What is this preoccupation with making the IRA say sorry for the Birmingham
pub bombs and other attacks? It's sheer nonsense, as is the British
government apologising for Bloody Sunday.
Gerry Adams expresses "regret" over Birmingham. What does that mean 30 years
later? It signifies only that the Provos don't bomb any more and are trying
to look respectable and caring in order to win votes.
They'd have joined the Live Aid line-up if they'd had the chance. Gerry
Adams wasn't too worried about bombs in Belfast, let alone Birmingham, in
the 1970s. Was Gerry a devastated man after Bloody Friday, for example?
Does anyone believe that, deep in his heart, Gerry is fundamentally
different today? He's probably the most ruthless and calculating politician
on this island but he wants power and that involves saying happy-clappy
things and shaking your head and looking mournful when bombs are mentioned
nowadays.
I hope George Bush has the decency never to inflict such fiction on us. The
US President doesn't have a sleepless night over what US forces are doing in
Iraq. If, in 30 years, he expresses regret about Fallujah, I hope he will be
sent packing.
Similarly, the British Army did what it did on Bloody Sunday. The situation
wouldn't be repeated today because circumstances are so different. But who
believes if there was a return to the radical turbulence and civil unrest of
the early 70s, the British wouldn't do it all again if they deemed it
appropriate?
And how long has to pass before an apology is accepted? The Real IRA
expression of regret immediately after Omagh was met with contempt? Will we
have a change of heart in 2028 and accept the dissidents' 'sorry'?
How long before a UDA apology - for all the people, loyalist and
nationalist, it has killed while supposedly on ceasefire - is valid? The
politics of apology are meaningless and we shouldn't degrade ourselves by
pursuing them.
