Author Archives: lonirun

Would anyone care if Northern Ireland left the Union?

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First published via New Statesman, Friday 14th February 2014

Kevin Meagher – is associate editor of Labour Uncut.

If there is a majority that opts for Irish unity at some stage, then change will take place. No one is making a first principles argument for Northern Ireland remaining part of the UK.
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What would the reaction be if it was Northern Ireland or Wales rather than Scotland facing a referendum next month about quitting the UK? Would our political leaders be cancelling their holidays, trudging the highways and byways, desperately trying to convince people there to stay?

Of course, the prospect of the Welsh opting for full-blown independence is so remote as to be purely academic. Indeed, the referendum on the creation of the Welsh Assembly was passed by the slenderest of margins back in 1998 (50.3 per cent to 49.7 per cent). If a few thousand votes had gone the other way, Wales would still be run from Whitehall.

Yet if there was a sudden surge in nationalist sentiment sometime in the future it is hard to imagine the rest of the UK being overly perturbed. Wales – without oil and nuclear submarine bases – is simply of less strategic importance to the UK than Scotland.

Northern Ireland, in contrast, is of no strategic importance whatsoever. This was enunciated as the British government’s view as far back as November 1990 when then Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Brook proclaimed that Britain had “no selfish, strategic or economic interest” in the place.

“The principle of consent” has been the fig leaf for successive governments ever since. As long as the majority of people want to remain part of Britain, this wish will be upheld. Of course, this is hardly a ringing endorsement of the status quo. No one in British politics seems to care about making the case that Northern Ireland should remain part of the UK, as they are happy to do with Scotland. (Indeed, threats to the status of Gibraltar or the Falklands elicit more muscular responses).

The Good Friday Agreement effectively placed Northern Ireland in an ante-chamber. If there is a majority that opts for Irish unity at some stage, then change will take place. No one is making a first principles argument for Northern Ireland remaining part of the UK. Indeed, nowhere else in British politics are our political leaders so sanguine about sovereignty. Where Scotland is seen to be an opportunity worth holding on to, Northern Ireland is quietly regarded as a problem eventually worth jettisoning.

Scottish and Welsh elites in politics, business and culture are deeply integrated into British public life. In contrast, Northern Ireland’s idiosyncratic political class finds few soul mates in Westminster. Unionist politicians – more British than the British – are now oddities in our political system. Northern Ireland’s First Minister Peter Robinson’s recent defence of an evangelical pastor who described Islam as “heathen” and “satanic” (not to mention his wife’s remarks about homosexuality) mean that unionist politics can now seem like something from a different planet. Not to mention the double standard. If Robinson had been a minister, a frontbencher or leader of a council in Britain, then he would have been out on his ear.

The Britain that Unionists claim kinship with is long gone. The only reason Northern Ireland’s status is not more openly questioned is down to inertia; a relief that the Troubles are over. One day that will not be enough. Although the Irish state renounced its territorial claims to Northern Ireland as part of the Good Friday Agreement, its status will remain contested. Constitutional agitation rather than armed struggle will now continue to gnaw at the fraying ropes holding Northern Ireland in the Union.

This is set in the context of British-Irish relations having steadily improved over recent decades. There is even talk of the Queen participating in state commemorations of the 1916 Easter Rising against British rule. In her state visit to Ireland back in 2011, Her Majesty laid a wreath to the IRA volunteers who fought against Britain in Ireland’s War of Independence (to be sure, many had fought for Britain during the First World War). The prospect of “Dublin rule” is no longer, plausibly, a spectre for unionists.

Things are changing in the north too. While the “sectarian headcount” may be a crude measure of political allegiance, it is worth noting that Catholics now outnumber Protestants at every level of the education system. (As they now do in the former unionist citadels of Belfast and Derry). Northern Ireland’s in-built Protestant unionist majority is shrinking; while the integrative logic of an all-Ireland offering to the outside world, essential in terms of investment and tourism, makes the gerrymandered border seem an anachronism.

In time, a similar referendum to the one we’re seeing in Scotland will play out in Northern Ireland. When it comes, it will be hard to imagine the English people and the British political class busting a gut to keep it.

Kevin Meagher is associate editor of Labour Uncut

British Prime Minister meets Sinn Féin … after 4 years

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Michelle Gildernew MP – An Phoblact 4 August 2014 Edition

