Amid increasing calls for a South African style Truth and Reconciliation Commission, the General Board of the Presbyterian Church meeting in Belfast on Thursday 26 February has rejected the idea as "an inappropriate means of dealing with the past in Northern Ireland."
In calling for the Board to re-iterate the policy of the General Assembly Dr Alastair Dunlop, convener of the Church and Government Committee said, "Given the mounting momentum and pressure that is building up, it is absolutely imperative and urgent that the Presbyterian Church speaks out clearly once again on this issue. In 2002 the General Assembly did not believe the time was right for a South African style Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Since then there has been a lot of debate and discussion about this whole subject and it has become even more clear that this particular model has drawbacks which make it inappropriate for the Northern Ireland situation.
"The two situations are not the same. The South African model benefited from being able to gain testimony from those responsible for crimes in return for amnesty. With the early release of prisoners, there is no incentive to give account of past deeds.
"In the Church and Government Committee Report received by the Board the question was highlighted as to 'whether inquiries of one sort or another will bring healing to society, or the closure victims and society seek. It is crucial for the community as a whole to come to a point where, while not forgetting the past, we can move on, make a fresh beginning and learn to live together."
The report goes on to show that both Remembering and Forgetting are important Biblical themes before stating 'We need to learn how to hold both remembering and forgetting in constructive tension. On the one hand, we need to learn how to remember the victims and survivors, but in a way that doesn't hurt or damage each other any further. The search for 'truth' and 'justice' could all too easily become a weapon with which to inflict further damage on each other for the next 30+ years. The danger in continued calls for further public inquiries is that it resembles picking a scab off a wound with the result that the wound never gets a chance to heal.
"On the other hand, we need to learn how to forget the hurts and the accumulated grievances of the past 30+ years, but in a way that doesn't repress a proper desire on the part of the victims and survivors to know what happened and why. In an age when 'truth' is subjective, selective, and devalued, and one person's truth becomes another person's lie, this becomes extremely difficult."
However the Church and Government Committee was encouraged by the Board to explore further the idea of creating official opportunities for victims to tell their stories. 'Perhaps what we ought to be looking for in this area is not so much 'truth' as 'meaning'. The goals of justice might, at least in part, be better approached through healing processes rather than judicial processes. A positive way forward may be simply to create the opportunity to 'tell the story', perhaps through the establishment of a dedicated forum where personal experiences can be placed on official public record. This would serve the purpose of remembering the victims, and might also, in time, enable most victims to find a measure of healing and closure.
"At the end of the day it is more important that society learns to live at peace with itself than that one section, group or individual should be able to say to another, 'I told you so - it was your fault,' and so perpetuate the blame game. It is time to draw a line and make a fresh start.
'The Gospel is all about new beginnings. It is about God remembering mercy, not wrath."
The General Board agreed the following resolutions:
That the General Board draw attention to the policy of the General Assembly in strongly resisting the calls for additional inquiries.
That the General Board believes that a South African style Truth and Reconciliation Commission would be an inappropriate means of dealing with the past in Northern Ireland, and supports the Church and Government Committee in exploring further the idea of creating official opportunities for victims to tell their stories.
Issued by Stephen Lynas, Presbyterian Information Services. Info@PresbyterianIreland.org
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