Among my peers this attitude is not quite as prevalent. The first ceasefire was in 1994 when I was 10 years old. The problems didn't end then of course, in fact the single biggest loss of life happened after the second ceasefire with the Omagh bombing in 1998. But on the whole it is now somewhere that people my age want to visit.
Today Michael Stone, a loyalist killer, broke into Parliament
Buildings with a knife, a gun and several crude explosive devices. Due to the bravery of two civilian security men he caused no harm, succeeding only to stop proceeding within the building for the day. Stone killed 3 people at an IRA funeral in 1988. He was released under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement. But people like him should never really have been released. Some would say the only surprising thing is that more of the terrorists released have not ended up back behind bars.Stone's actions today are simply inexplicable. He had no political motive and demonstrated only that he is a psychopath, unable to adjust to life in a normalised society.
He represents all that is bad in Northern Ireland, a small group of thugs that for years have stunted Northern Ireland's development and tarnished its image. Undoubtedly many will look at their TV screens this evening and think, "look, they're at it again over there", but today's dramatic events smoke-screen something far more significant.
Ian Paisley today officially accepted power sharing with Sinn Fein (with conditions). That is the real top story and its implications for his party are unclear. Stone's actions are totally insignificant.
1 comments:
David, Ian Paisley said that when Sinn Fein step up to the plate and become an ordinary political party - by accepting the rule of law and those who enforce it - the DUP will be prepared to share power with them. This has always been our position
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