NI Conservatives’ co chairman, Trevor Ringland, has described the replacement of a George Best mural in east Belfast with an image of a UVF gunman as “completely retrograde and an appalling message for young people”.
“It is baffling why anyone would want to remove an image which celebrates local pride, sporting achievement and hope, with one evoking a dark and murderous past, most people in Northern Ireland hope we have left behind”, Trevor stated. “The behaviour of the UVF and other paramilitaries, who should no longer even be in existence, offers little encouragement as the Haas talks approach.”
“It makes it even more important that, as a society, we challenge organisations like the UVF and the IRA that are attempting to celebrate their disgraceful, criminal pasts. We need to dispel the myth that they defended people or areas. Both organisations killed far more innocent people (the IRA almost 2,000 and the UVF almost 500) than members of rival paramilitaries (about 40 in total) and they menaced and murdered large numbers of people from within their own communities. The statistics show up this feeble argument that they try to launch.”
“David Trimble made an excellent point when he said that just because someone has a past, it doesn’t mean they shouldn’t have a future. However we cannot allow these organisations to perpetuate hatreds in a new generation. They should be challenged, they should be prevented from dragging young people into conflict with the law and their symbols should not be celebrated in any area of Northern Ireland.”