Series of firsts in Westminster last month
The British Prime Minister has finally had his first-ever meeting with a Sinn Féin leadership delegation led by Gerry Adams – after four years in government.
Although he had met Martin McGuinness in his capacity as joint First Minister, David Cameron had (astonishingly) never met our party’s political leadership since he came to power in May 2010.
Our delegation (which included Martin McGuinness, Mary Lou McDonald and myself) also met Labour leader Ed Miliband and his team.
The backdrop to the meetings was the mounting and untenable difficulties in the political process. While we welcomed the meeting, the disinclination of David Cameron to seriously engage with the Sinn Féin leadership until now epitomises the nature of his government’s approach to Ireland and to the Peace Process. The abject failure to drive the process forward – and, worse, the de facto facilitating of unionist intransigence – has threatened to seriously undermine the hard-fought-for advances made over nearly two decades.
None of this can be lost on the British Labour leadership.
At our meeting with Ed Miliband, and through our discussions with many Labour MPs, there is no doubt that Labour sees itself as part of the pro Good Friday Agreement axis. Labour celebrates its role in the Peace Process as one of its best achievements in office. Moreover, the need for this role is not past.
Whatever the difficulties during some of that time, there is no doubt that those governments were, by and large, engaged in the process, and highly so at crucial moments. Unfortunately, the current Conservative Party/Liberal Democrat Government is not playing this role.
Failing to fully commit to the Haass/O’Sullivan compromise proposals, engaging in dishonest gesture politics over the OTR issue, pandering to unionist blocking of progressive change, and outstanding issues of the Good Friday Agreement such as the Bill of Rights and Irish Language Act, and now entertaining notions to unravel agreements on parades – these all add up to a negative shift in policy.
All of this is coupled with a continued insistence by the British Government in imposing austerity. We have been absolutely clear in our opposition to this and the so-called ‘welfare reform’ programme that has austerity at its core. It has already had disastrous consequences for ordinary people in Britain.
Instead of this we need the fiscal autonomy to determine our own economic responses and which suit our specific circumstances. Devolution cannot simply be about implementing British Tory-led government policy.
On the positive side, all of our engagements in Britain reveal that most British politicians (and of course the overwhelming majority of the Irish diaspora community and beyond) support the Peace Process. Many are highly concerned at the extent to which the British Government’s approach is undermining it.
Our annual Sinn Féin Summer Reception in Westminster at the beginning of July saw a packed Portcullis House event with people from across the political, social and cultural spectrum, who clearly expressed that sentiment.
Many were also evidently heartened to hear Mary Lou McDonald’s message about the electoral advance of Sinn Féin and the growing support for our progressive alternative to austerity, and for a new Irish politics and republic.
Mary Lou reiterated our calls for the British Government – alongside the Irish Government – to step up to the plate and to begin to deliver its responsibilities to the Peace Process.
As we look beyond the summer, between now and the Westminster election in May 2014 we have to ensure that there is a growing pressure for a step-change on these issues. The many friends of Ireland in Britain, and indeed the vast majority of people, support the Peace Process. It is time for this pro-Agreement axis to assert itself and to be reflected in government policy.

Week in Review 01-07 August 2014‏

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The Week in Review
01-07 August 2014

Horrific attacks on Gaza must endGaza
On 6 August Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams TD strongly urged the Taoiseach and the Irish government to `end its silence’ on the bombardment in Gaza and `speak out clearly against’ any actions which undermine the rights of Palestinians or the objective of a peaceful, two-State solution.
Gerry Adams said the ceasefire and negotiations in Cairo were `welcome’, but added `resolving the Israeli/Palestinian conflict is an international responsibility and unless it uses its influence positively, the region will revert to conflict’. He added `the international community must uphold international law and defend rights of the Palestinian people’.
The Irish peace process was, Mr Adams said `held up as a model for conflict resolution the world over’. However, he said the stance of the Irish Government throughout the recent conflict `has been marked by shameful silence, inaction, and when it came to voting at the UN Human Rights Council – abstention’.
He said the `relevance and credibility of our political institutions have been undermined by the Taoiseach’s refusal to reconvene the Dáil to discuss the Gaza crisis’.

Irish government told: `end silence’
Mr Adams said the Irish Government `must stop its policy of hiding behind the EU on this issue and speak out in its own right’. The Taoiseach and the Minister for Foreign Affairs `must demand that the Israeli Government halt the expansion of illegal settlements on Palestinian lands and lift the unjust and inhumane blockade of Gaza’, he added.
He concluded: `the Government needs to encourage the EU to take measures aimed at getting the Israeli Government to end all actions which undermine the rights of the Palestinian people or which threaten a peaceful, two-state solution.’
Earlier on 3 August Mr Adams reiterated calls for the Irish Government to `stand up against the aggression of the Israeli Government and for the human rights of the population of Gaza’ following yet a further deadly attack on a UN school.
Gerry Adams said the shelling of the school in Rafah was `the latest in a series of horrific attacks perpetrated against the civilian population of Gaza’. He said that the world could `cannot stand by while defenceless men, women and children continue to be attacked and murdered in their homes, in hospitals, in play grounds, on the beach, and in UN schools’.
He again urged the Taoiseach `speak out against very clearly against the attempted destruction of Gaza and its people’. He added `the Dáil should be recalled immediately so that TDs can express their views on the situation in Gaza and so that we can challenge the current stance of the Irish Government.’

`Lets go forward to an Ireland of Equals’Derrylin
On 3 August the National Hunger Strike Commemoration was held in Derrylin, Fermanagh. At the event, which was also addressed by the Palestinian Ambassador to Ireland, Sinn Féin MP Michelle Gildernew made the keynote speech.
Ms Gildernew said those marching remembered `with pride the indomitable spirit and strength of the blanket men of the H Blocks and the women in Armagh prison’ and `the courage of the ten H-Block hunger strikers’, which was `a tipping point in Irish history’.
She said it was `entirely appropriate that we have with us today the Palestinian Ambassador to Ireland, Ahmad Abdelrazek’, adding `no one can ignore nor fail to be moved by the slaughter of innocents taking place in Gaza at the hands of the Israeli military.
She said that `opportunities for political progress and peace have been squandered by successive Israeli governments hungry for Palestinian land and water and determined to ensure that Palestinians remain fractured, impoverished and too weak to challenge Israeli aggression’. She said that Gaza was `an open, over crowded prison, with little work, widespread poverty, and an economy and society under siege’. Powerful governments of the world had `stood back and time after time excused Israeli actions, proclaiming that Israel has the right to defend itself’.
She called for a `very clear message today from this march and rally that the vast majority of the Irish people reject the aggression of Israel and support the Palestinian people in their struggle for freedom and justice and national rights’.
On recent political developments, Ms Gildernew said that, almost 100 years after 1916, 33 years on from the Hunger Strike and 20 years on from the first IRA cessation, `Sinn Féin stands stronger, bigger, more confident and more able to advance our key political objectives of ending partition and of uniting Ireland’ and received more votes than any other political party in Ireland.
There are unionists who will never accept my narrative of 1981 or indeed of the conflict or the causes of it.
On today’s march, she said that unionist leaders had sought to `sectarianise’ it, but that they made the mistake of `asserting a single narrative of the conflict’, when there were different narratives. She added, `we will only get to the truth by laying all of these narratives side by side and not by ignoring or seeking to dominate and exclude others’.
She went on to talk about current developments and that recent months had seen a `coalescing of political unionism around negative and an anti-Agreement position’. She added that meanwhile `the British and Irish governments became so disengaged from the process that the Haass compromise proposals and their potential to unlock the logjam was denied’.
The British Secretary of State had, she said `pandered to political unionism and undermined the political process’, adding `that has to change’.
She said the British and Irish governments `must stand by the Good Friday and subsequent agreements’ and that while unionism as created `an axis to oppose the Good Friday Agreement’ those who support it, including the governments, `need to build a pro-Agreement axis’.
She concluded by asserting Sinn Fein’s core belief in `an island of equals’.
The full text of the speech can be found here.

