20 Ean 2012, 16:45
The Co-Chairman of the British Irish Parliamentary Assembly, Joe McHugh TD, and the Chairman of the Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement, Dominic Hannigan TD, have jointly condemned last night’s bomb blasts in Derry.
Deputy McHugh and Deputy Hannigan said that those who carried out these explosions clearly set out to kill and injure, and praised the work of the PSNI in safely evacuating the areas to prevent loss of life.
Deputy McHugh and Deputy Hannigan added that those responsible wanted to drag us back to a dark past, and said that they would continue to use both the British Irish Parliamentary Assembly and the Oireachtas Committee on the Good Friday Agreement as a means of building towards a better future.
Deputy McHugh commented, “I wish to condemn in the strongest terms last night’s explosions in Derry and would appeal to anyone with information to assist the PSNI and the Gardai in their work against dissidents.
“Bombing a tourist centre and a social services office at a time when job creation and the development of tourism are key to the future of the North West does nothing to advance any cause. It simply harms the local community who are united in their determination to reject those who carried out these acts.”
Deputy Hannigan added, “On behalf of the Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement, I utterly and unreservedly condemn the latest bomb attacks. The dissidents behind these bombings, who have no mandate from the people of Derry, Northern Ireland or the Republic of Ireland, will not succeed in derailing the peace process on this island and returning Northern Ireland to its dark, violent past.
“Working through the democratic structures and institutions established under the Good Friday Agreement is the only path to a socially, culturally and economically stable Northern Ireland.”
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