Mr. Geoff Knupfer:

We have received a very significant degree of support from members of the republican movement over the years. I believe they suffer from the same problem we do in that what they can glean is incomplete. Having said that, I am sure there are individuals out there who do know the whereabouts of these remains or who have relevant information and could provide it.

It is important to say that we genuinely believe that we have never knowingly been misled by any of the information that has been passed to the commission. It has all been passed with the best of intentions, albeit it has been inaccurate. This, however, is entirely understandable given the timescales involved.

One of the other problems we have is that people who may have been involved in these events 40 years ago have now moved on with their lives. Their relatives and families may not be aware of the part they may have played in these events many years ago when they were young. We have had to tackle this problem. There are issues and there is no two ways about it, but we have had genuine support also.

Reference was made to the consequences for passing on information. This is not a general amnesty; it is a limited immunity. I believe we would all agree that it has worked remarkably well. Nobody who has passed information to the commission about missing victims has ever been interviewed, arrested, charged or appeared in court for anything related to that information. We are comfortable that the legal structure works very well and I believe that the people we engage with are satisfied this is the case. As the years go by, more victims are found. Nobody has ever been questioned by the legal authorities about it.