DUP / IVU Labour meeting – Corbyn must prioritise victims

Posted by Jim on June 22, 2018

22 June 2018
East Londonderry MP Gregory Campbell has met with the Shadow Secretary of State Tony Lloyd. Mr Campbell was accompanied at the meeting by victims of terrorism from Innocent Victims United (IVU). The DUP MP had previously invited Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn to meet with victims when he visited Northern Ireland recently.

 

Mr Campbell said,
“This was a useful discussion with the Shadow Secretary of State on some of the current issues within Northern Ireland. Most importantly however I was glad that Tony Lloyd took the opportunity to meet with some victims of IRA terrorism.
It is disappointing that Jeremy Corbyn could not find the time for such a meeting during his recent visit. I hope this can be the first step to greater engagement by the Labour Party with the victims of terrorism.
As we seek to deal with issues on the legacy of the past in Northern Ireland, the voice of victims must be central to that process. There must be a clear distinction between terrorists and those who suffered at their hands. Given Jeremy Corbyn’s past statements and his close association with republicans there is an obvious unease amongst many victims about the Labour Party’s position on terrorism.
Many of those who suffered at the hands of the IRA also lived in border communities. Many of those who now present themselves as experts on the border with the Irish Republic when it comes to Brexit appear less interested in how, even with a so-called ‘hard border’ in the past, terrorists were able to cross it to evade capture and justice.”
Speaking in the aftermath of today’s meeting facilitated by Gregory Campbell MP, Kenny Donaldson, spokesman for Innocent Victims United stated:
“We welcomed the opportunity to meet with Tony Lloyd, Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and we are grateful to the offices of Gregory Campbell, MP for facilitating this opportunity.
Today’s meeting is but a first step and the real test of the UK Labour Party’s bona fides towards the legitimate needs and rights of innocent victims and survivors of PIRA’s terrorism will be their leader’s willingness to now meet with such affected individuals. This meeting follows several years of requests made by Innocent Victims United, South East Fermanagh Foundation, Derg Valley Victims Voice, politicians and many others and the person actually sought after – Jeremy Corbyn was of course not the person to come.
Mr Corbyn has felt able to come across and travel to the border to talk about Brexit, to talk about economics, to talk about the need to ensure a frictionless border, to talk about the need to ensure no barriers are put up affecting relationships within and between the people of both jurisdictions on this island, but he has yet to come to the Border to speak to those who bore the price of a porous border which existed for over 30 years and which allowed the Provisional IRA to murder Mr Corbyn’s fellow citizens. That border was not a ‘hard border’ and our neighbouring State – The Republic of Ireland has yet to account for its’ failures in protecting life, failures to prevent attacks from being launched from its’ territory and also failing to extradite terror suspects.”
David Kelly, son of Pte Patrick Kelly, Irish Defence Forces who was murdered by the Provisional IRA alongside a young Garda recruit when attempting to rescue prominent businessman Don Tidey who had been held captive for ransom demands by PIRA terrorists in Leitrim remarked:
“I appreciated the opportunity to advise Mr Lloyd of my family’s story, I am not a citizen of the United Kingdom but my family know too well the impact of Provisional IRA terrorism.”
Meanwhile Shelley Cummings (Castlederg) whose brother Kenneth Smyth and Uncle Lexie Cummings were murdered remarked:
“The victims of Provisional IRA terrorism have been deeply concerned that the leadership of the British Labour Party appears to be heavily influenced by those who have been explainers or apologists for the armed campaign of The Republican Movement. Our loved ones were stolen from us by those who sought to coerce the people into accepting their warped United Ireland, Ourselves Alone utopia. Jeremy Corbyn, John McConnell and others need to come to the border and be educated around the innocent people whose lives were stolen through a campaign of ethnic cleansing and they then need to adapt their policy positioning on these issues.”
Mr Donaldson concluded:
“We call for Mr Corbyn to prioritise a visit to the West of Northern Ireland where victim’s representatives will bring him and colleagues out to the border so that he might be educated as to the ethnic cleansing campaign which threatened to bring about civil war within this Region of the United Kingdom.”