Posted by Jim on November 19, 2015
DUP leader Peter Robinson has confirmed that he will step down as the
North’s First Minister and the leader of its largest party within weeks.
The 66-year-old unionist hardliner says he will not contest the next
Assembly elections in May and is expected to officially retire by the
end of the year.
The DUP is holding its party conference this weekend and will be
dominated by the debate over his potential successor, most likely to be
Nigel Dodds, another Belfast-based hardliner.
The development follows the announcement two days ago of the latest
partial agreement in the North’s political process, officially known as
‘Fresh Start’, and seen by political analysts to have favoured the
unionist and Tory agenda.
DUP officials have already portrayed the agreement as a testament to
Robinson’s skills as a negotiator and a landmark in his “normalisation”
strategy. But while the party prepares to hail Robinson’s legacy at its
forthcoming annual conference, there have been mounting accusations of
large-scale financial impropriety and corruption as well as questions
over his personal health.
He told the unionist Belfast Telegraph newspaper today that he would be
gone within a matter of weeks.
“I am telling you this now, because I think it would be disrespectful to
the party membership if I was to go through a conference with the
pretence that I would be leading the party into the next election. I
think they have a right to know what the circumstances are.”
Robinson, one of the founding members of the DUP and with a political
career lasting more than 40 years, said he had accomplished the aims he
had set himself as DUP leader.
First Minister at Stormont since 2008, when he took over from firebrand
Ian Paisley, Robinson was always seen as more pragmatic than the
religious/sectarian zeal of Paisley’s Free Presbyterian clique. The
business-minded former MP for East Belfast was known for building his
own family empire, known to pundits as ‘Swish Family Robinson’.
Amid a number of financial scandals, the gravest came this year with
unresolved accusations at the Stormont Assembly that Robinson was due to
benefit in a seven-figure ‘finder’s fee’ in regard to the corrupt sale
of assets held by NAMA, an asset management agency of the 26-County
government.
Robinson had shown himself to be a great political survivor,
particularly in 2008 when an extraordinary sex scandal erupted involving
his wife, Iris, her 19-year-old lover, and undeclared loans totalling
fifty thousand pounds.
However, the latest financial scandal, coupled with serious health
problems, had appeared to make his departure inevitable. He admitted
there were “massive pressures” in his work.
He said he is looking forward to retirement and says his family are too.
“I might be a journalist,” he said. “I have nothing decided and that is
part of the attraction of it all. I am not the sort of person who sits
at home with a blanket around my knees. I want to continue doing
things.”
Posted by Jim on November 18, 2015
“In recent years the Irish government has gone too far in the opposite direction. Contrasted with the part Barry, also a Fine Gael minister, played,[ Irish Foreign Minister] Charlie Flanagan’s contribution has been feeble and muted…. on the vexed issue of the legacy of the past, which has been the sticking point for some weeks, what has Flanagan said to encourage nationalists that the Irish government shares their concerns about the role of successive British governments in covering up the nefarious activities of their regular soldiers and the UDR?”
Time Dublin listened to nationalists’ voice
Brian Feeney. Irish News(Belfast). Wednesday, November 18, 2015
It’s 30 years since Garret FitzGerald and Margaret Thatcher signed the Anglo-Irish Agreement at Hillsborough Castle on November 15 1985 while a unionist mob bayed outside. Until the Good Friday Agreement it was the most momentous occasion between the Irish and British governments since partition.
The key feature of the agreement was that it gave the Irish government the right to a say in the north’s affairs. Dublin was entitled to put forward ‘views and proposals’ on any northern matters not devolved and of course in 1985 nothing had been devolved. Secondly, it established a permanent secretariat first located at Maryfield beside Palace barracks Holywood, manned continuously by Irish and British civil servants.
The two governments were required by the treaty ‘to make determined efforts’ to resolve any differences on these views and proposals. It was the nearest the Irish government could get to joint authority and despite British protestations to the contrary necessary to try to placate unionists, it was a diminution of sovereignty. The agreement was a public recognition that the north is not exclusively an internal UK affair.
There was another important message in the agreement and that was the determination of the two governments to override disputes between unionists and nationalists in the north if the disputes threatened the good relations between London and Dublin: that relationship was paramount. In 1985 the evidence of that determination was first obvious in overriding the unionist veto on any movement whatsoever. So Lady Hacksaw faced down mass unionist demonstrations, strikes, attacks on police, boycotts, resignations, you name it.
However, that relationship between the two governments did not prevent the Irish government openly criticising decisions made by the northern secretary. The then Irish foreign minister Peter Barry publicly espoused nationalist discontent when he felt it necessary to demonstrate the Irish government’s concern on certain matters, usually security force misbehaviour.
In recent years the Irish government has gone too far in the opposite direction. Contrasted with the part Barry, also a Fine Gael minister played, Charlie Flanagan’s contribution has been feeble and muted. Of course with matters such as welfare reform he has no role but on the vexed issue of the legacy of the past, which has been the sticking point for some weeks, what has Flanagan said to encourage nationalists that the Irish government shares their concerns about the role of successive British governments in covering up the nefarious activities of their regular soldiers and the UDR?
