Unionist Lisburn Councillors Accused Of Continuing 'Sham Fight'

Unionist councillors on Lisburn Council have been accused of "continuing the sham fight over the OTR issue".

Speaking on Tuesday night after a Council debate on a motion regarding the OTR issue, Sinn Féin councillor Stephen Magennis said: "This is another example of the sham fight that unionists have attempted to create over the OTR issue.

Councillor Magennis said that there is plenty of evidence that unionists from both the UUP and the DUP where aware that the this issue was being dealt with.

The councillor added: "The OTR is a legacy issue and yet unionists ran away from dealing with legacy issues when it came to the Haass talks.

"They have to accept the fact that there are several different narratives when it comes to the conflict which took place here.

"People from the nationalist/republican community never had justice when it came to the state killing their relatives as in the case of the Ballymurphy Massacre.

"This all points to selective amnesia by unionists both when it comes to the OTR issue and on the past in general.

"If we are to move forward they need to get their heads around the fact that all narratives have equal legitimacy.

"The irony of the motion was that it stated that ‘everyone should be subject to the law and no one should be above the law’ when by their comments last night several unionists had the OTRs tried and convicted."

(MH)