October 14, 2005
A Catholic priest, who witnessed the disarmament of Northern Ireland's militant group Irish Republican Army (IRA), has apologized for comparing the province's Protestant community to the Nazis. The Reverend Alec Reid made his comments at a public meeting on Wednesday night, when he initially angered Protestants by saying the IRA did not target Protestants. More than 350 of the approximately 1,770 people killed by the IRA were Protestant civilians, while nearly 500 more were local Protestant members of the police and British army. One incensed audience member whose father, two uncles and several other relatives were killed by the IRA, accused Reid's Catholic monastery in Belfast of lending support to the IRA. Reid responded that "the reality is that the (Irish) nationalist community in Northern Ireland were treated almost like animals by the (Protestant) unionist community. They were not treated like human beings. It was like the Nazis' treatment of the Jews." Reid latter added: "You're in the same category as the Nazis, as far as I'm concerned." Later, the priest told the BBC that he was sorry, but explained that the hostility of some Protestant audience members had angered him. "I regret very much hurting the feelings of anyone, and I would like to apologize completely," he said.
