Taoiseach urges Kneecap to urgently clarify their views on Hamas and to denounce threats against politicians
Anti-terrorism police in the UK are examining a second vide of the rap trio allegedly calling for the death of Tory MPs.
It follows another video appearing to show one Kneecap member saying 'Up Hamas, up Hezbollah'.
Speaking to reporters in Dublin, Mícheál Martin said: 'We need clarity. This is what has been asserted, albeit at one or two public events.
'I think what would benefit the entire conversation is of Kneecap were to clarify really urgently their position in respect of Hezbollah, for example, and in respect of Hamas, and also their very clear denunciation of any violence or threat of violence against public representatives.'
He said artists had always been facilitated in criticising policies but that any support of Hezbollah would be 'unacceptable".
He said the terrorist group were responsible for the killing of Irish peacekeeper Private Sean Rooney in Lebanon and the 'appalling killing of innocent people on October 7'.
The Taoiseach said: 'But it's not clear to me that they do, that Kneecap does support Hezbollah and Hamas. It's been asserted that they have made commentary in support of both. I think they need to urgently clarify that.'
He said: 'We have had some horrific events in terms of the killing of MPs in Britain, so there's a huge responsibility on everybody to be very, very focused in terms of the protection of public representatives and the safety of public representatives, irrespective of what the reviews we have.'
Mr Martin added: 'I think that that's very, very important in the broader scheme of things, in in arts and creative arts and so on that people are, you know, have always been facilitated in terms of their right to criticize particular policies and so on. There's no issue there.
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