Conflict

OK, I haven’t technically sorted out the long-running Parades issue just yet, but I think I’ve got a viable blueprint, provided the communities in question have the leadership and resolve to pull it off.

So, Let’s Work Out The Grievances

The Orange Order are the parading Kings (and Queens) of Northern Ireland. They organise more expeditions per year than your local hiking group and are generally well-attended by certain sections of the community.

These Parades don’t exactly knock the socks off some Nationalist residents, who steadfastly refuse to allow parades to pass through ‘their’ areas. And no wonder. We only have to look to the violence on the Springfield Road last year when marchers were denied access to the Whiterock. Would you want those yahoos ripping tiles off your roof and smashing up your car?

But then, is it possible that Nationalists are provoked into reacting by their local resident’s groups? I mean, if managed properly how long would a parade take to pass through the area? An hour, two at most. Better still, instead of pretending to be prisoners in your own home, come out and support the parade because you can. If you must get caught up in symbolism, let it be positive.

Right, are you with me so far? In summary: Orange Order - your entourage is carrying too much riff raff. Nationalist residents - you’re getting too shirty about a parade that’ll have passed in an hour.

The Spirit Of Reconciliation

OK. Swallow hard people, this is where we have to accommodate.

Orange Order & Guests: Leave the rabble behind. It may be the Queen’s highway, but this is a bridge building exercise. If anyone on the day looks like they’re geared for trouble, tell them to watch the parade via BBC1 or meet you down the Kneebreakers later. Likewise, anyone with terrorist connections should probably stay at home too.

The people of the Nationalist area you are proposing to walk through aren’t thrilled about the music. Perhaps an appropriate silence as you pass through would be a fitting mark of respect.

On the plus side, if all goes well this year, next year’s parade will be a doddle to organise and we might not need the Parades Commission to intervene.

Nationalist Residents: You are inviting the Protestant people into your area under friendly terms. Don’t underestimate the significance of this.

I’d like to see a welcoming gesture at the interface, with a selection of members of the community greeting the parade as it begins to pass through. Perhaps a banner celebrating the occasion and welcoming the parade through and an appropriate photo op handshake between the leader of the parade and one of the residents.

To come back to the issue of disenfranchisement from September, it might show that the two areas aren’t all that different. It might show Protestants that West Belfast Catholics live much the same way and have similar lifestyles. It’s not Beverley Hills on the Falls Road compared with Ethiopia on the Shankill!

A Model For The Future?

Am I being stunningly naive as usual? Are both parties so consumed by bigotry that they don’t want a solution to this? Or are they simply allowing themselves to be stirred up by their ‘community leaders’?

Not to blow my own trumpet, but I think this is a fine model for peaceful parades in Northern Ireland. On both sides.

No-one can ‘win’ the parades issue. It is something that recurrs every year and isn’t likely to stop. The best that everybody can hope for is a peaceful compromise.

Wednesday, May 31st, 2006 // Northern Ireland: Politics

Spurred on by Matthew Ingram’s post on blogs affecting politics (and society), I’m wondering to what extent local (Northern Irish) bloggers can challenge traditional preconceptions in our wider society.

That was a long sentence! What I mean is, can blogs like Slugger encourage a wider variety of debate than what we’re exposed to when it’s just one-way propaganda from the party press office?

I specifically mention Slugger O’Toole, because Mick Fealty and the team have done a fantastic job of creating an open forum for debate. In fact, a few people (who don’t know about my double life as Levee) have recommended Slugger to me. They’re always enthusiastic. Many can see from the comments how regressive the ‘old’ attitudes are, and biggoted commentary exposes the futility of the traditional stances (my opinion).

There are other sites which impress me due to their seeming desire to explore new avenues. For instance, Big Ulsterman regularly challenges traditional ideologies by putting forward an alternative viewpoint and trying to reconcile ‘his’ culture and background with Nationalism and (to a lesser degree) Catholicism. He too, appears tired of politics here running around in circles with nothing ever being resolved and rarely ends a post without suggesting something Big that his subject might undertake.

Can Northern Irish Bloggers Make A Difference?

Over to you. Can those of us who blog on politics here make a difference? Is our audience wide enough to make a dent in the old school? What was your motivation for starting a blog in the first place (assuming you have one)?

Update: Slugger has recently run a more detailed commentary on this subject. Worth a read.

Thursday, April 27th, 2006 // Northern Ireland: Politics

I’m stunned this evening to read about the shooting of Denis Donaldson, the former Sinn Fein head of administration. According to the BBC:

…a neighbour had found Mr Donaldson’s body on the floor of his house with a gunshot wound to the head….Mr Donaldson moved out of his Belfast home last December, and had been living in a run-down cottage without electricity or running water in County Donegal.

For once, I can echo the words of Gerry Adams: “We are living in a different era, and in the future in which everyone could share”. In the back of my mind, I suspected that Donaldson might be a target, but ruled it out because, as Adams said, times have changed.

Moreover, Ian Paisley has waded in. Not to offer words of consolation to Donaldson’s family, of course. No, he’s using it to justify (yet again) his entrenched position. Congratulations, Reverend Paisley, I’m glad to see the human element didn’t win over the usual political sentiments.

Given Donaldson’s connections to both the IRA and British intelligence agencies, there will certainly be some speculation as to who was behind his murder. Details are still emerging and the full story isn’t likely to be known for a few days yet. Fingers will be pointed in all directions.

