Truth commission may not work in North: Tutu

A South African-style Truth and Reconciliation Commission may not work in the North, Archbishop Desmond Tutu said today.

The 1990s forum brought together victims and perpetrators of Apartheid violence and helped heal bitter wounds.

Last week, an independent body was set up in the North to examine how to deal with 3,000 unsolved murders committed during the Troubles.

Archbishop Tutu, who headed the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in South Africa, said it would be wrong to say that you can apply what works in one country to another.

“One of the things you have to be very careful of is not to be prescriptive, that one size fits all. Each country and situation are unique and it is up to the people involved to decide,” he said.

The Nobel Peace Prize winner was in Dublin for talks with the Government on aid programmes in Africa and the humanitarian crisis in Darfur .

After the hour-long meeting, minister for Foreign Affairs Dermot Ahern said his officials would give close consideration a number of proposals put forward by Archbishop Tutu.

The clergyman, 76, also thanked Irish people for their continuing interest and help for post-Apartheid South Africa.

He said he was greatly encouraged by the Government’s interest and commitment and the generosity of the Irish people

“We celebrate you,” he said.

Speaking about the Northern Ireland consultative group chaired by Denis Bradley and Archbishop Robin Eames, Mr Ahern said it was another step in the positive new beginning for the North's citizens.

“With that perhaps comes a moment for fresh thinking about how to deal with the painful legacy of the past.

“This consultative group offers people an opportunity to contribute to this key debate. I therefore very much welcome the intention of the group to consult widely in considering how the legacy of the events of the past decades can best be approached, and what steps might be taken in this area,” Mr Ahern said.