Posted by Jim on September 29, 2018
‘
British Labour MP has broken the silence of the mainstream media over
the consequences of Brexit in terms of the remilitarisation of the
border through Ireland.
Stephen Pound, a London-based MP and a spokesperson on the north of
Ireland in Labour’s Shadow Cabinet, spoke to Channel 4 at his party’s
annual conference. He said what almost all politicians and journalists
have refused to do, by spelling out the likely consequences of a return
of border checks and controls.
Describing the issue as “life and death to the people of Ireland”, the
shadow minister questioned the idea cameras could solve the problems of
a 302-mile Border with 282 separate crossing points.
“That will become a target. If you have a target, you have to defend the
target. If you have a defender, you have to have someone to actually
protect the defender,” he said.
“Before you know where you are, you’re got uniformed UK BI [Border
Force] or customs officers on the border. If you do that then, I’m not
being hysterical about this, but the peace process is finished.”
In that respect, he said, it was pointless to talk about a frictionless
border.
“I’m not entirely convinced that our negotiating team are completely
aware of just how absolutely visceral, how utterly serious and how
incredibly important this is,” he said.
Meanwhile, there have been warnings that the Six Counties could face
blackouts and food shortages as a result of Britain leaving the EU
without suitable arrangements on trade and customs. British government
documents show that in the event of a no-deal Brexit, diesel generators
may be needed to keep power supplies running.
Shortages and price rises in food products such as orange juice, olive
oil, sausages and butter are also expected. With fears of looting and
food riots, the British government has appointed a minister to manage
food supply for the first time since the Second World War. Access to
vital drugs, including insulin for diabetics, have also been singled out
as a key concern. Public transport across the border is also in
jeopardy.
Sinn Fein spokesperson Mairtin O Muilleoir said the North was being
treated as “collateral damage” by the Tories and the DUP.
“It again reinforces the absolute necessity of ensuring the referendum
vote in the North is respected by securing special status for us to
remain,” he said.
“The Irish Government and the EU27 must also continue to stand firm in
the Brexit negotiations and defend the interests of all Irish citizens,
North and South.”
Sinn Fein’s Mary Lou McDonald has accused the DUP of a “reckless
disregard” for the north’s economy and political agreements.
“The days of unionist veto are gone and will not be replaced by a Tory
veto,” she said. “Both the Tory party and the DUP should respect the
vote of the majority in the north to remain within the European Union
with all that entails. The DUP cannot veto the vote of the people in the
north to remain.”
Posted by Jim on
by Jude Collins (judecollins.com)
When I was a lad, our History teacher used to say that people should
look for signs of madness in a political leader, and when they saw it,
the leader should be shunned. Unfortunately, History wasn’t listening to
our teacher.
One of the signs, he said, was the destiny complex – when a leader
started talking about ‘the nation’s destiny”. Such leaders are
dangerous, our History teacher told us. And I’m sure they are. At the
same time I’ve found many Irish politicians to be incapable of seeing
beyond bread-and-butter issues, because that might mean addressing
broader and more embarrassing national questions.
The other sign of madness was politicians who talked about themselves in
the third person. The best example in recent decades would be Maggie
Thatcher with her “U-turn if you want to – the lady’s not for turning!”
Such people, my old History teacher insisted, were living in a fevered
mental state.
There’s been a recent example close to home. After months of hunkering
down in some secret place trying to decide if they loved or didn’t love
Ian Paisley Jr, word got through to the DUP that there weren’t enough
signatures to recall the North Antrim MP. Almost immediately the DUP
de-hunkered and announced that Ian Og was now a member in good standing.
What did Ian do? Well it’s what he did AND what he didn’t do.
He took two five-star holidays with his family in Sri Lanka – posh
hotels, helicopters, luxury stuff, the lot: all funded by the nice
government of Sri Lanka. What he didn’t do was declare these
mouth-watering holiers to the House of Commons, nor to the then prime
minister David Cameron, not even when he wrote to said prime minister,
urging him not to vote at the UN in favour of holding the Sri Lankan
government responsible for war crimes.
