Ulster Unionist West Tyrone MLA has demanded Sinn Fein remove the symbol they have erected on the front of their offices in Omagh to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the killing of 8 IRA men in Loughgall on On 8th May 1987.
Mr Hussey said;
'The symbol contains in the background silhouette the barrels of 2 rifles, probably M16 rifles, the weapon which was used by the IRA to murder many innocent civilians and members of the security forces.
Obviously Sinn Fein and I will disagree on the death of these 8 IRA gunmen. But the facts are clear. They were killed by the SAS as they attacked Loughgall RUC Station and the records clearly indicate that they launched an attack on the RUC base. The IRA unit used the same tactics as it had done in the similar attacks. It destroyed a substantial part of the base with a 200lb bomb and raked the building with gunfire.
However, as their attack was underway, the IRA unit was ambushed by a SAS unit. The SAS shot dead eight IRA members and a civilian who had accidentally driven into the ambush. This was the IRA's greatest loss of life in a single incident during their terror campaign and it is believed that six IRA members from a supporting unit managed to slip away.
The eight IRA men killed during the ambush became known as the "Loughgall Martyrs" among many republicans.
Sinn Fein are trying to canonise these men who had set out that evening with murder and mayhem on their mind. These were not law abiding citizens going for an evening drive. They were heavily armed terrorists who blew up a police station and had any RUC men survived the blast they were quite prepared to shoot them dead. In this instance the 8 that ‘lived by the sword also died by the sword’
Sinn Fein wants to portray themselves as peace makers on the one hand yet also want to keep hold of their bloody past. The symbolism of the silhouetted gun is not lost on me and if the IRA have gone away – and as I said recently in the Assembly even Jeffrey Donaldson believes the |IRA Army Council is defunct (I personally am not so sure) - then let us see them remove the gun from Irish politics by removing it from this symbol. Actions speak louder than words.”