Statement by TUV leader Jim Allister:-
“For days Sinn Fein has presented itself as on the side of law and order in Londonderry, but, true to form, as soon as arrests were necessary in pursuit of law and order Sinn Fein lined up to condemn the police.
“The week long assault on the Protestants of The Fountain again exposed the sectarian heart of Irish republicanism. It was straight out of the Provo playbook, including orchestrating the use of children on “the frontline”.
“Of course Sinn Fein’s serial glorification of terrorism is the defining context in which this next generation of republican activists are growing up. With a massive Sinn Fein-supported mural depicting and glorifying a petrol bomber in the heart of the Bogside, it is little surprise that impressionable youths ape the actions of those presented to them as heroes.
“So, if there is any sincerity to Sinn Fein’s supposed support for law and order let them begin by overseeing the removal of this mural which so blatantly promotes and justifies petrol bombing. Sinn Fein can’t with any credibility or authority condemn the petrol bombing of the last week while glorifying the very same actions through insisting that this mural stays.
“That is the starter challenge to Sinn Fein and the people of the Bogside.”