Lots of good people were killed during the troubles, and
most relatives want some form of recognition, some sort of memorial. There are well over 600 memorials in N. Ireland
and the majority (over two thirds) of these commemorate terrorists; we already
have over 450 shrines to republican and loyalist terrorists because terrorists have the money and the power to
decide what is erected in ‘their’ areas.
The ‘troubles’ were a grubby, nasty little conflict that
destroyed too many lives. There was
nothing glorious or heroic about killing those with whom you have a political
disagreement, and the suffering of the ordinary unionist and nationalist people
needs to be acknowledged by the Stormont government, preferably at a neutral
site.
We want our politicians to support the ordinary people, and
put an end to this free-for-all over memorials, with each grouping erecting
shrines to their ‘heroes’ as a means of promoting their political viewpoint.
The stupidity of placing a peace and reconciliation centre
at the Maze has now been accepted by everyone apart from Sinn Fein. Forever the Maze will be associated with the
IRA version of events, where IRA killers and bombers starved themselves to
death in a vain attempt to convince the world that being a politically
motivated killer was the same as being a political prisoner. The world rejected the idea that a legitimate
political activity could include killing those with whom you have a
disagreement, just as N. Ireland has now
rejected the Maze Shrine.
Stormont needs to provide leadership by creating a memorial
for the whole community, a site that does not allow any one group to claim
victimhood or martyrdom.
Would Omagh be a better location for a Peace and Reconciliation Centre?
The Omagh bomb was a major terrorist atrocity, and one of the first that was condemned by both republicans and unionists together. Omagh was the first occasion where Sinn Fein, the Unionist Parties and the world stood united in favour of peace.
The Omagh bomb was a major terrorist atrocity, and one of the first that was condemned by both republicans and unionists together. Omagh was the first occasion where Sinn Fein, the Unionist Parties and the world stood united in favour of peace.
What better place to locate a Peace and Reconciliation Centre than Omagh?
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