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29 May 1997 Edition

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McCrea threat angers nationalists

Nationalists in Mid Ulster are furious after William McCrea's latest comments after Sinn Fein's success in local elections in Magherafelt Council, County Derry on Thursday 22 May.

McCrea, who was returned as a DUP councillor for Magherafelt town, was quoted as saying ``Two out of three of the nationalist community in this area voted for Sinn Féin and they will have a price to pay for doing so''. The comments are similar to those made by McCrea after he was unseated as mid-Ulster MP by Sinn Féin's Martin McGuinness. He then said that ``the people of Mid Ulster would reap a bitter harvest.'' Less than a fortnight later Sean Brown, a GAA stalwart from Bellaghy, was murdered by loyalists.

Martin McGuinness says he is alarmed at the latest comments and said ``the time has come for Mr McCrea to explain what price he was referring to. People here are interpreting the threats as an encouragement to loyalist murder gangs.''

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