Unionists condemn placard 'monument'

The placards have been placed on a hill overlooking the Glenshane Pass ahead of yesterday's publication of the Saville Report into Bloody Sunday.

Unionist councillors have said the move will "increase tensions" in the wake of the report's launch and called for the group to remove the names. UUP Alderman Jack Rankin and UUP Councillor Edwin Stevenson called the actions of the campaign group Relatives for Justice, "disgusting and intimidating".

Councillor Stevenson said: "This does nothing for those who want to leave the past behind, if anything it's living in the past. There were a lot of innocent people that were killed throughout the Troubles, not just those named outside Dungiven."

He continued: "I feel this was done to possibly put pressure on David Cameron today regarding the launch of the Saville Report but if he does apologise, he's got it wrong. Look at the groups he's going to hurt including the army and all our security forces."

"Is David Cameron going to apologise to all the police widows and the young children that watched their loved ones gunned down in front of them? We can all talk about moving on but we need to do it together."

Alderman Rankin continued: "I have had phone calls from a lot of people who feel intimidated by even driving past these placards. This does nothing for trying to leave the past behind."

UUC Councillor Leslie Cubitt said the names of those killed by the IRA should also be remembered.

Councillor Cubitt said:"I feel that this is a deliberate ploy prior to the Saville Report findings and the marching season to increase tensions in the area."

He added: "The erection of these name is terribly one sided. Should those people murdered by the IRA in the Droppin' Well Bomb, Omagh, Enniskillen and countless other atrocities not also be remembered? Over 3,000 innocent civilians have been killed in the conflicts and their cohorts, these names should also remembered."

Fellow UUC and TUV councillor Boyd Douglas echoed Mr Cubitt's feelings.