Robinsonchallenges SF over events at Dungiven

Mr Robinson said that: “Sinn Fein have stated that their war is over , that they were giving up the armed struggle and pursuing entirely peaceful means to persuade the people of this wee country of ours that we should give up our British Citizenship and join them in a United Ireland.

“Let’s be honest the facts are, they surrendered, because they could not win the military campaign, and have since entered into a British Government, run by British Ministers, and cannot pass a jot of legislation without it being signed off on by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

“Yet they parade themselves before the people of Dungiven in the trappings of the old Sinn Fein, who stated that they would never surrender; in a parade that allegedly included, mock vehicle check points, men allegedly dressed as members of the RUC or as members of Her Majesties forces and more frighteningly with children dressed as pseudo terrorists and carrying what we are informed were imitation AK47 assault rifles.

“The latter cannot be confirmed as the police allegedly agreed to the request of local republican representatives to stay out of the village during the parade.

“If Sinn Fein are to be believed, that they have decided to pursue a new and democratic means of achieving their goal, they must first explain to the people of this part of the United Kingdom how creating a new generation of children, brainwashed to believe that the failed campaign that they Sinn Fein had abandoned, because they could not win, is something to celebrate or imitate.

“I believe that if Sinn Fein is to become accepted as a normal democratic party they must first abandon these shows of homage to a failed murderous past and bring the next generation up to believe what they have stated with their lips but have not entirely accepted with any great conviction in their hearts, that the only way forward is as a normal party or are they afraid that if they were to enter enthusiastically into a truly democratic process without occasional shows of their terrorist past in background, they would be unelectable.”

He added: “I challenge Sinn Fein to explain why they thought it was necessary to subject the next generation of children to this falsehood, that British Citizens can be persuaded to join them by force of arms.”