Dealing with the past; Haass talks; Northern Ireland Assembly

Dealing with the past is – past

Brian Walker on October 1, 2014, 11:52 pm

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People may not have woken up to the fact that inquiries into Troubles cases have ground to a halt. This is said to be as a result of the financial pressures on the PSNI as disclosed by the Belfast Telegraph. The Historical Enquiries team has been wound up, the historical role of the Police Ombudsman which was once progressed with determination by Michael Maguire has ground to a halt and the chief coroner continues to fulminate impotently about delays. So much for the Haas …

So, just what would it take to gain Unionist confidence? #Haass

David McCann on January 4, 2014, 6:50 pm

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The SDLP have accepted the Haass proposals with Sinn Fein likely to formally follow suit this week. We have seen editorials and a lot of critical comments blaming the failure to get an agreement on the Unionist parties unwillingness to compromise. I raise this question today as we mark the 40th anniversary of the Ulster Unionist Council’s rejection (427-374) of the Council of Ireland which ended Brian Faulkner’s leadership and effectively ended the Sunningdale Agreement. Faulkner’s miscalculation has haunted Unionist …

Haass – Larkin unrepentant, Allister is on the attack, but where oh where is the DUP critique?

Brian Walker on January 3, 2014, 5:47 pm

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Now hold on, the fat lady hasn’t sung yet. Inevitably most early reaction to Haaas is about the overall political verdict without going much into detail. And you know how we can’t be bothered to go into detail if we can stick it into them instead. But hush! Jim Allister QC has spoken. People tend to overawed by Jim’s legal expertise. But lawyers are advocates – even when they’re not self -interested politicians – and so should be taken with …

Haass Talks: three shrugs

Turgon on January 1, 2014, 9:44 pm

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As David McCann has noted below the Haass document has been published. I had begun to think of a blog on this subject before I read the draft but had to revise the idea completely, due essentially to the lack of concrete proposals in the final draft. Looking at the document and the number of times it says they were unable to get agreement on things such as the definition of a victim, almost any concrete finding on flags etc. …

There are grounds for hope in the Haass document, even the outline of modest solutions

Brian Walker on January 1, 2014, 4:17 pm

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Here’s an early critique without benefit of interpretation. From the language of the paper it’s more difficult than I thought to spot the precise causes of breakdown. That awaits the parties’ own accounts which hopefully will be better than spin. It’s quite true that there’s a great deal in it that can usefully be worked on. It creates its own pressure. The parties and the governments ought not to be able to let it gather dust. Early indications are mildly encouraging. …

Despite the Haass setback we are not the prisoners of the past but masters of our own fate

Brian Walker on December 31, 2013, 10:22 am

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The issues of the Haass process are only the tip of the iceberg. Indeed it might be said that the talks were unlikely to succeed without rigorous challenge and examination of the beliefs and assumptions the parties brought to the table. Behind the tortuous details of flags, parades and the past are the competing narratives which need to be challenged and explored before we can reach the point of agreement of how to live with them. Beyond the groves of …

On dealing with the past, a hard sell on immunity should not rule out cooperation with historians.

Brian Walker on December 19, 2013, 1:44 am

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I’ve belatedly come across a Queen’s Blog which is the submission legal academics Professor Kieran McEvoy Dr Louise Mallinder Prof Gordon Anthony and Luke Moffett have presented to Haass. It’s a hard sell of a powerful case but with a couple of flaws I’ll come to later. I would have blogged about this in preference to my previous post had I seen it in time. In essence it updates the McEvoy account of how immunity from prosecution has often featured in our …

Before Haass reveals his recommendations, the practical issues of dealing with the past

Brian Walker on December 18, 2013, 6:17 pm

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Proposals for dealing with the past could be drowned out by flags and parades when the Haass proposals are published. So let’s take a look now at the informed speculation on this issue by Mark Devenport: On the past, it is understood there will be a single investigative body bringing together work currently carried out by the Historical Enquiries Team (HET) and Police Ombudsman and possibly the coroner’s courts. There is also a proposal for an independent information recovery body …