Conspiracy of silence
On Saturday, 16 October, the Relatives for Justice group organised a conference in Dungannon, County Tyrone, for the families of people killed during this conflict.
Over 350 people, mostly the relatives of people killed by the state or by loyalists acting in collusion with crown forces, attended.
Over 50 groups and non-governmental organisations were invited, and invitation were extended to the newly formed Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission and the British government's Stormont-based Victims Liaison Unit.
Its head, Billy Stevenson, however, left at the first coffee break in mid-morning. He claimed some of the introductory comments were too political and he didn't want to hear them; this is a disgrace.
All the major media outlets in the Six Counties were also invited to this conference, yet the the vast bulk of them chose to ignore it.
They censored, by their non attendance, the stories of people who have had loved ones killed by the state or killed by people at the behest of the state.
What was censored was a conference in which people who have lost so much said so much that was positive. Their emphasis was on finding ways in which they could contribute positively to the peace process and the process of reconciliation.
They were asking not for revenge but for the truth.
The media often tells us it is just the messenger and as such it should not be blamed. In this case, it has sent a clear message to nationalists that there certainly is a `Hierarchy of Victims', and they are at the bottom.
![[An Phoblacht]](http://republican-news.org/graphics/title_gifs/aprn.gif)