Northern Ireland Secretary Owen Paterson echoed the words of First Minister Peter Robinson, Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness, and many others when he said that those responsible for killing Constable Ronan Kerr would not put off the peace process.
‘The
people in all parts of Ireland and beyond want peace and those who carried out
this atrocity are in the grip of an obscene delusion if they think that by
murder they can defy their will,’ he said. ‘They must know that they can never
succeed in defeating the democratic will of the people.’
Others to
offer their condolences and condemnations include Prime Minister David Cameron,
Shadow Northern Ireland Secretary Shaun Woodward, Chairman of the Police
Federation Terry Spence, Irish President Mary McAleese, Irish Prime Minister Enda
Kenny, church leaders from Catholic and Protestant denominations, the Gaelic
Athletic Association, and party officials from across the political spectrum. Individuals
and communities have also come together in recent days to express their support
for Kerr’s family.
The Trade
Union Movement has organised a peace rally to be held in Belfast city centre
this Wednesday at 1pm, in honour of Constable Kerr. The ICTU released the
following statement yesterday:
‘TRADE
UNIONS CALL ON ALL CITIZENS TO STAND UP FOR PEACE
The
Northern Ireland Committee of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions calls on all
workers and their families to show their outrage at the barbaric murder of Constable
Ronan Kerr in Omagh last weekend.’
The rally is only expected to last for 15
minutes, and is unaffiliated with the education funding protests scheduled for
later that afternoon. Fair Cop will be covering the event and getting
peoples’ reactions afterwards.
Find complete coverage of the bombing and investigation
at BBC Northern Ireland
and the Belfast Telegraph. Also from the BBC: Stormont press conference
with First Minister Peter Robinson, Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness,
Justice Minister David Ford, and PSNI Chief Constable Matt Baggott.
