An attack on the ministerial car of Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness outside his home in Derry at the weekend has been condemned by Foyle SDLP MLA Mark Durkan.
SDLP Foyle MP Mark Durkan.
The vehicle, used by Mr McGuinness for ministerial duties, had a window smashed and roof damaged when attacked by vandals while parked outside his home in the Bogside on Friday night.
Condemning the attack, Mr Durkan also hit out at “sneering” remarks by Gary Donnelly, the prominent member of the 32 County Sovereignty group, who was recently elected on to the newly formed Derry City and Strabane District Council.
Mr Durkan said: “I condemn any attack on any public representative, their family or public property attaching to them.
“This has to be repudiated unequivocally.”
Referring to comments by Cllr Donnelly that it was “stupid” to leave a “British ministerial car in the Bogside,” Mr Durkan added: “It is wrong for a councillor to make sneering insinuations about a ‘British ministerial car in the Bogside’.
“Democratic office under the Good Friday Agreement comes from the expressed will of the people of Ireland who voted overwhelmingly for that Agreement and its shared institutions.”
Mr Durkan concluded: “An individual councillor can validly ask others to acknowledge his particular mandate – but not at the same time disregard other mandates and denigrate the high-level mandate of the Irish people for the Agreement’s institutions.”
Mr McGuinness has said the attack would not deter him from working for peace and reconciliation.”
He said: “These type of attacks are pointless. I won’t be deflected from carrying out my responsibilities and my work to build peace and reconciliation.”
Tags:
