31st March 2023
The 25th Anniversary of a negotiated outcome as important as the Belfast Agreement is a time for pause and reflection.
While we accept the democratic decisions which ratified the Belfast Agreement, sadly we have seen nothing which causes us to regret our opposition, as the Presbytery of the Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster, to the settlement 25 years ago.
Our opposition to the agreement was founded upon the moral law of God. The release of prisoners, who had committed murder and other violent crimes against humanity, dislodged the principle of justice from the basis of our society. For this reason we resent the misnomer, “Good Friday Agreement”, as a sinister effort to associate Christ and Christianity with that which was and is an unjust settlement.
Justice is not only a divine attribute, but is a principle wherewith the Creator commands Governments to structure the regulation of civil society. During the intervening years we have been disturbed by; the secret pardons for “on the run” terrorists, the continued glorification of murderers, the unrelenting probing of the actions of our security forces while the secrets of the paramilitaries are out of reach, the Government’s de-facto amnesty scheme for all troubles related crimes and most recently by the Secretary of State’s intention to reach out to loyalist criminal elements in order to “transition” them. We are gravely concerned by the narrative, propagandised by Republicans, that they had no choice and that our brave security services were combatants on a par with the terrorist. The decision to include both terrorists and those whose lives they have destroyed within the scope of the official definition of a “troubles victim” we consider abhorrent.
Humanity and decency instructs our consciences that murder is wrong; we are not grateful to those who stopped firing their bullets or exploding their bombs any more than we congratulate the burglar for leaving our streets alone! We prefer to stand shoulder to shoulder with those innocent victims and survivors whose grief is compounded because terrorists have and are being appeased, while the reputation of those who served in the Crown forces, many of whom suffered life changing trauma while others sacrificed their lives to keep us free from harm, is constantly tarnished.
The ideology of political violence remains engrained in the hearts of many and is not sufficiently challenged. This gravely concerns us because justifying yesterday’s murders grants the future terrorist the philosophy that he needs to wage a murderous campaign of terror and carnage. For this reason we urge our society to look back in order that we night look forward, determined that political violence will never again stain our community.
The Belfast Agreement has not solved, nor can any political agreement or programme, the underlying sectarian problems which continue to be a blight upon our society. Paramilitaries operate in the shadows, our security services continue to suffer from threats of violence and a spirit of hatred persists. As a Presbytery we wish to reaffirm our commitment to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the preaching of which and the calling of all men and women to faith in Christ alone and repentance from sin, is the only means whereby our nation can be brought to a true state of peace and reconciliation.
As humble subjects of His Majesty King Charles 3rd, we assure both him and his Government within this Kingdom (national, regional and local) of our continued prayers. Most importantly we pray that the God of heaven would visit our nation turning hearts to the love and mercy of His dear Son Jesus Christ.
