The BBC reports here that the report on the events of Bloody Sunday has been delayed again. (Let’s hope the lawyers are not out of pocket!) Tribunal chairman Lord Saville has confirmed he hopes to hand the report to the Northern Ireland Secretary at the end of March 2010.
Now, if you follow the sidelinks the BBC helpfully provides, you will see a profile on Martin McGuinness here and it is that which I would like to address. You see the BBC plays loose and easy with the details of this self-confessed IRA terrorist. It starts off by saying that
For many years, leading unionists have labelled Martin McGuinness a member of the IRA’s Army Council and, on one occasion, the “IRA godfather of godfathers”.
True. But not just unionists. Many informed journalists have provided clear evidence that McGuinness was an IRA terrorist, see this as an example. The BBC is instantly portraying this as a sectarian issue when it patently is not. It then moves on to sanitise.
When the Provisional IRA began to emerge (albeit in small numbers) in key nationalist areas in 1969 and 1970, Mr McGuinness joined and rose through its newly formed ranks
What did Mr McGuinness DO that saw such quick promotion? Nothing from the BBC on that. We can but wonder. The BBC finishes with a flourish…
Irrespective of what position he now holds within the movement, his republican credentials have remained as impeccable to this day.
What does “impeccable” mean in this sense? A trail of terror, or murder, off savagery, culminating in a BBC portrayal as a dove of peace.
Funny old world…