Statement by TUV Comber Councillor Stephen Cooper:
“I have complained to the BBC about the disgraceful way in which they answered the question “What were the Troubles?” in the body of a news piece on their website.
“According to the BBC:
The conflict in Northern Ireland known as the Troubles lasted almost 30 years from the late 1960s, and cost the lives of more than 3,500 people.
Northern Ireland was created in 1921 and remained part of the UK, while the rest of Ireland became an independent state.
This created a split in the population between the unionists – who were mainly Protestants and were happy to stay in the UK – and nationalists, who were predominantly Catholics and wanted to join the new Irish state.
Many Catholics faced discrimination in jobs and housing and in the late 1960s began protests which were met with a crackdown from the Northern Ireland government.
In 1969, after violence across Northern Ireland, the UK government deployed troops to restore public order.
They were largely welcomed, but later armed groups from both sides, like the Irish Republican Army (IRA) and Ulster Defence Association (UDA), began carrying out bombings and shootings.
Peace talks started in the early 1990s, and culminated in the signing of the Good Friday Agreement in 1998, which ended the worst of the violence.
“At the time of writing it remained online here.
“To imply that the cause of the terrorism which began in the late 1960s was the birth of Northern Ireland is nonsense.
“The article presents discrimination against the minority population as fact without presenting evidence or recognising historians who dispute the nationalist narrative on Northern Ireland.
“The reference to the IRA, saying it “began carrying out bombings”, grossly understates the calculated nature of the terror campaign, in which they killed far more people than any other group.
“That the republican movement now has a significant mandate is an affront to democracy.
“This historically illiterate take on the origins of the futile and barbaric IRA campaign is disgraceful. In truth, the survival of Northern Ireland to this our centenary year is testament to the courage of our security forces, despite successive governments appeasing terrorism.
“The BBC must be fair in its handling of history.
“It is not the job of a nameless BBC journalist to push such blatant Republican propaganda.
“This short piece confirms to Unionists the belief that the BBC is interested in talking down Northern Ireland and avoiding any hint of celebration about us reaching our 100th birthday.”