Sinn Fein oppose `Thatcherite’ welfare cutsMcKay
On 7 August Sinn Féin Assembly Member Daithí McKay criticized Justice Minister David Ford for linking allocations from the June Monitoring round to efforts to impose Tory welfare cuts.
The Sinn Féin economy spokesperson said that Sinn Fein were `opposed to Thatcherite welfare cuts which would drive more people into poverty in the North’.
However, he added `David Ford is wrong in his claim that reductions to his budget in the June Monitoring Round are linked to these Tory proposals for drastic welfare cuts. The welfare cuts issue was not an issue in the June monitoring round’.
He added, `It did however, take place against a backdrop of financial difficulties caused by the British government cutting budgets here by billions over recent years and an overspend by some departments.’
He said there were two issues: `The first is the failure of the British government to provide the necessary funding and the second is the inability of some ministers to properly manage their departmental finances.’
He concluded: `David Ford needs to assess his priorities and ensure the provision of frontline essential services.’

Kelly condemns Duncairn Gardens pipe bombKelly
On 5 August Sinn Féin Assembly Member Gerry Kelly condemned those behind a pipe bomb attack in North Belfast.
Mr Kelly said the area was `disrupted as people had to be evacuated from their homes and places of work’ and was in a built up area.
He added that `thankfully the device did not explode and no one was injured but we could have been looking at a very serious situation here if it had exploded’.
He said it appeared to be `the work of anti-peace process loyalists who seem intent on disrupting efforts to build bridges and develop communities’.
He concluded: `Those responsible have absolutely nothing to offer society and need to call an immediate halt to these kind of actions.’

Sinn Féin will oppose fracking – Gerry Adams TD
On 4 August Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams TD visited an anti-fracking camp at Belcoo in Fermanagh.
The Sinn Féin leader was accompanied by Fermanagh South Tyrone MP Michelle Gildernew; Michael Coleavy Sligo/north Leitrim TD, Sandra McLellan Cork East TD and Phil Flannagan MLA.
Gerry Adams said that fracking was `a significant and dangerous threat to our countryside and to the environment. It can cause serious environmental pollution and damage fish stocks and livestock’.
He said it was `an unsafe method of energy production’ which `poses a very real risk to the success of our farming industry, and to the health and safety of rural communities, as well as undermining our tourism industry’.
He added that fracking was not the answer to the energy needs of the island of Ireland `and the farmers of Fermanagh have given a lead by signing a pledge that they will not allow fracking on their land’.
Renewable sources of energy `must remain the main focus for the future’, he said, added `tidal, hydro, wind and biomass all have the potential to satisfy Ireland and Europe’s energy demands.’
Commenting on the drilling of a borehole near Belcoo the Sinn Féin leader said there was `widespread public concern at this move which has been heightened by the Department of Enterprise Trade and Investment’s decision to award the licence without any public debate’.
He said the environment Minister should be `the first line of defense against fracking and he must ensure that Tamboran’s borehole is subject to a full and rigorous planning process, including a statutory environmental impact assessment’.
He concluded: `the people in that area need to be consulted about this borehole and to be given every piece of information available. If any application is made for fracking Sinn Féin will be bringing it to the Executive to oppose it.’

Week in Review is circulated by Sinn Fein MPs. Email fisherj@parliament.uk to join the list. For further information visit www.sinnfein.ie or follow us on twitter @sinnfeinireland

Kennedy’s proposed spending cuts could cost lives – Francie Molloy MP

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MolloySinn Féin MP Francie Molloy, (Mid Ulster) has expressed concern at Roads Service cuts being contemplated by DRD minister Danny Kennedy.

Mr Molloy said:
“Any reduction in clearing gullies and road repairs has the potential to increase road traffic accidents and could cost lives.
Recent flooding across the Mid Ulster constituency was severe, particularly around Magherafelt and Moneymore, and electric supplies are off-line in many other areas.
The minister is quite aware of the problems that arise following torrential rain with our drainage systems too often unable to cope with it.
I am therefore concerned to hear reports that Minister Kennedy is contemplating cutting back on clearing gullies, street lighting repairs and other maintenance as a result of budgetary pressures.
As we face into the autumn with leaves falling and blocking drains any heavy or prolonged periods of rain could quickly lead to increased flooding risks.
This poses not just a risk to property but more significantly it poses a risk to life. Traffic on roads where water cannot clear due to blocked gullies substantially increases the risk of road collisions and potential fatalities.
I call on the Minister to stop playing with people’s lives in his grandstanding over budgets with the Finance Minister.”

Collusion happened at the Highest levels of Unionism – Francie Molloy MP

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CollusionFrancie Molloy, MP for Mid Ulster speaking in Armagh last night on a panel discussion on dealing with the past said that “collusion happened not just at the highest levels of the British establishment but also at the highest levels of Ulster Unionism.”
Mr Molloy was joined on the panel by independent MLA, John McCallister, Anne Calwallader (PFC), Paul Butler (RfJ) and Mary McCallen (WAVE) to discuss how we deal with the past.

