REBEL ⬌ THE NEW SOCIALIST WEBSITE Sinn Féin are telling porkies again—this time over flags. The party voted against a proposal from PBP to remove ‘Soldier F’ banners, arguing instead for a catch all action against ‘all banners’, which PBP did not support. Now the Sinn Féin spin machine claims that it was PBP who opposed the removal of offensive parachute regiment banners. As Eamonn McCann explains, this is not the first time the party has used controversy over a specific incident to enact wider powers of control for the Northern state. Belfast City Council took an awkward turn on July 1st when discussing the flying of flags supporting Soldier F, the paratrooper facing two counts of murder and two of attempted murder arising from the Bloody Sunday massacre in Derry.
The ‘Soldier F’ flags and banners had widely been condemned. The July 1st council motion was a direct result.
But instead of simply demanding the removal of Soldier F flags and banners, or broadening the motion to take in sectarian symbols or threatening messages generally, Sinn Féin took the lead in proposing a wide-ranging ban on all banners which didn’t have the approval of Stormont’s Department for Infrastructure—legal owner of street fixings such as lampposts.
Micheál Martin should take positive leadership role in Irish unity process
In the same week that Boris Johnson achieved his long held ambition to
be British PM, Fianna Fáil Leader Micheál Martin said he “can’t comprehend”
why there is no Executive and Assembly in the North.
I don’t believe this. Micheál Martin understands
exactly why the institutions collapsed. He knows why they have not been
restored. But he doesn’t let this get in the way of his totally self serving
narrative.
Micheál Martin has long been obsessed with the
perceived threat to Fianna Fáil posed by Sinn Féin. He rarely misses an
opportunity, in or outside the Dáil, to attack the party. Facts are irrelevant.
The crisis in the North is shamefully exploited time and time again.
Last year when the deal agreed between Sinn Fein and the DUP collapsed,
because the DUP walked away, Martin was out of the traps almost immediately
with his irresponsible and inaccurate tweet: “The continued failure of
the two dominant political parties in the North to agree restoration of
government is bitterly disappointing… “
There was no failure by Sinn Féin. The deliberate attempt to present
Sinn Fein as unwilling to negotiate in good faith and of being one of the two
problem parties, has been a constant refrain of Martin’s since Fianna Fáil lost
power in 2011.
He knows it is untrue. He knows the obstacles to progress in the North
arise from British government stupidity and indifference to Ireland, allied to
failures by successive Irish governments, and to resistance from the DUP and
others within political unionism who oppose the Good Friday Agreement.
This week Mr. Martin was at it again. Speaking at the MacGill Summer
School he said that he “can’t comprehend” why there is no Executive and
Assembly. This from the same Fianna Fáil leader who in September 2015 called on
the two governments to suspend the institutions in the North!
He also repeated his claim that Sinn Féin conspired
to bring down the Executive in January 2017. Micheál Martin knows this is
untrue. Why on earth would Sinn Féin do that? He also knows that Mary Lou
McDonald and Michelle O Neill have made exhaustive efforts, alongside the Irish
Government and others, to establish the basis for the power sharing government
to be restored. As far as Sinn Féin is concerned this has to be is on the basis
of equality as set out by the Good Friday Agreement. That basis has yet to be
achieved.
So why should citizens in the North be expected to
tolerate the denial of human rights available to Irish citizens elsewhere on
the island of Ireland – or indeed by citizens living in Britain? Why should
they embrace a system of governance which denies these rights? Micheál Martin
clearly thinks they should.
He also knows that the Renewable Heat Initiative
scandal, which brought the crisis to a head and which was inextricably linked
to serious allegations of DUP corruption at a cost of hundreds of millions to
taxpayers- could not be ignored by any responsible partner in government. His
own long tenure in various Ministerial roles saw Fianna Fail ministers accused
of corruption. Mr Martin did nothing about this. He should now know how this
undermines public confidence. That is why Martin McGuinness took the action he
did. Martin McGuinness was right.
In addition, Micheál Martin’s claim that marriage
equality would already be on the statue books in the North, if the institutions
had not collapsed, ignores the record of Sinn Féin and others within the
Assembly who tried to get the necessary legislation passed. Marriage equality
was blocked five times in the Assembly by the DUP. Five times. On the last
occasion, despite a clear majority of MLAs in favour, the DUP used a petition
of concern to oppose it. There remain sufficient DUP and unionist MLAs to use
the petition of concern again, if they wish.
These are the facts.
Finally, Micheál Martin’s can also be judged by his
abject failure to produce the 12 point plan on Unity he announced two and a
half years ago. Not only has there been no progress on that front but a commitment
to organise Fianna Fáil in the North has not materialised.
