Opinion

Aontú offers republicans an alternative grassroots representation

We now know that the British parliament’s imposition, requested by Sinn Féin and the SDLP leader has become law in Northern Ireland and a great many of our people will know the consequences of this. It is undoubtedly true that the pro-abortion lobby has scored a significant victory in their terms in achieving this result. Isn’t it ironic that some MLAs walked out of the assembly because they said it would be damaging to the Good Friday Agreement while the law that was about to become effective was the result of a political stunt by British MPs and entirely at odds with the Good Friday Agreement?


I wish to share some thoughts on how some of us in the pro-life movement will react to this terrible law. There have been many unjust laws imposed by Britain down through the years (eg Penal Laws) which were opposed by good people and this law is in the same category.

We will never accept it as a law which carries any moral authority. I have observed in the past few years the establishment of excellent relationships between pro-life people representing the Protestant and Catholic communities and my expectation is that these relationships and friendships will continue and grow.


Ironically enough this issue has brought our communities together where established political parties have failed.


We are fortunate however that we now have a new pro-life political party Aontú which takes its lead from the largely Protestant led group which fought for Catholic rights in 1798. I believe that Aontú will particularly offer republican people an alternative grassroots representation as opposed to the from the top down dictatorial imposition of British imposed abortion in Northern Ireland.


Irish republicans who have voted for Sinn Féin should be in no doubt that this abortion law would never have been imposed in Northern Ireland without the approval of Sinn Féin leadership.


In the coming years we will do everything legally possible to highlight the fatalities that arise from this legislation and we expect that sufficient political representation will eventually emerge to undo it.

EAMON DALLETT


Dungiven, Co Derry

Good Friday Agreement has been a detriment to lives of working-class people

Nobody has been held to account for the failures brought about by the implementation of the Good Friday Agreement. This has not helped the working-class people of Ulster or any other province of Ireland, nor has it made their lives better.

Provisional Sinn Féin and the Social Democratic Labour Party made promises to working-class people to deliver an economic peace dividend while said parties were defending the Good Friday Agreement.


The media has reported that the economic peace dividend didn’t materialise. This conclusion is supported in studies by the Community Relations Council, Queen’s University Belfast, Denis O’Hearn’s Social Problems published by the Oxford University Press and Colin Coulter’s research article.

More people have been lost to suicide alone than the number of people lost during the Troubles in a shorter duration of time. That is a tragic indictment of society and it is an unambiguous indicator of societal decline.

The University of Liverpool’s Politics Professor Jonathan Tonge concluded that economic and social conditions were worse in 2009 than in 1969. The British government’s Office of National Statistics shows that people in the six counties have seen a wage decrease of £18 in the last decade which ought to be of particular concern to the 13 per cent of workers being paid the minimum wage.

If European Union advocates and supporters are arrogant enough to frustrate and overturn a mandate of 17,410,742 people then revisiting a failed endeavour that 2,119,549 people voted for two decades ago should not be an insurmountable taboo.

It has been a detriment to the lives of working-class people here and working-class people born after May 1980 have never had a democratic say on the Good Friday Agreement.

ÉAMONN MacGRIANNA


Belfast BT12

Sooner reality is accepted by all the better

At the end of his article on Irish unity Chris Donnelly (October 16) stated: “When Irish unity happens, it will be in spite of the opposition of more than 45 per cent of the northern Irish electorate. Unionists will, for the most part, remain unionists until the point at which a border poll is lost. The sooner that reality is accepted by all, the better.”

In other words, unionists will be forced to accept what Chris and others call Irish unity. Forcing people to accept unity must be a total contradiction of what unity basically means.

Over almost 100 years unionists have established themselves as a people separate and distinct from the Irish people. They have a right to separate self-determination.

Equally, Irish people in Northern Ireland have an absolute right to national freedom. In short, equal self-determination is the way forward as opposed to forced Irish unity. The sooner that reality is accepted by all, the better.

MALACHY SCOTT


Belfast BT15

Puffing and blowing at master’s Brexit deal

The north of Ireland assembly has the power of modifying any act of the British parliament, as far as it is part of the laws of the north of Ireland. They can’t deal however with the reserved or accepted matters, which are of exclusive competence of the government of the UK in consultation with the Republic of Ireland.


A reserved matter in Schedule 3 of the North of Ireland Act,1998 refers to imports/exports control and external trade.

So does this reserve matter give the UK government the competence as set out in Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal and accepted by the EU for a custom’s border down the Irish Sea? It would appear that with this devolved legislation, the ball is firmly at the British government’s foot and the north of Ireland assembly can only puff and blow at their master’s Brexit deal.

JAMES G BARRY


Dublin 6