A freudian slip?

So after much wrangling and debate a new Victims' Forum has been established by the Commission for Victims and Survivors.

The new forum will be made up of 30 members, most of whom have been directly affected by the Troubles.

It has been said that the choice of an hotel in Scotland was because none in Northern Ireland had enough wheelchair access to accommodate the group - a reminder of the physical scars of our past - however it will be the deeper emotional scars that will prove to be the biggest hurdle.

I have to say I have mixed feelings about this new forum.

On the one hand I wholeheartedly support the idea of discussion and dialogue between people affected most by the Troubles but their terms of reference give me a sense of deja vu.

According to reports the new forum is to discuss, among other things, the thorny issue of defining a 'victim,' and the wider issue of how to deal with the legacy of the Troubles more generally.

It was only a few months ago that the much anticipated Eames Bradley report was delivered to a tense audience in the Europa hotel. After much speculation over what their report would contain (and an unfortunate leak of some of it's proposals, an issue I have blogged on previously ) the report's recommendations have been silenced by the often louder voices of recrimination emanating from the victims sector.

The criticism centred around their proposals for a payment to victims which was always going to be controversial. However, the fact the Eames Bradley report has floundered significantly under the weight of criticism over this now defunct proposal was surprising, with the unfair result of diverting attention away from other proposals such as their own attempt at defining a 'victim.'

Recent revelations that one of the Victims' Commissioners made private overtures of support of the victims' payments, only to distance themselves from the proposal when the sea of public opinion had been tested unfavourably, is disheartening.

The politicisation of this area, failure of political leadership and lack of support from certain sections as the example above demonstrates, has blighted the Eames Bradley report. In failing to navigate their way through the politics of the situation, it seems to me various poison chalices have simply been passed from Eames Bradley to this new Forum. Same game, different players.

According to Freud the definition of stupidity is repeating the same action and expecting a different result. The questions aren't changing but are simply being passed to someone else to find a miracle answer acceptable to all.

I'm not arguing that the establishment of the Forum is stupid, but this has to be the last roll of the dice. The issues have to be tackled head on, it is not a clean slate being aimed for but the attainment of a wider understanding.

But there are differences this time around. Establishing a Forum to discuss these issues rather than a small (albeit well informed and consultative grouping) is prima facie the better route to go down to obtain a wider understanding.

In somes ways it is even the natural progression, with Eames and Bradley broaching the area and now those with first hand knowledge and experience of the issues in question working through the detail.

However as always, the devil is in such detail. For a constructive dialogue to take place, those involved will need to remove any stereotypes in their mind and thoroughly challenge their own interpretation of certain events and the Troubles generally. It will be without question the hardest part of discussions. It can also be the most rewarding.

Eames and Bradley knew this and often made the case for a Victims' Forum. The fact it has come to fruition shows their courageous and substantial report has not been lost in it's entirety, a fact I take solace from, despite any sense of repitition I feel there may be in the remit set for Eames and Bradley and this new Victims' Forum.

And so it is hoped this group at a Scottish hotel in the near future can begin a long road with the hope of arriving at some reciprocity and, in doing so set frameworks for wider society.

Realpolitik has blighted the Eames Bradley report and the many attempts to deal with incidents in the Troubles. In learning the still raw lessons from Eames Bradley and altering the handling of the wider issue by both the media and politicans, one can only hope different conditions will be created to allow a fluid discussion of ideals, experiences, and ongoing problems. This the only way the knots of our past can be untangled.

We need to take on board Freud's belief and alter the way we deal with the issue in order to at last obtain a successful result.