EMPEY WARNS OF SLIPPERY SLOPE IN DRAWING MORAL EQUIVALENCE BETWEEN TERRORISM AND FORCES OF LAW AND ORDER
EMPEY WARNS OF SLIPPERY SLOPE IN DRAWING MORAL EQUIVALENCE BETWEEN TERRORISM AND FORCES OF LAW AND ORDER
UUP Leader Sir Reg Empey said it was a slippery and dangerous slope to draw any moral equivalence between the forces of law and order and terrorism.
It is understood that the “Dealing with the Past” Commission jointly headed by Archbishop Robin Eames and Denis Bradley may be considering suggesting to the Government that what we call ‘the troubles’ should instead be described as a war.
The Ulster Unionist Leader strongly cautioned against such a move and said he believed that such a move would satisfy a key IRA claim that they were the equivalent of an army of a nation state fighting a justified was against an occupying force. It would also be a slap in the face to the families of victims of terrorism and those who were injured at the hands of the IRA.
In a statement Sir Reg said:
“The reality is that the IRA is a terrorist organisation, which was resisted by the legitimate forces of law and order. Calling what occurred in Northern Ireland during our darkest days as a war would enable the IRA to think that they are free to share their murderous terrorism with the world and present it as a war.
Democratic societies across the globe have had the bitter experience of facing terrorist campaigns. An enduring lesson has been that it is fatal for democratic principles to imply a moral equivalence between the forces of the state and terrorist organisations.
It is a very slippery and dangerous slope for anyone to attempt to draw this kind of moral equivalence between the actions of terrorists and the actions of our armed forces who have and will continue to hold the front line against those who have no regard for civil liberties, human rights or the democratic process.”