'Minor indiscretion'

The sisters of Robert McCartney, who was killed by IRA thugs in January, have become pariahs in their own neighborhood because of their vocal campaign to bring the murderers to justice.

"Seventy people in the pub--they all claim to have been in the toilet at the time. The toilet holds three people," [Alasdair McDonnell, a newly elected member of parliament from the Social Democratic and Labor Party,] said. "There is a large part of this community that supports the IRA, and they are willing to make excuses for them."

Crawford said it was more than political support or ethnic identification that tied many people in the Short Strand to the IRA.

"There isn't anybody in that community who doesn't feel complicit in something the IRA has done in the past," he said. "They're all afraid. They feel they can't change sides."

Via Brainster's Blog.