Unionism criticised

GERRY MORIARTY

MAINSTREAM UNIONISM must acknowledge that it must also bear some of the responsibility for the violent conflict of the Troubles, Denis Bradley told the annual conference of the Progressive Unionist Party (PUP) in Belfast on Saturday.

Mr Bradley, who was joint head of the Eames-Bradley commission examining how to address the past, said he was shocked at how deep and entrenched was middle unionism’s reluctance to accept part of the blame for the conflict.

Mainstream unionism “vehemently and doggedly” refused to accept any responsibility. “Unionism, telling itself that it had no responsibility for the tragic conflict that happened here, will never be at peace with itself,” he said.

Mr Bradley also urged the Christian churches to do more to tackle sectarianism and criticised Gerry Adams’s proposal that a truth commission be set up under the auspices of the UN. If the UN were required to pay for such a commission it would never happen, he said. Mr Bradley feared a Conservative British government would scrap the Eames-Bradley proposals on dealing with the past.