The North's politics have just gotten even more confusing with the IMC's latest report on the IRA. Despite the commission's assertion that the Provisional Army Council "is by deliberate choice no longer operational or functional", First Minister Peter Robinson wants more. Robinson wants the Army Council to be not just completely inert but to be fully disbanded, never to meet again ever. This, surely, is madness; setting aside the fact that much of the Army Council probably meets in the Assembly chamber every week, how exactly does Robinson expect to seek qualification that 7 men have not met in a room? Does he want photographic evidence of people explicitly and demonstrably not meeting in a room? Surely not. The conclusion must therefore be that Robinson wants senior members of the...
Patrick mentions on his Amnesty blog that today is International Day of the Disappeared.The purposeful vanishing of murder victims by the IRA and INLA was among the most brutal and evil acts of the Troubles. As if it wasn't enough to snuff out the lives of these men (and women in Jean McConville's case), their killers took it upon themselves to put the families of the deceased through a lifetime of agony, unable to give their loved ones a decent burial.Perhaps the most prominent of those family members was Vera McVeigh, whose son Columba was among those whose body has never been found, nor its location revealed. Vera died last year never having been able to lay her son to rest properly.Meanwhile, other relatives of the Disappeared continue to wait in hope for details of the whereabouts of...
It is ten years since 29 people were slaughtered in cold blood on a busy afternoon in Omagh.The people who carried out this heinous crime are not Irish Republicans. They are not Freedom Fighters. They are nothing but cold-blooded terrorist murderers.The killers may never face justice in this world, but rest assured that they will be judged harshly in the next.These are the people whose lives they extinguished:Avril Monaghan, 30, Co Tyrone. Heavily pregnant with twin girls. Her daughter and mother were also killed. They had been in the SD Kells clothes shop, which bore the brunt of the explosion.Maura Monaghan, 18 months, Co Tyrone. One of Monaghan's four children. Her body was found under her mother's. She was known as "Mossie" by her family.Mary Grimes, 66, Co Tyrone. Avril Monaghan's...
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After half a century of bile-spouting, it was going to take more than a few cheesy photos with Martin McGuinness to prove that Ian Paisley had finally seen the light. Actions speak louder than words, and Paisley's refusal to meet Eugene Reavey this week or apologise to him for the sickening accusations he levelled against the south Armagh man shows the departing First Minister's true colours.Mr Reavey's three brothers were slughtered in Whitecross by the brutal Glenanne Gang in 1976. In the immediate aftermath of these brutal killings, a short distance away ten Protestant workmen were killed in equally cold blood by the IRA. Under Parliamentary Privilege in 1999, Ian Paisley made the ludicrous accusation that Eugene Reavey "set up the Kingsmills massacre", despite the fact that he had...
The Independent Monitoring Commission has backed the assertion made the family of murdered Cullyhanna man Paul Quinn that provos were involved. The monitoring body today stated: "Amongst those involved were people who had in various ways been associated with the PIRA at a local level, including as members of the organisation."There could be no clearer signal that those people from the area known as provos were behind the killing.The IMC further backed the Quinn's analysis that these provos still think they run south Armagh, despite their bosses in Belfast telling them otherwise. The IMC described how these thugs hold the young people, and many others, of the area to ransom: "Some of these people were accustomed over a substantial period of time to exercising considerable local influence,...
I was recently required to do an analysis of an academic research paper. A colleague I was working with chose this one, which I hadn't read before. There are some fascinating things in the responses.
Page 6 of the PDF shows the huge swing in support for the agreement before finally resting where it started. I'm a bit dubious about the unexplained sharp rises towards the end of the campaign, but maybe I'm just forgetting something. Page 8 highlights the fact that the republic had a vote one third larger than in the north, but 10 times more spoilt ballots.
On page 11 we get into the really interesting stuff. Only half of Protestant no voters objected to power sharing. Two thirds of them supported the establishment of an assembly. 86% of catholic nationalists supported NI remaining...
The Assembly Commission, which runs the estate at Stormont, has drawn up new rules that mean events held in the Long Gallery now require "cross-community backing of three MLAs" (I'm guessing this means three from each community?).
This effectively means that Sinn Fein's murderer commemoration day at Stormont will not be allowed to go ahead in the Long Gallery. Sinn Fein are to hold the event in their ministerial offices instead, though the commission has said TV cameras will not be allowed in.
Sinn Fein's Jennifer McCann, organising the event, said the decision was "unfair and undemocratic". What a laugh; the DUP, UUP, Alliance and SDLP all support the decision . That's 74% of voters represented there; I think you'll find that's quite democratic. It's a bit late now for the Sinners...
