The decision by the British government to withdraw its legislation giving an effective amnesty to "on-the-run" (OTR) suspects is welcome and well-advised.
The Government has in consequence withdrawn its proposals to grant presidential pardons to OTRs in this jurisdiction - an equally welcome decision. In neither case would such suspects have had to admit their guilt, seek the forgiveness of the families of murdered victims, or do so in public.
This was bad legislation intended to deal with an unavoidable but exceptionally difficult issue arising from - but not actually dealt with in - the Belfast Agreement. The British legislation became subject to detailed political bargaining, notably with Sinn Féin, about arms decommissioning. This was based on a limited side deal reached between that party and the British government at the Weston Park talks in 2001 and a more detailed one reached at the Hillsborough negotiations in March 2003. The proposals published on November 9th last fell when Sinn Féin decided belatedly to oppose them because they were extended to members of the British armed services. The British government recognised, belatedly, that they could not be carried in the face of near-universal rejection in the House of Commons.
Their withdrawal is a deserved reward for the astute political and parliamentary criticisms made of the British legislation from all sides of the Commons, and especially by the Social Democratic and Labour Party. In a sustained critique, the SDLP pointed out that the Bill was mainly a product of Sinn Féin's dealings with the British government, rather than of multilateral and inclusive talks. The legislation was not required by the Belfast Agreement. It provided that prisoners convicted of scheduled offences would be released after a maximum of two years, whereas under this Bill they could avoid detention and even a court appearance. It applied to any of the 2,100 unsolved killings of the Troubles, including those carried out by loyalists and state agents, since it covered scheduled offences like murder, bomb making, possession of weapons - and state killings. Those applying under the legislation would benefit from a secret process in which victims would have little or no input and suspects no incentive to seek forgiveness, admit their guilt or tell the truth about their activities.
Many of the same criticisms could be made of the Government's proposals for Presidential pardons, which could have included those responsible for the Dublin and Monaghan bombings in 1974. The whole principle of a Presidential pardon seemed compromised.
It is now back to politics in the North, with the "on-the-runs" issue put on hold. Unionist agreement to power-sharing and republican support for policing are needed this year if devolved government is to be restored. There was always an understanding that the issue of "on-the-runs" would be dealt with in the political process. This was not the right way in either jurisdiction.