The Five Demands

Parlamentare DUP accusa il governo di trattamento disparitario delle vittime dei Troubles

William McCrea, durante un dibattito ha Westminster, ha apertamente accusato il governo di applicare un ‘approccio discriminatorio’ alla trattazione delle vittime dei Troubles, pregando che venga riservata la stessa attenzione alla “situazione critica e la sofferenza della grande maggioranza silente delle vittime”.
Citando alla House of Commons uno ad uno i nomi di coloro che sono morti negli attentati di Aldershot, La Mon House, Enniskillen e Teebane tra le altre atrocità, ha chiesto un maggiore impegno perchè venga fatta luce sulla verità dietro le uccisioni terroristiche del passato.
Nessuno può capire l’incubo attraverso il quale il popolo dell’Irlanda del Nord è passato attraverso.
“Terrorizzati nelle loro cucine e nelle loro camere da letto. Terrorizzati mentre camminavano in strada. Terrorizzati mentre sedevano in ristoranti e alberghi. Terrorizzati mentre praticavano il culto nelle loro chiese”.
E’ importante “non trascurare il dramma e la sofferenza della grande maggioranza silente delle vittime”, così da non perpetuare la falsa convinzione che il loro dolore abbia meno valore di quello delle vittime di un paio di altri attentati giudicati di più alto profilo.
“Il DUP non accetteranno mai un tale approccio discriminatorio”.
L’intervento di William McCrea arriva dopo la recente pubblicazione del Rapporto Saville sulla Bloody Sunday, e delle indiscrezioni sull’apertura di un’indagine governativa sull’uccisione di Pat Finucane.

DUP slams victims’ treatment (U TV)
A DUP MP has criticised the government’s “discriminatory approach” to treating the victims of Troubles atrocities during a Westminster debate on Tuesday.
Dr William McCrea told the Commons that the focus should not be placed on isolated incidents from the past, and that equal attention must be paid to the “plight and suffering of the great silent majority of victims”.
Mentioning the names of those who died in Aldershot, La Mon House, Enniskillen and Teebane amongst other atrocities, he called for more effort to be made to find the truth behind terrorist killings of the past.
The South Antrim member said: “We too need closure. No-one can understand the nightmare the people of Northern Ireland have been through.
“Terrorised in their kitchens and in their bedrooms. Terrorised while walking in their streets. Terrorised as they sat in restaurants and hotels. Terrorised while worshiping in their churches.
“Leaving their children in morning and never knowing whether you’d ever see them again, or them see you.”
Pointing to what he called a “disparity in treatment”, McCrea added: “It is important that, in the media rush to focus on a few isolated events, we do not overlook the plight and suffering of the great silent majority of victims.
“Not for them any £200 million inquiries in to the murder of their loved ones, nor any statements made by the Prime Minister acknowledging their suffering and grief.
“We cannot live in the past, but we should never ever forget it either. By focusing on a tiny number of isolated incidents governments have exacerbated the hurt of many people by perpetuating the false belief that their pain is less valid than a few high-profile cases.
“The DUP will never accept such a discriminatory approach.”
His comments come after the publication of the Saville Report, which re-examined the events of Bloody Sunday in 1972 when British Paratroopers opened fire on innocent civilians in Londonderry.
Following its release Prime Minister David Cameron issued an apology, saying he was “deeply sorry” for the incident which was “unjustified and unjustifiable”.
Last week a report by the government-appointed Commission for Victims and Survivors released in Belfast said there was an urgent need to deal with the fallout from the decades of conflict.
It urged the government to hold cross-party talks within the next year in Northern Ireland on how to deal with the legacy of the Troubles.