Mr Molloy said:
“While those, including the SDLP, who lectured Sinn Féin that ‘Collusion was just an Illusion’ are now coming to accept that it was in fact a reality, I would warn them against believing that it was just the British government and its so-called security forces that were involved.
Ulster Unionism at the highest levels was also complicit in that dirty war. I witnessed first-hand, Ulster Unionist MP, Harold McCusker in discussion with leading UVF men in Charlemont, two days before Denis Mullan was murdered in his home at Collegeland, just a short distance from where the meeting took place.
The question has to be asked, what was Harold Mc Cusker talking to the UVF about? Why were they meeting in the back yard of UDR man, George Elliott and what were leading UVF men, Ted Sinclair and Billy Corrigan meeting with the Ulster Unionist MP about?
This type of relationship between Unionism, loyalism and so-called security force members had tragic consequences for Nationalists who could not trust any sector of state authority, including the dominant political party to deliver protection and justice.
Republicans/nationalists had no recourse to normal mechanisms of justice to address their grievances.”

Following questions and a suggestion from John McCallister that the Assembly needed reformed to “normal politics” Mr Molloy stated that “there would be no going back to one party or Direct Rule at Stormont and if unionists refuse to share power on a voluntary basis then joint sovereignty pending national reconciliation should be introduced to manage the change.”

Let’s go forward to an Ireland of equals – Michelle Gildernew MP

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DerrylinThe oration by Michelle Gildernew MP for Fermanagh/South Tyrone at the Hunger Strike commemoration in Derrylin.
A chairde,
Today we remember with pride the indomitable spirit and strength of the blanket men of the H Blocks and the women in Armagh prison.
We celebrate especially the courage of the ten H-Block hunger strikers. We also remember Frank Stagg and Michael Gaughan. I want to extend my solidarity to the families of Bobby, Francie, Raymond, Patsy, Joe, Martin, Kevin, Kieran, Tom and Mickey, and to the families of all of our patriot dead.Your dignity and your courage is truly inspirational.
Agus ba mhaith liom buíochas a ghabháil libh uilig as bheith i láthair anseo inniu.
Ba mhian liom achan duine a bhí freagrach as an imeacht inniu a eagrú a mholadh go hard.
Tá sé iontach fóirsteanach go bhfuil muid ag bailiú le chéile anseo i bhFear Manach – Deisceart Thír Eoghain, an toghcheantar stairiúil sin a roghnaigh Bobby Sands mar Theachta Parlaiminte.
In the spring of 1981, and in the face of massive opposition from the British and Irish governments, from the political establishments, and a hostile media, over 30,000 people stood with Bobby and the hunger strikers. They faced down Thatcher, her government and her military machine.

Gaza

It is also entirely appropriate that we have with us today the Palestinian Ambassador to Ireland, Ahmad Abdelrazek. No one can ignore nor fail to be moved by the slaughter of innocents taking place in Gaza at the hands of the Israeli military.
Each night on our television screens or on twitter or facebook we see images of murdered men, women and especially of children. Since July 8 when the current violence erupted around 1300 Palestinians – 80% of them civilians – have been killed. Three Israeli civilians have been killed.
The Israel Army and its defenders claim that it is the most moral army in the world. The evidence of the last three weeks disproves that.
On the contrary it has demonstrated again and again its capacity to deliberately and systematically target civilians.
Tá muintir na Palaistíne ag fulaingt faoi cheann de na héagóracha is measa den nua-ré.
Le breis is seasca bliain anuas tá cónaí ar na milliúin díobh i gcampaí teifeach.
An chuid is mó díobh ní raibh saol ar bith eile acu, riamh.
Opportunities for political progress and peace have been squandered by successive Israeli governments hungry for Palestinian land and water and determined to ensure that Palestinians remain fractured, impoverished and too weak to challenge Israeli aggression.
Imagine living in an open, over crowded prison, with little work, widespread poverty, and an economy and society under siege. The powerful governments of the world have stood back and time after time excused Israeli actions, proclaiming that Israel has the right to defend itself.
What of the rights of the Palestinian people to security and defence and a peaceful future?
Let us send a very clear message today from this march and rally that the vast majority of the Irish people reject the aggression of Israel and support the Palestinian people in their struggle for freedom and justice and national rights.

Hunger Strike

The hunger strike was 33 years ago. It was a tipping point in Irish history. In the summer of 1981 scores died and over 30,000 plastic bullets were fired.
The hunger strike came at the end of a decade in which the British government had employed every conceivable weapon in its military and political arsenal to defeat the republican struggle.
The British aim was simple – to protect British interests, demonise Irish republicans and to defeat the struggle for Irish unity and independence. Breaking the prisoners was crucial. They were supported in this by the northern and southern political establishment. Shamefully there were politicians north and south more interested in maintaining the status quo than standing up for freedom.
Ach, mar a tharla go minic níor thuig na Sasanaigh buanseasmhacht agus daingne na bpoblachtach Éireannach, ach go háirithe ó thaobh na gcimí de.
As a consequence almost 100 years after 1916, 33 years on from the Hunger Strike and 20 years on from the first IRA cessation, Sinn Féin stands stronger, bigger, more confident and more able to advance our key political objectives of ending partition and of uniting Ireland.
Sinn Féin now receives more votes than any other political party in Ireland. That did not happen by accident. It happened through organisation, through hard work and through connecting with people in every corner of Ireland.