Rumours have been circulating for some time that the end of Ian Paisley's political career was nigh, and today we got confirmation from the horse's mouth that indeed the DUP leader is to resign from the office of First Minister and from the position of head of his party.It's not really any surprise that the comments from some quarters have practically ignored the decades of frustration that Paisley caused for democrats in the north of this country. Indeed, Martin McGuinness led tributes to the North Antrim MP, offering such glowing references that one would almost think that Sinn Féin are to write to the Pope asking that Paisley be considered for beatification. Perhaps it suits all concerned to airbrush out the full horrors of the past.There are also those who are congratulating Paisley...
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The traditional view of Americans participation in the "Peace Process" here is generally seen as "cynical playing to the green Irish vote" by taking the side of nationalists and/or republicans. This was particularly true under the Clinton years.
With the new presidency race I think the best some of us were hoping for was that any new administration would have more important things to worry about than the rather tedious affairs of Northern Ireland, yet still its hard to shake the feeling that the votes of 36 million "Irish Americans" may prove too tempting to ignore.
That's why I was so surprised to read today that President Bush's special envoy to Ireland, Mitchell Reiss, has criticised Tony Blair for giving too much to Sinn Fein/the IRA, who he said became used to the government...
It should come as no surprise that the Provisional IRA are refusing to meet with the Consultative Group on the Past. After all, given their dirty little campaign of violence, they'll want to keep selective control over what parts of their past are recalled- remembering the shooting of Mairéad Farrell: ok; remembering the brutal killing of innocent people and the destruction of Belfast on Bloody Friday: not ok.What have they got to hide? If they believe that collusion was endemic between the state and loyalists, then one would have thought they would have applauded any attempts to reveal the truth about the Troubles. If their 'war' was so virtuous and noble, surely they should have no problem with light being shone on the past. After all, aren't the provos all about recalling past events...
The Assembly has rejected any suggestion that the IRA's sectarian murder campaign was a war. A good thing, and fairly unsurprising.
I've always liked Danny Kennedy, but his performance since devolution has impressed me, and he is clearly im proving as time goes on. I enjoyed this contribution during the debate:
Mr McCartney: The Member made an intervention and stated that Ireland was only ever united under the British Crown. Is that an acceptance that uniting Ireland is a worthy cause?
Mr Kennedy: Yes — under the British Crown. If the Republic wants to rejoin the British Commonwealth and renegotiate the terms and conditions for the union, I would withhold any objection.
Here here. Unionism should never be afraid to espouse Irish unity, it should probably be Unionism's...
The Assembly has rejected any suggestion that the IRA's sectarian murder campaign was a war. A good thing, and fairly unsurprising.
I've always liked Danny Kennedy, but his performance since devolution has impressed me, and he is clearly im proving as time goes on. I enjoyed this contribution during the debate:
Mr McCartney: The Member made an intervention and stated that Ireland was only ever united under the British Crown. Is that an acceptance that uniting Ireland is a worthy cause?
Mr Kennedy: Yes — under the British Crown. If the Republic wants to rejoin the British Commonwealth and renegotiate the terms and conditions for the union, I would withhold any objection.
Here here. Unionism should never be afraid to espouse Irish unity, it should probably be Unionism's...
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Yet again we find that provisional republicans and the British Crown Forces have been working hand-in-hand. The latest 'outting' has revealed that a person who drove senior Sinn Féin members- believed to be Roy McShane- left Ireland this morning and has been taken into protective custody by MI5 after it was revealed he was an informer.Of course, this comes as no surprise. The provisional movement is riddled with informers and British agents. This chap was a mere minnow. If you look at the history of Sinn Féin and the IRA since the early 1970s, they've gone from being a staunch and violent anti-British guerilla organisation to group of besuited bureaucrats administering British rule alongside Paisley et al. Pure coincidence?What the public now need to know is the extent to which...
http://www.everythingulster.com/blogs/index.php/2008/02/04/no_more_death_no_more_farcVenezuelan president Hugo Chavez recently called for governments to recognise Colombian terrorists (and friends of the IRA) FARC to be recognised as "an army". Sound familiar?
Today Colombians will take to the streets to march in protest against FARC following a call to action which began on Facebook.
No Mas Secuestros / No More Kidnapping
No Mas Mentiras / No More Lies
No Mas Muerte / No More Death
No Mas FARC / No More FARC
I can only wish them...
