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FORMER IRA LEADERS are considering issuing an unequivocal apology to all of the IRA victims through the years, including members of the British Army, according to a report in today’s Sunday Business Post.
The report says that discussions are underway among republicans and senior figures are pushing for the apology to be made.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Saturday Night with Miriam, Northern Ireland’s Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness said he did not know where the SBP story was originating from “because the IRA are gone; I don’t know who’s going to [apologise]“.
However, he indicated that he believes a ‘collective’ apology should be issued by all parties involved, including the British government:
It is absolutely heartbreaking that we have been through almost 100 years of partition in the North, decade after decade of conflict – and a very bitter conflict that lasted 25 years in which an awful lot of people lost their lives. How could you not be sorry that all that happened?But if people are going to say sorry, then everybody should say it collectively, in my mind. And that includes the British government. The British government cannot exclude themselves from the debate that we’re seeking to have which I think will be good for all of us. We have come a long way, but there is still an awful long way to go.
McGuinness accused British Prime Minister David Cameron of being ‘disengaged’ from the peace process, pointing out that McGuinness and First Minister Peter Robinson had met with the US president more often than the prime minister.
Victims
McGuinness also said that he told the Queen and Prince Philip last week that he recognised that they too had lost a loved one during the Troubles. He said that he would not repeated the queen’s words in response “because that would not be proper” but that she was understanding of the need for everybody to work together to move forward; “She was very gracious about it.”
“The peace process has come an awful long way” and is the most successful in the world today, the Deputy First Minister said. However, he added that the one flaw in the peace process so far was that no way had been found for dealing with the past and for dealing with victims.
McGuinness has previously called for the establishment of a peace and reconciliation commission in Northern Ireland along the lines of that of South Africa.
In last night’s interview, he confirmed earlier comments that “very important meetings” are being held by Sinn Féin leaders and senior Protestant clergymen and Unionist figures in order to build on the reconciliation phase of the peace process.
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Taking aside the sexual exploitation and the issues with the children, which are obviously indefensible, I can understand why people / countries are cautious when it comes to females with suspected ties to IS.
Women have been quite happy to carry out some truly horrible attacks in the name of IS in the past.
@Ace: even though they are the biggest losers in any area they take over
Why has my well reasoned factual comment been deleted? You’ve gone mad with censorship Journal. People may not have liked what I had to say but I should have the right to say it – there was no expletives, etc. If you want to have a comments section, at least let people from different mindsets both comment. This monotone approach is hurting journalism.
@Nomad: what you said was a horrible horrible comment you should be ashamed of yourself
@Alana: Do you work for the journal Alana? I appreciate the more sensitive souls among us might not have liked my comment but there was no reason whatsoever for removing it. As I mentioned, it was a reasoned comment, backed up with widely available statistics. I’m not condoning these acts but my comment was true and correct and should not have been removed because you didn’t like what I had to say.
@Nomad: You ok hun ?
What a wonder world we live in
Thankfully no one did anything to further IS’s rapey ways like bombing the shit out of their enemies for them!!
@Eddiemac: if what you say is true and bombing a factory that makes chemicals to burn people eyes out is true and is helping the rapist’s ,where do you go from there
have your say