Where to for Loyalism?: Peace requires respect for Palestinian rights: The Far Right must be challenged

Where to for Loyalism?

I have met many loyalists over a very long time. In prison. Out ofprison. In secret or in private talks going back to the 1970s. And many timessince then. I like to think that some of us became friends. Or at least we becamefriendly. Some loyalist leaders played a crucial role in the negotiations whichled to the Good Friday Agreement. They deserve great credit for that. That wasthen.  Unfortunately some of those involved have died or are no longeractive. In other instances more progressive elements have been replaced bya younger cohort, with little interest in politics or experience of prison orconflict. Twenty five years after the Good Friday Agreement the main loyalistorganisations remain in existence. Why?

Maybe for some it is a way of life. For others it is alucrative way of life especially for those who are involved in the illegaldrugs trade. In many cases it is impossible to distinguish between thetwo. There is not even a pretense that they are interested in anything otherthan racketeering, extortion, drug pushing and money making. But not allloyalists are like that.

Incidentally, the scourge of illegal drugs is not confined to anyone section here. It is a huge problem also in other communities across thisisland  with some of the gangs involved flying ‘republican’ flags ofconvenience and also cooperating with their ‘loyalist’ counterparts in criminalactivities. In my view this is a policing issue which requires a more urgentand strategic focus by the PSNI and An Garda Síochána.

So what is loyalist paramilitarism about today?  In thepast the main loyalist organisations were run as ‘counter gangs’ by British andRUC Special Branch. In fact some were established or resurrected by BritishIntelligence agencies. This is now a matter of public record. So iscollusion. There was also a crossover between membership of the old B Specialsand the Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR) and loyalist paramilitaries.  Themain unionist political parties also maintained a close relationship with themain loyalist paramilitaries. In fact the DUP set up its own paramilitarygroups including Ulster Resistance which went on to import arms from theApartheid regime in South Africa in 1988. To my knowledge Ulster Resistance hasnever been properly investigated by our media nor did it engage with theCommission responsible for putting weapons beyond use.

So why are loyalist paramilitaries still in existence?  Theyobviously still recruit. So too, it seems, do  so called republican dissidentgroups. Those who genuinely disagree with Sinn Féin should do the decentthing and pursue their aims peacefully and politically. There is no reason forarmed groups to exist.

For its part when the IRA formally ended its armed struggle in 2005 itstopped recruiting and left the stage. Sinn Féin has effectively filled thatspace and is the only republican movement nowadays. Sinn Féin is committed topurely political modes if struggle. It also has widespread popular support.

Loyalist working class people have no such organization, even inskeletal form to represent them.  Since the death of David Ervine, theloss of Billy Hutchinson’s seat in last year’s Council elections and theresignation of Dawn Purvis some years ago there seems little chance of loyalismorganizing itself politically and separately from the main unionist parties.This is despite their intense hostility towards in particular the DUP. They freely vent against the way they have been used and abused in thepast. They give off about the failure – or refusal- of the main unionistparties to secure services for deprived areas. And then they go off andelectioneer for the very same parties which exploit them in this way.

At the same time there are individuals including former loyalist prisoners,and some of the above, doing their best to improve conditions fortheir communities, which like their working class republicancounterparts suffer greatly from disadvantage and poverty.  In myopinion these are decent people as much opposed to the drugs trade and wantingbetter opportunities for young people as the rest of us.

There are numerous other activists in the civic and community sector,across Belfast loyalist neighbourhoods, particularly the women’s sector,with no paramilitary connections whatsoever, doing great work to tacklesectarianism and inequality. There are also former loyalist prisoners,alongside republicans, doing important work in Belfast’s so-calledinterface areas to ease tensions especially at times of heightened difficulties.

Getting them to go beyond this is extremely difficult. Maybe they don’thave the influence or the inclination at this time to do more. Maybe otherswould make life too difficult for them.

