In comparing Afghanistan to Northern Ireland, Peter Robinson makes a mockery of their suffering

Peter Robinson (‘Peter Robinson: We in Northern Ireland should understand the betrayal of the Afghan people, and welcome them here,’ August 20, see link below) conflates the unfolding Afghan tragedy with events in Northern Ireland affecting the unionist people.

He even compares the Taliban with Northern Irish republicans, ie “It now appears the Taliban have been engaging in republican style media training.”

It is not remotely correct to compare the situation pertaining in Northern Ireland with that of Afghanistan.

Doing so makes a mockery of the suffering of the latter.

For instance, according to the BBC, 171,000 Afghans were killed, following the US-led Nato invasion, and since 2012 approximately five million Afghan people were displaced, either within Afghanistan or abroad.

The article while written ostensibly about the suffering people in Afghanistan, appears to be more a platform for a dirge about the woes of the unionist people living in Northern Ireland.

Micheal O’Cathail, Fermanagh

Peter Robinson: We in Northern Ireland should understand the betrayal of the Afghan people, and welcome them here

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