There are many narratives

There are unionists who will never accept my narrative of 1981 or indeed of the conflict or the causes of it. Peter Robinson has spoken of today’s march as ‘obnoxious’. Other unionist leaders have sought to sectarianise it. The mistake they make is in asserting a single narrative of the conflict. Of course, there is a unionist narrative, and republicans and nationalists must respect this.
But there is also a nationalist narrative, a republican narrative, a loyalist narrative and a British government narrative. We will only get to the truth by laying all of these narratives side by side and not by ignoring or seeking to dominate and exclude others. We also need to find a consensus on ensuring that the past is not used as a barrier to progress.
I once listened to someone talking about legacy in the wake of the conflict in Rwanda. He said “Anyone who was killed or injured was a victim. The rest of us are survivors.”
That is very true of those who came through not just the summer of 1981 but the long years of armed conflict in Ireland.
Is brónach an fhíric í, go bhfuair beagnach 4,000 bás agus go raibh na mílte eile gortaithe go dona.
Caithfidh muid glacadh lenár ndaonnacht choiteann, cibé Gaza nó Éire atá i gceist
Human beings cry, die, bleed and grieve and are mourned. We have to acknowledge this.
So, today, as we commemorate the hunger strikers, republicans acknowledge the ongoing pain of many living in this county and elsewhere who will be saddened, offended or angered by this event.
That was never our intention.
We also acknowledge that, as republicans, we are sometimes saddened, offended or angered by commemorations and parades carried out by members of the loyalist and unionist tradition.
It is clear to all of us that we are never going to share interpretations and sentiments about many historical events and issues which divide us. At times our communities have deliberately hurt each other, at others we have simply misunderstand the other.
Our history is shared and yet deeply divided. Let us agree to accept this fact and resolve not to allow it to hinder our determination to continue to create and, in time, enjoy a shared and peaceful future. As a step towards this we remember that all deaths, whatever the circumstances, leave loved ones grieving.
We must therefore treat all the bereaved with sensitivity and respect. In the spirit of the Good Friday Agreement, republicans are committed to affording parity of esteem to our neighbours.
Accordingly we respect our neighbours’ rights to hold their celebrations and commemorations, so long as they are sensitive and carried out in a dignified and non-triumphalist manner, without threatening overtones.
We will strive to do likewise with our commemorations and parades. Above all, as republicans, we are fully committed to doing all we can to ensure that there will be no more casualties of conflict.

Role Models

I also believe that for those today who want to know what it means to be a republican you need look no further than the men and women in Armagh and the Blocks and to the hunger strikers. They are our role models. They were noble, selfless, decent men and women who demonstrated enormous heroism in the face of great hardship.
Bhí siad iomlán tiomanta do chur i gcoinne na héagóra agus an cos ar bolg. Agus le sin bhí siad go hiomlán ar son sochaí úr a thógáil a bheadh bunaithe ar an chomhionannas agus ar an tsaoirse.
They were for equality. Today equality is our watchword. Wherever racism raises its ugly head – republicans need to meet it head on. Likewise sectarianism or homophobia. Wherever we see sexism or discrimination we need to challenge it – be it inside or outside our own ranks.

Unionism

The events of recent months and in particular the coalescing of political unionism around negative and an anti-Agreement position should come as no surprise. It is the inevitable working out of a particular set of political conditions. On the one hand the unionist agenda has been driven by the extremes. On the other both the British and Irish governments became so disengaged from the process that the Haass compromise proposals and their potential to unlock the logjam was denied.
The British Secretary of State has also pandered to political unionism and undermined the political process. That has to change. The British and Irish governments must stand by the Good Friday and subsequent agreements. As unionism as created an axis to oppose the Good Friday Agreement those who support it, including the governments, need to build a pro-Agreement axis.

An Ireland of Equals

In 2016 the people of Ireland will mark the centenary of the Easter Rising. It will also be the 35th anniversary of the hunger strike. Two seminal moments in Irish history.
Our task as Irish republicans is to define our future in the vision of the men and women who were involved in those great historic enterprises. That means building an Ireland of equals; of cherishing all the children of the nation equally and of creating a new and inclusive Republic.
The goal of a United Ireland is achievable and it is deliverable. We have to persuade others of this and of its desirability. That is the road we are on. It is the road all people who want to see equality and justice should be on also. People should step forward, should join the struggle and join Sinn Féin.
Next year there will be a Westminster general election and this constituency will be the focus of the battle between those who want progress and justice, and those who prefer the past. In 2016 there will be a general election in the south. Both present Sinn Féin with major challenges and opportunities. We are up for these challenges.
In the last two years our party has trebled in size. If we are to achieve our goals we need to be bigger and stronger. But let us not forget that the struggle will not be won alone by republican activists. It will be won by the people. Bobby Sands understood this. In the last entry in his diary he says:

    “The day will dawn when all the people of Ireland will have the desire for freedom to show. It is then we’ll see the rising of the moon.”

Muintir uilig na hÉireann.
Tá sin ríthábhachtach.
So let’s all go forward and build the ultimate monument to our patriot dead – a united Ireland – an Ireland of equals.

Week in Review 24-31 July 2014‏

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The Week in Review
24-31 July 2014

Gerry Adams TD reiterates call for Dáil recall to discuss Gaza situationGaza
On 29 July Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams reiterated his calls for the Taoiseach to recall the Dáil to support `an end to violence and in support of the United Nations appeal for a 72 hour humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza’. Mr Adams said the move would `send a powerful message of solidarity to the people of that region and encourage an intensification of pressure on the Israeli government to accept the United Nations ceasefire proposal.’
Mr Adams also strongly criticised the Irish government’s refusal to support a UN Human Rights Council motion calling for the setting up of an International Commission of Investigation into events in the region.
He said he had written to the Taoiseach earlier on 24 July requesting the recall, but had received no answer, and had indicated he would not accede to Sinn Féin’s request for the Dáil to be reconvened, despite strong support from TDs across the political spectrum.
Mr Adams added `Given our own history as a people, our experience of conflict and our peace process, we can and should play a constructive role in seeking to find a resolution to conflict in the Middle East.’
Later, on 28 July, Gerry Adams welcomed the decision to recall the Seanad to discuss Gaza.