For our part those of us who are committed to the aim of uniting Protestants,Catholics and Dissenters should not give up on our loyalistneighbours. We can agree to disagree on the constitutional future of thisplace while coo-operating on social and economic needs.  That meansbeing avowedly anti-sectarian. At a personal level. At a community level. Andeventually at governmental level.

 

Peace requires respect forPalestinian rights

The four day ceasefire in Gaza andthe release of hostages, including Emily Hand the nine year old Irish/Israelichild, was a welcome development. Every effort must now be made to ensure therelease of all hostages. But this must include those Palestinian hostages – nownumbering in their thousands and including many children – some of whom havebeen interned by Israel for years.

The attacks by the Israeli army onthe families of Palestinian hostages is reprehensible. The occupation ofnorthern Gaza, the indiscriminate attacks on civilians, and the ongoing attacksagainst Palestinian families on the west Bank is evidence of the Israeli government’sdetermination to maintain its apartheid system. A Palestinian population almostequivalent to the entire population of the North has been forcibly displaced asrefugees. Over 15,000 people are now believed to have been killed in Gaza andalmost half of these have been children. The dreadful images of broken bodies,of shocked and wounded and orphaned children have moved millions around theworld to cry STOP to Israel’s genocidal slaughter of innocents.

The public claim by Israel that itsmilitary objective in Gaza and the west Bank is to destroy Hamas and to providesecurity for its future is false. Neither of these will be achieved. Israel’s current strategy has strengthened Hamas support amongPalestinians. No one with any sense can believe that the last six weeks ofindustrial level destruction in Gaza will have improved Israel’s security.

On the contrary Israel is becomingincreasingly isolated internationally. Around the world millions are on thestreets week after week demanding a permanent ceasefire and justice for thePalestinian people. The EU political consensus is breaking down with somegovernment’s criticising Israel and others now openly advocating forPalestinian statehood. Moreover, Israeli efforts to find allies among Arabstates, has taken a significant battering.

Thirty years ago – after the OsloAccords the Middle East peace process held out the real potential for a twostate settlement. As Seamus Heaney so wisely explained it in our own place in1994 after the IRA cessation – it was a space in which hope can grow. That’swhat happened here. Against all the odds. Because there was leadership tonurture the hope. But in the Middle East it was not to be. Successive Israeligovernments, and especially those led by Netanyahu, have deliberatelyundermined that latent possibility choosing instead to expand its theft ofPalestinian land. They have institutionalised an apartheid system of controland domination as inhumane and pervasive as that of South Africa. The desirefor an exclusively Zionist state from the Mediterranean to the Jordan hasbecome for many – but not all Israelis – the dominant aim of Zionism.

Whatever process of negotiations andpeace efforts emerge out of the current crisis it will only succeed if theZionist dispossession, occupation and apartheid regime is ended.  Nationalself-determination and equality of opportunity and respect for the rights ofPalestinians - alongside the rights of their Israeli  neighbours, has tobe the bedrock of any peace process.

 

The Far Right must be challenged

The horrifying stabbing in Dublinlast week of three children and a woman from Gaelscoil CholáisteMhuire and the subsequent street violence was shocking. And thebravery of those who tackled the attacker is to be commended.  Theburning of Garda cars and buses  and  the looting of shops  mustbe condemned. But that is not enough.  There are real questions about howthese events were handled  and about the lack of resources, policing capacityand intelligence.  

The people of Dublin’s inner city aredecent people. The far right represents only a tiny fraction of the population.But as in Europe and elsewhere they are a violent fraction eager to fomentdivision, promote disinformation, and encourage racism and hate. They mustbe opposed, challenged at every opportunity. So, well done to all of those whoparticipated in the trade union sponsored rally at the GPO on Monday.

Those involved in the violence willundoubtedly, as the Government has promised, face the full rigours of the law.But a thorough investigation is also required of Garda handling of the events.And a multi agency led strategy of social inclusion is also urgently needed sothat all of our young people have equality of opportunity.