NUTTALL CALLS FOR OUTRIGHT BAN ON TERRORIST PARADE
UKIP’s Deputy Leader, Paul Nuttall MEP, has challenged the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Theresa Villiers and Chief Constable, Matt Baggott, to ban Sunday’s planned IRA parade in Castlederg.
Paul says, “Sunday’s parade is deeply distressing to thousands of innocent victims and their families, who suffered so cruelly at the hands of IRA terrorists. In granting permission for Sunday’s celebration of terrorism, the Parades Commission has yet again sent out completely the wrong message. It is now up to the Chief Constable and the Secretary of State to step up to the plate and place an outright ban on this parade. Furthermore and despite the Secretary of State’s denials, UKIP understands Theresa Villiers does have the power to ban this wholly objectionable hatefest.
“The Castlederg parade commemorates 2 IRA terrorists who died when a bomb destined for a customs post outside the County Tyrone town exploded prematurely. Had the attack proven successful, the result would have been mass, indiscriminate slaughter. Whilst we would not wish to intrude upon any family’s private act of remembrance, we do believe it wholly inappropriate that the death of any terrorist should be commemorated in public.”
The MEP for the North West of England adds, “It is inconceivable that such a parade would be permitted anywhere else in the UK. For instance, do we really believe that the Mayor of London, Boris Johnston would allow Islamic extremists to parade through London to celebrate the 7/7 terrorist bombers who also died as a result of their own actions? I think not. It is therefore incumbent upon Matt Baggott and Theresa Villiers to do the right thing and ban Sunday’s IRA Parade. If isn’t good enough for the people of London, it shouldn’t be good enough for the people of Castlederg.
“UKIP representatives across Northern Ireland have been inundated with calls by people concerned at the damage this parade will do to community relations in Castlederg, West Tyrone and across Northern Ireland. It is increasingly clear that it isn’t just people from a Protestant or a Unionist background who stand united in their opposition to Sunday’s parade; this is an issue which resonates with many Catholics and Irish Nationalists, who all too frequently also suffered at the hands of the IRA and the Irish Republican movement.
“UKIP calls upon the Chief Constable and Secretary of State to address the Parades Commission’s failings, to doright thing and place an outright ban this parade. In so doing, they would send a welcome message that the glorification of terrorism and the radicalisation of Northern Ireland’s young people by convicted Irish Republican terrorists is entirely unacceptable. It would also ensure that an unhelpful, national precedent is not established, which could be exploited by other similarly extreme groups elsewhere in the UK.”
Ends .