SF issues press release about farm conditions in India amid clamour for funeral answers

It is under pressure to reveal which councillors and which MLAs (if any) were present for the send-off, which has generated a row because of the numbers of people involved in the cortege.

Funeral numbers are supposed to be limited to 25, and social distancing of two metres (six feet) is meant to be strictly observed.

The PSNI has said it is looking into “likely” breaches of the coronavirus rules at the gathering on Monday in Londonderry.

Yesterday, IRA man-turned-MLA Gerry Kelly said “two or three” Sinn Fein councillors attended the roadside as the procession passed and he was “fairly certain” no Sinn Fein MLAs were present.

Regional SF leader Michelle O’Neill declined to comment on the funeral when asked by PA news agency on Tuesday, insisting her focus was on a new report about mother and baby homes.

The News Letter then phoned all 11 Sinn Fein councillors on Derry City and Strabane District Council to try and ascertain who was present.

Four of them answered their phones.

When asked if they were present at the funeral, two councillors (Sandra Duffy and Aileen Mellon) refused to answer and referred the paper to the party press office.

Another two (Kieran McGuire and Ruairi McHugh) did answer, and said they were not present.

The press office was asked via email how many SF figures were present, but no-one answered the phone, and the email had not been responded to at time of writing.

Not just the DUP, but the UUP, Alliance, and SDLP have condemned the images which emerged of Mr McCourt’s funeral procession through the streets.

Amid this upwelling of criticism, Sinn Fein did however issue a statement from Chris Hazzard, the MP for South Down (roughly 4,300 miles from Delhi), which said: “Indian Prime Minister Modi is using the pandemic as cover to introduce draconian anti-worker laws which not only extend the working day from 8hrs to 10hrs, but also dismantle agricultural price controls, cuts farmers’ subsidies, and shatters traditional public distribution systems...

“Today, on the 26th January - India’s Republic Day - farmers and agricultural workers have descended on Delhi in tractors as pressure continues to mount against Modi and the ruling BJP to reverse the attack on workers.”

It concluded that “Sinn Féin will continue to stand in solidarity with Indian farmers and workers against the repressive right-wing regime of Modi”.

The News Letter’s coverage so far of the story:

Click here: Images emerge of crowd of mourners at new republican funeral procession

Click here: ‘Painful sight for many bereaved relatives’: DUP hits out over republican funeral

Click here: IN FULL: PSNI opens investigation into IRA man’s funeral – ‘likely Covid breaches’

Click here: SF figure indicates republican funeral was toned-down event

Click here: Late IRA man Eamonn McCourt ‘killed one of his own comrades by mistake’

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