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Shankill Victims to Meet Secretary of State
Family members of victims of the Shankill Bomb yesterday met secretary of state Peter Hain. Michelle Williamson and Bobby Baird both travelled to London yesterday to convey their distaste for Mr Hain's "gutless" decision to let Sean Kelly out of prison. Michelle said she was left hurt and angry by the decision while Bobby Baird claims Mr Hain was treating victims and their families like 2nd class citizens and that the Northern Ireland Secretary was unable to give them a 'proper response'.
No big surprises really. Everyone knows victims don't matter a jot in New Labour's Age of Appeasement.
My take is this. The argument on Sean Kelly's release has little to do with his crimes. He was released under the Good Friday Agreement which is done and dusted. The issue of his re-release is purely about whether or not he had become re-involved in terrorism. Thanks to Mr Hain's cowardly decision to withold the evidence, we'll never know.
What this has undoubtedly done is cast up the awful memories of 1993 for the victims' families. Sean Kelly's hokey-cokey at Maghaberry has seen his face plastered all over the media and reminded the families that the twisted bastard who killed their relatives is walking the streets.
Peter Hain is the cause of this suffering because he can't make a decision and stick to it. The man's not fit to run Northern Ireland. It's a simple lesson most of us learn as children: You can't please all the people all the time. In his efforts to do just that, he's made the situation 10 times worse for those families affected.
But what does Peter care for the victims as long as he gets "Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when IRA called end to armed campaign" on his CV for when he's looking for a 'real' job?