Posted by Jim on November 11, 2017
By Jude Collins (judecollins.com)
When I hear what the EU negotiators are telling the UK, I invariably
feel a jolt of pleasure. It’s like the playground bully – he’s been
condescending and brutal with you for so long, it’s a thrill to see the
school principal give him a bone-crunching kick in the rear-end.
So whatever reservations I have about the EU, and I have quite a few,
their stance on a post-Brexit border here invariably makes me want to
punch the air. This firm attitude is displayed most recently in an
internal EU paper which makes it clear yet again to the semi-deaf Brits
that if they want to avoid a hard border in Ireland, then our North-East
Nest will have to remain in the single market and customs union. The
rules must be the same on both sides if our currently invisible border
is to continue.
This internal paper is just a working document from the EU Brexit Task
Force under Michel Barnier; it’s not a finalized EU position. But it
makes clear the direction in which EU thinking is going. We’ve been fed
a diet which caricatures countries like France, Germany and Italy, but
it’s clear that in terms of the border in Ireland, the EU are the
hard-headed, logical ones, not the Brits. If you’re going to have two
totally separate economic systems north and south, you’re going to have
to build a border to show the dividing line.
Best of all, of course, is the fact that the British can’t park this
matter in a side road and move on to matters of future trade between the
EU and the UK. The EU is insistent that the matter of a border in
Ireland must be resolved before the talks between them and the UK move
to a new phase.
It’s truly refreshing to see the EU take its commitment to the Good
Friday Agreement seriously. The British and the southern Irish
government could learn a lot from them. And they’d better learn fast.
Posted by Jim on
The PSNI is being ordered by a High Court judge to finalise and publish
an all-encompassing report into suspected British state collusion with
a loyalist unit behind more than 100 murders.
The judge, who has already ruled that the PSNI unlawfully frustrated
any chance of an effective investigation, insisted on the completion of
a thematic report into the so-called Glenanne Gang’s onslaught against
nationalists throughout the 1970s.
Lawyers for the families of victims brought the action as it emerged
that Mr Justice Treacy’s original verdict is set to be appealed.
Earlier this year the judge ruled that bereaved relatives were denied in
their legitimate expectation that the result of an overarching
investigation would be published.
In the High Court in Belfast on Tuesday, he said he would grant what is
called “an order of mandamus” that compels the PSNI Chief to conduct a
lawful investigation, and complete and publish the comprehensive
thematic report.
He also said witnesses and those bereaved by the gang were dying without
achieving any closure on suspected state collusion.
“The very sad inescapable fact is that while these debates rage on at
huge public expense, the victims’ families languish with no end in sight
and the ever increasing realisation that nothing much may happen in
their lifetime,” he said.
Judicial review proceedings were brought in the name of Edward Barnard.
Mr Barnard’s 13-year-old brother Patrick was among four people killed in
a St Patrick’s Day bomb attack on the Hillcrest Bar in Dungannon in
March, 1976.
Up to 120 murders in nearly 90 incidents in Mid Ulster and border areas
are under scrutiny. They include outrages such as the 1975 Miami
Showband Massacre, the Step Inn pub bombing in Keady, and the 1974
Dublin and Monaghan bombings.
Before drafting the terms of his order, the judge has given the PSNI a
week to confirm that there are no minutes or documents about the
decision not to complete the HET investigation.
Referring to the collusion allegations, he said: “I have no doubt that
for some families their confidence has been undermined by delays which
they believe are inimical to addressing their principal unresolved
concerns.
“In the meantime witnesses or potential witnesses are lost and family
members of the deceased die without any closure or resolution.”
The judge added: “Furthermore, the anxiety of the surviving family
members is not only undimmed but exacerbated by the delays of a system
that appears powerless to stop it.”
Sinn Fein’s Linda Dillon said it was a “hugely pivotal day” but
criticised the PSNI for their legal blocking efforts.
“These kind of actions are undermining the confidence levels in the PSNI
and new policing dispensation in the north,” she said.
“I am calling on the PSNI to comply with the judgement and provide the
necessary resources and facilitate an effective and independent
investigation so that the families can get access to truth and justice.”
Lawyer Darragh Mackin said it was a “landmark decision for the families
of the Glenanne gang in their pursuit of justice”.
“Not only has the court confirmed that the decision not to investigate
was unlawful but it has gone further to compel that such an
investigation is now conducted in line with our clients’ expectation,”
he said.
