COMMENT: No place for sectarianism here - Derry Journal Editorial

We know only too well how dangerous and how deadly such attacks can be in our part of the world.

We have seen lives taken, including the lives of children and young people, families shattered, homes and other properties damaged or destroyed by petrol bombs, bricks, paint bombs and weapons over recent decades. And we must stand united against it whenever sectarianism rears its ugly head.

Thankfully, such attacks are no longer the weekly or even daily occurrence they once were. Indeed, just a few short weeks ago we saw part of the security fencing come down on the City Walls following a review. No one wants to see that trend reversed.

We know what’s at stake – a better future for our children and generations to come. Too often children have lost their lives or have have grown up maimed, traumatised because of sectarianism. It is an infection that prevents wounds from fully healing here and elsewhere around the world.

We must all of us be mindful that we should lead by example. We all have a part to play. Across the globe we see how words of hate, suspicion, separation and revivals in tribalism can too often inform and lead to acts of violence.

Sectarianism can play a major part in that, and it’s important we all stand up and say, without fear or favour, not in our name.