W2E-004 Mixed Ulster editorials-4.txt
Killing stakes

A year ago this week-end eight Protestant workmen were murdered by the IRA who blew up their minibus at Teebane. It was a sickening atrocity which shocked the province. But it was also a signal for an upsurge in sectarian violence.

Today we are still reaping the whirlwind of Teebane. Last night a Catholic man was shot dead by loyalists and a Protestant seriously wounded by republicans. The murder of the workmen unleashed the dogs of war.

The loyalist counter violence - including two multiple murder attacks on bookmakers'shops in Belfast - demonstrated the new ruthlessness and chilling effectiveness of the restructured UFF and UVF. They have demonstrated their willingness and capacity to equal, indeed outpace, the IRA in the killing stakes.

Terrorists of whatever hue now know their actions will be answered in kind. Their continued campaigns show that they no longer pretend to de defenders of their respective communities. By their actions they bring only retaliation onto their own streets.

What can be done to counter the violence? Part of the answer is for the ordinary people to unite against the terrorists. Two women - one Catholic, one Protestant - widowed in Tyrone last week later met to share their grief. They showed they feel the same anguish. Murder is murder, no matter who perpetrates it.
