Sinn Fein must accept their role in perpetuating sectarianism

The DUP MLA said, “Those engaging in this type of sectarian chanting are a symptom of a wider problem of IRA glorification and continued attempts to sanitise their actions. It is also due to a failure of leadership, most notably when claiming there was “no alternative” to IRA terrorism.

Sinn Fein must accept that their continued attempts to blur rights and wrongs of the past is perpetuating this kind of sectarianism. Their words and actions are encouraging a generation who never experienced the realities of IRA terrorism and human rights abuses, to celebrate those actions.

We have seen such scenes repeated on numerous occasions over the last year alone. Each one however is connected and related. The common thread is the lack of challenge to those who have not just failed to provide political leadership in response to such incidents, but who have fuelled the attitudes at the root of such behaviour.”