The father of murdered Portadown loyalist Billy Wright has accused the British and Irish prime ministers of pursuing a policy of "discrimination and selectivity" by acceding to the demands of the North's nationalist community while at the same time ignoring the legitimate concerns of unionists.
Mr David Wright said yesterday's meeting between the British Prime Minister, Mr Tony Blair, and Mrs Geraldine Finucane, widow of murdered Belfast solicitor Mr Pat Finucane, at the request of the Taoiseach, was a prime example of the pro-nationalist agenda adopted by both premiers since the signing of the Belfast Agreement in 1998. Mr Wright, who is campaigning for a public inquiry into the circumstances of his son's murder inside the Maze Prison in 1997, said that throughout the past two years both Mr Ahern and Mr Blair had continually refused to meet him and his family.
During that time both prime ministers had held a number of meetings with members of the Finucane, Hamill and Nelson families to discuss their concerns over the deaths of family members. "To meet with and to address the concerns of nationalist families while ignoring my family's concerns is nothing short of blatant sectarianism," said Mr Wright. "Not once have I had an opportunity to meet either Mr Ahern or Mr Bair. They have ignored me at every opportunity. Both are guilty of operating a policy of selective justice."
Mr Wright went on to say that he fully supported the Finucane family's right to the truth. He said the answers to questions surrounding the deaths of his son and Mr Pat Finucane lay with the British authorities.
Although he believed there were those in authority who wished to prevent the truth being made public, "Tony Blair can answer all our questions", continued Mr Wright. "He has a responsibility to both families and the full facts can only be made known through independent public inquiries".
Mr Wright said there was now overwhelming evidence of State collusion in his son's murder. He called on the Taoiseach to endorse publicly the call for a public inquiry to be held into the circumstances of the Maze killing.