Sinn Féin MP condemns Israeli onslaught on Gaza, urges `inclusive negotiations’Gaza1
On 26 July Sinn Féin MP Michelle Gildernew joined tens of thousands of people in London, where she addressed the Palestine Solidarity ‘Stop the Massacre in Gaza’ rally in Parliament Square.
Ms Gildernew said it was a `privilege’ to be invited to speak `in solidarity with the people of Palestine’. She said Sinn Féin `condemned the Israeli onslaught on the besieged community of the Gaza strip which has left hundreds of people, mostly civilians and children, dead and thousands more injured’.
She said that the party’s elected representatives in Ireland and Europe `have led the calls for inclusive negotiations which must include Hamas to achieve a lasting settlement’, adding `while the exact conditions pertaining to the conflict in Ireland are not the same as those in Palestine, the one principle that applies to all conflicts is the need for inclusivity. No imposed settlement that excludes any section of the population can hope to be successful’.
She urged the International community `to exert pressure on Israel to immediately end hostilities and enter meaningful and inclusive dialogue to create a lasting peace settlement which respects the sovereignty and independence of Palestine along the pre-1967 borders’.
She concluded: `Sinn Féin is working in the political institutions, Dáil, Assembly, EU and Councils throughout Ireland as well as in cooperation with our friends in Britain and Europe to highlight and show solidarity with the people of Gaza’.

    • Elsewhere, Michelle Gildernew announced that the Palestinian ambassador to Ireland, Ahmad Abdelrazek, will address the National Hunger Strike Commemoration at Derrylin 3 August. She said that during the 1981 Hunger Strike `the Palestinian people stood in solidarity with Irish republicans as ten young men died in the H-Blocks of Long Kesh’. She added `today the Palestinian people are the victims of a genocidal attack from the Israeli government so it is important that we repay that solidarity by standing in support of their cause’.

McGuinness meets Irish foreign minister on peace process concernsMcGuinness
This week Martin McGuinness met Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs, Charlie Flanagan TD, to discuss the current political situation.
Mr McGuinness said the meeting was `useful and positive’ and had been an opportunity to `make the case’ for the need for `the minds of the Irish and British Governments and the US Administration need to be focussed on the political way forward in the North of Ireland’.
He added `This means talks involving all the political parties here’, and that he had `made clear to the Minister for Foreign Affairs that the parties who are part of these institutions need to recognise that any approach which is about merely satisfying the demands of the combined unionist and loyalist parties and the Orange Order will not work and is a mistake’.
He concluded that `meaningful dialogue at both political level and at a local level’ was needed `where all the political parties work together, supported by the Governments, to find agreement’.
KellyElsewhere on 30 July, Sinn Fein Assembly Member for North Belfast, Gerry Kelly, along with Martin McGuinness, met British Secretary of State Theresa Villiers, to discuss the issue of political unionism’s calls for a commission of inquiry into the contentious Orange march past Ardoyne.
Mr Kelly said there had been `much speculation and commentary surrounding what the British Secretary of State may present in terms of political unionism’s call for a commission of inquiry to examine parading in North Belfast’.
Ms Villiers had not presented the Sinn Fein delegation `with any proposition’, he said, adding `ultimately the resolution to the controversial North Belfast parade will be found locally though engaging in dialogue’. Sinn Féin had been `consistent in its support for this approach’ he said. He concluded: `There should be no proposition from any quarter, least of all the British government, which could have the effect of undermining the Parades Commission, the Haass proposals, or attempts to find a solution through local dialogue.’

Society `must stand together against hate crimes’
On 29 July Sinn Féin councillor Niall ÓDonnghaile condemned a series of racist attacks in east Belfast.
Speaking after windows were broken, cars damaged and racist slogans painted on walls in a number of areas in east Belfast, councillor Ó Donnghaile said the `rampage of racism must be condemned by everyone’.
He said `we want to create a welcoming city where people from all backgrounds can live in peace, free from fear of attack.’ He said the `spread and scale of these attacks is very concerning and suggests a high degree of organisation’.
He concluded `There can be no place in society for racism and all sections of the community in east Belfast must stand together and face down the racists in our midst’ and urged `anyone with information on these attacks to contact the PSNI so those responsible can be apprehended.’
Sinn Féin’s deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness also urged all sections of society to `stand together against those who are involved in hate crimes’.
On 28 July Sinn Fein Assembly Member Raymond McCartney condemned an overnight arson attack on Derry Sinn Féin’s main constituency offices in Ráth Mór, Derry.
The Foyle MLA said it was an `attempt to attack the democratic process’ but would `not stop us working or the people of Derry’. He said Sinn Fein would be `continuing to serve the people of the city and the wider north west’.
On 30 July Sinn Fein Assembly Member Bronwyn McGahan said that a vandalism attack on the St Patrick Church in Killyman, near Dungannon was a `hate crime’.
Graffiti was daubed on the church, which she said, police were also treating as a hate crime. She said that `all places of worship, regardless of the denomination, should be treated with respect’ and added `I’m sure the entire local community will condemn this attack and I hope that it won’t impact on the positive community relations in the area.’

Week in Review is circulated by Sinn Fein MPs. Email fisherj@parliament.uk to join the list. For further information visit www.sinnfein.ie or follow us on twitter @sinnfeinireland

Palestinian ambassador to attend Hunger Strike Commemoration – Michelle Gildernew MP

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GildernewSinn Féin MP Michelle Gildernew has confirmed that the Palestinian ambassador to Ireland Ahmad Abdelrazek will address the National Hunger Strike Commemoration at Derrylin on Sunday 3rd August.
Ms Gildernew said;
“In the darkest hours of the 1981 Hunger Strike the Palestinian people stood in solidarity with Irish republicans as ten young men died in the H-Blocks of Long Kesh.
Today the Palestinian people are the victims of a genocidal attack from the Israeli government so it is important that we repay that solidarity by standing in support of their cause.
The Palestinian Ambassador has accepted and invitation to address the National Hunger Strike GazaCommemoration on Sunday in Derrylin and we are calling for all Irish Republicans to turn out in support of the Palestinian people.”

