Villiers urges organisers to call of Castlederg parade
Ms Villiers explained that she does not have the powers to cancel the event in Co Tyrone this weekend, but asked those behind it to think again.
“This parade is damaging to community relations and even at this late stage I would call upon the organisers to think again and call it off,” the NI Secretary explained after meeting victims group, Derg Valley Voice.
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Hide AdThe annual Tyrone Volunteers Commemoration event will this year coincide with the 40th anniversary of the deaths of IRA men Seamus Harvey and Gerard McGlynn, who died when the car bomb they were transporting to Castlederg detonated early. It exploded across the Irish border in Co Donegal.
A Sinn Fein spokesman said recently: “The vast majority of nationalist and republicans have no problem with the commemoration of Ireland’s patriot dead in the same way that nationalists and republicans show tolerance to those who seek to remember the British war dead in the month of November each year in overwhelmingly nationalist towns such as Castlederg.
“Unionists should adopt a similar approach.”
Asked if the Republic’s government accepts the idea that the Castlederg commemoration honours Ireland’s patriot dead and is comparable to national commemoration ceremonies, a Department of Foreign Affairs spokesman responded: “Many commemorative events take place across Northern Ireland. All such events should take place in a spirit of mutual respect and tolerance.
“This is best facilitated by local dialogue and by sensitivity on the part of organisers. Determinations by the Parades Commission must be respected, the Rule of Law must be upheld and the work of the PSNI supported. The Irish Government believes that the forthcoming All Party discussions to be facilitated by US diplomat Richard Haass offer a real opportunity to tackle these and other contentious issues which are preventing Northern Ireland from realising its full potential as a shared society in line with the vision set out in the Good Friday Agreement and its successors.