When leading Fianna Fáil representatives Éamon Ó
Cuiv TD and Seanadóir Mark Daly attempted to launch the Fianna Fáil party in
Tyrone they were publicly censured by their leader. Ó Cuiv was sacked from the
party’s front bench and Mark Daly was sacked as deputy Seanad leader for Fianna Fáil and spokesperson for foreign
affairs.
Two years ago I wrote to the Fianna Fáil leader and
I met him to ask for his support in establishing an Oireachtas Committee to
prepare for Irish Unity. This is a modest common sense attempt to plan for the
future. If we want to persuade unionists or anyone else to vote Yes in a
referendum for Irish unity then we need to examine all the issues involved in a
thoughtful and inclusive way. An Oireachtas Committee could look at the
economic arguments, as well as the cultural and societal elements of such a
process to create an agreed Ireland.
Micheál Martin said no.
The Fianna Fáil leader’s negative campaigning against Sinn Fein is not
about the interests of citizens in the North. It is not about the national
interest. Like Boris Johnson it is about narrow self-interest. Its real
focus is the electoral contest between Fianna Fáil and Sinn Féin in the South.
This approach does a disservice to citizens who live here and to the genuine
desire of many across this island for unity.
As the relationships on this island and between us
and Britain continue to change, as more people look to a future, which is more
democratic and hopeful than that envisaged for us by Boris Johnson, my hope is
that Mr. Martin will take a more positive leadership role. I urge to him to do
so.
On behalf of Relatives for Justice, and all the families, we cannot thank you all enough in securing this important intervention at this crucial stage in terms of legacy and seeking to ensure truth and accountability for human rights violations perpetrated by the armed forces of the British government and its agents. As we’ve often say it is US intervention that makes all the difference as the UK seek to ignore and bury the truth about its actions whilst only raising those of republicans. They do however care for their international standing and reputation on the world stage and the regular interventions of Congress, prompted by your great work, therefore carries significant weight. Keeping a vigilant eye and holding them to account in Washington is key.
New British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has appointed an over-the-top
Cabinet of Brexiteer ultras and right-wing extremists. In the process,
he has also replaced Karen Bradley as Direct Ruler in the north of
Ireland with the former Tory Chief Whip, Julian Smith.
Among his more controversial appointees are infamous Vote Leave campaign
guru Dominic Cummings, whose tactics of technological manipulation were
exposed in ‘The Uncivil War’ docudrama, as Special Advisor; and Priti
Patel, who proposed the Brexit strategy of cutting off food supplies to
Ireland, as Home Secretary.
The announcements were seen as a statement of war with the EU, with the
British civil service, with Remain voters and Tory moderates, and also
with Ireland, despite his sacking of widely discredited Bradley in
favour of Yorkshire MP Julian Smith (pictured, right).
Revealing her departure earlier today, Bradley said it had been “an
enormous privilege” to “represent this special nation and integral part
of our precious union”.
Johnson set the tone of his premiership on Tuesday with a declaration
that his leadership of the Conservatives would be known by DUDE
(deliver, unite, defeat, energise) — the final E added, he said, as an
insurance against a DUD acronym.
His cabinet changes are being seen as the most sweeping in recent
British political history, replacing seventeen ministers, more than half
the Tory cabinet, sacking some while others had resigned in advance.
In a campaigning speech today, Johnson said he is confident that his new
cabinet will defeat “the doubters, the doomsters, the gloomsters”.
Speaking on the steps of Downing Street, he warned the European Union
that he was prepared to withhold Britain’s 39 billion pound divorce bill
and repeating his demand that the backstop deal to prevent a
remilitarised border through Ireland should be renegotiated.
He declared the “people who bet against Britain are going to lose their
shirts because we are going to restore trust in our democracy.” And he
joked: “Never mind the backstop, the buck stops here!”
The 26 County Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said he looked forward to meeting
Mr Johnson to discuss Brexit but stressed that the commitment of the
Dublin government and the EU to the backstop remained unchanged.
“I look forward to having the opportunity to sit down one to one and for
our teams to meet and to see if they can put a little detail behind
those slogans and statements,” he said.
SDLP leader Colum Eastwood said Johnson’s initial Downing Street address
“was bloated with bluff but short on solutions to the challenges of
Brexit.”
Sinn Féin’s Mary Lou McDonald said she has written to the new British PM
seeking a meeting to discuss Brexit and the Stormont Executive.
“I have reminded the new prime minister of the requirement of the
British government to honour and implement their commitments under the
Good Friday and subsequent agreements,” she said. “Agreements that are
incompatible with Brexit. The people of the North voted to remain within
the EU and that vote must be respected.”
