NI minister seeking conflict answers

The people of Northern Ireland must want to come together like the once divided races of apartheid South Africa before they can begin reconciliation, Northern Ireland minister Paul Murphy said in Cape Town.

Murphy arrived for a five-day fact finding mission on conflict resolution and reconciliation ordered by Tony Blair.

Murphy said the aim was to apply the most successful methods to Northern Ireland.

“In South Africa people wanted to come together after apartheid,” Murphy said. “We need to learn that healing a nation can’t work unless both sides want to reconcile.”

While the IRA had agreed to a cease-fire, Murphy said active republican movements and criminal elements still posed a threat to peace and stability.

“Unlike South Africa we still lack political consensus on reconciling,” he said.

Murphy said South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission was of particular interest. The commission was established in 1995 under the leadership of Archbishop Desmond Tutu.

It investigated political crimes committed by all sides during decades of white-minority rule. The commission granted amnesty to perpetrators willing to tell the truth about their crimes provided they were politically motivated.

Last week, Murphy said he was exploring the possibility of setting up a forum to allow people to confess their crimes with legal immunity.

“We will not use the same model as the TRC but it will help us understand how victims and perpetrators could come together,” Murphy said.

He is scheduled to meet with several cabinet ministers, former TRC commissioners, conflict resolution bodies and religious leaders. Murphy will also meet with those crucial in formulating the country’s constitution, regarded as one of the world’s most liberal.