Fair takes victims' plea to Stormont
From NEWS LETTER February 1st, 2001
'Relatives have been ignored for too long' RELATIVES of victims of the Troubles
walked to Stormont yesterday to hand in a heartfelt plea for support. Markethill-based
group Fair (Families Acting for Innocent Relatives), which was formed to
fight for compensation and justice for victims, said for too long they had
been ignored. And in a firm message to the Assembly, the group said that
it was time to properly acknowledge their loss. Fair representative Willie
Frazer told the News Letter: "We are tired of sending letters and being ignored so we have taken our protest on to the streets to highlight the suffering of the victims." "Over the past number of days we have walked from south Armagh to Stormont to let everyone know that we haven't gone away and our pain is still as great." He said the group's walk was the first
step in a series of measures designed to obtain justice for relatives and
victims. "We have seen so much money going to prisoners' groups over the past number of years but the real victims of the Troubles have been largely ignored by Government." "We are here today to tell First Minister David Trimble that it is time to stop giving money to the gunmen and to provide some real support to the innocent victims." Fair's call came yesterday as Minister
of State Adam Ingram announced that the Government would make an additional
pounds 1 million available to Victim Support Northern Ireland over the next
three years. Mr Ingram told those attending the opening of the organisation's
new office in Lisburn that the Government was fully committed to supporting
victims of crime. He said: "This additional funding will provide more full-time staff to help to further improve the service to victims through victim support."
Mr Ingram stressed the importance of the work carried out by Victim Support,
which provides practical help to 40,000 people each year, and said it was
crucial to raise awareness of the need for more volunteers. "All crime has a traumatic effect on victims. The service provided by the Victim Support volunteers is essential in helping victims deal with the effects of crime on their everyday lives," he said.
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