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Good morning John

This morning, I am on my way to West Tyrone, to meet with members and supporters of the Party in Omagh.

Omagh is a town forever scarred by the horrific bomb of 15th August 1998 - a stark reminder of what happens when violence is excused in the name of “cause”.

Earlier this week we heard deeply disturbing comments from former Sinn Fein MP Michelle Gildernew, who stated on a BBC podcast that IRA murders were justified. The murder of police officers, soldiers, and civilians – farmers, postmen, teachers, clergy - Protestant and Catholic alike - declared justifiable.

No murder is ever justified. No political cause, no grievance, and no historical circumstance can ever make the deliberate terrorist act of taking of another human life acceptable. These comments reveal much about the mindset that continues to shape modern republican thinking – the same mindset reflected in the claim by the “First Minister for all” that there was “no alternative” to IRA violence.

I’ve been across Northern Ireland this week from Londonderry to Carrickfergus, meeting and talking to people about how we can build a better Northern Ireland.

This warped moral compass is undoubtedly a barrier to reconciliation. As long as Sinn Fein continue to justify the brutal terrorist actions of the past, we will not build the shared future our people desire. Reconciliation demands honesty - honesty about the pain that was inflicted, and about the fact that no end can ever excuse murder.

The same condemnation must apply to loyalist murders. The violence that came from within my community brought grief and shame too. Every innocent life lost in our Troubles – whatever the perpetrator’s flag or justification – was a life too many.

We owe it to the next generation to break that cycle of moral distortion. When young people hear leaders perversely justify past evils, it twists their understanding of what peace and justice really mean. It damages those of us who are working to build a society where we can live side by side, respecting difference and sharing a vision for a better Northern Ireland.

Our future depends on courage - the courage to confront truth, to reject revisionism, and to build bridges. To say what was just, and what was unjust. To say who was an innocent victim, and who was a terrorist.

My hope remains that, in time, this courage will be matched by our republicans, and that together we can make Northern Ireland the best place it can be – a place defined not by the justifications of the past, but by the shared ambitions of the future.

Yours sincerely,
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Rt. Hon. Gavin Robinson MP

DUP Leader

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