • We need to recognise the power of storytelling and its healing properties
  • Is storytelling the right term?
  • There is a danger of having a kneejerk reaction to stories
  • We need to develop a tolerance and understanding of each other’s stories over the next 5 years
  • It is important to recognise the power of storytelling and that it is properly managed 

Remembering

  • There need to be some form of validation of what happened in the past
  • How do we deal with our colonial past?
  • Individual memory can take on different forms
  • The suggestions for remembering are not in themselves the answer
  • There is a need for truth recovery
  • It can be difficult to have a shared and agreed memorial. One recent example was the memorial to the Omagh bomb victims
  • There is a need for validation of what happened in the past 

Difficulties

  • In terms of the Day of Reflection there is not the same information flow as before
  • There is a flawed political framework which is not able to engage properly with civic society
  • We are coming down with memorials of different kinds
  • Whilst the Shared Future document is quoted by politicians it is also shelved
  • The legacy of the violence can be trans generational as we now have a third generation showing difficulties
  • How does any society move on from trauma?
  • Does it begin with a decision made at an individual level?
  • Yet often that is not the case as there is no opportunity to do so
  • There is a lack of leadership from our politicians
  • Some groups don’t want society to move on: “We will not forget” “We don’t move on until we get what we justly deserve”