City Bar on the 20th Anniversary of Belfast Agreement

Posted by Jim on April 12, 2018

“Members of Congress interested in Irish affairs will want to take note of this important statement by the New York City Bar.

Bill Clinton: Northern Ireland in danger of going back to hell instead of going into a future

Posted by Jim on April 10, 2018

Official Communication from the UFA

Posted by Jim on April 9, 2018

April 9th

Good Friday Agreement principles are still compelling today

Posted by Jim on

“ Members of Congress should find this Editorial from today’s Irish News of Belfast helpful.

Its summation regarding the opposition to Irish language nails it :’Nationalists and Unionists will inevitably point the finger of responsibility at each other, but if a relatively straightforward attempt to introduce Irish language legislation, along the lines of acts in place in Scotland and Wales for many years, provokes a meltdown, we are plainly in dangerous territory.’

Disrespect for Catholicism, disrespect for the Irish  language, and disrespect  for the Irish identity of Catholics in the artificial State of Northern Ireland have always been the defining characteristic of this Protestant state for a Protestant people. The first Prime Minister of Northern Ireland, James Craig, in defending Stormont in 1934 declared:‘All I boast of is that we are a Protestant Parliament and a Protestant State.’ Imagine, the Speaker of the U.S.House of Representatives declaring he was proud that Congress was a white Congress for a white people!

The Good Friday Agreement of 20 years ago was supposed to rid Northern Ireland of such bigotry, disrespect, and inequality. How sad to see this pathology still active. No way to build up the Beloved Community. As the title of the Editorial states, the Good Friday Agreement principles are still compelling today,”—Fr. Sean McManus

Good Friday Agreement principles are still compelling today

Irish News Editorial. Belfast. Monday, April 9, 2018
THE Good Friday Agreement, which was signed 20 years ago tomorrow, was essentially a complex series of measured compromises which allowed two previously hostile traditions, nationalism and unionism, to work together for the benefit of all sections of our society.
Unionists were able to claim that it maintained the partition of Ireland while nationalists were entitled to simultaneously conclude that the border no longer had any meaning in a practical sense.
The peace process meant that nationalists had to accept the institutions of the northern state, and specifically to endorse the new policing structures, while unionists needed to come to terms with the reality of power sharing at all levels.
Discredited paramilitary groups had to eventually decommission their weapons, and remove themselves from the stage, knowing that the release of prisoners from both sides of the divide had already been completed.
No-one ever suggested that all this, together with the other provisions involved, provided a perfect set of solutions but it allowed our new political structures, with all their uncertainties and tensions, the opportunity to prove their worth over a prolonged period while allowing for unmistakable
demographic trends.
It was a massive achievement by any standards, particularly after the trauma of the previous three decades when savage violence was inflicted on all sides, and a breakthrough which was recognised internationally through the Nobel Peace Prize which deservedly went to David Trimble and the key architect of the entire initiative, John Hume.
While substantial progress went on to be made in some areas, the Stormont administration, whether it was under the initial control of the Ulster Unionists and the SDLP, or later dominated by the DUP and Sinn Féin, suffered regular suspensions and had uncertain foundations.
The negotiations at St Andrews in 2006 were supposed to take us into a new era, and did allow the restoration of devolution for almost a decade, but in retrospect involved further phases of what became known as constructive ambiguity and papered over some deep cracks.
Although a list of controversies, culminating in the Renewable Heat Incentive scandal, which is the subject of a continuing public inquiry, ultimately brought everything crashing down just over a year ago, the reality is that relationships in the executive had become toxic.
Nationalists and unionists will inevitably point the finger of responsibility at each other, but if a relatively straightforward attempt to introduce Irish language legislation, along the lines of acts in place in Scotland and Wales for many years, provokes a meltdown, we are plainly in dangerous territory.
In the middle of all this upheaval, we were hit by what had come to be widely regarded as a Brexit catastrophe, pushing the Irish border back to the top of the political agenda not only in Dublin and London but across Europe.
The disastrous British withdrawal from the European Union was firmly rejected by voters in Northern Ireland and Scotland but passed through a slim majority in bitterly contested circumstances in England and Wales, with the final break-up of the UK openly predicted as a result.
While unionism is sending out confused signals, with DUP leader Arlene Foster suggesting she might even move to another jurisdiction after losing a Border poll on an unspecified date, nationalists, who were prepared to put their constitutional ambitions on hold, have been forced to review their position and found that they have suddenly gained unprecedented support across Ireland and the rest of the EU.
The Good Friday Agreement deserves to be regarded as an historic breakthrough, and the principles at its heart are still compelling, but the failure to fully implement both its letter and its spirit will take us in different directions.

Seeing is believing

Posted by Jim on

Loyalist paramilitaries vow to expel members engaged in crime

Loyalist paramilitaries in Northern Ireland have pledged to support the rule of law and expel members who engage in criminal activity.

In a joint statement, the Red Hand Commando, Ulster Defence Association (UDA) and Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) “emphatically” condemned crime.

“We fully support the rule of law in all areas of life and emphatically condemn all forms of criminal activity.

“Individuals who use criminality to serve their own interests at the expense of loyalist communities are an affront to the true principles of loyalism.

“We reject and repudiate as unacceptable and contrary to loyalist principles any criminal action claimed to have been undertaken in our name or attributed to any individual claiming membership of one of our organisations.

“We further declare that any engagement in criminal acts by any individuals within our organisations will be regarded as placing those persons outside the memberships.

“This has been collectively agreed.

“We cannot allow criminals to hinder transformation and the ground in which such people stand is now shrinking.”

We want to see a better future for all in Northern Ireland

The joint statement

The statement, which was read out during a press conference, at the Linen Hall Library in Belfast was issued to mark the 20th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement which largely ended decades of violence in Northern Ireland.

It was the result of lengthy discussions with three Protestant church leaders.

The statement continued: “Loyalists must have ownership and control of their own future.

“Now is the time for a renewed loyalism, with a new impetus, to meet the challenges ahead.

“We want to see a better future for all in Northern Ireland and where the residual effects of conflict are recognised and addressed in a reparative manner.

“We must shape our own destiny and with the co-operation of others ensure loyalist communities are at the centre of Northern Ireland’s peace and political transformation.”

The statement comes seven months after a new task force targeting criminal activity by all paramilitary groups in Northern Ireland became fully operational.

The Loyalist Community Council must support people in giving information to the police

George Hamilton, PSNI Chief Constable

Police Service of Northern Ireland Chief Constable George Hamilton has welcomed the loyalist commitment.

In a statement, he said: “Twenty years on from the peace agreement it is disappointing that we are still in a place where there are statements about paramilitary violence and criminality.

“Our communities do not want to live in fear of violence. The Loyalist Community Council must support people in giving information to the police.

“There are no grey areas when it comes to the rule of law.”

Mr Hamilton said police would continue to pursue those involved in violence through the Paramilitary Crime Task Force.