Who Is A Victim?
There were some feisty exchanges this morning during the debate on the Victims and Survivors Commission Bill. DUP members crossed swords with both Basil McCrea and David Ford, who claimed the measure was "a grubby little bill with a grubby little purpose", by which he meant covering the OFMDFM's failure to agree a single Commissioner.
The UUP are promising to open up a hornet's nest next week when they propose an amendment suggesting a new definition of a victim. Currently the Executive is working with the existing definition which refers to victims and survivors as "(a) someone who is or has been physically or psychologically injured as a result of or in consequence of a conflict-related incident; (b) someone who provides a substantial amount of care on a regular basis for an individual mentioned in paragraph (a); or (c) someone who has been bereaved as a result of or in consequence of a conflict-related incident".
Basil McCrea's contributions this week suggest the UUP will try to differentiate between "combatants" and "innocent victims". Whether they will also draw a line between soldiers, police and paramilitaries we shall have to wait to see.
Martin McGuinness has already said he wants the proposed new Victims Forum to work on a definition of a victim, but as Stephen Farry pointed out today this could lead to complications - what if a new definition militated against the inclusion of some of those already selected to sit on the Forum?
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