Northern Ireland Prime Minister Michelle O’Neill has apologized to the families of those who died in the Northern Ireland Civil War (“Troubles”). “I am sorry for every life lost, and there are no exceptions,” the politician from the Catholic Republican Party Sinn Fein said in Belfast on Friday.
O’Neill added that neither supporters of Irish unity nor any other party to the conflict could avoid responsibility for suffering, pain and political violence. She now represents a new generation that has left the conflict behind, O’Neill said. The head of government also called on the British government in London to apologize.
Thousands dead
In the conflict, predominantly Catholic supporters of a unification of Northern Ireland with the Republic of Ireland fought against mainly Protestant supporters of union with Great Britain, the police and the British army. Several thousand people died. The civil war lasted from the late 1960s until the peace agreement in the Good Friday Agreement of 1998.
Sinn Fein has long been seen as the political wing of the militant organization IRA, which used armed violence to fight for Northern Ireland’s secession from Great Britain. The IRA did not shy away from torture, murder and terrorist attacks. It has now fallen apart. However, several splinter groups carry out repeated attacks.
An undercover cop who killed
The background to O’Neill’s apology was Friday’s presentation of the preliminary report of a police investigation into an informant for British security authorities in the IRA. The informant, codenamed ‘Stakeknife’, is linked to at least fourteen murders.
According to preliminary results of the seven-year investigation, murders and kidnappings by an IRA unit led by “Stakeknife” could have been prevented, but the informant was considered too valuable. However, a spokeswoman for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak initially rejected calls for an apology. The cabinet wants to wait for the final version of the report, the spokeswoman said.
Source: Krone
I am Wallace Jones, an experienced journalist. I specialize in writing for the world section of Today Times Live. With over a decade of experience, I have developed an eye for detail when it comes to reporting on local and global stories. My passion lies in uncovering the truth through my investigative skills and creating thought-provoking content that resonates with readers worldwide.
