I would remind you that Amnesty International was founded by a former commander in chief of the IRA. As much as I hate to see the release of - for example the loyalist who murdered mourners at a funeral, and make a distinction between those who carried on a war under the articals of war and the loyalists who made no attempt to follow articals of war, but rather targeted civilians as primary targets by reason of their religion, in order for there to be progress there must be a stepping back from the past while incorporating the lessons of the past into the future. This is why, again, I say there should be the kind of peace and reconcillation process that occured in South Africa, including truth on the part of England about the role Military Intelligence played in sponsoring sectarian killings. Does it not seem strange to anyone else, that the same year that the cold war ended, the imposible feet, talking to the IRA, was suddunly possible for England? I believe the lesson of this past July, is that we don't have to fear the IRA as the agents of vilence in the coming years, but rather pressure must be placed on the loyalist community to realise that their politic has died with the cold war necessity to maintain a British military presence in Ireland. By the way, Sean McBride wrote about this cold war dynamic and was laughed at, and yet the proof is in the timeing of the end of England's refusal to negotiate.
Lets get beyond fear and hurt,
Larry