The Sinn Fein Chairman of Fermanagh and Omagh Council who refused to condemn the murder of 11 innocent people in the Enniskillen Bomb has sparked fresh controversy by inappropriately using his position to block an amendment to his own debate. The Ulster Unionist Party tabled an amendment calling for support for all innocent victims, however it was blocked by Stephen McCann despite himself being a co-signatory to the original motion.
Cllr Robert Irvine said:
“This is the latest Sinn Fein attempt to exclude a large section of innocent victims from their processes of dealing with the past.
“While we in the Ulster Unionists were content to support the continued investigation into the murder of Cllr Patsy Kelly, Sinn Fein and others would not support the same for other members of our community, like RUC Officers, UDR and regular army soldiers and indeed civilians.
“This further demonstrates the attempts of SF to re-write history. Of course the death of Cllr Kelly should be investigated, but so also should the local murders of Robert Jameson, and the five civilian engineers who were working at Brougher mountain. Robert Jameson was only 22 years old when he was murdered by the IRA as he got off the bus just outside of Trillick after coming from work in 1974. Similarly, John Eakins, William Thomas, Harry Edgar, David Henson & George Beck were all murdered by the IRA outside Trillick in a landmine explosion just three years earlier. They were civilian engineers going to carry out maintenance at the BBC mast at Brougher.
“However it appears that SF want a one sided investigation process that does not focus on murders by republicans.
“It is indeed an unusual process in that Chairman McCann who presided over the debate had signed the original motion and then rejected the Ulster Unionist amendment, surely there is a significant conflict of interest?
“It should never be forgotten that during the Troubles 90% of all deaths were caused by terrorists, 60% by republican terrorists and 30% by loyalist terrorists. Maybe SF wish to ignore and avoid these figures but we will not allow that to happen.”