It would have been more credible if the Senior SF Official had been prepared to be named Gonzo.

If there were to be an abject apology from the Provisional Republican Movement to civilians who have suffered at their hands then it would be reassuring. The PSF bigwigs would be reaching for its conscience.

Not that it would necessarily achieve anything, but it would be all the confirmation we would need that their Movement is slowly but surely removing themselves from the introspective and self-referential world of terrorism. It would show they have an ethical pulse, a pulse which was missing for most of the PIRA campaign.

Their problem is that if they admit this bombing and if they apologise for killing civilians, they destroy the moral authority to which they still lay claim, and come closer to admitting what the rest of us know. They had no right to do what they did and they acheived nothing. They were wrong.

The Provos have already apologised for killing "non-combatants" (undefined).

Seems they think it was OK to kill policemen, soldiers, prison officers. We don't know if they still think it was OK to kill people who cleaned police stations or repaired them.

Given that the IRA never admitted to Birmingham this admission and any subsequent apology may be like the 'disappeared' an attempt to bring closure to a sordid incident. Another indication of finality.

All we need is for others to form an orderly queue.

Davros we still havent got an apology from the british government for their state forces involvement in non-combatants killings.
Their were two sides to the conflict, not just one, so i think that should be remembered.

We don't want apologies. We want convictions.

Now that the PSF bigwigs are reaching out for the revisionist stage of re-assessment, they must now ponder over a pertinent question:

What on earth was this bigger and bolder PIRA campaign all for?

After all, previous armed campaigns all ended in defeat, leaving a scattering of disillusioned men who still harbour an enduring grudge about their time in either Movement.

Behind closed doors there were mental breakdowns, lost careers and fortunes, needless deaths and family divisions galore, all for a stupid cause which ended in failure and was the greatest obstacle to any sort of meaningful united Ireland.

And what do the Provisional Republican Movement have to show for it, oh yeah the fact that they merely arrived at the same point that other republicans had reached two decades and a half ago.

They're trying to pretend it was about "equality", Nathan.

Davros we still havent got an apology from the british government for their state forces involvement in non-combatants killings.
Their were two sides to the conflict, not just one, so i think that should be remembered.

In the context of this thread is that not 'whataboutery' cg ?

Pope is Catholic, admit Sinn Fein

18 Nov 2004 by Joey Sarajevo

In a dramatic announcement made through their official newspaper, An Phoblact (Republican News), Sinn Fein have admitted that Pope John Paul II is in fact a Roman Catholic.

The news that the political wing of the Provisional IRA is willing to accept that the Pontiff is indeed a member of the Denomination that believes he was selected by God as their infallible spiritual leader follows the announcement yesterday that they now concede that the 1974 Birmingham pub bombings and 'Bloody Friday' in 1972 "were wrong".

Having spent 20 years deliberating whether or not it was morally repugnant to murder 30 people, injure another 182, and stand silently by as six innocent men spent over a decade and a half rotting in jail for a crime they did not commit, the decision to accept the Pope as Catholic is believed to have proved relatively straightforward.

A further statement in tomorrow's edition of the paper is expected to confirm that the party is willing to concede that rain may be wet and that bears do indeed defecate in wooded areas.

The announcement of regret over the Birmingham deaths is the latest in a series of apologies from the party: last month they expressed regret over the killing of 15-year-old Bernard Tegget in 1973, and an apology in 2002 to the civilian victims of IRA actions was followed last year by contrition for 9 people "disappeared" during the 1970s.

The families of the dead are expected to be cheered by the news that the people responsible for their bereavement are now really ever so sorry for their actions, especially since the Good Friday Agreement will mean they are effectively beyond prosecution.

Seasoned observers of the political situation in Northern Ireland were unsure whether Sinn Fein would take this line much further.

"The acid test," said one, "is whether they'll apologise for Gerry Adams' stupid bloody beard."

We don't want apologies. We want convictions.

You got them - unfortunately, they were the wrong ones.

Davros

Do you welcome the fact that the IRA are moving away from violence and are willing to apologise for their errors, or does it threaten your blinkered vision of the past so much that you cannot see this as progress.

Willowfield

You make peace with your enemies not your friends. It can be quite a complicated thing, but it's well worth the effort. It would be a shame to hide behind a sanctimonious position, rather than embracing a solution that will provide future generations with a better chance.

Shay- forgiveness requires remorse and repentence. All I see from the IRA is self-serving and calculated political games.

Crocodile tears don't count Shay - Have you read the Times article 18th November ?

The man behind the pub bombs in Birmingham that killed 21

a few extracts :

Mick Murray was one of the ringleaders of the IRA unit that murdered 21 people in the Birmingham pub bombings 30 years ago.
Murray helped to choose the targets, the Mulberry Bush and Tavern in the Town pubs. He was one of the bomb-makers, transported the bombs to the city centre and handed them to the men who planted them
Murray then botched the telephone warning that was supposed to allow 30 minutes for the pubs to be cleared. His warning, using the codewords “Double X”, came six minutes before the first explosion and did not name either pub.
Murray, who was arrested in the aftermath of the bombings, admitted being a member of the IRA. West Midlands Police never charged him with murder, however, and he served 12 years in jail for conspiracy to cause explosions.
On his release, he was welcomed back into the IRA and remained a member until he died in 1999, without expressing remorse for the bombings. Murray always argued against the decommissioning of the IRA’s arsenal. Today he is lauded as a republican hero and has been praised by one Sinn Fein politician as “a brave freedom fighter”.
The IRA never admitted planting the Birmingham bombs and, in the immediate aftermath of the bombings, said that if its members had been involved they would be court-martialled for a “violation of operational policy”.
The organisation’s leaders at the time promised an internal inquiry and said that they would make its results public.
That did not happen and some of the men who carried out the attacks were not disciplined and continued to be involved in terrorism.

How about :

After his death, Larry O’Toole, a Sinn Fein councillor in Dublin, described Murray as “a brave freedom fighter” and “a truly dedicated Irish republican”. A glowing tribute in An Phoblacht, the Sinn Fein weekly newspaper, said that Murray had been “jailed for his republican beliefs”.

and you wonder why people are sceptical about PIRA when they breast-beat ?

An optimist sees opportunities in problems
A pessimist sees problems in opportunities
You sees what you sees

:o)

I doubt there is any truth in the report.

To Paraphrase Mandy Rice-Davies, a Sinn Féin member, you would say that, wouldn't he ?

WTF happened there ?

To Paraphrase Mandy Rice-Davies, a Sinn Féin member would say that, wouldn't he ?

"WTF happened there ?"

Ya better take something for that spastic comma, fella.

davros

That makes little sense. The story is based on an alleged quote by a SF member.

I just don't think it sounds as if it has any substance. We'll know if I'm wrong or if the story is wrong if the IRA do issue such an apology.

Henry -Are you referring to the Times article or the reported claim that the IRA will apologise ?

Davros

The claim is the story. I'm saying it looks to me like the Times made it up.

I'll be happy to eat my words if the IRA does in fact issue an apology for Birmingham.