McKay in no Position to Comments on Risks to Peace
03 September 2012
Responding to comments by Daithi McKay on the parading situation TUV leader Jim Allister said:
“No member of the IRA’s political wing is in any position to lecture people on risks to peace. It was McKay’s colleagues in the Republican movement which brought 30 years of death and destruction to our Province so his remarks on the supposed threat to law and order posed by the Loyal Orders will be treated with the contempt they deserve right.
“Where was McKay’s concern for the economy of our Province when the IRA was bombing the heart out of Northern Ireland’s business districts?
“It is particularly galling to hear a member of Sinn Fein/IRA pontificate on adhering to Parades Commission rulings when, just a few weeks ago, a parade in Dungivan organised by Sinn Fein and attended by Martin McGuinness, saw marchers dressed in in paramilitary style uniforms while others carried replica weapons – in clear breech of Parades Commission guidelines on demonstrations.
“McKay seems to be of the opinion that Parades Commission rulings are sacrosanct – but only when they apply to the Loyal Orders.
“As for his totally disingenuous claims about the Rasharkin parade two years ago yes the parade did take place at midnight yes and it did go down an alternative route. What McKay does not say is that this was because of a bomb scare at the Orange Hall which delayed the start of the parade and when it did eventually get under way it went down the alternative route with the agreement of the police.
“Once again Sinn Fein/IRA are trying to create tensions in Rasharkin and pushing to see all forms of cultural expression by the minority community in the village stamped out.”
