Statement by TUV Lagan Valley Assembly candidate William Kitchen:
“The deputy First Minister’s statement that she doesn’t think Gerry Adams has anything to apologise for after his depraved video which goaded innocent victims underscores the fact that she is unfit for office.
“Tiocfaidh ár lá is a slogan of the IRA shouted in court as people were found guilty of murder. They are the words on the wall which indicated support for the killers of our loved ones.
“The response of the person Adams visits when asked if it was carol singers – “I can neither confirm nor deny”; making a joke of evasive answers to the police which Republican criminals gave when asked if they had knowledge of offences also clearly goads victims.
“Then we have the quip “They haven’t gone away you know” – a reference to Adams’ response to a cry of “Bring back the IRA!” at a 1995 rally.
“It is important to remember that a key part of Mrs O’Neill’s duties as a Minister is to look after and protect the interests of victims. With this response to the Adams video she demonstrates that she is totally unfit for office.
“It also underscores the moral necessity of all Unionists uniting around the pledge of my own party that they will refuse to provide a deputy to a Sinn Fein First Minister.
“The vision Sinn Fein have for a “new Ireland” is clearly one in which the feelings of victims do not matter, where Republicans seek to control the narrative about what happened during 30 years of terror and where they tell others what they should and should not think about their bloody history. Once again the actions of Sinn Fein are seen to run contrary to the equality myth which they continue to push to their own electorate”.