SANDS USING BROTHERS MEMORY
Sands 'using' brother's memory
US Congressman Peter King a staunch Sinn Fein supporter - has called on Bernadette Sands McKevitt of the 32 Counties Sovereignty Committee to stop using the memory of her brother, hunger striker Bobby Sands, as a justification for the group's actions.
King said he was "appalled and sickened" by the Omagh bombing and said the 32 County Sovereignty Committee, and its military wing the Real IRA, should "disband immediately."
And he believed President Clinton should include Omagh on the itinerary for his Irish visit. "I believe it would send a powerful message of hope and solidarity," Mr King
King, who has been close to the Sands family for many years, said that Bernadette Sands McKevitt and her husband, Mickey, were entitled to the memory of Bobby Sands, but she was "not entitled to us that memory to subvert the Republican movement." The US politician in an interview with the Irish Voice, said: "I believe Bobby Sands would have supported the Good Friday agreement."
King claimed the Provisional IRA "bent over backwards" to accommodate McKevitt and Sands at the IRA convention last November when McKevitt and his supporters walked out after, being defeated in a peace initiative vote.
"I understand they gave them the opportunity to state their case, on the understanding that they would abide by the rules of the majority."
Courtesy of Irish Examiner
US Congressman Peter King a staunch Sinn Fein supporter - has called on Bernadette Sands McKevitt of the 32 Counties Sovereignty Committee to stop using the memory of her brother, hunger striker Bobby Sands, as a justification for the group's actions.
King said he was "appalled and sickened" by the Omagh bombing and said the 32 County Sovereignty Committee, and its military wing the Real IRA, should "disband immediately."
And he believed President Clinton should include Omagh on the itinerary for his Irish visit. "I believe it would send a powerful message of hope and solidarity," Mr King
King, who has been close to the Sands family for many years, said that Bernadette Sands McKevitt and her husband, Mickey, were entitled to the memory of Bobby Sands, but she was "not entitled to us that memory to subvert the Republican movement." The US politician in an interview with the Irish Voice, said: "I believe Bobby Sands would have supported the Good Friday agreement."
King claimed the Provisional IRA "bent over backwards" to accommodate McKevitt and Sands at the IRA convention last November when McKevitt and his supporters walked out after, being defeated in a peace initiative vote.
"I understand they gave them the opportunity to state their case, on the understanding that they would abide by the rules of the majority."
Courtesy of Irish Examiner
Further Information
Publisher: THE EXAMINER
Ref: TEX/102
Published Date: 20-Aug-98
Related Images
There have been no images archived for this article.