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Speaking in the Assembly today, Ulster Unionist Spokesperson on Victims Issues, Derek Hussey, has voiced his belief that that victims’ issues should be given priority and that “the glaring need for increased and proper mainstream funding for victims groups” must be addressed.

Mr Hussey stated that his views were predicated on three points:

“Firstly, we do not equate victims with perpetrators.

“Secondly, we believe that each and every victim’s situation is personal and specific and that any process must reflect this. Such a process must be victim-centred and not subject to a loose, generic system.

“And finally, we agree that there is no hierarchy of victimhood but would say that there is a spectrum of victimhood.”

Addressing the Assembly, Mr Hussey said: “Within the sub committee the UUP focused primarily on the establishment of agreed principles needed to provide the necessary framework for victims’ issues to be dealt with sensitively and fairly.”

Paying tribute to victims’ group such as West Tyrone Voice and Omagh Support Group, he added: “I contend that it is only right that account is taken of responsibility and criminal culpability in determining society’s collective approach to victims’ issues.

“In our view, perpetrators of violence are plainly not victims. Those who operated outside the framework of civic society, who acted beyond law and order, and who sought to remove from others the most fundamental of all rights – the right to life – cannot be classed as victims and survivors.”

The West Tyrone MLA continued: “There are, tragically, many memorials throughout our land for the victims of terror. These memorials are victim centred – erected by relative and friends – they are personal and specific. I know from my own experience of the families of many friends murdered during our troubles that they would not want their kith and kin associated with those who carried out terrorist action in a single ‘national’ memorial.”

He then voiced his displeasure at Omagh council’s refusal to support the Omagh Support Group’s efforts to place a memorial plaque.

“Why?,” he said, “because Sinn Fein would not support the acknowledgement on the plaque that the perpetrators were republican terrorists. I trust that members will agree that this represents a blatant denial by Sinn Fein of the facts – but what’s new?”

Concluding, he said: “We congratulate Bertha McDougall on her excellent work to date and believe that the permanent establishment of a Victims’ Commissioner is the way forward.”

West Tyrone Ulster Unionist MLA and Derg Area Stabane District Councillor,
Derek Hussey, has accused republlicans of deliberately raising tensions in
Castlederg.

Mr Hussey said “Over this past while we have witnessed ongoing street
disorders.  In so many of these incidents young republicans have been
instrumental in attacks on young local unionists.

“The latest of these disorders resulted from an unproked attack upon a young
member of the Unionist community, standing minding his own business, by a
young man known to have republican sympathies.

“Earlier, on the same evening it had been reported to myself that, a young
man, simply trying to get cash from an ATM, was assaulted by another
republican youth.

“There are numerous accounts of such incidents within our community in
Castlederg and a growing suspicion that Sinn Fein are deliberately
attempting to raise tensions in Castlederg for their own political gain.

“I would urge young Unionists within our community who find themselves in
such a position to contact the Police immediately and not get drawn into an
obvious orchestrated Sinn Fein republican agenda.

“I will be urging the PSNI to ensure that they are available within
Castlederg to ‘nip such issues in the bud’ rather than having to bring in
reinforcements ‘after the event’ to deal with the resultant street
disorders.  I would also sincerely ask our young unionist citizens not be be
drawn into such confrontational scenarios.”

West Tyrone UUP MLA and Strabane District Councillor, Derek Hussey, has slated comments by Sinn Fein’s Charlie McHugh as erroneous and inflammatory.

Mr Hussey said: “I am not surprised that Cllr McHugh has welcomed the Parades Commission’s determination in regard to the 29th Annual Band Parade by Castlederg Young Loyalists’ Flute Band this coming Saturday night - after all - it does support Sinn Fein’s policy of curtailing expressions of our Cultural Identity within this area.

“Cllr McHugh has claimed that 70 Bands and 2700 people will be in attendance.  This is a totally erroneous statement and designed to be inflammatory.  I am sure that the organisers would love to have such numbers in attendance. However, it is hoped that approx 40 Bands will be in attendance on the night which is merely reflective of the number of Parades and other musical events that the Band have themselves supported throughout the year.

“Castlederg Young Loyalist Flute Band are widely recognised throughout the Band World as an excellent and dignified Marching Band and the support that they will receive on the night reflects this fact.

“Over several years the Band have engaged with the Parades Commission many times in order to alleviate any perceived problems with their well established parade.  They have invited the Commission to convene meetings with ‘genuine residents’ along their traditional line of route to no avail.

