Legacy consultation: Sinn Fein's response '˜work of fantasy and delusion'

The South East Fermanagh Foundation (SEFF) said that Sinn Fein’s submission, and the party’s attempts to play down the “sectarian-fuelled terrorism” of the Provisional IRA, were worth of contempt.

Publishing its submission to the consultation process on Wednesday, Sinn Fein described the UK state as the “main protagonist” in the Northern Ireland conflict, despite the fact that republicans murdered more than 2,100 people compared to 365 deaths attributed to the security forces.

Kenny Donaldson, SEFF’s director of services said: “The Provisional movement was the main ‘protagonist,’ the main ‘actor,’ the main ‘aggressor’ and the main ‘divider’ of people across these islands. But beyond this they are also the genesis for so much other terrorism and criminal violence across our world – whether in Colombia, Spain or the Middle East/Palestine. Even Islamic State are employing techniques developed by the Provisional movement”.

Mr Donaldson said his victims’ group’s message to the NIO and government was a simple one: “Treat the Sinn Fein/PIRA response to your legacy proposals with the same contempt that they have shown for the innocents of their brutal campaign of ethnic and sectarian-fuelled terrorism”.

“The Provisional movement’s performance at their press conference [on Wednesday] complete with the claims they made verbally and within their written response is the work of fiction, fantasy and delusion.”

Mr Donaldson said the “overwhelming majority of innocent victims” don’t support the NIO proposals, and added: “The UK government can choose to further indulge and appease terrorism or at this juncture it can actually do the right thing and reverse the justice scales which are presently heavily weighted in terrorism’s favour.”

The NIO consultation process closes at 5pm tomorrow.