McGuinness is not like Mandela
The decision to nominate Martin McGuinness for the 2016 Tipperary International Peace Award has successfully divided people in both jurisdictions in Ireland.
The sycophantic obsequiousness of those in broadcasting studios who compare him to Nelson Mandela leaves me perplexed.
Argument by analogy frequently obscures and distorts truth.
I am also wary of those of unclear motivation who express political opinions ungrounded in firsthand experience.
I have the greatest admiration for Nelson Mandela, having lived in central and southern Africa from 1965 to 1972.
To compare Martin McGuinness, who still carries his IRA secrets and lives by its Green Book, with Nelson Mandela who confessed his innermost secrets to the world, is the ultimate insult to those who still suffer from a campaign of violence which was ignoble, brutal and unnecessary.
If McGuinness wants true reconciliation, then confession has to be followed by contrition.
George McNally, Londonderry BT47