“The Commission need to reconsider as to who is willing to engage in dialogue and who is not rather than taking on board the views of others seeking to gain political advantage via their actions.

“I am aware that the organisers have engaged fully with Police as to their intensions and marshalling arrangements for the night in order to ensure the usual peaceful completion of their 29th Annual event.

“As the Parades Commission have endorsed Sinn Fein Policy in regard to the route of Saturday night’s parade, I do have to ask a question of Cllr McHugh - ‘Why is it necessary for Sinn Fein to be organising any protest at all?’ given that the parade is prohibited from entering the ’so-called’ nationalist area of Ferguson Crescent.

My own thoughts are that this is only continuing their campaign of intimidation towards any expression Protestant Cultural Identity in our area - ‘They don’t want a Prod about the place!’

“I urge all participants to follow the instructions of the designated marshalls who will ensure that this traditional event passes off in it’s usual peaceful manner in spite republican intimidation.”

UUP West Tyrone Assembly member, Derek Hussey, has hit out at thieves who syphoned fuel from the tanks of five school buses in Castlederg.

The incident took place at the Western Education and Library Board’s transport depot at Castlegore Road in the town.

The thieves also attempted to take fuel via the diesel pumps, but were unsuccessful.

Board member Mr. Hussey said: “The cost of providing school transport is high enough without this detestable action which simply cannot be tolerated.

“The cost of this theft will have to be carried by the Board and ultimately will mean a cutback in other services which in turn impacts on the education of our young people.

“Those responsible must be caught and punished. I would appeal to anyone who may have noticed any suspicious activity around the depot last Wednesday night or Thursday morning to tell the police.

The war on drugs will be a long hard battle for the police but the public at large must play its part in helping wipe this evil from society, Ulster Unionist West Tyrone Assembly member Derek Hussey has urged.

He was speaking following a PSNI operation in Castlederg when a man was arrested and questioned about the alleged cultivation of cannabis following a seizure of equipment at a house in the town.

Mr. Hussey praised the ongoing efforts of the police in tackling the drugs “menace” in society and urged the public to be pro-active on the issue.

“This illegal trade must be stopped wherever it is taking place. It is widespread and causes misery and suffering to many people.

“It is the duty of every decent law abiding individual to help the police in their efforts to come down hard on those who deal in drugs.

“I would urge everyone to report any suspicious activity to the PSNI without delay.

“The harsh reality is that drug trafficking is commonplace right across the Province, even in small towns and villages.

“Suppliers and dealers must be caught and punished and so too must those further up the chain who peddle drugs on an international scale.

“The police are continuing to make inroads into combating the problem and I commend them for their hard work on this front but they rely too on the local community to help them.

“This is a war against a terrible enemy that can destroy lives. It will not be won in the short term and we must all be prepared to help the PSNI fight the battle with as much support as we can possibly give.”

West Tyrone Ulster Unionist MLA Derek Hussey has welcomed the increase of hospital beds for critically-ill patients at Tyrone County Hospital.

The Sperrin Lakeland Trust has won initial approval from the Department of Health and the Western Health Board to increase the number from two to four.

Mr Hussey said:

“This announcement is extremely welcome and serves as a much needed boost to health services generally in the west and specifically for Tyrone County.

“However, there are still greater issues at hand which need to be addressed, such as the removal of A&E services to Enniskillen - an issue that West Tyrone Ulster Unionists have campaigned against for a considerable time.

“A recent Parliamentary Question has revealed that mileages travelled by A & E ambulances have increased by over 60% compared to a similar period prior to the acute services status change at Tyrone County Hospital.  Indeed mileage levels for non-emergency patient care services have effectively doubled for June 2006 compared to June 2005.

“Surely such figures impact on the availability of emergency and patient care vehicles if they are travelling for longer distances and are tied up for longer periods of time.

“Further well documented concerns from the NHS Clinical Governance Support Team Report outlining health trust shortcomings including the ‘compromising’ of child safety, add to the frustration and concern of people in this area as to the future of our health care.

“Undoubtedly Health services in the west face are facing an uncertain future and feelings are still running high about the proposed downgrading of services. If the Trust and the Department of Health recognise that there is a demand for enhanced services for critically ill patients surely they can recognise the need for an A&E.

“After a lot of lobbying from politicians, health groups, charities and residents west of the Bann, I remain hopeful that the Health Minister will come to his senses, reconsider and at the very least review his current decision”.

