The not so eagerly awaited report on the murder of Pat Finucane by Desmond De Silva on 12th December is an opportunity to refresh our minds of what is already in the public domain.
Not least is the last report by John Stevens in 2003. Which can be found on http://www.madden-finucane.com/pat/archive/pat_finucane/2003-04-17_stevens_report.pdf
Anything that is announced on 12th December will be tested by this now 9yr old report.
So much of that report was redacted on the basis that John Stevens expected proceedings by the then Public Prosecution Service. Nine long years and a subsequent decision by the PPS that prosecutions were not “in the public interest” later, and we still wait.
We wait for a government, a state, whose past administrations have been implicated in the murder of a human rights solicitor, along with many other citizens, to face independent scrutiny. We wait without baited breath for the 12th December and we get ready to once again refresh the minds of all who count of the importance of addressing impunity and promoting human rights for all.
