Red Rag

For the benefit of Tim Blair, I think it’s fantastic that the McCartney sisters are standing up for their murdered brother against the Rafia. There is no longer a place for paramilitaries in Northern Ireland, and they should be disbanded.

Unfortunately, the cries of scandal and calls for disarmament seem to head in one direction only. People who want to score cheap points will dwell on the crimes of one side, but will ignore those of the other:

Raymond McCord launched a blistering attack on the two major unionist parties, accusing them of condemning the IRA killing yet ignoring the pain within their own community. Mr McCord, whose son Raymond Jnr, 22, was beaten to death and his body dumped in a north Belfast quarry in 1997, believes the Special Branch blocked the police inquiry into the murder to protect a high-ranking Ulster Volunteer Force informer.

[...]

Mr McCord, who has spoken out against the UVF men he insists were behind the merciless attack, praised the McCartney family’s tireless campaign. “I totally support what the sisters are doing. I went to visit them at their house, I’ve been on the phone to them, and I hope they get justice,” he insisted.

“But why have people within unionism stayed silent on the murders of our sons[?] The UVF has murdered something like 30 Protestant people since their so-called ceasefire.” Even Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams has publicly called for the McCartney killers to come forward and give statements to Mrs O’Loan’s office, he added.

“It seems to me that nationalist MPs have no qualms about fighting for their community but within unionism it’s the complete opposite. The stance they have taken, and their hypocrisy, is staggering.”

Why no mention of Mr McCord on Tim’s blog? He’s great.