February 16, 2011
By Staff Reporter
The news that Sinn Fein has submitted another 61 names — on top of the 41 already handed in — of IRA members who are still on the run, and whom republicans want to see repatriated, reminds us of the complex problems that any genuine peace process must face. Now that the war is well and truly over, as far as the IRA is concerned, there is good reason for republicans to demand that those who were forced to flee because of actions they committed or were suspected of committing, should be given a chance to return home, if they so desire.
This is not an easy matter for those people who suffered as a result of political violence. But there have been so many lives disrupted by the conflict that surely it is right to repair those that can be repaired in the hope that a sense of normalcy will heal the wounds.
This is a two-way street, however. What of the hundreds of people forced from their homes by the IRA and other paramilitary groups? As recently as April a man from Derry was "exiled" under IRA threat because of alleged anti-social behavior.
The true anti-social behavior is that which allows secret organizations to flourish, wielding power from behind the mask. If normalcy is to take root, then this extrajudicial terror must cease and its victims allowed the benefit of a real judicial procedure.