“We now urge the chief constable to put in place the mechanisms for such
an independent investigation without any further delay.”
Eugene Reavey, whose three brothers were murdered by the Glenanne Gang
in south Armagh in January 1976, said it was a “big day for us” and “a
big help to all the legacy cases, not just Glenanne”.
Posted by Jim on
A prominent Armagh republican, Gabriel Mackle, has been interned on the
orders of the British Direct Ruler James Brokenshire.
From Tandragee, he was imprisoned in April 2014 on IRA charges at the
high security Maghaberry jail, where he was assaulted while resisting
the punitive prison regime. On Thursday night, he was seized by the
PSNI at his home and brought to Banbridge PSNI base before being
brought back to Maghaberry.
His ‘release licence’ has been terminated by the British government for
reasons not yet disclosed. Last weekend, Mr Mackle took part in the
annual Edentubber commemoration organised by Republican Sinn Fein in
County Louth where he delivered an oration.
His lawyer Fearghal Shiels said he intends to fight his detention.
“He strenuously denies having breached any conditions of his license
and his return to custody shall be vigorously challenged through the
courts,” he said.
RSF president Des Dalton described Mackle’s reincarceration as
politically-motivated internment. He called for his immediate release.
“Gabriel Mackle is being interned for no other reason than his
adherence to his republican beliefs,” he said.
“The British government are once more using internment to silence
opposition to their continued occupation and partition of Ireland.”
600 DAYS BEHIND BARS
Meanwhile, there have been calls for the release of another internee,
Derry man Tony Taylor, as he reached the 600th day of his detention
without trial.
His wife has spoken of how her family have been “living in a nightmare”
since her husband’s arrest 600 days ago last Tuesday.
Lorraine Taylor reiterated calls for her husband to be released or
given a fair hearing. Mrs Taylor has also appealed to the Taoiseach,
Leo Varadkar, to intervene in light of his government taking action to
help secure the release of another Irish citizen, Ibrahim Halawa, in a
separate case in Egypt.
A ‘closed hearing’ was held in May this year, which included ‘secret
evidence’ from MI5, after which a decision was again taken to refuse
Mr Taylor’s release. No fresh charges have been put to him in a case
which Sinn Fein has branded “an affront to human rights.”
Lorraine Taylor said: “600 days now and we are coming up to another
Christmas and it’s not fair. My children need their daddy home. A
family should all be together at Christmas time.
“Every day we are living a nightmare. He is missing out on so much. He
has missed the wain’s formal. We love him and we miss him every day.
“It is 600 days and all we are asking for is a fair trial; a fair
hearing in an open court so Tony can prove his innocence.”
Mr Taylor’s family and supporters are currently awaiting the results of
an appeal against a decision not to award him Legal Aid in respect of a
Judicial Review.
Mrs Taylor said that she wanted to thank the people of Derry and all
those from right across the political and campaigning spectrum who have
helped highlight her husband’s case and raised human rights concerns
over his continued detention.
“The support we have received has been amazing from the people of Derry
and all the different groups. They cannot all be wrong,” she said.
She also said Mr Varadkar could help put pressure over her husband’s
case. Representatives from the ‘Free Tony Taylor’ campaign earlier this
month handed over a letter to Mr Varadkar welcoming Mr Halawa’s release
and urging him to raise Mr Taylor’s case, while the Taoiseach was
visiting Derry.
“We welcome the release of Ibrahim Halawa and we are asking if he can
do the same for Tony.”
Posted by Jim on November 10, 2017
Foster’s refusal to briefly step aside over RHI has had disastrous political consequencesIf the then First Minister had agreed to stand aside for a week or two…I’m pretty sure she would still be First Minister today. … The Assembly and Executive wouldn’t have collapsed. There would have been no throwaway lines about crocodiles and Sinn Féin wouldn’t have been able to galvanize and mobilize an angry Republican/Nationalist electorate.Alex Kane. Irish News. Belfast.
Friday, November 10, 2017
I was reading Lilah-Liberty For Want of a Nail the other night. You know the one: ‘For want of a nail the shoe was lost’, followed by the horse, the rider, the message, the battle and the kingdom itself…’ And all for the want of a horseshoe nail.’
When I reached the end and kissed her goodnight, I suddenly thought of Arlene Foster.
