[ad_1]
Tánaiste Leo Varadkar has alleged that Sinn Féin views homosexuals and mestizos and young women as “fair game” for criticism once they are not members of the party.
When asked during an interview on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland on Wednesday about the controversy over Brian Stanley TD’s Twitter posts, one of which was related to the Fine Gael frontman, Varadkar said he “has a problem” with the way Sinn Féin behaves on some issues.
“In the way they are dealing with this, they send a message that if you are a Sinn Féin supporter and you are gay, or you are a young woman, or you are of mixed race, to be celebrated,” he said.
“But if you’re an opponent of Sinn Féin, and you’re gay or mixed-race or you’re a young woman, that’s fair. And you see that in the way they behave, and I have a problem with that. “
Stanley has faced criticism in recent days for two tweets, one of which dates from 2017 and has been described as having homophobic overtones, an accusation denied by Sinn Féin.
The party was asked for a comment on Varadkar’s interview, but finance spokesman Pearse Doherty previously defended Stanley, who said he would “clarify his position” in a speech at the Dail next Tuesday.
“It is not what people have been saying, in relation to suggestions that their comments were racist or homophobic,” Doherty told Morning Ireland.
Varadkar said he was disappointed in how Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald tried to “downplay” the controversy over the tweet. In a radio interview earlier this week, McDonald said the since deleted tweet if opened today “would be open to homophobic construction” but that it had been taken out of context.
‘Wrong message’
He said he understood “the world we live in” but believed that the fact that Ms McDonald “tried to explain all these things, downplay it, sends the wrong message.”
“People can say homophobic, racist or misogynistic things from time to time. It does not mean that they themselves are necessarily homophobic, racist or misogynistic, ”he said.
“What matters is how they respond and, if prompted, how they engage. And that’s why I was very disappointed with Sinn Féin’s response ”.
Christine O’Mahony resigned as president of Ógra Sinn Féin UCD and its Meath branch last week. She had criticized Stanley’s tweet, prompting a visit to her home from a local party member, who was also a neighbor.
Stanley also deleted and apologized for a controversial tweet that made reference to incidents from the Revolutionary War and the Troubles. TD Laois-Offaly tweeted in reference to the Kilmichael Ambush in 1920 and the Narrow Water Massacre in Warrenpoint, Co Down in 1979, stating that they were “the 2 IRA operations that taught the elite of the British Army and the establishment of the cost of occupying Ireland. Pity for everyone, they were such slow learners. “
Eighteen British soldiers were killed at Warrenpoint by the Provisional IRA in August 1979. A total of 17 British soldiers died during the War of Independence incident at Kilmichael, along with three IRA men.
Public apology
Presenting a public apology to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) last week, Stanley, who chairs that committee, said the controversy had put him in a “difficult and totally unnecessary position.”
“What I was trying to do was highlight that after the disastrous decision to divide the country almost 100 years ago in the wake of events like Kilmichael, we still had a conflict that went on for a long time. There was a lot of suffering.
“I deleted the tweet and I apologize for posting it. As we work to promote reconciliation on our island, we need to be able to speak about the past in an honest way with each other, with our beliefs, and in a way that does not deepen the division or cause harm.
“As an Irish Republican and as someone in a position of political leadership, I have to be more aware of my responsibility to ensure that I do not do anything that is disrespectful to others.”
McDonald said he would not ask Stanley to resign as PAC chair as a result of the controversy.
[ad_2]