The explosion in the Cathedral Quarter of Belfast on Friday evening was ‘a deplorable attack which targeted the whole community’, according to NI Conservatives’ co-chair, Trevor Ringland.
“This was a contemptible, futile, indiscriminate act”, Trevor said. “The perpetrators must surely recognise that the use of violence will never be accepted by the vast majority of our society. They will not advance their supposed aims one iota by attacking such a resilient population. Violence and the threat of violence will convince no-one.”
“There are systems in place to manage people who would cause harm to the community. Their use of communications equipment can be restricted, they can be obliged to report to police stations and a whole raft of other measures. Perhaps we have reached the stage where expanding these options to cover people who want to commit violent acts needs to be considered. It also places an onus on the political parties to make a success of the Haass talks.”