If the then First Minister had agreed to stand aside for a week or two (as Peter Robinson would probably have done; or, at least, have found a way of resolving the standoff) and allowed an initial inquiry to rummage through the BBC Spotlight allegations, I’m pretty sure she would still be First Minister
today.
The Assembly and Executive wouldn’t have collapsed. There would have been no throwaway lines about crocodiles and Sinn Féin wouldn’t have been able to galvanize and mobilize an angry Republican/Nationalist electorate. There wouldn’t have been an early election and Unionists would still have an overall majority; with the DUP still able to wield the petition of concern on any and every issue. Northern Ireland wouldn’t be as polarized and unsettled as it has become.
There wouldn’t have been 10 months of impasse. Mike Nesbitt would still be leader of the UUP. It’s possible, in the absence of the increasingly toxic relationship between Unionists and Republicans before and after the Assembly election, that the UUP and SDLP wouldn’t have lost all their parliamentary seats in June. The political debate would not have been dominated by Sinn Féin’s ‘rights’ agenda; and the Irish language issue wouldn’t really be registering as a make-or-break problem.
We wouldn’t be facing a long period of direct rule. Public confidence in the assembly wouldn’t be at its lowest ever ebb. And, ‘Is the assembly actually worth preserving?’ wouldn’t have become the most asked question in pubs, at water coolers and across dining tables.
All of this mess because Arlene Foster wouldn’t step aside. There could, of course, be more mess to come. If Sinn Féin remains of the opinion that James Brokenshire’s decision to legislate for a budget means – as John O’Dowd said on last week’s The View – “this present process is over”, then it could take a while before another talks process is established. And if that is the case, then it’s a pretty sure bet that Sinn Féin won’t be in the mood for compromises from their side.
Similarly, Unionism generally and the DUP in particular isn’t going to be happy if Foster’s stubbornness (some call it pride) leads to the collapse of devolution. They may not love power sharing with Sinn Féin, but they also know that direct rule has rarely done any favours for Unionism. They know, too, that the deal the DUP has with Theresa May does not carry any guarantee that her government – assuming, of course, she hangs on – would take sides with them against Sinn Féin and risk the implosion of the entire political/institutional process. And while Foster will be keen to boast of the importance of the DUP in the Commons at the moment (expect at least one big name at their annual conference in a few weeks), she won’t want to tell her party that she has crashed Stormont.
So yes, her refusal to stand aside led to a veritable avalanche of unexpected, unintended consequences. But – and it’s an important but – I suspect that those consequences were coming down the line at some point, anyway. The sheer despair and anger in Martin McGuinness’s resignation letter last January (the one in which he finally blew the lid on the nature of the relationship between the DUP and Sinn Féin) wasn’t actually anything new. Some of us had been writing about it for years. But its publication blew away the manufactured, self-serving fiction that “we actually get on very well together”.
In essence, all her refusal to stand aside for a while did was hasten the point at which we all begin to accept that the present process cannot work. We have tested, tested again and then retested the process since 1998; yet every attempt ends in a new crisis and a mountain of fudge. Sinn Féin was clearly uncomfortable with Foster. RHI provided the opportunity to embarrass her and the competence of her colleagues and advisers. Her refusal to stand aside (and they couldn’t take it for granted that she wouldn’t) gave them an unexpected opportunity to up the ante, bring down the Executive and push their own agenda.
We are where we are. We are where we were always going to be.
All the pretences and sleights-of-hand and cosmetics have been rendered worthless. We’re back at base camp, with the unclimbed mountain still there; still unconquered.
As I keep saying, politics here is heading to a very, very bad place.
Posted by Jim on November 9, 2017
The Hibernian
He or She is proudly an Hibernian
He or She proudly wears the green
Like his or her father did before.
He or she is proud to let it be seen.
For whether he or she is young or old
Irish born or of descent
When the pride takes hold
It’s Ireland, proud to represent.
They call it the land of winter
But to him/her it’s full of warmth
For each visit it gets better
Full of the Craic and the charm.
It’s the heart of an Irish Nation
That history made borderless
With The Famine and Starvation
Emigration and British oppress.
But its heart, it is still beating
More proudly and stronger than ever
And at the hall of the Hibernian meeting declares ‘Ireland Free,Pro-Life and Gaelic Forever’.
Martin Corey
Proud Hibernian