SDLP claim to Civil Rights title disingenuous

Francie Molloy

Sinn Féin Mid-Ulster MLA Francie Molloy has slammed the SDLP for issuing statements with the slogan, “The Civil Rights Party.”
“This attempt to lay claim to ownership of the Civil Rights campaign is a total disgrace,” Francie Molloy said.
People from across the political spectrum came together under the Civil Rights Movement umbrella to demand basic rights for nationalists, he said. This included many republicans, socialists and people with no overt political affiliation as well as individuals who went on to become involved with the SDLP. “That was its strength,” the Mid-Ulster MLA pointed out.
“Those politicians who made a career out of claims to have been the mainstay of the Civil Rights campaign to the exclusion of all others are now intent on hijacking the 40th anniversary commemorations by excluding those who did not follow their political agenda. However, rather than an attempt to represent the truth of the fight for civil rights, there are some who now appear, without any sense of shame, to want to hijack this for narrow party political gain.”