Tuesday, 28 March 2017

Letter to the I Newspaper: The Death of Martin McGuinness

The death of Martin McGuinness in the same week as the Westminster Attacks forces us to face some inconvenient truths about terrorism.  As strong willed as PM Theresa May seemed after the Westminster Attacks the truth is that she was completely wrong in saying that there are no "types" of terrorism.
     The truth is the motives and the causes of terrorists matter.  Some can indeed and should be addressed through political means such as diplomacy and peace processes.  Martin McGuinness did not just spontaneously decide to start blowing things up.  His experiences convinced him that he was at war with the British state since it seemed to support a society that kept his people living like second class citizens.
      The trouble is that while Sinn Fein see the merit of working with democratic pluralism, Islamists by design seems hell bent on destroying it.  If individuals in this country support an ideology such as that, then they should have the right to campaign and stand on a party platform for it.  Just as I should have the right to campaign vigorously against them.


Regards

Zac Barker

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