European Day for Victims of Terrorism, except at Stormont
11 March 2009
Watch Jim Allister talk on this subject on his YouTube site:
Speaking after attending an event in the European Parliament in Strasbourg to mark European Day for the Victims of Terrorism, Traditional Unionist MEP Jim Allister said:-
"There was particular poignancy for me in this event this year, after the return of terrorist murder to our streets in Northern Ireland. I regret that Stormont did not mark this day to remember all victims of terrorism, but then when you have terrorists in government it would be rather embarrassing and contradictory. You can't remember victims with victim makers.
Likewise, it is worth pointing out that the EU definition of a victim is at total variance with the hideous Stormont definition.
The European Framework Decision (2001/220/JHA). on the standing of victims, adopted on 15 March 2001, defined a victim as follows: ‘victim’ shall mean a natural person who has suffered harm, including physical or mental injury, emotional suffering or economic loss, directly caused by acts or omissions that are in violation of the criminal law of a Member State.
The Victims & Survivors (NI) Order 2006 defines a victim as anyone affected by "a conflict-related incident": thus, equating victim with perpetrator.
I am appalled that in Northern Ireland OFMDFM continues to administer its victim responsibilities and funds under this obnoxious definition. How absurd, that if one of the Antrim or Craigavon murderers had been hit by fire returned by the security forces - alas, they were not - then, he, in the eyes of the Stormont/OFMDFM definition, would equally have been a victim!
Now is the time for this monstrous definition to be changed, and to be changed with retrospective effect."