I have to say that some responsibility must lie with the Sunday World, for tracking the man down and broadcasting his whereabouts to the world at large. Surely an ill-conceived plan all for the sake of a story?

As I said earlier on, I’m a bit shocked at the events still unfolding. However, John’s words from earlier today are still ringing in my ears and my thoughts (and hopefully yours too) are with the family of this man.

Tuesday, April 4th, 2006 // News & Media, Northern Ireland: Politics

Did you not know? Not content with bringing peace to these Emerald Shores, the venerable Gerry Adams has been applying pressure on other terrorist groups to come in from the struggle, wipe their feet and get involved in politics.

According to the Sinn Fein website:

“Sinn Fein has been in dialogue with all of the Basque political parties and in particular Batasuna. [Gerry has] also written to the Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Zapatero.

Sinn Féin’s objective has been to promote conflict resolution and to assist in whatever way we can the development of a peace process.”

It’s a bit like one of those annoying ex-smokers running around trying to get everyone else to stop smoking too, isn’t it?

As you would expect, Gerry lapses into a bit of Provie-speak that wouldn’t sound out of place in our own peace process. “The government needs to respond creatively and stop political policing trails, etc, etc.”

Part of me is sceptical about this, but another part is thinking “Fair play to Sinn Fein if they’re serious about the political path.” Let’s face it, after the Denis Donaldson business, the party could have faced an almighty backlash from supporters who felt they had been duped into accepting a political solution. I’m glad that didn’t happen.

Wednesday, March 22nd, 2006 // Northern Ireland: Politics

I understand the Healing Through Remebering group had some concerns over the televised format of Facing The Truth, and having seen the overblow starting sequence, it’s easy to see why.

Whoever thought that it was a good idea to have Archbishop Tutu’s entrance by helicopter, that ridiculous ‘tension’ music and the over-the-top introduction by Fergal Keane needs their head examined. Hardly a sensitive treatment of a situation where breaved relatives meet a convicted killer.

Food For Thought

I’ve managed to catch a couple of episodes of Facing The Truth. The first thing that struck me was the incredible bravery of everyone involved. Yes, that includes the perpetrators.

Watching victims of violence come face to face with murderers was a tremendously difficult thing to watch, let alone be a part of. I can only imagine the kind of courage it takes to participate in a meeting like this.

Likewise for the perpetrator. Whatever you think of Michael Stone, he is a child of the ‘Troubles’ too. And whether you are cynical as to his motives (as Mrs Levee is), he at least showed up and told of his part in the Dermot Hackett murder. And as reprehensible as that sounds, I think the cold, hard facts were welcome also.

How intelligence was gathered by Loyalists and passed to him. How he tested the weapon that was used in the murder. How he had to dehumanize his targets in order to carry out the commands he was given. How he led a double life at the expense of his marriages and family.

However, I feel that Michael Stone was affected by his meeting with the Hackett family. For one thing, he couldn’t really look Sylvia Hackett in the eye. For another, he clung to the Loyalist intelligence that said Dermot Hackett was an IRA member, despite the obvious counter-claim that if he was an IRA member, then the IRA would have taken over the funeral and given him a military burial. As it was, the IRA publicly denied he was a member.

Can We Handle The Truth?

I have to disagree with the Healing Through Remembering group on this occassion. I think the people of Northern Ireland need to see this ’storytelling process’. We need to see both sides. That Stone’s crusade gained him notoriety and respect in Loyalist circles, did not protect him from facing the reality of a woman who he made a widow of.

As a group, the people of Northern Ireland need to see the consequence of bitter sectarianism and political division. Ian Paisley needs to see it. Gerry Adams needs to see it. Our ‘leaders’ need to see it because they’ve got it wrong over 40 years. While they’ve been busy exploiting the divisions in our society, they could have been busy uniting our society.

As I see it, those narrow political interests are as responsible for these deaths as the gunmen themselves. Anyway, I’ll tackle that later.

Thank You And Best Wishes

I feel it’s important to thank the Hackett family and Michael Stone for allowing their meeting to be televised. This wasn’t about confrontation - it was about resolution.

We got to hear both sides of the story, and though parts of it were hard to swallow, it seemed to be the truth. The most important thing is that this is about moving on from the past, and hopefully these meetings help people gain closure. No, they won’t change events of the past, and moving on will be difficult.

And also, where Stone claimed to dehumanize his victims, I think we need to be aware that we dehumanize (or demonize) the perpetrators of violence in Northern Ireland. Perhaps the people who once terrorised this province 20 years ago can become the same people who help us achieve peace in the end? Just a thought…

Anyway, I do hope this process has helped those involved to come to terms with the past and to move on in a positive way, both the victims and the perpetrators.

Tuesday, March 7th, 2006 // Northern Ireland: Politics

Via Notnem, I came across the Creative Ireland website and this forum thread, featuring Photoshopped ‘alternate endings’ for Saturday’s rioting in Dublin.

There’s some really inventive versions including a War Of The Worlds invasion, Gardai holding back rioters and Oliphaunts from Lord Of The Rings and this wartime shot with Zeppelin hovering overhead….

I’m glad some folk can see the funny side of this. I was in stitches!

Update: This thread has hit the big time. It’s been covered by The Star and there’s three more pages of photo’s since I last visited. Some great Star Wars piss-takes, Independence Day and near the end a pic of the Orange marchers in big green hats and carrying bags from Roches Stores! Congratulations to all the talented buggers who contributed to that thread!

Tuesday, February 28th, 2006 // News & Media, Northern Ireland: Politics