Sinn Féin MP Michelle Gildernew to address London Palestine Solidarity Rally

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GazaSinn Féin MP Michelle Gildernew is one of the invited speakers to address a Palestine Solidarity ‘Stop the Massacre in Gaza’ rally in Parliament Square, Westminster, tomorrow, Saturday at 2.30 pm.
Prior to travelling to London Ms Gildernew said:
“It is an honour and privilege to be invited to speak on this platform in solidarity with the people of Palestine. Sinn Féin condemns the Israeli onslaught on the besieged community of the Gaza strip which has left hundreds of people, mostly civilians and children, dead and thousands more injured.
In solidarity Sinn Féin President, Gerry Adams has called for a diplomatic offensive by the Irish Government to maximise international pressure on the Israeli administration and the expulsion of the Israeli Ambassador from Dublin as a first step.
Our elected representatives in Ireland and Europe have led the calls for inclusive negotiations which must include Hamas to achieve a lasting settlement. While the exact conditions pertaining to the conflict in Ireland are not the same as those in Palestine, the one principle that applies to all conflicts is the need for inclusivity. No imposed settlement that excludes any section of the population can hope to be successful.
We call on the International community to exert pressure on Israel to immediately end hostilities and enter meaningful and inclusive dialogue to create a lasting peace settlement which respects the sovereignty and independence of Palestine along the pre-1967 borders.
As part of these efforts, Sinn Féin has called for the immediate suspension of the EU’s preferential trade agreements with Israel. Our elected representatives have raised this issue in the Dáil and European Parliament.
Sinn Féin is working in the political institutions, Dáil, Assembly, EU and Councils throughout Ireland as well as in cooperation with our friends in Britain and Europe to highlight and show solidarity with the people of Gaza.
We are in regular contact with the Palestinian representatives in Ireland on matters relating to the Middle East. They support and appreciate the efforts we are making on their behalf.”

Week in Review 17-24 July 2014‏

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The Week in Review
17-24 July 2014

McGuinness calls for parties to `show leadership’ and return to the table
On 22 September Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness urged all of the political parties in the north to `return to talks’.
Earlier, he had met British secretary of state Theresa Villiers. Mr McGuinness said it was important that everyone `show leadership’ and that all parties needed to `come back to the table to find a way forward on all the remaining issues around parading, flags and dealing with the past’.
In relation to parading, he said it was Sinn Fein’s view `that the integrity of the Parades’ Commission should protected and defended’.
He added, `we are passionate about getting a resolution to this issue and to do that we all have to work collectively and all the relevant stakeholders need to be involved’.
He concluded that this would require political leaders `to show the necessary leadership and get back to the table with a view to resolving these issues.’

All-party talks `must recommence’
British and Irish governments must be `champions for the political process’Adams
Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams last week said the publication of the Hallett report `makes it imperative that all of the political parties recommit themselves as quickly as possible to recommence the suspended all-party talks.’
Mr Adams was speaking at a meeting of the Sinn Féin National Officer Board attended by senior party regional representatives across the island, which reviewed the post-July 12th situation in the north; the Hallett report, all-island opposition to austerity cuts and the recent Cabinet reshuffle by An Taoiseach.
The Sinn Féin leader said that while the July 12th orange marches passed without major incident `there remains a serious crisis within the political institutions with unionist leaders refusing to engage positively to resolve the outstanding issues of legacy, flags and symbols and parades’.
He said the publication of the Hallett Report made it `imperative that all of the political parties recommit themselves as quickly as possible to recommence the suspended all-party talks’.
He added that the key to making progress in the time ahead was for the Irish and British governments `to become champions for the political process’. That, he said meant `unequivocally stating their determination to honour outstanding commitments from the Good Friday Agreement and other agreements, and to make clear to political unionism that they will not block progress’.
Mr Adams said there was `a responsibility on the two governments to enhance the political context for agreement by providing clear and positive leadership’ and `a particular onus on the Cameron government which has been explicitly partisan in promoting a unionist agenda’. The difficulties caused by this had, he added, `been deepened by the British government’s attempts to impose welfare cuts on the Executive in outright conflict with the agreed Programme for Government’.
He concluded: `Unless this is opposed by a united Executive these cuts, driven by the Tory austerity ideology, will inflict even more punishment on people with disabilities, the working poor, senior citizens, women and children.’

Sinn Fein in London to highlight concerns on welfare cutsDoherty
On 16-17 July Sinn Fein MP Pat Doherty was in Westminster to speak to a number of MPs about Sinn Féin’s concerns about the damaging effect of Tory-proposed welfare cuts. Mr Doherty also briefed Labour’s Shadow Secretary of State Ivan Lewis on a range of issues presently frustrating the political process.
Mr Doherty said the visit was to raise Sinn Féin’s `growing concerns over the insistence of the British government to implement its austerity agenda in the North’. Sinn Fein had been `consistently clear in our opposition to austerity and the so-called welfare reform program’, which, he said had `already seen disastrous consequences for living standards in Britain’.
He questioned why any other party in the Executive `would wish to introduce such a problematic system’, adding `what is required is the fiscal autonomy to determine our own economic model based on the specific circumstances pertaining in the North of Ireland’.
He said the functions of the Executive and Assembly `cannot simply be about implementing British Tory-led government policies’ and concluded that Sinn Fein would continue to oppose austerity and cuts, which `damage public services, undermine the welfare state, increase levels of child poverty and hinder economic recovery’.

