Foiled bomb plot illustrates serious threat

6.20.00pm BST (GMT +0100) Sat 28th Oct 2006

Young Alliance Chair, Ian James Parsley

Alliance Spokesperson for Youth Affairs, Ian James Parsley, has cautioned that a foiled bomb plot illustrates the seriousness of the current security threat, and the importance of political stability.

The North Down Councillor stated: "If this plot is what it appears to be, we need to congratulate the Irish police on foiling it, but also be prepared for further attempts. Right across the divide, there remain people intent on taking our country back to the stone age.

"This threat illustrates the importance of political stability. We must be able to show that the democratic process is working for people. If we fail to do this, those intent on mayhem will succeed. That means we have to work hard to make progress, but it also means we cannot afford to exacerbate the problems of division and segregation that are currently being written into our political institutions.

"Young people growing up today cannot remember the full-scale conflict we had. That conflict was the product of division and sectarianism which allowed those of evil intent to develop excuses for causing mayhem. If we cannot even develop political institutions that move us away from that division, we cannot expect to deliver the stability we need. People

growing up here deserve far better.

"This threat is a serious warning that it is time this country was governed for those who think and feel on behalf of the whole community, not those intent on tribal carve-up and endless instability."

ENDS