Ross Hussey: May Lou McDonald ignores the horror inflicted on society by Sinn Fein’s terrorist army
Once again we are subjected to calls for border polls from Sinn Fein, but not only that, we are able to see the muddled mindset of Mary Lou McDonald.
In speeches, the Sinn Fein president declares "Together, communities are building a future of hope and progress for everyone” then adds “we see this new, inclusive future forming in the advances in Irish language rights.”
Now maybe I am missing something here, I do not see the Irish language as part of an 'inclusive future'.
With a ridiculously low demand requirement, the councils under Sinn Fein control can 'force' Irish language signs on any housing estate or public road which is more divisive than progressive.
Mary Lou goes on to say “we have work to do. We must build alliances across all sections of society”.
As of yet Mary Lou and her compatriots have not made any steps to deal with the murder of civilians, police officers and members of His Majesty’s forces by their 'terrorist' counterparts in the Provisional IRA.
There are also questions to be answered in relation to the cold blooded murders of Robert McCartney and Paul Quinn.
I have no issues with a public inquiry into the loyalist murder of Sean Brown but what about an inquiry into the republican murders of McCartney and Quinn? All three from the Roman Catholic community.
The silence from Sinn Fein on murder of civilians, the remaining 'disappeared', the murder of judges, and lawyers such as Edgar Graham, whom history has allowed to be whitewashed away (yet Pat Finucane who was also murdered in cold blood seems to be constantly in the public eye).
Also, the particularly low action of the murder of Sir James Stronge and his son Norman at home.
Mary Lou McDonald and her deputy lead a republican party and they have a right to call for a united Ireland in a democracy.
Our past is a shared past Sinn Fein will not acknowledge the horror inflicted on the community by their terrorist army, the actions of these terrorists north and south of the border, murder of police officers (23 Garda, 277 RUC), prison officers (1 Irish and 30+ Northern Ireland Prison Service) and soldiers (more than 700, of whom 250 were serving or veteran UDR, several of them women).
Perhaps Mary Lou will tell me as a unionist who she 'wishes to build an alliance with' and how many Provo terrorists were 'let off the hook' by back room deals with Tony Blair and Bertie Ahern. As I wrote on these pages earlier this month, I feel that all the unionist parties should have made much more of the disgraceful revelations that Tony Blair 'covered up' IRA activities in the early days post Good Friday Agreement.
Unionists should have been calling emergency debates at Stormont and Westminster (Click here ‘Ross Hussey: Unionists should have made more of the revelations of the scale to which Tony Blair appeased the IRA,’ April 8).
What is Mary Lou, who has no political office in the United Kingdom, going to give up so that Casement Park can be built at vast expense?
Shall we take the money from infrastructure (Provos destroyed a lot of our infrastructure during the Troubles), health, education, communities, environment, justice, public housing, or economy?
Maybe some of Sinn Fein's 'money from America' could be diverted into the GAA project?
Finally I have not seen Mary Lou's response to the Continuity IRA who I believe have munitions from Provo arms dumps.
Will she support the police and if necessary army taking necessary action to remove this threat from our communities?
• Ross Hussey is a former Ulster Unionist Party Assembly member for West Tyrone, former member of the RUC Reserve, and former member of the Northern Ireland Policing Board