Why it’s time for Irish and British Governments to get their act together on Legacy of Troubles

Final comments on Sam McBride’s Sunday Life article of December 29th, 2024 from Raymond McCord and Austen Morgan

Sam McBride’s article two days ago sparked a lot of comment on this website.

Here are the latest comments from Victims Campaigner Raymond McCord and Austen Morgan of the Malone House Group

Raymond McCord:

After sending Sam McBride's article to cross community victims here and on the mainland I got the response I thought I would. Every victim disagreed with Sam McBride.

Is Austen Morgan a victim?

We victims are not taking on 300,000 ageing military veterans. That is the favourite nonsensical statement from Conservative MPS .

The victims decide what is acceptable to them not journalists. Drawing a line in the sand won’t happen. Victims have made it clear that they won’t accept it.

Appeasement to Dublin and northern nationalists just doesn't enter victims heads.

An author/barrister clearly has nothing to offer victims except surrender to a process of archives, give up on the truth about our murdered family members and let others write stories about it.

I take offence at the comments of Austin Morgan.

Am I wrong in saying I detect sectarianism or a politician narrative in his comments? The group he refers to, Malone House would be asked to leave a victims conference with his remarks about victims from the "nationalist" and "unionist" communities. Victims are from one community, the victims community.

Two of the biggest problems victims have outside the courts are (a) those academics who preach to us of what’s best for us victims and (b) those people who just have no idea of standing up for what’s right as they aren’t victims themselves.

We call our battle truth and justice with family love and principles. Not a university project.

Every individual is entitled to their own opinion but when people are so righteous on issues that don’t’ affect them personally we, the victims, have to make a stand and correct them.

When the vast majority of victims say ‘No’ to enforced government laws that are detrimental to the wishes and opinions of victims we do so for legitimate reasons. The law does not help us and the law makers aren’t listening. We respect different opinions but unfortunately opinions that will not benefit victims are insulting to us.

If I have a sore tooth I go to someone who has experience of dealing with it, the dentist not the solicitor or banker.

Raymond McCord, father of Raymond McCord Jr, murdered 9th November 1997.

Austen Morgan:

Dear Padraig,

You ask if I would reply to Raymond McCord. I am happy to do so.

First, I understand Raymond’s grieving 27 years after the murder of his son. I respect his reaction, and that of the families of all those who died as well as those who were injured.

I am willing to discuss his case privately, remotely or in person if he should so wish.

Second, the justice system in NI was corrupted even before the Belfast agreement. I instance decommissioning. When the people voted in May 1998 they gave their names to quite a lot. But they did not vote for the OTR (On The Run) comfort letters in a secret peace process. I am free to suggest that and Raymond is free to agree with me or not.

Third, the Malone House Group proposes the end of lawfare in return for the release of documents (with human rights redacting). It never occurred to me that this would be met with acclamation, with critics melting away in gratitude. However, some facts are highly arguable and I will continue to argue that:

The prospect of criminal prosecutions wanes as time passes;

Alternatives such as inquests and public inquiries can be even less just;

Victors’ justice in unacceptable, but so also is victims’ justice. Prosecution in the UK is done by the Crown, but I think of it as the people. In systems of undeveloped government, the relatives can be influential (deciding for example to accept financial compensation). In our state, I am pleased to say it is impartial and neutral people who decide, through the courts, whether someone goes to prison, often for a very long time. And I accept that the people, through the political system, can decide to focus on the present and the future;

Information will be withheld from families as long as there remains risks of criminal and civil litigation and public inquiries and even press scrutiny.

NI has got itself into a mess over legacy. That obviously matters to Raymond and to others on whose behalf he speaks. I doubt that he represents all the families affected, given their diversity. There is no one collective victims’ voice. For instance, the family of Lord and Lady Gibson did not want a public inquiry: they wanted to be left to grieve in private.

90 per of the deaths at the hands of paramilitaries (including Raymond’s son) were unlawful. The 10 per cent of state killings were not all unlawful; the Jean Charles de Menezes case shows that the state (according to Strasbourg) can kill a totally innocent person lawfully in certain circumstances.

The mess is the inequity which results from: lawfare pursuing state killers; while the terrorists enjoy the benefits of the peace process, open and secret (though loyalists did not share in the OTR letters).

I supported the legislation of 2021 and 2023 since it was an attempt to reverse that gross imbalance.

I think I had better leave it there for now.

Best wishes,

Austen