The two men who headed a group on dealing with the legacy of the Northern Ireland Troubles today hit back at critics of their proposal to pay the families of victims £12,000.
Lord (Robin) Eames and Denis Bradley insisted their offer was not about compensation or financial reward, but a recognition of the pain suffered by those bereaved.
They said: "It is a small gesture by our society to acknowledge the grief of the families left devastated by the last 40 years."
The leaders of the Consultative Group on the Past will today unveil their report making wide-ranging recommendations on how to deal with the legacy of decades of violence.
Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) leader Peter Robinson yesterday met Northern Ireland Secretary Shaun Woodward to outline opposition to the payment plans, which make no distinction between the families of paramilitaries and civilians killed.
But the 190-page report released today will contain more than 30 recommendations on how Northern Ireland can deal with its troubled past, with the aim of helping to create a better future.
On the eve of the document's publication, however, police were responding to a bomb alert in Castlewellan, Co Down, where a major security operation was launched.
Meanwhile, Denis Bradley reacted to speculation over his group's plans to make recognition payments to the families of those bereaved during the conflict.
"Over the past number of days we have heard some victims' groups saying we don't want money, we want justice," he said.
"Others have said we don't want money, we want truth.
"They are right to say that and our report will reflect both points of view.
"Equally they have to respect those who told us that they wanted neither justice nor truth.
"Others that we met want recognition by our society of their loss and suffering.
"This is not about compensation nor is it about financial reward.
"It is a small gesture by our society to acknowledge the grief of the families left devastated by the last 40 years."
He added: "Of course that will only recognise the suffering of the bereaved families.
"Many others have been left injured and scarred, both physically and psychologically, by the violence.
"Their needs are equally important and will be addressed in our report."
Lord Eames said: "When we undertook this work we were under no illusions that it would be extremely difficult for our society to escape the dark shadows of the past.
"Today we will set out a whole range of issues that will have to be addressed if we are to build the shared and reconciled future that we all want to see."
The former Church of Ireland Primate said the group had spent the last 18 months consulting victims and other groups on its plans.
He added: "At the heart of those proposals will be justice, truth and importantly reconciliation. It is a challenging and complex report.
"In many ways it reflects the opposing views of our community but we have to find a way of moving to the future together."
He asked everyone to take time to read the report and said it may take weeks and months to reflect on its recommendations.
"This is too important an issue for instant responses," he said.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown's spokesman said the report's recommendations would be considered "with great care".
Asked if Mr Brown backed the payment proposals, he said: "We have just received this report.
"We will study the report, consider its findings, and reply in due course."
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