TUV Leader warns against perversion of Libyan case
05 November 2009
Speaking at a public meeting in Markethill, where FAIR, the organisation spearheading the case against Libya on behalf of innocent victims, operates, TUV Leader Jim Allister QC warned that the the victims’ just cause must neither be eclipsed by party political considerations, nor perverted into another ‘peace and reconciliation’ handout where the users of Libyan semtex would qualify alongside those they made victims.
Reaffirming his full support for the class action against Libya, Mr Allister said:-
“Time and time again we have seen good causes perverted by political manipulation. EU Peace funding is a classic case in point, where because of the pernicious definition of ‘victim’, which equates perpetrator with innocent victim, and because of the overriding and so called reconmciliation agenda, valuable resources were squandered and failed to reach those innocent victims in greatest need.
“The case against Liyba is just and right. But equally just and right is the imperative that only the innocent plaintiffs must stand to benefit. Buying the matter off with some contribution to a ‘peace and reconciliation fund’ will corrupt the purpose of proper reparation for those whose lives were blighted by Libyan supplied IRA weapons of terror.
“The battle for proper compensation should go on, but it is important that local politicians, who have made their own huge contribution to sanitising the IRA by sitting in government with them, do not indulge expectations for the sake of currying favour with the cause of victims. This will be a tough battle, but one with right on its side.
“Sadly, it is a campaign which unsurprisingly Sinn Fein is seeking to thwart and is using its control in the highest office in the land to do so. Not only have they opposed the compensation case in the Assembly, but McGuinness has succeeded in silencing OFMDFM in support of the case. The office of the Joint First Ministers boasts on its website of responsibility for ‘victims’ and ‘international relations’, so one might think they were perfectly positioned to lend support to the case against Libya, but, oh no, Marty the godfather of the IRA users of Libyan munitions has seen to it that Peter the hapless is helpless to help as First Minister. Why, because of the malevolent fact that as a joint office McGuinness can veto anything Peter Robinson wants to do as First Minister, and so he has in this case.
“Having asked OFMDFM what they were doing to help the victims case against Libyan I now this week have the shameful reply from them that “OFMDFM has no plans to take any steps to advance the case against Libya.”
“There is much McGuinness could do to help in this case.. He knows the details of the shipments and of the links which prove the supplies were officially sanctioned at the highest level in Libya. So, if he is now, as some pretend, wholly committed to the rule of law, he would be coming forward to help those his organisation so callously made victims with these weapons and explosives. If in any other country in the world there was a Joint First Minister who concealed such guilty secrets, he would be hounded out of office, but we have a system where such travesty is the norm. Of course McGuinness will do everything to thwart this case because his first allegiance is still to his wicked IRA, not to the rule of law.
“Libya certainly must be held to account, but justice for many innocent victims would include the removal from government office of those gloating terrorists who made them victims.”
