John Swinney has delivered a 'dagger blow' to victims of IRA terrorism by telling them to 'move on' so he can work with Sinn Fein, protestors said yesterday.
Armed Forces veterans, including four former Paratroopers in their maroon berets, gathered at Holyrood to demand the First Minister apologise for his 'crass and hurtful comments'.
Mr Swinney, who plans to work with the Irish Nationalists on breaking up Britain despite their historic IRA links, this month said people must 'move on' from the Troubles.
Families and comrades of some of the 140 Scottish soldiers killed by the IRA unfurled banners accusing the SNP of treating the dead like an 'embarrassment'.
Kenny Donaldson, director of the South East Fermanagh Foundation, which supports victims and families, said: 'These most recent remarks have been a dagger blow for many people. That inference of victims and survivors needing to move on is [that] they're the impediment to peace. They actually are the embodiment of peace. It was because of their restraint that we didn't have all out civil war. He's miscalculated this issue and he really needs to show some humility and engage with us.'
Mr Swinney's uncle, Royal Marine Thomas Peck Hunter, was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross after giving his life aged 21 to help save comrades in Italy in 1945. The First Minister recently said his mother never got over the 'agony' of her brother's death.
Alex Blair, from Kirkintilloch, whose brother Lance Corporal Donald Blair was killed by the IRA in the Warrenpoint ambush in 1979, said: 'Mr Swinney never told his mother to move on. Sinn Fein don't move on. I'm here to get an apology from John Swinney for telling me to move on. They shouldn't be anywhere near Sinn Fein.'
Former 2 Para Sergeant James Kilbride, 58, from Kilsyth, who did six tours in Northern Ireland, added: 'These people haven't forgotten what's happened to their loved ones. It still runs deep. It's a very bad move for [the SNP] to get in tow with Sinn Fein.'
Scottish Tory leader Russell Findlay, who met the protestors, said: 'John Swinney's embracing of Sinn Fein has caused anger and distress. Many Scottish soldiers were murdered by the IRA, yet Sinn Fein has never denounced their indiscriminate campaign of terror with Michelle O'Neill saying there was "no alternative". For Mr Swinney to dismiss the concerns of Scottish survivors and victims' families has only added to their hurt and concern.'
Mr Swinney said later: 'I would never seek to denigrate the experience of individuals who've lost loved ones in military service, because I have significant experience of what that feels like in a family. The point I was making is that if there is to be peace, there has to be some moving on. That's the point I was making. There's no disrespect to anybody. Unless we move on from conflict, we remain trapped by conflict.'