Does Flanagan have nothing to say about the fact that the British government refuses to release documents about the Dublin-Monaghan bombings 40 years ago? They were carried out under a Fine Gael/Labour government like the present one, which shamefully did not press the British for an explanation.
Instead of making representations about attempts by the British government to hide behind ‘national security’, which is anything a proconsul[NI Secretary of State] wants it to be, the last statement we had from Flanagan was another Little Sir Echo of the British line, namely, that he shared the same view as our proconsul that ‘a comprehensive agreement’ must be made by the middle of the week. Still, at least it’s an improvement on his first intervention in the talks in September 2014 when he told Sinn Féin they had to accept welfare reform. And you thought he had no business in internal Northern affairs?
You have to wonder all the time if Flanagan’s involvement is driven by the horror of the prospect of Sinn Féin winning 25 seats in next spring’s Dáil election, rather than for the benefit of Northern Nationalists as a whole. Thirty years ago it was unimaginable that the SDLP could be overtaken as the major party of Northern Nationalists. Indeed Garret FitzGerald was able to sell the Anglo-Irish Agreement to the British as a way to stem the rise of Sinn Féin.
Southern parties, and particularly Fine Gael, have never come to terms with a genuinely ational party also representing northern nationalists with leverage in Leinster House. The Anglo-Irish Agreement was constructed at a time when the SDLP was the voice of the Dublin government in The North.
It’s time this Dublin government listened to the voice of Nationalists in the north like it or not rather than trashing the messenger.
Posted by Jim on
Sinn Féin MLA Gerry Kelly said today revelations in a Belfast newspaper on a campaign of murder waged against Republicans and nationalists by British military intelligence points up the necessity for full disclosure of the truth to victims and survivors of the conflict.
And the North Belfast MLA said that the Irish government need to hold the British government to account for its plans to launch another UDA bombing campaign in the south against civilian targets.
Gerry Kelly said:
“The revelations in the extracts of British military intelligence agent Brian Nelson’s manuscript are another damning indictment of those who ran Britain’s Dirty War and those charged with investigating it.
“It is time for the British Government to come out from behind the wall of ‘National Security’ and allow the victims and survivors to have the truth about the deaths of their loved ones.
“British military intelligence actively directed and assisted, at the highest levels, UDA death squads responsible for the murder and attempted murders of nationalists and republicans.
“The British state provided weapons and intelligence to the UDA through Nelson and other agents and directed and cleared them to assassinate Pat Finucane, Jack Kielty, Loughlin Maginn, Michael Power, Francisco Notorantonio and Gerard Slane.
“This state-sponsored gang also shot and wounded Sinn Féin’s Alex Maskey, targeted Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness and made numerous attempts to murder other nationalists and republicans.
“Nelson has also revealed that his military intelligence handlers had also encouraged him to mount a bombing campaign in the south of Ireland.
“The Stevens inquiry sent files to the then DPP in 2003 on 25 individuals including military intelligence personnel with a view to charging them with offences related to this murder campaign.
“Twelve years later despite mounting evidence of collusion between military intelligence and unionist death squads there has been no progress made in prosecuting those at the heart of this.
“I have contacted senior police today and am writing to the Director of the Public Prosecution Service to ask for a meeting to discuss the latest revelations and to seek answers about the failure to prosecute a single person following John Stevens third inquiry into collusion.
“The British state has demonstrated clearly that it is not capable of investigating the illegal and murderous actions of its own forces in the conflict.
“There is a need too for the Irish government to hold the British government to account on its efforts to launch a UDA bombing campaign against civilian targets in the South.
“The bombing campaign planned by military intelligence handlers in the late ‘80s followed on from a series of British inspired bombings in the south in the 1970s including the Dublin/Monaghan bombings which claimed 34 lives.
“It is imperative that we agree the architecture of dealing with all legacy issues in the present talks process. For that to be successful the British Secretary of State must relinquish her veto over families receiving the truth. The term ‘National Security’ is being used to hide involvement in State collusion and State-sponsored murder.”
Posted by Jim on November 17, 2015
A partial agreement has been unveiled after Sinn Fein, the DUP and the
London and Dublin governments brought the latest round of Stormont
crisis talks to a conclusion today.
An international body will be set up to monitor IRA and loyalist
paramilitary activity, with appointees nominated by the Dublin and
London governments and the Six County Executive. It will have an annual
budget of 3.2 million pounds.
New principles are to be put in place to ensure politicians work towards
the disbandment of IRA and paramilitary structures. Sinn Fein and the
DUP signed up to an agreement that ‘politicians must not take
instructions from anywhere other than those who have given them their
democratic mandate’. The new principles will apply not only to
ministers, but to all members of the Stormont Assembly.
Due to a British government insistence on full secrecy on matters of
“national security”, there was no agreement on the past or on victims.
These ‘legacy’ issues have been deferred to a separate round of talks to
begin sometime next year.