Bertie Ahern staged somewhat of a u-turn on the floor of the Dáil today when he backtracked on his previous claims that Paul Quinn died as the result of some sort of criminal feud. When asked to comment on the case by Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny, Ahern came up with a rather prosaic response that there is an “ongoing police investigation into the murder and the Garda is working very closely with the PSNI to ensure that everything possible is being done to bring the perpetrators to justice. I urge anyone with information to co-operate fully with the police investigation. It is only through full co-operation with the law enforcement agencies that the perpetrators of this vicious crime will be brought to justice.”When pressed by Labour leader Eamon Gilmore, who asked: “Will the...
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On a cold, wet night in November, you would expect most people in Ireland to be tucked up at home in front of the TV with the fire blazing. But that wasn't the case last night in Cullyhanna in south Armagh, where there was a massive turn-out of local people to back the family of Paul Quinn's campaign for justice. There quite literally was standing room only in the community centre.This was a gathering of ordinary, decent people who have simply come together to agree that they've had enough. A number of people in the crowd spoke of the years of intimidation they have received at the hands of paramilitaries. They talked about how they kept quiet about the beatings that their family members had received for fear of further reprisals. They spoke about the fact that they were sick of living...
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I didn’t post on the brutal killing of Paul Quinn as I knew that the issue was liable to descend into petty political point-scoring. As it transpires, that is exactly what has happened, with various sides warping the truth for their own ends. However, having spoken to people on the ground and listened to the rubbish being peddled from a number of directions, I decided it was time to speak out on the killing.Firstly, Lord Laird’s claims made under parliamentary privilege were wide of the mark- if he’d bothered to talk to people in the area who know the situation on the ground rather than taking advice from a known crank, then perhaps he would have been more accurate in his claims.However, Laird’s ramblings are nothing compared to the provos’ sickening efforts to blacken the name...
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News came today that former SDLP MLA and councillor John Fee has died. John had been sick for a while, but nonetheless the announcement of his passing will come as a blow to the people of south Armagh and his party colleagues.John stood up for his principles, despite being under serious threat from those who happened to disagree with his position. Indeed, John suffered a serious physical beating in the early 1990s after he dared to criticise an IRA attack. Despite this, he continued to work for the people of his area and fight for a better, more peaceful Ireland.John may be gone, but his legacy lives on in the form of an Ireland where the peaceful route is recognised as the only road to progress.Rest In...
Approximately 30 supporters from Bohemians, a Dublin football team, launched a sectarian attack on the Tavern; the last Protestant-owned city-centre bar in Londonderry west of the Foyle on Tuesday evening before a match with Derry City [BBC video report]. The mob of "about 30 males" attacked the bar when it was populated only by a handful of people, including two Canadian tourists. Current reports suggest the attack may have been planned in advance using the internet.
Happily, 4 of those involved have been arrested, charged and convicted already (it's just a shame there's no word on the other 26).
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Derry INLA has discovered that a senior person in its ranks has been doubling as a British agent for two decades. The paramilitary organisation found out that the man had been passing information to both MI5 and Special Branch since 1985.Apparently he was a central figure in the organisation throughout the 1980s and 1990s and would have been aware of INLA 'operations' in the city.Of course, this comes as no surprise. Whether it's the provos, Irps or indeed loyalists, it's been obvious for years that the British infiltrated the north's armed organisations to such an extent that each of them was compromised beyond belief- Donaldson in the IRA, collusion between North Belfast UVF and the security forces, and now this senior INLA operative in Derry- the line between British state and...
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I was unfortunate enough to find myself caught up in the provofest March for halfTruth on Saturday. Thankfully I wasn't held up for too long as there wasn't much of a turn-out.I'm sure that there were many people taking part in the parade who have suffered the most terrible sorrow at the hands of loyalists and state forces- I've no problem with them, nor their plight- but what is sickening is the use and abuse of these people for political ends by the provisional movement.Are the provos really so obtuse that they cannot recognise the laughable hypocrisy of demanding 'truth' when they hold so many secrets about the bloody demise of hundreds of people close to their collective chest? Do they really think that it serves the needs of victims to merely highlight the activity of loyalist and...
The longest running campaign in British military history draws to a close at midnight tonight with the end of Operation Banner. Of course, some will see it as a victory for the army and some will see it as a victory for the IRA.Indeed, I had to laugh when I read through the comments section below the report on this development on the UTV News website. With clockwork predictability, armchair pundits came out with diametrically opposed views on what the withdrawal means.For instance Mr G Smyth from East Tyrone took the view that it is "One more positive step towards an [sic] United Ireland," whereas Willie from Limavady said: "Well done to all who served their country in N Ireland in securing such a day when terrorism has been defeated." Then we had Billy from South Belfast, who said: "Our...
The fact that the hospital wing was the location for serial suicides is of insufficient historic moment.