Labour MP’s comments underline welfare cuts damageMcDonnell
On 23 July, Sinn Fein MP Michelle Gildernew welcomed remarks made by British Labour MP John McDonnell who was speaking during a Back Bench recess debate in the House of Common. Mr McDonnell had raised concern over attempts by the British government ‘to impose their welfare reform legislation’ on the people of the north of Ireland.
Michelle Gildernew said that John McDonnell’s were welcome, in highlighting of the negative effects of the Tory coalition welfare cuts policies, already implemented in Britain, as a “disaster” with serious “adverse consequences” for ordinary people.
She said that during regular contacts with MPs from Britain she had `heard at first hand the dire consequences of measures contained in the Welfare Reform Bill’. John McDonnell was, she added `right to point out the growing concerns from Sinn Féin and others about the effect of having these cuts imposed on us’. Mr McDonnell had pointed to severe hardship ‘especially the most vulnerable — children and people with disabilities’.
Ms Gildernew said the comments also reflected `widespread dismay at the British government’s response to those of us who object to and resent the threat to impose fines on the Assembly executive if we do not acquiesce in the Tory demand that we rubber stamp their agenda of cuts’.
She said that the threats of graduated fines were seen as `a blatant act of political blackmail by the British treasury’.
John McDonnell’s comments that `the proposals threaten not just to impose a significantly harsh welfare regime on the people of Northern Ireland, but to undermine the whole concept of devolved government’, were, she added, `absolutely right’.
She concluded `Given the evidence of the negative affect of these cuts in Britain, this is not a theoretical debate. The effects of these Tory welfare cuts will cause serious hardship to the people we represent from all communities and we will continue to oppose them.’ She said Sinn Fein would `continue to work with like-minded people and groups in Britain and in the South to fight the austerity agenda of the Conservative led governments in both London and Dublin. We will be resolute in defending the living standards of ordinary people across Ireland.’

Dáil stands in solidarity with people of Gaza – Gerry AdamsGaza
Last week the Dail stood in a minutes silence in solidarity with the people of Gaza, at the proposal of Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams.
Mr Adams had earlier expressed his ‘deep disappointment’ at the rejection by the Irish government of a request by Sinn Féin for a special Dáil debate on the Israeli assault on Gaza.
At the end of the debate, Mr Adams said he had `called for the Dáil to stand for a minutes silence in solidarity with the people of Gaza’, adding `I very much welcome the positive response to this.’
Mr Adams said the Tánaiste’s refusal to allow a debate on Gaza was `shameful’. He said that `the Israeli assault on this besieged community is an act of collective punishment against a civilian population which has left 200 people, mostly civilians and children dead and many more injured’.
He added that the Palestinian people `have been robbed of their land, imprisoned by separation walls and borders into ghettoes, Gaza has been under siege for 7 years and they have little power or influence’. Israel `by comparison is a first world, highly developed, rich and heavily armed super-state with nuclear weapons’.

    * Sinn Fein MP Michelle Gildernew will travel to London on 26 July to speak at the demonstration and rally called by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, in solidarity with Gaza. The march assembles at the Israeli Embassy at 12 noon and the rally, where the Sinn Fein MP will be among speakers, takes place in Parliament Square at 2.30pm.

Expel Israeli Ambassador – Adams
On 23 July Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams reiterated his call for the Irish government to expel the Israeli Ambassador,following another day of Israeli attacks on the civilian population in Gaza.
The Sinn Féin leader also accused the Irish government of `political cowardice in abstaining today in a vote during an emergency debate at the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva which seeks to establish an international Commission of Inquiry into allegations of war crimes.’
Mr. Adams said that almost 700 Palestinians had now been killed `in 15 days of intense attacks by Israel by land, sea and air’, adding `according to the United Nations 74% of those killed by Israel have been civilians. Homes, hospitals and schools, including buildings housing refugees, have been bombed by Israel’.
He said that one hospital `was bombed four times and four people were killed and scores of people were injured’. Thirty of the wounded were medics. He said the Israeli assault on the civilian population `is in clear contravention of international law’.
He said this view was `widely acknoweldged internationally and was evident in the course of today’s debate at the United Nations Human Rights Council meeting. To its shame the Irish government abstained’.
He concluded: `The Irish government needs to take a clear stand in support of the civilian population of Gaza and send a clear message to the Israeli government that its actions will not be tolerated. This can best be achieved by expelling the Israeli Ambassador.’
Earlier, on 19 July Gerry Adams TD had called for a `diplomatic offensive’ by the Irish Government to encourage the Government of Israel to `end its military onslaught against the civilian population in the Gaza Strip’.
Referring to a 2009 fact finding mission Mr Adams had made to Gaza, he said he had published a report which proposed nine immediate steps to help resolve the conflict. They were:

    1. All armed actions and acts of violence should cease.
    2. An inclusive process of negotiation should commence in which all democratic mandates are respected, clear objectives are set, and there is a fixed timeframe.
    3. The building of the separation wall should stop as a first step which would see its demolition.
    4. The siege of the Gaza strip should end.
    5. An immediate and intensive programme of reconstruction and economic development must commence.
    6. The ongoing Israeli colonisation of the West Bank and the building of settlements should stop.
    7. The occupation of the West Bank and the denial of freedom of movement to Palestinians in the West Bank and in the Gaza strip, and between the West Bank and Gaza, should end as part of the process to decolonise the West Bank.
    8. Mutual and expeditious co-operation between Palestinians and Israelis to enhance public safety and security should commence.
    9. UN resolutions and international law should be enforced.

Mr Adams said, `Five years later, none of these steps have been taken and the situation has deteriorated once again’.
He said the decision by the Israeli Government, `in the face of international anger, to escalate its military offensive by launching a ground offensive requires a firm and resolute response by the Irish Government, which must now expel the Israeli Ambassador’.

Week in Review is circulated by Sinn Fein MPs. Email fisherj@parliament.uk to join the list. For further information visit www.sinnfein.ie or follow us on twitter @sinnfeinireland