Children handing out leaflets on Bobby Sands

Editorial Department • Published 18 Feb 2010 09:58 2 Comments

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Dear Sir, - I was walking through Enniskillen on Friday afternoon when a child handed me a leaflet in the Diamond area. I assumed it was probably some charity thing so I just took it.

When I actually looked at the leaflet I was dumbfounded. The first thing struck my attention was a large picture of Bobby Sands and a picture of Ireland with SF in the middle of it. I stopped and looked around me and there was at least six youths handing these out with two adults (obviously Sinn Fein) standing behind a table.

I do not consider myself Unionist or Republican, I am impartial to all of that but I really found it disgraceful to see children handing out leaflets with a picture of a terrorist on it. The leaflet also gave us political tripe about Sinn Fein and also included some kind of poem written by Bobby Sands.

Sinn Fein Fermanagh should be ashamed getting young boys to do this sort of work. These children and that is what they are children, are too young to remember the horrors of the past, they should have been out with their friends having some fun, meeting girls or playing sports, not standing handing out political leaflets.

Obviously Fermanagh Sinn Fein have trained these young lads to see Bobby Sands as some kind of idol, but that is not the case. The cold hard truth is Bobby Sands joined the IRA in 1972 and was arrested for having four handguns in his home. Handguns that would have been used to murder innocent people. In 1976 after his release from prison, Sands was involved in the bombing of the Balmoral Furniture Company, he then took part in a major gun battle with members of the RUC. Sands was again convicted and sent to Prison for 14 years. Does this really sound like the kind of man who should be seen as an idol?

As we are all aware Sands became leader of the hunger strikers and won an election here in Fermanagh/South Tyrone. The other hunger strikers just like Sands were all terrorists also. Like Francis Hughes who took part in scores of attacks against off duty Policemen and the UDR.

The official number of victims who were murdered at Hughes hands will never be known. Another Hunger Striker Kevin Lynch stole shotguns, took part in a punishment shooting and tried to steal weapons from the security forces. Not really a nice bunch of people.

Bobby Sands, the other Hunger Strikers and any other illegal gunman should not be made into heroes. They are terrorists from a dark and grubby past, and I am not just picking on Republicans here, people like Billy Wright or Johnny Adair too have blood on their hands. All political parties in Northern Ireland need to work together to ensure a strong lasting peace for the young generation of this land. If Sinn Fein feel the best way to win votes is to stand in the centre of a major town and hand out leaflets with a picture of a terrorist on them they are sadly mistaken.

Yours faithfully,

Disgruntled Enniskillen Man.

This letter appeared in Impartial Reporter 18 Feb 10

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Feb 19, 04:22
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Heidi
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Feb 20, 03:46
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"These children and that is what they are children, are too young...they should be out having some fun, meeting girls..."

These CHILDREN should be out meeting girls?! I'm sorry, what?

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Reverb
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Mar 10, 01:04
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I suppose you will be advocating the removal of the Enniskillen war memorial aswell. I'm sure the all the mens names on that fought a brave romantic war for Freedom during the Geat War and World War 2. Dresden springs to mind, a romantic and brave moment. How about them boys stop handing around leaflets when that is removed from the centre of a town where it will not offend. Hypocricy seems to be a great gift that we all share and as soon as that changes we can all move on. Rose tinted glasses get used by all sides.

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