A Protestant minister has held talks with a top dissident republican at the iconic nationalist landmark of Free Derry Corner.
In a ground-breaking step, the Rev David Latimer visited dissidents holding a 48-hour camp-out in the Bogside in support of republican prisoners in Maghaberry.
The Presbyterian minister, who has served as a British Army chaplain, had a "very positive and friendly conversation" with leading Derry republican Gary Donnelly.
Latimer said the horrific scenes he'd witnessed with the army in war-torn Afghanistan meant he was determined to work for peace and reconciliation at home.
"Some people will call me a traitor for talking to dissident republicans," the clergyman told Sunday World. "But no community and no group in this city should be ignored.
"We may have different political viewpoints but we are all human and we are all equal. I treated the republicans I met with respect and I was well received. God rejects no-one and, as a Christian minister, neither do I."
The dissidents were sleeping out in tents at Free Derry Corner – a world famous symbol of republican resistance. They were protesting about strip-searching in Maghaberry jail.
Latimer's First Derry Presbyterian Church overlooks the staunchly nationalist Bogside. He decided to call at the dissident camp-out unannounced last weekend. "I got a warm welcome.
"They offered me a cup of tea and then a coat to keep me warm. It was a kind gesture. They couldn't have been more courteous. It was a chance for me to talk and listen to them.
"We must grasp every opportunity to understand each other if we're to learn to live in harmony. We all want peace and fairness in our country. For too long, there was prejudice, suspicion and injustice."
Gary Donnelly of the 32 County Sovereignty Movement, which security sources claim is the Real IRA's political wing, said: "It was a welcome surprise that a Protestant minister visited our camp especially when Catholic clergy didn't bother to turn up.
"I'd a very positive and friendly conversation with David Latimer. I told him my grandmother was a Protestant. And the minister wasn't the only Protestant at Free Derry Corner that day – one of our members from Sligo who was taking part in the protest is a Protestant."
The Real IRA murdered two British soldiers in a gun attack on Massereene army base two years ago.
In 2008, Donnelly was charged with Real IRA membership but the charge was later thrown out by Dublin's Special Criminal Court. Last year, he was sentenced to seven months in Maghaberry prison for assaulting a PSNI officer.
Donnelly (40) said the dissidents were interested to hear Latimer talk about his time as a British Army chaplain in Afghanistan and the scenes he witnessed there.: "He's a very nice man and we appreciated him coming to see us."
The Presbyterian minister said his gesture towards dissident republicans was partly motivated by his experience in Afghanistan. "I stood beside 58 body-bags in the mortuary there. I was in the operating theatre as doctors battled to save lives.
"I can still see the soldier who lost his legs. I can smell the burning flesh. Thousands of people have been killed in Afghanistan and thousands more have suffered horrific injuries. We must never return to such dark days in Northern Ireland.
"We have made so much progress recently but peace isn't yet secure. There are still people with grievances and bleeding wounds. They must be listened to. No-one should be written off.
"Derry is the city where the Troubles started. It can also be the city where our communities build a lasting peace."
First Derry Presbyterian Church was in the firing line at the height of the Troubles when it was regularly targeted with stones, bottles and paint bombs by sectarian thugs. It almost burned to the ground in one petrol bomb attack.
But the minister said local nationalists had shown "remarkable kindness" to him and his congregation in recent years. He acknowledged some unionists would be horrified he was reaching out to dissidents.
But he insisted his actions were in keeping with his religious beliefs: "In his day, Christ turned the status quo on its head. He did what wasn't the norm. He talked to people others ignored. It's the right thing to do."
Latimer wouldn't comment on reports that he is working behind-the-scenes to try to resolve the conflict in Maghaberry where republican inmates are engaged in a dirty protest over prison conditions.
But he said: "The people of the Bogside have long been helpful towards myself and my congregation. If there's anything I can do to reciprocate their friendship, I will. If we all show tolerance and work together we can have a bright future in our country."
