If anybody thought Alisdair McDonnell was going to tiptoe softly to polling day to keep SF voters in his South Belfast constituency on his side, well, it doesn’t look as if that’s in the gameplan. Tonight he released a statement excoriating Gerry Admans and Sinn Fein’s tardy response to the McCartney killing.A Better Way to a Better Ireland
SDLP PRESS STATEMENT
From Alisdair McDonnell:
ADAMS IS DUCKING CRITICAL QUESTIONS ON MCCARTNEY MURDER – MCDONNELL
Reacting to Gerry Adams’ latest statement on the McCartney case, given only to Daily Ireland, SDLP Deputy Leader Dr Alasdair McDonnell said:
“Gerry Adams must explain in a credible way the role played by a former treasurer for Sinn Fein in Belfast. It is clear that Sinn Fein are still not coming clean. Gerry Adams has not answered the relevant questions. He cannot simply answer the questions that suit him.
“Why did Gerry Adams wait until 14 days after the murder to comment?
“Why did he only wait until after the McCartney family had spoken out?
“How many involved in the murder were election workers for Alex Maskey?
“How many of those suspended were election workers for Alex Maskey?
“If Sinn Fein are really serious about cleaning up their act, why have they only withdrawn the likes of candidate Cora Groogan?
“Why have they have not withdrawn Alex Maskey?
“After all, Alex Maskey condemned the police searches of the houses of the McCartney murder suspects, refused to condemn rioters who obstructed the searches and misleadingly dismissed the murder of Robert McCartney as ‘knife culture’ and not the brutal slaying that it was.”
Mick is founding editor of Slugger. He has written papers on the impacts of the Internet on politics and the wider media and is a regular guest and speaking events across Ireland, the UK and Europe. Twitter: @MickFealty