'It was the issue that could have broken the back of the Good Friday Agreement.' The early release of paramilitary prisoners was one of the most controversial aspects of Northern Ireland's 1998 peace deal - 25 years on BrianPJRowan considers its effect
Patrick Magee , who was jailed for attempting to kill then PM Margaret Thatcher in the Brighton bombing, was one of hundreds of paramilitary prisoners released early under the Good Friday AgreementIt is almost 25 years since the signing of the Good Friday Agreement, the peace deal that brought an end to the Troubles - BBC News NI, across our news website, TV and radio, has been looking back at the historic deal, speaking to the key players and reflecting on how the agreement continues to shape...
You hear it in the voice and in the words of the retired prison officer Dessie Waterworth, who speaks with 35 years of experience - 20-plus of those years, including in the conflict period, working inside the Maze Prison through to its closure.And you hear the hurt in his telling of how he spoke to Tony Blair back in 1998 - when he accused the then prime minister of walking on the graves of soldiers, police officers and prison officers.
Beyond Good Friday, the hundreds of releases were phased over a two-year period and, we know now, that you can't have peace with prisoners. "But even if you had got over the line, that ghost was always the shadow looking over this space," he continued.When I read my diary - back to March 1998 - I find a first reference to a possible commission to address this issue.
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