The North is now "more British than Thatcher's Finchley," a leading anti-agreement republican has declared.
Click here for a slideshowAnthony McIntyre's remarks were made at an Easter commemoration organised by the Republican Network for Unity (RNU) in Derry's City Cemetery at the weekend.
The commemoration was attended by more than 300 people, including members of the 32 County Sovereignty Movement and the Irish Republican Socialist Party. The proceedings were chaired by Derry republican Brian McFadden who challenged Martin McGuinness to explain how taking part in Stomont would advance the cause of republicanism.
RNU member Ronan Moyne, a nephew of IRA volunteer Jim Moyne, encouraged local republicans and ex-prisoners to get involved with his organisation. Mr Moyne said it was important to create an alternative to mainstream republicanism.
"We need to counter the propaganda from all quarters, especially from those who now administer the very system they told us they opposed. We acknowledge there are challenges ahead but I am hopeful the family of ex-POWs and genuine republicans in this city will come together and I am confident we can build a focused and credible alternative," he said.
The main oration was delivered by Belfast republican Anthony McIntyre who said that, as a young IRA volunteer 30 years ago, he could never have imagined that the leaders of republicanism would be sitting down with Ian Paisley.
"I had no idea that three decades later we would be standing at the gravesides of dead republicans in a Northern state even more British than Thatcher's Finchley – Finchley, remember, has no MI5 knock out centre. Britain has no strategic reason to keep Finchley. Whatever else, the North of Ireland has more strategic value to the current British state than Finchley," he said.
Mr McIntyre also criticised the leadership of Sinn Féin for using the memory of dead volunteers for political gain. "It is a sad spectacle to watch the memory of dead volunteers being smuggled into the odious Stormont, a place they sought to destroy while alive or prevent ever being resurrected. Their memory is being used as a smokescreen for the ambitions of others," he said.
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