Jim Allister, MEP
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It was with sadness that I learnt of the death of Vera McVeigh, an 82-year old Donaghmore, Co. Tyrone resident. On the face of it, Vera was a normal, decent, family woman. However, like many other similar such people, Vera was bereaved when her son was murdered by the provisional IRA. Not only that, but the provo child killers who slew her son buried his body in secret. It was Vera's wish that she would get her son's body back to give him a decent burial before she herself died. Unfortunately this simple hope was never realised.The 'people' behind this terrible crime are below contempt. There was absolutely no justification for the murder of this young man, still less for the hiding of his body.The same goes for other murderous thugs such as those in that great slur on the good name of...
So the UVF is to put its weapons 'beyond reach', but not beyond use. So what? They claim to have been on ceasefire for over a decade, so surely their weapons in theory ought to have been 'beyond reach' during the time since anyway. Of course, the truth is that they have been quite happy to fire bullets and kill people whilst on 'ceasefire'.If the UVF truly believes in democracy, then they would destroy their weapons. The fact that they are holding onto them simply proves that they are reserving the ability to strike out in anger if things don't go their way in future.This is simply unacceptable.The UVF has no right to be in possession of weapons, as evidenced by the countless bloody murders meted out by scumbags in their ranks down the years.Call me pessimistic, but why should I applaud...
The recent Police Ombudsman's report into collusion between RUC Special Branch and UDA in north Belfast produced a predictable chorus of faux outrage from the two main unionist parties. However, a report in today's Sunday Life would seem to indicate that their knee-jerk reaction was, shall we say, slightly unwarranted, with the news that Ulster Unionist MP Robert Bradford may have been shot thanks to Special Branch/ IRA collusion.At 11.30am on Saturday 14th November 1981, three provos carrying ladders and dressed in painters' boilersuits arrived at a community centre at Benmore Drive in Finaghy where Rev. Bradford was present. They first shot dead 29-year-old caretaker Kenneth Campbell and then pinned-down an RUC bodyguard and assassinated Rev. Bradford, who was MP for South Belfast at...
http://www.everythingulster.com/blogs/index.php/everythingulster/2007/04/01/soldiers_leaving_crossmaglen_holding_heaIt was funny to watch republicans reach near orgasm over the withdrawal of the army from Crossmaglen following a job well done. Yesterday the last soldiers left the village Possibly the most amusing thing was the placard carried by some of the terrorist supporting rabble. "Intimidation, torture, murder" in capital letters adorned the middle. Ironically, that's exactly why the army came in - to put an end to the IRA's campaign of, you guessed it, intimidation, torture and murder.
Now seems an appropriate time to thank all the soldiers who served here over the decades of the troubles, doing a difficult and often thankless job in even more difficult circumstances. I'm not...
No, I'm not talking about the gay rights group which threatened to 'out' a Northern Ireland MP on the same day that North Down unionist parliamentarian Jim Kilfedder happened to die of a heart attack, but rather describing the content of the Guardian's Mandelson interview.Essentially the former Secretary of State said that the British government bent over backwards to keep Sinn Féin happy during political negotiations, despite the latter levelling 'unreasonable' demands.Indeed, Mandelson commented: "If you didn’t give success to the modernisers [i.e. Adams and McGuinness], then power would pass back to the bad men."Hmm. So concessions weren't given on the simple basis that they were good for the people of the north then, but rather because refusal to do so would have possibly sparked...
Idiotaigh na hÉireann, aka Sinn Féin Poblachtach has announced that it will be fielding candidates in "at least" 11 constituencies in the forthcoming assembly elections. This should be interesting to watch- the biggest things they have organised since the 'spontaneous' walk-out of the 1986 provo Ard Fheis have been attacks on SDLP members and meetings for 'revolutionary' geriatics which have generally attracted a princely attendance of around three people.Given that the British Government has pretty strict rules regarding the registration of parties and the nomination of candidates, I would be very surprised to see the name of a candidate alongside the RSF logo on ballot papers in 11 constituencies. More likely we'll get a bizarre mix of disaffected provos, right-wing fascists and...
The Newry Reporter has an excellent article this week highlighting the plight of the families of the Disappeared in the area."An empty grave bearing the name of Seamus Ruddy, one of Northern Ireland’s disappeared, today lies waiting in Newry as the family continue their search for information which may lead to the recovery of his remains.Seamus Ruddy, from Newry, was 32 when he disappeared in Paris on May 9, 1985. The murder was later admitted by the INLA.Mr Ruddy’s body has never been recovered despite a limited search being conducted in 1999 at a forest near Rouen.However, the latest initiative by the Independent Commission for the Location of Victims Remains (ICLVR) has given the family fresh hope that some new information will be forthcoming.Anne Morgan, Mr Ruddy’s sister, spoke...