Families whose loved ones were killed by republican paramilitaries have condemned the North's victims minister, Mr Adam Ingram, for meeting relatives of IRA members killed by the SAS in Loughgall, Co Tyrone, 12 years ago.
Eight members of the IRA's east Tyrone brigade and a passing motorist were shot dead by SAS members lying in wait for an attack on the village's RUC station. It was the IRA's single largest loss of members during the Troubles.
Ms Mairead Kelly, whose brother Patrick was one of the IRA men killed, said she wanted an end to the categorisation of victims. "We had a constructive meeting with Mr Ingram. We put across a voice for all the victims of the past 30 years." The tears of a nationalist were the same as the tears of a unionist. "We have been treated as second-class victims for too long, we should be treated like anyone else who has lost relatives in the Troubles."
Earlier Ms Kelly said she had "no problem" with her brother's role in the attack. She called for a public inquiry into the circumstances surrounding his shooting.
About 30 relatives of IRA victims in south Armagh picketed the meeting. They were accompanied by the DUP deputy leader, Mr Peter Robinson, and Assembly member the Rev Willie McCrea.
Mr Brian McConnell of Families Acting for Innocent Relatives said: "Adam Ingram is dancing on the graves of our loved ones."
The protesters heckled the families of the IRA men. Mr McConnell said the paramilitary members killed during the ambush were guilty men. "Those people were not victims. They caused the Troubles. If those men had been at home minding their own business like the rest of us, they would not have been killed." He demanded Mr Ingram's resignation.
A woman whose brother, a member of the Ulster Defence Regiment, was killed in an IRA attack following the ambush, said yesterday's meeting was an insult to his memory. Ms Janet Hunter said the relatives of the men shot dead at Loughgall should not have been at Stormont.
"They have no right to be looked after by our government which they don't recognise. They have no right to an investigation by our police which they don't recognise." The Ulster Unionist security spokesman, Mr Ken Maginnis, condemned the meeting. The DUP leader, the Rev Ian Paisley, described it as an insult to "the memory of innocent victims of IRA terrorism".