The Five Demands

Il successore di Gerry Adams all’Assembly non nasconde la sua fierezza nell’essere stato membro dell’IRA, contrapponendosi alla proposta di legge del DUP atta a bloccare la normativa che dichiara ‘vittime’ tutti coloro che sono morti durante i Troubles

Il DUP ha chiesto l’annullamento di una normativa che prevede vengano considerate ‘vittime’ tutti coloro che hanno perso la vita durante i Troubles. A questo proposito Pat Sheenan, successore di Gerry Adams alla poltrona di MLA, ha ribadito l’importanza di garantire equità per tutte le vittime.
“Io non nascondo il mio passato e ho sentito un membro dall’altra fazione descrivere come era orgogliosa del fatto che suo padre era un membro della RUC, e io lo accetto”, ha dichiarato Sheenan.
“Ma sono anche orgoglioso del fatto del mio coinvolgimento nel conflitto e io non lo nascondo”.
“Io non mi vergogno dell’IRA, però ha fatto cose che erano sbagliate. Non vi è alcun dubbio su questo” e Pat Sheenan sottolinea come sia pensiero comune che i fedeli alla Corona abbiano sempre agito nel giusto
Lo SDLP ha espresso il proprio appoggio alla petizione dello Sinn Fein “Petition of Concern” con la quale si tenta di garantire che nessuna modifica alla normativa possa essere approvata senza il sostegno transfrontaliero.

Sheehan ‘proud to have been in IRA’ (Belfast Telegraph)
Former republican hungerstriker Pat Sheehan, who replaced Gerry Adams in the Northern Ireland Assembly, has used his maiden speech to say he was proud to be a former IRA member.
But during what was often a heated debate on changing the legal status of victims of the Troubles, he said he wanted to “reach out” to unionists.
The DUP demanded the replacement of legislation that describes all those killed as victims, but the former IRA prisoner urged unionists to accept that all victims should be treated as equal.
The SDLP backed a Sinn Fein Petition of Concern that ensured the changes could not pass without cross-community support, but the effective blocking of the legislation sparked strong criticism from unionists.
The DUP’s Arlene Foster detailed how her family’s security force links had seen them intimidated by republicans, but Mr Sheehan said unionists ignored the nationalist experience of the Troubles.
“The members on the other side of the House should at some stage remove the scales from their eyes and recognise that there was a conflict here, it was a political conflict and as a result of that, terrible things happened and people became victims,” he said.
“I make no secret of my past and I listened to the member on the other side describe how she was proud of the fact that her father was a member of the RUC, and I accept that.
“But I am also proud of the fact of my involvement in the conflict and I make no secret of that.
“I am not ashamed of the IRA, however they did things that were wrong. There is no doubt about that.
“But on the other side of this House, it seems to be that those who served with the Crown on their hats do no wrong.”