Measures previously planned to address the issues of flags and parades,
agreed in the 2013 talks under US envoy Richard Haass, are expected to
now go ahead.
The deal will also see Stormont Assembly members tomorrow pass an
emergency motion giving the British parliament in London the power to
implement cuts to the North’s welfare system. The move is intended to
ensure responsibility — and blame — for such cuts is deflected onto
the British government.
However, there will be a series of other financial measures to
compensate for the welfare cuts, including spending on roads and other
infrastructure.
Institutional changes include the concept of an official opposition at
Stormont for the first time.
Sinn Fein’s Martin McGuinness said his party remained determined “to do
all in our power to oppose this austerity and protect our people and our
public services”.
He said the party’s efforts had helped to secure more than half a
billion pounds of additional funding for Stormont with “flexibilities
that can be invested in growth and public services”.
“We will continue to do all we can to support those in need,” he said.
“The legacy of the past remains a huge gap in this work,” he added.
“The onus remains on the British government to live up to their
responsibilities to victims, in particular full disclosure.
“We also addressed directly the issue of paramilitarism. There can be no
place for armed groups in our society. That is why the agreement
includes additional resources for policing and mechanisms to challenge
armed gangs and criminality.
“Our political institutions are the best way forward. The First Minister
and I are absolutely united on this.”
British Prime Minister David Cameron described the agreement as a
“breakthrough” and an “important turning point for Northern Ireland”.
“The agreement secures sustainability for Northern Ireland’s budget,
sets out how we’ll deal with paramilitary groups, and could provide a
basis for a shared future for the people of Northern Ireland,” he said.
“The progress we’ve achieved is testament to the commitment and hard
work put in by the Northern Ireland parties, backed by Theresa Villiers
and the Irish Government, and I’m very pleased we’re taking this step
forwards.
“What is vital now is that the parties in Northern Ireland use this
agreement as the platform for stable devolved government that delivers
on the day to day issues that matter to people.”
A statement from the Dublin government’s Foreign Affairs Minister
Charlie Flanagan described the deal as “another milestone agreement”.
Addressing the lack of agreement on legacy issues, Flanagan said:
“Regrettably, it did not prove possible to find an agreement at this
stage on the appropriate balance between the onward disclosure needs of
families and national security arrangements.”
DUP leader Peter Robinson has said he believed the agreement would
“consolidate the peace, secure stability, enable progress and offer all
our people hope for the future”.
He added: “Today represents another milestone along the way as we
normalise and build our society.”
Posted by Jim on November 16, 2015
‘Nelson files’ link British authorities to UDA death squads
Jim McDowell. Irish Independent. Saturday, November 14, 2015
Shock revelations about British army collusion with loyalist paramilitary death squads are set to rock the political institutions in Dublin and London.
The fresh information is understood to focus on personal and highly incriminating files compiled by Brian Nelson.
He was recruited by British Military Intelligence (BMI) to infiltrate the outlawed Ulster Defence Association at its network of headquarters in Belfast.
A major story in the ‘Sunday World’ will link both the British military and the political establishment in London to UDA death squads headed up by now-deceased loyalist paramilitary godfathers, like ‘brigadiers’ John McMichael and Tommy ‘Tucker’ Lyttle, plus a battery of other UDA so-called brigadiers who are still alive.
Nelson, who died from cancer in 2003, kept a concise and meticulous handwritten journal, running to 120 pages, of his role as a British army/UDA double agent during the darkest days of the so-called ‘Dirty War’ in Northern Ireland.
Those files reveal how he twice set up TD Gerry Adams for murder, as well as the now Stormont deputy first minister Martin McGuinness, among some 50 others.
Thatcher
And Nelson writes that one of his BMI-sanctioned undercover operations, a botched UDA plot to smuggle arms and rockets from South Africa, went “right to the top”.
Margaret Thatcher, who the Provos tried to murder in their Brighton hotel bombing in 1984, was Britain’s prime minister at the time.
Nelson also said that his spymaster British army ‘Boss’ told him to bomb the Republic.
That was a full 13 years after the other main loyalist terror gang, the UVF, had bombed Dublin and Monaghan, killing 33 innocent people and leaving more than 200 injured.
In 1974, Nelson was jailed for the torture of an innocent Catholic man, Gerald Higgins, who subsequently died.
Released from jail after serving less than half of his seven-year sentence, Nelson tried to start a new life in West Germany.
But he was approached by the BMI and placed back in Belfast as a paid ‘supertout’ to re-join the UDA.
Using his previous British military background (he had served in the Black Watch regiment), Nelson flew up the ranks of the killer terror gang, which was responsible for over 300 murders during the nadir of the Troubles, many of them solely sectarian attacks on Catholics.
Nelson became the UDA’s chief ‘IO’, or intelligence officer. He received montages and lists of IRA suspects, giving their personal details, from his BMI handlers.
And he personally scouted out targets for assassination – at the same time reporting back to, and colluding with, British intelligence service agents.