Bloody Sunday

So the Saville inquiry is in, and the innocence of those who were shot and the failure of those who did the shooting and gave the orders is proclaimed.

I hope this will allow the relatives of the dead a bit more peace.

But the politics of the whole thing looks insane. You have to wonder what went through Tony Blair's tiny mind when he agreed to it.

There were mistakes by many people during the years of the troubles. Some make through incompetence or lack of experience, some through fear and panic. There was far more cold premeditated pure evil dreamed up slowly and coldly in men's minds and carried out in contradiction of morality and as an affront to man and God.

It seems to me that the second type of event are the more troubling, but that Bloody Sunday belongs to the first ( unless the inquiry is wrong in its conclusions ).

But to have a future we must be willing to forgive and not let our lives be ruled or perhaps enslaved by the past.

Perhaps a truth a reconciliation commission type exercise to let men and women unburden their dark secrets before they carry them to the grave and to judgement would be a good idea. With immunity from prosecution in this world and hope of redemption in the next.

Unfortunately it is more likely we will settle on the course of blowing on the embers of the past with the prosecution of men who's lives have already mostly past, because its just too much trouble to do it any other way.

What was Tony thinking ?

Update: I see Shaun Woodward ( ex Northern Ireland minister is also calling for a truth commission ).

Also a summary of other reactions to this issue from blog's over at EU Referendum here.