CASTLEDERG – ,,Saying ‘We’re sorry’, from the teeth out is not enough. Sinn Fein needs to show remorse for the killing of Orangemen during the Troubles’’, says Grand Master Edward Stevenson of the Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland. He made his comment after a speech he delivered at a service for assembled Orangemen in Castlederg. They were gathered there for the 12th July celebrations.
John Spijkerman
Recently Sinn Fein leader MaryLou Mc Donald hinted at the possibility of attending an Orange March if she were invited by the Orange Order. When asked – in an interview with the ‘Newsletter’- whether she would then make an excuse to the Orange Order for the IRA murders of Orangemen during The Troubles, she sort of said sorry. But Grand Master Edward Stevenson doubts the sincerity behind all this. ,,They [Sinn Fein] still celebrate all those terrorists.’’
Stevenson would like the ones who committed the murders in Tyrone to be tried. ,,In some cases we have some intelligence but that’s not evidence on who they are. We need to see justice.’’ He is doubtful though, this will happen. ,,I don’t think they will ever be brought to trial. In this life they’ll escape punishment. But we mustn’t forget our members and our families that are still suffering, that still miss their brothers and sisters, their sons and daughters.’’
Edward Stevenson has been Grand Master of the Orange Order for seven years. He is a resident of Ardstraw. ,,I’m intensely proud to be a Tyrone man and am proud of the way the Orangemen in this county have stood firm and resolute over many difficult years.’’ His speech to the ‘brethren’ was almost entirely dedicated to the 336 Orangemen who had – in Stevensons words – ‘made the ultimate sacrifice’ when they were killed during The Troubles. ,,Almost entirely by Republicans’’ he says. ,,Approximately one in ten victims during The Troubles was a member of the Orange Institution. More than half of them were singled out because they were serving their community in the security forces. Others were targeted simply because they were protestant and members of the Orange Order.’’ Stevenson recalled that the county of Tyrone suffered the higher number of casualties. ,,With more than 85 members.’’
He reminded the audience of a promise he made when he became Grand Master of the Orange Order seven years ago. ,,I made a pledge that the innocent victims of the Troubles and their families would remain a key priority for the Orange institution.’’ For that purpose the Orange Order wants to organise Victims Day on 1st september.
According to Stevenson Republicans are ‘daily attempting to rewrite history’. ,,They make it look as if their campaign of murder was somehow justified.’’ He has a simple message. ,,We will never allow the perpetrators of violence to become the victims. That would be an insult to those who lost their lives and to their families. We know who the victims were. They were the ordinary, brave and decent citizens of this country. The victims didn’t wear balliclavas and shot behind walls.’’
At the end of his speech the Grand Master emphasized that Orangemen should remain proud of their traditions and cultural heritage. ,,We have no need to apologize for them. I ask everyone here to keep holding their head high to play their part in shaping the future of our great country.’’