DUP Member of the European Parliament, Jim Allister QC, has contributed to a debate in the European Parliament on the recent massacre in Beslan, Russia.

Below is an extract from Mr Allister’s speech:

“On behalf of the people of Northern Ireland, who have known the cruelties of terrorism for more than a generation, I wish to convey my heartfelt sympathy to the parents and people of Beslan.  The horrendous terror to which they have been subjected is nigh unspeakable.

Terrorism is wrong wherever it occurs.  There is no justification or room for equivocation.  Be it the IRA firebombing a packed hotel outside Belfast and incinerating a dozen innocent people, or the attack on the Twin Towers, or Chechen extremists in Beslan butchering little children, the strategy is the same - maximum impact through maximum carnage in the hope of extracting maximum political concession.

Our experience in Northern Ireland should demonstrate, there is nothing honourable, enlightened or desirable about pandering to terrorism, or finding excuses for it.  It is evil in all its forms, as Beslan so gruesomely demonstrates.  Across Europe and the world it behoves us all to stand resolutely against it and its despicable apologists”.

Click here to view the full speech made by Jim Allister