Sinn Fein slammed after setting up screening of Bobby Sands film in European Parliament

The film “66 Days” will be hosted by SF MEP Martina Anderson at the European Parliament later this month.

Kenny Donaldson, spokesman for Innocent Victims United, said it was a further illustration of Sinn Fein’s efforts to “corrupt the truth and distort historical events”.

Mr Donaldson doubted whether the party would be divulging inconvenient truths about the hunger striker, such as his role in the bombing of a family business which saw him incarcerated at the Maze, or that the Sands family does not support Sinn Fein’s use of Bobby as “a continuum of their organisational propaganda”.

He added: “The hunger strikes were a human tragedy and no-one with a Christian outlook could or would take glee from their demise.

“Sinn Fein/PIRA are seeking to propagate the minds of Europeans – many of whom will have a jaundiced view of the events of this country.”

He said 66 Days was an improvement on what has gone before on the subject matter but added it was “nothing to shout about given the very low base from which we start”.

“A production which is passed off as a documentary and which received financial backing through the public purse should be fully factual,” he said.

“The film ‘66 Days’ is not and including contributors who are not from the pro-republican movement does not in itself create balance when the overarching narrative from which the story is relayed is so deeply flawed.”

Sinn Fein MEP Ms Anderson said the film is “a detailed production that includes a wide range of views and provides an insight into one of the most recognisable freedom fighters in the world”.

Former prisoners, Councillor Seanna Walsh and MLA Jennifer McCann, will speak at the screening in Brussels on November 29.