Ian’s resurrected political corpse, last seen getting all emotional in
the House of Commons, in more recent days was to be seen striding the
streets of Ballymena in grand form, calling greetings to passers-by,
explaining to the BBC’s Gareth Gordon that all this Sri Lankan stuff was
behind him, he had ‘fessed up (when caught red-handed), had been
suspended from the House of Commons, but thanks to the support of
“90.6%” of the North Antrim electorate, he was back. Without a sign of
embarrassment, Ian Junior looked Gareth in the eye and told him that
over 90% of constituents had concluded “Tell you what, big fellah, we
like you!”. See what Ian did there? Talked about himself as if he were
someone else. In the third person. Although I suppose any of us could
feel fairly buoyed up, if the people paying our salary had made it clear
they didn’t give a damn how we acted as long as we didn’t frighten the
horses.
Ian also explained to Gareth that Theresa May would avoid any tricky
votes in the House of Commons until the Big Fellah (yes,
that’s what his da was called as well) got back in to bolster up her
numbers in crucial Brexit votes.
And well might she want every support she can get. Given that things are
groaning and creaking in advance of Brexit, what will it be like when
Brexit comes? At this point Britain seems to have backed itself into a
cul-de-sac with very high walls all around. No matter what way it turns,
the UK is faced with bad stuff.
The Tory government could do like Norway, and follow all rules of the
EU, which would allow them to have a good trade relationship with the
Europe but allows them no part in EU decision-making. If that happens,
Britain will wind up less well-off than it was before Brexit.
The problem is, there will have to be markers showing where EU territory
begins and where UK territory ends. So will that mean a hard border in
Ireland, separating the south (in the EU) from the north (outside the
EU)? That would be a bad idea economically and a worse one politically.
Alternatively, the line between the UK and the EU could be in the middle
of the Irish Sea, which would mean, the DUP fear, a fatal loosening of
the ties that bind the north to Mother Britain. Theresa May has said she
will never do it, and she doesn’t believe any other PM will do so
either.
But has Britain, the EU or the DUP noticed that a Catholic majority is
due to arrive in the north inside the next five years? And that inside
ten years Britain could be faced with a border poll favouring a united
Ireland? Then there really would be a border down the middle of the
Irish Sea.
At that point Britain would put on its coat, heave what sounded like a
sigh but deep inside would be a whoop of delight. No more massive
annual subvention, the damnable Irish question finally answered, we
should have done this decades ago. What’s not to like?
Posted by Jim on
Loyalists paramilitary organisations have been involved in brutal
attacks in County Antrim amid violent wrangling over local control and
the proceeds of crime.
In Ballymoney, the UDA (‘Ulster Defence Association’) were responsible
for shooting an 18-year-old youth in both arms and legs. The attack took
place at his home last weekend.
SDLP East Derry representative John Dallat said he believed the shooting
is the “handiwork of the UDA who are operating in open defiance of law
and order”.
“I am also convinced this is the same gang that murdered Brian McIlhagga
more than three years ago in the same town and they will go on acting as
judge and jury against anyone who they don’t like,” he said.
“Anyone who doesn’t show due reverence to them is fair game,” he added.
McIlhagga, a father-of-five and small time drugs dealer, died after he
was shot in the leg in a similar shooting. An investigation by the PSNI
police failed to lead to prosecution.
Sinn Fein’s Philip McGuigan said the most recent attack “was quite
clearly carried out by loyalist paramilitaries”.
“In fact this is just the latest of many attacks, resulting in death and
serious injuries, close to Ballymoney, carried out by loyalists.
“There needs to be firm action by the PSNI to halt these attacks and
bring those responsible to justice.”
Meanwhile, there are concerns that the UVF (‘Ulster Volunteer Force’)
has has reorganised in east Antrim. It was blamed for an even more
brutal attack on a local man at his home earlier this month.
The victim, who is in his 20s, was beaten with sledgehammers in the
Woodvale area of Larne, suffering serious injuries to his arms and legs.
Items were also taken from the home, it is understood.
A woman, who lives nearby and did not want to be named, said she heard
the man’s screams.
“He said help and he was screaming in pain,” she said. “It’s scary,
isn’t it? I’ve got a son and thankfully he slept through it, could you
imagine if he’d heard that. The way you have to look at it too, that’s
somebody’s son.”
Mr McMullan said he believed that the UVF was responsible and said the
loyalist group has been reorganising and retraining in east Antrim in
recent months, with its leadership based in the Monkstown area of
Newtownabbey.
He also warned that the organisation in Larne is involved in the supply
of illegal drink and cigarettes and runs illegal drinking dens.
