Kerr murderers - We must get inside their minds

The murder of Ronan Kerr in Omagh must be deplored as an attack on democracy and civilised society.

The people responsible are not republicans but psychotic criminals who are an aberration of decency. They must not be allowed to continue to smear the name of republicanism any further.

The overwhelming majority of the people — in Northern Ireland, the Republic, and on the island as a whole — endorsed the Good Friday Agreement.

They accepted that the way forward is by cooperation and power sharing. Those who were most affected by the inequity and violence of the past must continue to see the tangible results of the pace process.

There was no doubt that the North was a divided society in which there was discrimination against the Catholic and nationalist minority, but that has been turned around with power sharing, and the concerted efforts of the PSNI to recruit from the nationalist community.

The widespread condemnation of the murder of Constable Kerr is a testimony to the advances that have been made, as well as a grim reminder of the horrors of the past.

If the intention was to intimidate members of the minority community from participating in the PSNI, surely it will have the opposite impact, because this was an even more sinister attack on the rights of Catholics and nationalists than the most bigoted and mindless acts of the past that were so roundly condemned.

Widespread condemnation has been expressed across the communities in the North — by First Minister Peter Robinson, Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness, and Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams.

There was a poignant show of respectful silence at the GAA match in Tyrone on Sunday, and the president of the Ulster Council and chairman of the Tyrone County Board issued a joint statement condemning the murder.

Nuala Kerr, mother of the young murdered constable, has urged other Catholics not to be deterred from joining the PSNI. “We are so proud of Ronan and all that he stood for,” she said.

“Do not let his death be in vain.” The most effective way of demonstrating this is by ensuring that the criminals responsible are brought to justice. “Someone knows something,” Mrs Kerr pleaded. “Would you please come forward and do the right thing so that justice can be done.”

The perpetrators of this murder have besmirched not just Northern Ireland, but the whole of Ireland. They must be stopped and exposed for what they are — an affront to human decency.

But more than condemnatory words are needed to stop these people.

We have been here before with the Omagh bombing of August 1998 in which 29 people were murdered.

While some people are just plain evil, the first step in tackling any problem is to identify the actual problem. Getting into the minds of those people and understanding their twisted mentality is necessary to prevent another vicious cycle of violence.

People on both sides of the border must use everything at their disposal to demonstrate to those misguided people that their behaviour is recognised as a gross betrayal even within their own community.