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I
have been a fervent and active supporter of Sinn Fein
and the Provisionals for over thirty years and it
was my unshakeable opinion that neither body could
do any wrong. I believed beyond any doubt that they
were all, without exception, honourable men and women
who would be incapable of besmirching the cause for
which they fought and, in far too many cases, died.
The
idea that the Republican Movement of Tone, Emmet,
O'Brien, Meagher of the Sword et al would some day
be reduced to the level of ordinary thuggery and opportunism
was inconcievable. To-day the scales have fallen and,
after all these years, I see that the once-honoured
and revered Leaders have feet of clay. They, and I
speak here specifically about Gerry Adams, McLoughlin,
Kelly and McGuinness, have shown themselves to be
complete charlatans, liars and deceivers.
Their
attitude to the oft reported vicious and unwarranted
attacks upon erstwhile comrades and their families
is absolutely beyond the pale. Apart from the spineless
and abject surrender of all that so many suffered
and died to achieve, the adoption of every facet of
the professional politician and their acceptance of
the return of the status quo, these men have behaved
despicably in their open contempt for the intelligence
of the People. The sacrifices made by ordinary men
and women who did extraordinary things seem to be
completely discounted and ignored until it becomes
politically expedient to attend some Commemoration
or other.
The
essential truth is that the Sinn Fein Leadership,
and by extension, the Leadership of the Provisionals,
have "sold out". Such behaviour from a man
like Martin McGuiness is totally incomprehensible,
given his record in action and his reputation for
personal courage.
Adams
is another kettle of fish,for his record during the
decades of the "Troubles" is suspect. He
had acquired a name for himself as a schemer and a
planner, even as a teen-ager and, to this day, no-one
seems to have ever encountered him on an operation.
There
is no smoke without a fire, and his penchant for wheeling
and dealing may well have brought the past thirty
years to nought. I have ceased entirely to support
this bastardised form of Republicanism, and, if the
good Lord spares me, will await the resurrection of
the spirit of the Hunger Strikers, the Gibraltar three
and all the other great Republicans who have gone
before.
Honourable
to the last - every one of them.
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