Madam, – After reading your report of the experience of the wife of a serving PSNI member when her 12 year-old son heard of the murder of Constable Stephen Carroll, I wondered if those who perpetrated the outrage or those who support them by word or deed felt even the slightest twinge of guilt or trace of compassion.
Somehow, I doubt it. But some, at least, of them must have families and I wonder if they believe that the distress which they have inflicted upon that young boy is something they would wish to see visited upon their own children or that it can in any way be justified?
They must, in their hearts, realise that the outcome which they desire will never be attained by such base activities and that no normal person, whether nationalist, republican or unionist, would want in any way to be associated with a cause which motivates people cold-bloodedly to plan and execute such patently evil acts.
I note that in a statement issued after the murder of the two young soldiers in Antrim, the organisation claiming responsibility stressed that it offered no apology for its actions.
This comes as no surprise; but I would like to make it equally clear,on my own behalf at least, that I did not ask for and certainly would not accept any apology from such a source, and I regard even the reference to the same as contemptible in the extreme. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – Amid all the justified condemnation of militarist terrorists, one thing has, understandably perhaps, not been stressed enough. And that is that policing and justice powers must be devolved in line with the commitments given by the DUP and the two governments at the St Andrews Agreement and subsequently, all those years ago. It is this, not sending in more military spooks, that will prevent support flowing to militarist terorists and lead to the end to the Real IRA and the rest of them. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – Tom Clonan (Analysis, March 12th) rightly refers to the murderers in the North as criminals attached to criminal gangs. By referring to them as “dissident republicans”, the media are giving credence to their current recruitment campaign.
Terrorists they are and terrorists they should be called. – Yours, etc,