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A consortium of groups representing more than 1000 mainly nationalist and republican victims visited Stormont today to unveil their proposal for an international independent truth commission. They want the focus to be on truth rather than prosecutions and are urging the IRA, loyalists and the state to cooperate. We didn't hear any further calls for an amnesty, but they did propose the extension of "use immunity" to anyone who gives evidence to such a commission. That evidence may, or may not be given anonymously.

I think "use immunity" may originally be a US concept. Monica Lewinsky successfully argued that she should get a more extensive form of immunity than "use" immunity when telling all about her liaison with Bill Clinton.

According to the San Francisco Alameda County DA's website use immunity "essentially prohibits the prosecution from using the witnesses testimony against him in any criminal proceeding. Use immunity does not prevent the prosecution from charging the witness with the crime that was the subject of his testimony, filing a petition to revoke the witness's probation, or taking any other action against the witness. It is simply an agreement not to use his testimony against him."

So could this be the way we are heading? Also in the building today (but not at the same time as the victims groups) were Archbishop Robin Eames and Denis Bradley, who have been talking to the First Minister Ian Paisley about their consultation on the past.

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