Northern Ireland (Emergency Provisions) Act 1978 (Continuance)

Part of the debate – in the House of Commons at 8:17 pm on 12 May 1983.

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Photo of Mr Gerry Fitt Mr Gerry Fitt , Belfast West 8:17, 12 May 1983

I have repeatedly tried to tell Mr. Livingstone and those who share his views that their support gives succour to the most bloodthirsty murderers who have ever lived in Ireland.

The hon. Member for Antrim, North referred to a meeting held in London a fortnight ago in which a London member of the Provisional Sinn Fein, which is a legal organisation in London, said that when his party comes to power in Ireland the Garret FitzGeralds and John Humes would have nowhere to shelter. Those are the words of Fascists and murderers who are determined to implement their form of rule by whatever means are possible. It is impossible to say who will be sitting in Parliament in future. Whatever Government are in power, they will have to examine the illegal organisations that exist in Northern Ireland, whether it be the UDA, the IRA or the Provisional Sinn Fein.

There is little difference between Provisional Sinn Fein and the IRA. The membership is of a dual type. My honestly held opinion is that some spokesmen for the Provisional Sinn Fein are also engaged in terrorist activities. Those people will be soliciting votes in the democratic election within the next few weeks.

Northern Ireland has tragically in the past few years developed into a tribal society. Majority and minority tribes exist. The press have stated the anxiety that is felt by Unionist representatives about the evidence that has been given in the courts by the so-called super-grasses. The distinct impression is that the majority of Protestants do not have any real objection to Republican supergrasses. The Catholic community in Northern Ireland would not give a damn if a Protestant super-grass became known every day of the week. That shows how the community has been torn apart into two distinct tribes.

I have read what Unionist representatives have said in the Northern Ireland Assembly about the prisons. They have voiced anxiety about the integration in the prisons where Republicans and Unionists are treated as criminals. That was what the hunger strike was all about. Ten men were sentenced to death in the hunger strike in Belfast by their own organisation that attempted to say that they were not criminals but were in a special category. Those 10 men gave their lives for that cause. Those who were behind those machinations and brought about that tragic conclusion tore the Northern Ireland community apart.