Commenting on the apology by Mayor of San Francisco for the wording of a certificate praising Martin McGuinness’s “military” service Jim Allister said:
“While this apology doesn’t go anywhere near far enough and I take issue with any terrorist being praised for scaling back their involvement in shootings and bombings it does show that victims can have an impact in reminding the uninformed and the misinformed about the facts of what went on in Northern Ireland.
“The Mayor needs to explain why she ever thought McGuinness was in the “military”. McGuinness and his henchmen never wore uniforms when engaged in murder, in violation of the the laws of war. Which of his actions when in the “military” impressed her in the first place? The IRA murdered without respect for age or background. One thinks of Frank Hegarty who returned to Londonderry after personal assurances from McGuinness only to be murdered, Patsy Gillespie the canteen worker who was used as a human bomb while his family were held hostage and 9 year old Gordon Gallagher who was blown up by an IRA bomb in his own back garden.
“Just what exactly did Mayor London Breed ever believe was “courageous” about any of that?”