Allister speaks of 'moral declension' at the heart of government
16 September 2010
Speaking to the local TUV branch in Ballymena (15 Sept), TUV Leader Jim Allister said the recent controversy over Martin McGuinness and his Claudy “memory lapse” was a telling snapshot of the moral declension at the heart of the Stormont government.
In the course of his remarks Mr Allister said:-
“McGuinness admits he lied about never having met Father Chesney, but expects the public to believe they never discussed his role in the Claudy bombing. Having lied about the existence of the meeting, why should anyone believe him about the content? I certainly don’t. Do his partners in government, or is lying an acceptable part of the working relationship between the DUP and IRA/Sinn Fein?
“Having admitted he lied over knowing Chesney, let McGuinness now tell all he knows about Claudy, his machine gun possession on ‘Bloody Sunday’ and his involvement in the multiple murders of his IRA. Anyone fit for government, adhering to the Nolan principles on public life, including ‘honesty’ and ‘integrity’, would do so. Instead, unfit for government, McGuinness hides behind the IRA ‘Code of Honour’, which he shared with Chesney, and holds at the very heart of government the most blood-soaked secrets of his wicked IRA.
“It is a commentary on the moral desert that is the DUP/Sinn Fein coalition that the Joint First Minister can parade himself as a liar and none of his governmental colleagues turn a hair.
“Oh yes, an embarrassed First Minister made a perfunctory call to truth, before promptly resuming government in joint office with one exposed as falling so far short on honesty and integrity, supposed imperatives under the principles governing those in public office. And that not over some trifling issue, but the premeditated murder of 9 innocent people. It really is a shocking commentary and insight into the operation and nature of government in Northern Ireland that in one breath the First Minister can call on his co-First Minister to tell the truth over Claudy, and in the next, without apparently any appreciation of the magnitude of what he is saying, declare that he has no expectation that he will ever do so.
“The ease with which Peter Robinson tries to move on from washing his hands of his partner’s mendacity typifies the need for the DUP to take a moral and reality check on where it is going in government with IRA/Sinn Fein! I do wish those former colleagues who respect moral imperatives would quietly reflect on the moral quagmire of which, at least through acquiescence, they have become a part.
“How can you those with ethical principles sustain in government those they believe to be liars and worse, much worse?”
