A NUMBER of victims and survivors of terrorism gathered at Stormont last Thursday, July 22, to signal their opposition to government plans to end prosecutions related to The Troubles.

Representatives of the Innocent Victims United (IVU) gathered outside Parliament Buildings where they handed over a letter of protest to a Northern Ireland Office (NIO) official.

The protest was organised in response to the Secretary of State Brandon Lewis's announcement of plans to create a statute of limitations ending all prosecutions for incidents up to April, 1998.

It would apply to military veterans as well as ex-paramilitaries, and would also end all legacy inquests and civil actions related to the conflict, in what has been widely labelled as a de facto amnesty.

IVU spokesman Kenny Donaldson said: “We have been inundated as a family of groups by hundreds upon hundreds of individuals who are hurting badly as a result of the statement made in Parliament by Her Majesty’s government, [via] the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland [Mr. Lewis].

“Innocent victims and survivors of terrorism need an outlet; they need to be afforded the opportunity to use their voices and to send a strong and resolute message to the UK government ... that they will not be party to the final corruption of the criminal justice process, they will not be cheerleaders for the equation of terrorists with security forces, and having had loved ones murdered by terrorism, they are not prepared to stand by and allow the state to murder justice.”

The letter that was handed over to the NIO and Secretary of State outlined how those involved with IVU are "unified in their rejection of criminal violence across the spectrum, and our membership are reflective of this reality".

Mr. Donaldson continued: "Since the publication of the government’s command paper on legacy [prosecutions] we have been inundated with representations from members and others who are gravely concerned by the direction ... proposed; some have begun to question their connection to the UK state, others have questioned how viable their position of submitting to the rule of law in pursuing justice now is.

"They feel that the current proposals would mean their abandonment by a state to which they and their loved ones have given so much to.

"We are a group which has defended and promoted the legitimate rule of law – we have no history of ever using or legitimising violence – our membership are law-abiding and overwhelmingly God-fearing people, but their resolve is being tested now in a way which we cannot previously recall."

Through the letter, IVU have requested that the Secretary of State abandons proposals which IVU believe will "bring about the final corruption of the criminal justice process; equate terrorists with security forces, and amount to the UK state murdering justice".

The letter continued: "It is not for the UK government, or anyone else, to arbitrarily close down justice because of vested interests, masquerading as concern for enabling Northern Ireland to move forward and draw a line under a painful past.

"For today's politicians, The Troubles are 'the past' and are treated with a past-tense approach.

"However, for those who were directly impacted, the legacy of that terror and violence remains with them, and they continue to yearn for justice and accountability for the heinous and unjust actions to which they were subjected.

"In any democracy, this should and must be afforded them," the letter, which was signed IVU, concluded.