Opinion

Peroxide and blondes – wrong solution to a political crisis

Commentators frequently describe the takeover of the SDLP by Sinn Féin as some form of progress into a new progressive age. But the reality is the exact opposite. Despite initially and comfortably accepting DUP superiority and arrogance Sinn Féin could not cope with the responsibilities of being in government.

Serious murmurings of discontent from a groundswell of Sinn Féin supporters led in January this year to questions being asked by these same supporters. Why were their ministers and MLAs letting the DUP and British government walk all over them. Why had they no powers of negotiation whatsoever and why were their nationalist/republican ambitions being whittled away?


The reality is that Sinn Féin seemed totally lost and insecure. For example, they had 10 years to implement an Irish Language Act but did not want to as they had become comfortable in their acceptance of power and were prepared to compromise and give into DUP bullying. But, taking a leaf out of Arlene Foster’s book that fear is the key to electoral popularity, Adams used the ‘cash-for-ash controversy’ – which they knew all about for at least 12 months – to move Sinn Féin back into its traditional comfort zone as the party of protest and so generate a fresh sectarian head of steam designed to rouse the party into new life. The message now was to forget about bread and butter issues and move instead to blame, blame, blame – blame Tory cuts, blame Brexit, blame Dublin, blame London, blame intransigence, blame bigotry and always blame the other side.

But when you hear Sinn Féin declare their mantra that the DUP will never dictate to them again, could they tell us exactly what they were doing for the past 10 years while in bed with the DUP? The reality is that the DUP and Sinn Féin are creations of each other. They live off each other. They are a response to the extremism of the other. But as a general rule, they are not each other’s real enemy. The DUP’s real enemy is the UUP and Sinn

Féin’s real enemy is not the DUP or the British government but the SDLP and now that they have overtaken them they don’t know what to do next. In consequence all the creative work of the SDLP in the gaining of civil rights, equality of opportunity and aspiration for an island of real unity has been threatened and squandered by Sinn Féin. 

After 30 years of sectarian civil war mayhem and destruction, followed by 20 years of political struggle and then 10 years of DUP/Sinn Féin rule, political debate is now reduced to controversy over peroxide and blondes. This is how far we have been dragged down by two extreme parties. 

JOHN DALLAT MLA


Kilrea, Co Derry

No unionist leaders at Westminster to negotiate on our behalf

There are no unionist leaders standing in the 2017 general election to Westminster. None. They have chosen not to stand.

Not one unionist leader will be elected to Westminster for the centenary of Northern Ireland. None. What does this say about their commitment to the union with Great Britain?

If nothing else, how can unionists criticise Sinn Féin for not taking their seats in Westminster when the abstentionist


unionist leaders Arlene Foster, Robin Swann and Jim Allister won’t be there either?

When the boat sailed for Westminster all of the unionist party leaders were arrayed along the quayside waving Westminster goodbye.

It’s all very reminiscent of the Fall of Saigon, don’t you think?

Crucially, for the next two years as Westminster negotiates Brexit there will be no unionist leaders in the chamber to negotiate on behalf of Northern Ireland.

This is important because Stormont and all the unionist party leaders have been side-lined by Sinn Féin for the duration of the Brexit negotiations while their bête noir, the Sinn Féin president and his team of 23 TDs, are in the Dáil Éireann chamber arguing their case.

Arlene Foster, Robin Swann and Jim Allister all desperately, desperately need Sinn Féin to reinstate the Northern Ireland Assembly to spare their blushes for none of them holds any office or status without Stormont – no leader of the opposition, no first minister, nothing. And when presented with the opportunity to swap Stormont for Westminster’s hallowed halls Jim still chose Stormont.

It’s arguable whether Sinn Féin arranged this by design or just lucked out.

And there’s one further twist to the unfolding saga.

Instead of triggering Article 50 with its onerous two-year deadline after the 2017 general election, the Conservative party leader deliberately triggered Article 50 before calling the general election for June.

During the election campaign none of the Brexit ministers will be negotiating with the EU because they will be on the campaign trail and civil servants respect purdah, and then post-election holidays put negotiations off until everyone returns after the break.

In effect seven months of the two-year period allowed to negotiate Article 50 will have been wasted – whether by design or by accident, who can say?

BERNARD J MULHOLLAND


Belfast BT9

Walls must come down

The recent admissions that ‘peace walls’, targeted for removal by 2023, are unlikely to come down by then and the deeply disturbing fact that almost 20 per cent of the walls/ barriers are not even included in the scheme, is cause for deep concern.

The lack of progress and serious omissions in the ‘Together: Building a United Community’ (TBUC) strategy have attracted little attention. 

Four years ago when Sinn Féin and the DUP agreed the strategy they announced that all peace walls would be removed by 2023. Now, almost half way through that period, serious doubt is being cast on the possibility of that happening and it has emerged that more than 20 barriers are not even included in the scheme.

This is not about operational difficulties preventing targets being reached. Rather it is  about the political desire to maintain the walls, maintain division and continue to manage a deliberately divided society for political advantage and gain.

Excuses why sufficient progress is not being made are already being prepared and we are being  subjected to insulting discussions about what constitutes a wall, when is a fence a barrier and is a gate actually a buffer.

Communities must be involved at all stages of the process and where fears exist they must be addressed. But divisive agendas cannot be used to hold this city and beyond to ransom. The walls must come down. 

GEMMA WEIR


Workers Party, North Belfast

Remain lobby has gifted all  of Ireland’s resources

When Ireland and Britain first applied to join the European Community the Bloc strongly objected. They argued that the British would want to run everything and the Irish would steal everything. However in time, having exhausted their own fishing reserves, the Bloc wanted access to one of the richest fishing banks on earth, the Irish Continental Shelf and as they say the rest is history.

The Irish Navy was reduced to blockading Irish trawlers in port to give access to a massive European fishing fleet.

Ireland would be gifted with £46bn structural funds while the Bloc looted our fishing reserves to the tune of £250bn. The Dublin administration, essentially a puppet regime in the pay of Brussels, has also gifted all of our national resources, such as oil, gas, minerals, telecoms to foreign states and multinationals.

Sadly, we have a politically, ideologically and intellectually bankrupt remain lobby who would have us believe all of this is good for us.

M DARCY


Omagh, Co Tyrone