Posted by Jim on
A damages payment to a survivor of the British Army’s Bloody Sunday
massacre is being seen as a step towards the goal of achieving real
justice for the victims, rather than compensation.
Thirteen people were shot dead when British Army paratroopers opened
fire on civil rights demonstrators in the city in January 1972. One of
the others wounded on the day died later.
The payment was the first of four test cases in the civil damages
claims. Michael Quinn’s injuries were singled out to represent the
surviving injured.
The court acknowledged that Mr Quinn and “all the victims were innocent
victims”. It also noted that no attempt was made to defend the soldiers
responsible.
Michael Quinn was just 17 years’ old when he was shot through the mouth
with a high velocity bullet. He suffered terrible injuries which
resulted in a lifetime of pain and difficulty. He told the court how he
felt an “explosion” of bone and blood when was hit while trying to run
for cover.
The payout also includes recognition of the “oppressive, arbitrary and
unconstitutional” cloud of suspicion which was maintained by British
officials over Mr Quinn and the other victims for decades, until the
Saville Inquiry established the innocence of all those killed and
wounded.
In 1972, the Bloody Sunday families were paid a small amount in
compensation. Paid “ex gratia without admission of liability,” the small
payments were considered an insult by the families. Some gave the money
away to charities in Derry.
In the coming days, the cases of Peggy Deery, Michael McDaid and Gerry
McKinney will be heard. The families have been at pains to stress that
the current court action is not about money.
Now aged 63, Dublin-based Mr Quinn recalled in his evidence being a
17-year-old A-level student who had gone with friends to the march. But
after the British Army started firing he fled from the Rossville Street
area amid growing fears at the unfolding events. He told of seeing a
soldier emerge from behind flats, looking in his direction and place a
bullet in the breech of his rifle. He then crawled and ran into Glenfada
Park North in an attempt to take shelter.
While there he saw the body of Michael Kelly, one of those fatally
wounded, being carried. As others began to surge into the area, shouting
that soldiers were coming in, Mr Quinn headed, crouched down towards an
alley. He had just made it over a raised area when the bullet hit him.
“It felt like someone had given me a very hard punch to the face,” he
told the court. “Just below my eye I could physically see droplets of
blood and bone and skin exploding from my face.”
He continued: “It felt like slow motion as it was happening, I could see
also that someone else was falling beside me. I saw his head hit the
pavement, he hadn’t put out his arms to break the fall.”
That man turned out to be James Wray, another of those killed, who had
asked Mr Quinn to help carry the civil rights banner earlier in the day.
Mr Quinn managed to stumble on until he was brought to a first aid post
and then taken to Altnagelvin Hospital.
Ahead of the start of the hearings, the families were disappointed that
they had to go to court and relive the events of the day before securing
a settlement, despite their complete exoneration by the Saville Inquiry
and the subsequent apology by the then British Prime Minister, David
Cameron
Outside court, Mr Quinn’s lawyer, Fearghal Shiels, said: “No amount of
money could compensate Mr Quinn for the physical and mental scars that
he has carried with him every day since 1972.
“This action, and the apology by David Cameron, was an inevitable
consequence of the Saville Report and the unambiguous declaration of
innocence of all of the victims of Bloody Sunday.”
The families believe that the next logical step in acknowledging the
absolute innocence of the victims is the prosecution of those
responsible for the deaths and injuries
Posted by Jim on
RADIO FREE EIREANN will broadcast this Saturday September 29th on WBAI Radio 99.5FM or WBAI.ORG at 12 noon-1pm New York time or 5pm-6pm in Ireland or anytime after the program on WBAI.ORG – Archives (scroll back to 12 noon Saturday)
Singer, songwriter,historian and political analyst DEREK WARFIELD, now leading The Young Wolfe Tones will discuss his music,the import of patriotic ballads in keeping hopes for freedom for all Ireland alive and his own unique analysis of the colonial ideology behind British rule,as he prepares to play at the Hudson Valley Festival.
PETER KISSEL of the Irish American Unity Conference will discuss a special commemoration of Robert Emmet,his organizations” national conference this week and his encounter with Karen Bradley. who oversees British rule in the north of Ireland.
JOHN McDONAGH will give a full report on his just concluded visit to Ireland.
.We will also have the latest announcements on Irish Festivals and events.
.
John McDonagh and Martin Galvin co-host.
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