Trevor Ringland: All the candidates in West Tyrone should state clearly whether they think past violence was wrong
Senator George Mitchell stated frankly that the agreement in 1998 had created an opportunity for the people of Northern Ireland to create a peaceful and constructive future for ourselves and our children.
Whether we grasp that opportunity is a challenge to all of us.
My generation have taken some difficult decisions in order to create that opportunity.
However the future has to be grounded on solid foundations if we are to build the strong bonds necessary for a successful society.
In particular it should be that we do not pass the baggage of religious and cultural hatred from our history onto our younger generation.
Key to that is an acceptance that the use of violence outside the law to promote a constitutional preference was unnecessary, wrong and unjustified?
All the candidates at the forthcoming by-election in West Tyrone should state clearly their position on this crucial question.
Are they really the future or simply a repackaged version of the flawed politics of the past that brought so much tragedy to our society?
Trevor Ringland, Holywood