Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
TONY BLAIR
Meeting the victims was hardest of tasks
TONY Blair said meeting victims of the Troubles as he wrestled with his conscience over the early release of prisoners was the most difficult aspect of the Good Friday peace deal.
The deal that largely ended the region’s 30-year sectarian conflict included a provision to facilitate the early release of around 500 paramilitary prisoners within two years.
It was a concession that almost torpedoed the accord in the final frantic hours before its signing.
Mr Blair said: “Some of the most difficult meetings
I had were with the families of the victims.
“One group of people said, ‘How can you be sitting down with murderers?’ And then there would be other people who would say,
‘You’ve got to make sure this works because I don’t want other people to go through what I’ve been through’.
“This is where, in the end, as a political leader, you’ve got to decide what you think is right.”
Mr Blair said he did not believe the current problems besetting powersharing, including an impasse over the Irish language, should herald the demise of the deal.
He added: “My strong advice to the Prime Minister and Government is just work at this until you sort it out.
“People have just got to throw their minds back to what it was like during the Troubles.”