from IAIS: ROW ERUPTS OVER MEMORIAL


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ROW ERUPTS OVER MEMORIAL
10/24/97 13:04 EST

A row erupted today as the British government announced a
commission to examine a permanent memorial to the victims of
the Troubles in Northern Ireland. The initiative is said to
come directly from British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

But within hours of the announcement, Ulster Unionist MP
Jeffrey Donaldson said IRA members killed in the Troubles
must be excluded from any memorial. "I think it would be
totally inappropriate to equate IRA members who died in the
commission of terrorist actions with those innocent victims
and members of the security forces who died as a result of
terrorist violence. That must apply to all terrorist
organisations," he said.

Sinn Fein said it would object strongly to a memorial which
excluded republicans. The new commission will consult with
groups such as the Churches and political parties before
coming up with recommendations. Over three thousand people
have been killed during the 30 years of the Troubles.
Britain's Northern Ireland Secretary Mo Mowlam said she
hoped the memorial would reflect "both the sorrows of the
past and hope for a stable and peaceful future".
__________________________________________________________

The Irish American Information Service is a non-profit
orginization provding up-to-the-minute objective coverage of
news as it happens in Ireland and the North.  Please
visit us on the World Wide Web at http://www.iais.org
 
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nytire-10.26.97-11:09:50-14246