The Ulster Unionist Party’s West Tyrone MLA Ross Hussey has described the Republican parade scheduled for Castlederg on the 11th of August to commemorate two IRA dead terrorists as ‘a parade of shame’. He made his views clear in a meeting with Peter Osborne, Chair of the Parades Commission.
Mr Hussey said;
“My brother Councillor Derek Hussey and I met last week with the Chief Commissioner Peter Osborne and I can assure you that we made the Unionist position very clear in opposition to the ‘parade of shame’ which is scheduled to take place in Castlederg.
“It is perfectly obvious to us that this is a coat trailing exercise by Sinn Fein in an attempt to reinvigorate their political position in Strabane and Castlederg. I have to ask why they would seek to inflict this on Castlederg now?
“This is a community which suffered greatly at the hands of IRA terrorism and which still lives with the legacy of having to come to terms with the 29 murders, 50 plus bombs and the loss of potential that hit the area as the ethnic cleansing policies of the IRA and their republican colleagues took effect.
“The two individuals being “commemorated” blew themselves up in a car bomb which exploded enroute to Castlederg. This was no brave patriotic action, it was an act of terrorism against neighbours.
“If Sinn Fein really wants to move forward, then they should take this parade away from Castlederg or better still, abandon it all together.
“Perhaps the only surprise is that they did not seek to hold the event in the County town of Omagh, although perhaps even for Sinn Fein and the IRA, it would have been too much to seek to glorify terror in a town which 15 years ago on 15th August 1998, witnessed the horror of another infamous republican bombing when 29 people and two unborn twins were brutally murdered.
“29 people were also murdered by republicans in the Castlederg area and this parade of shame should simply not be allowed anywhere near the town.”