West Tyrone UUP MLA Derek Hussey has welcomed Regional Development Minister David Cairn’s announcement of £400m for road network upgrades – to include £130m for the road from Londonderry to Strabane.

Mr Hussey said:

“Firstly, anything which improves our infrastructure and enhances our economic links has to be welcomed. Naturally, I would urge all interested parties to make their feelings known during the consultation period.

“I would particularly welcome the £130m planned for the A5 Londonderry to Strabane Road and hope that this capital investment will include Phase III of the Strabane By-pass. However, I remain critical of the lack of maintenance investment which is so important for roads within the rural community and hope that plans to address this will also be considered”.

Castlederg Councillor and Ulster Unionist West Tyrone Assembly Member, Derek Hussey, has welcomed the Parades Commission decision to allow both Apprentice Boys Parades in Castlederg on Saturday, 12th August 2006.

Mr Hussey said “I welcome the fact that the Commission are permitting both the Castlederg Campsie and Garvetagh Mitchelburne Apprentice Boys Branch Clubs to celebrate the ‘Relief of Derry’ within our own community.

“The Castlederg Campsie Branch Club will parade in the morning, prior to leaving for Londonderry, and the Parades Commission have not issued a determination on the route applied for by the Castlederg Apprentice Boys.

“Garvetagh Mitchelburne Branch Club will be parading in Castlederg on their return from the main celebrations in Londonderry.  However, the Parades Commission have issued a determination in regard to the evening parade prohibiting the Branch Club from processing within Priest’s Lane, Ferguson Crescent and Alexander Park.

Mr Hussey concluded “There is good and bad in this determination.  It is
good that the Club are being allowed to parade on their return from
Londonderry and that the route granted includes the lower part of Lurganbuoy Road which republicans have been attempting to curtail with scurrilous misinformation as to the make up of the population in this area of Castlederg and indeed as to the time taken for the parade to be completed.

“The bad element of the determination lies within the prohibited part of the route applied for.  More so when one considers the Commission’s rationale for their determination i.e. ‘The Commission has considered the timing of this event and notes that licensed premises would be open for business during the parade increasing the likelihood of public disorder.’

“The Garvetagh Apprentice Boys will undoubtedly parade with the dignity and composure befitting our Association but it is surely disgraceful that their route is being curtailed through the threat of disorder emanating from nationalists.”

Speaking after the Cross Party Delegation at DETI HQ in Belfast with Permanent Secretary Stephen Quinn, West Tyrone UUP MLA Derek Hussey said:

“We found Mr Quinn reasonably receptive to our presentation and he assured us of a written response to the issues that we raised. We are confident of a further meeting with the Permanent Secretary following on from the Departments written response.

“I hope DETI makes it a priority to identify Strabane as a special case, especially when we consider the amount of job losses we have experienced in the textile industry. These employment voids have yet to be filled and with the significant lack of investment in our areas, people are understandably frustrated.

“The problems with increasing unemployment within Strabane have been well documented and I’ve appealed repeatedly to DETI and Invest NI to assist in the diversification of the local economy. We also raised the issue of the relocation of public sector employment, given that Strabane is well below the Northern Ireland public sector employment average”.

UUP MLA for West Tyrone and spokesman on Victims issues Derek Hussey has welcomed the consultation released today by OFMDFM on proposals to create a permanent office of Commissioner for Victims and Survivors but has expressed serious concerns at some of the proposals.

Mr Hussey said:

“The UUP has constantly advocated the need for a Commissioner for Victims and Survivors. For too long have victims and survivors been largely ignored by government. We believe that such a post is an excellent opportunity to provide the support and advice needed by individual victims and victims groups across Northern Ireland.

“The Party will certainly be responding to the consultation shortly and will be supporting the principle of a permanent Commissioner. What we will not support is the definition of victims and survivors provided in the draft order.

“Michael Stone, Dessie O’Haire, Sean Kelly, Martin McGuinness and Andre Shoukri are all according to the draft order ‘victims of the troubles’. This is unacceptable and I find the notion that the Commissioner would be required to ‘promote the interests’ of these people repulsive.

“Perpetrators of violence are not victims and never will be. To suggest that they are cedes the argument to terrorists that their criminal murder campaign was legitimate. There will be problems associated with any definition used by the state to identify victims, but there are more credible options that the Government has suggested”.