Statement by TUV Fermanagh and South Tyrone candidate Alex Elliot on the announcement of his candidacy today at Enniskillen Cenotaph:

“We cannot meet here in Enniskillen, close to the cenotaph, without remembering the innocent members of our community butchered near this very spot in the Poppy Day Massacre on 8th November 1987

“There have been various calls for enquiries over the years, but the death of eleven innocent civilians, 24 years ago was attributable to those who now sit in the highest level of control in our present Government; those who sit alongside fellow Unionists at Stormont.

“I suspect the criminals who carried out this act will never be made amenable. To give some degree of closure to the families, I call for a full open and transparent public enquiry to investigate what really happened on that fateful day and the actions of those IRA/Sinn Fein leaders who now sit in Stormont as to their part before, during and after the atrocity.

“I, for one, have no faith that the Historical Enquiries Team (HET) will be able to conduct a successful investigation into the Poppy Day Massacre. It was only yesterday that we heard from the relatives of the victims of the Kingsmill  massacre, express dissatisfaction as to the actions of the HET in the apparent cleansing of the report to be supplied to the families.                        

"I am also aware of a double murder enquiry in Co. Fermanagh in 1972 concerning two UDR soldiers. The HET wrote to the families informing them that the case was to be closed as no further evidence was available. This decision was made despite the fact that fingerprint evidence had been found at the scene on the remains of the explosive device and a suspect from the Republic of Ireland was named from those prints. How can the relatives of the Poppy Day Massacre ever get justice when it is quite apparent that political pressure has been placed upon HET, to avoid a political storm by seeking the extradition of that suspect?

“Innocent victims include members of the Ulster Defence Regiment and the Royal Ulster Constabulary. I call for justice for all innocent victims and not for HET to bend investigative rules for political expediency."