Thursday, January 19, 2006
Unionists invent another gripe
I was interested to read Fred Cobain's thoughts on the price Sinn Féin should pay to get back into the North's assembly (hat-tip Slugger).After meeting US Congressmen in Belfast, Ulster Unionist MLA Fred Cobain MLA warned that the IRA must surrender every property, piece of land or business it has acquired over five decades if Sinn Féin is to have a future policing or justice minister in the North.
He also warned the NIO that it must not ignore any ill-gotten gains republicans may have amassed before last July’s IRA statement declaring an end to its armed campaign.
"What the British Government is trying to do is play smoke and mirrors with this issue and say that criminality has ended from last July," the North Belfast Assembly member said. "Any of the criminality and ill-gotten gains before that could be swept under the carpet. There is no way unionists are going to accept that. Criminality in all its forms must end and that means the criminal empire that the Provisionals have built is going to have to be brought some way into the light for the police to deal with. Every piece of property, piece of land, business will have to be surrendered. They have a financial empire. We have seen that in some of the money-laundering stuff it is very sophisticated. Are we going to allow that to continue just because it was before the IRA statement in July 2005?"
I think this is getting ridiculous and tiresome.
One minute the problem is decommissioning, so the IRA decommission - but still unionists are unsatisfied.
The next minute the problem is actually the IRA's armed campaign, so the IRA declare the armed campaign over - but still unionists are unsatisfied.
Notice a pattern emerging?
Now the problem has become the IRA's assets! It's a farce. Whatever will be demanded next?
Unionists won't share power until Quantum Leap returns
Unionist intransigence on these matters is unacceptable. Progress has been halted for long enough.
The people of Ireland voted for the institutions outlined under the Good Friday Agreement and as democrats it is the duty of the parties in the North to make it work.
The two governments may have to consider resorting to desperate measures if unionists continue to refuse sharing power with nationalists.
Joint Authority may now be required.
This unionist intransigence reminds me of an old British saying about the 'Irish problem' that I think is worth altering slightly...
Every time Sinn Féin come up with the answers,
The unionists keep changing the questions.
Enough of this nonsense.
© 2008 United Irelander.
