Letter: UK government's cowardice in dealing robustly with glorification of terrorism contributes to making world an unsafe place
A letter from Kenny Donaldson:
I write in reference to one of your news stories – UK government stops short of saying 'Up the Ra' chants should be prosecuted after Prime Minister called for charges over 'intifada' chants (May 2).
The IRA (inclusive of all its variations) are the genesis of world terror, they are no old boy's club to look back upon wistfully.
They murdered well over 1,700 people, mutilated thousands of others, consigned a generation and more to mental and psychological health injury and sought to collapse the economic infrastructure of the United Kingdom.
They also murdered more Roman Catholics than any other organisation who contributed towards the death toll of the terrorist campaign/the Troubles.
Their techniques, structures and 'political' strands have been exported across the world - ETA, Basque Region in Spain, PLO, Palestine, FARC, Colombia and the modus operandi of Islamic State are all drawn from the PROVO handbook.
So yes, the IRA hasn't gone away - it's reign of terror continues to be active here but also active across the international world through its subsidiaries.
The UK government's cowardice in dealing robustly with the glorification of terrorism contributes to making the world an unsafe place.
Those who occupy positions in the policy formulation of legislation and the law need to waken up and fast.
What's it going to take for people to grow a backbone?
Kenny Donaldson, Director, South East Fermanagh Foundation (SEFF)