Member's statement: Paris Attacks: 10th Anniversary
Member's statement by Mr Doug Beattie MC on .
- MLA
- Mr Doug Beattie MC
- Party at the time
- Ulster Unionist Party
- Date
- 17 November 2025
- Type
- Member's statement
- Business
- Members' Statements
- Heading
- Paris Attacks: 10th Anniversary
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 5245038
Read the official Assembly record
Text
Ten years ago, we were coming to terms with the aftermath of the Paris terrorist attacks. Those attacks, on 13 November 2015, left 130 people dead and nearly 400 injured. France was left in a state of emergency for nearly two years such were the attacks. Who can forget the scenes of the aftermath of the Bataclan massacre? Ninety people were killed in that venue alone. It was truly devastating. The attacks started with a series of suicide bombs. As somebody who has been directly involved in three suicide bomb attacks, I know just how devastating suicide bombings are and the injuries that they cause. Paris has come through a lot, because that particularly fateful day cost Paris a lot. Absolutely nobody in this Chamber would refer to those ISIS perpetrators as "combatants". Nobody would do anything other than refer to those who were killed and injured as "victims". The perpetrators were not victims. Why on earth do we, in this place and throughout Northern Ireland, bend ourselves out of shape so as not to point the finger at the people who perpetrated atrocities and say, "You are the terrorist, and you terrorised", and point at the victims and say, "You are the victims. We will make sure that we look after you and refer to you as 'victims'. We will not group you with the very people who made you victims"? The Ulster Unionist Party is a party of the rule of law. It does not matter who you are — soldier, policeman, civilian or politician — if you break the law, you should face the law. We will stand up for that. The British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference will meet on legacy very shortly. Our party is clear on two things for now. First, we will argue that the term "victim" refers only to those who were killed or injured through no fault of their own. We will also make sure that sexual crimes are added to the list of serious harm, because rape was used as a weapon of war during our Troubles. Paris is healing and, in some cases, has healed, because it confronted the truth. The French did not hide away from direct language; they used direct language. Terrorists are terrorists: they terrorise. Victims are the innocent people who were made victims by terrorists. Let us get back to clear speaking, and maybe we will sort this mess out.
402 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Assessment
Jev’s structured answers met the documented threshold for “not flagged”.
- Overall probability that the activity is being used to promote, exploit or escalate an identity-based controversy: 0.49 (flagging needs at least 0.70; at or below 0.30 is not flagged).
- None of the five culture-war criteria was met (each was below 0.60).
- No identity-based framing was identified (0.61).
- Subject area: Legacy of the Troubles, victims and paramilitarism.
- The overall probability was low and the text did not adopt any identity-based framing.
This is an AI-generated assessment of the text, made against published criteria. It is not a finding of fact about the MLA or their intentions. The Assembly record itself is the fact.
Jev’s structured answers
| Question | Probability | Met? |
|---|---|---|
| Identity framing | 0.26 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.09 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.09 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.18 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.35 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.46 | No |
| Overall judgement | 0.49 | Between thresholds |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing (chosen) | 0.61 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.01 |
| Criticises or condemns it | 0.32 |
| Adopts it | 0.06 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| Legacy of the Troubles, victims and paramilitarism | 0.99 |
| No identity-related subject | 0.01 |
| Flags, emblems, symbols, names and memorials | 0.00 |
| Parades, bonfires and commemorations | 0.00 |
| Irish language, Ulster-Scots and language policy | 0.00 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 13:47 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
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