Responding to a proposal for an acknowledgement payment to the relatives of those killed in the troubles she said:
“Many victims and survivors will be deeply disappointed that the Victims Commissioner failed to take the opportunity to make clear that there is no equivalence between victim and victim maker. The lie that reconciliation somehow demands that victims and their perpetrators be treated the same must be robustly challenged. This is a ridiculous suggestion, and one that causes significant hurt to many victims.
Since 2009 we have seen the Victims Pension successfully implemented. That scheme provides criteria which could be used for any recognition payment and avoids repeating that very problem.
By failing to acknowledge the problems surrounding his proposal, the Victims Commissioner is effectively proposing something which he knows will either face deadlock and delay or would only be imposed in the face of opposition, pain, and anguish from victims. To be clear, the DUP will stand by the innocent victims and will not endorse this proposal in its current form for the reasons stated.”
