Haass, the dangers within.
Ladies and Gentlemen, it’s a pleasure to be here and I am delighted to see so many Unionists here today with their principles still intact, despite the ongoing attempts at discrediting our moral and reasonable opposition to the appeasement of unrepentant murderers.
“A society is defined not only by what it creates, but by what it refuses to destroy.”
~ John Sawhill
Haass
Dr Richard Haass and Dr Meghan O’Sullivan arrived in Northern Ireland last year intending to pursue an agenda which was at odds with the aim of preserving our British way of life and indeed, the Union itself.
The three strands the two Doctors put forward for discussion were agreed to disappointingly by both joint First Ministers; namely parading, flags and emblems, and dealing with the past, – I am thankful they didn’t include equality, as Gerry Adams no doubt had a cunning plan to produce his Trojan horse.
All three items are central to IRA/Sinn Fein’s strategy for undermining and directly attacking our culture and traditions and ultimately, in the case of dealing with the past, an attempt to justify the unjustifiable, decades of mass murder, economic destruction with bombings, and a range of other despicable activities which are still continuing today.
Parading
Gerry Adams himself admitted in Athlone at a graveside speech in the nineties, the residents’ groups set up across the Province ‘did not happen by accident.’
Freedom of assembly and expression are protected under articles 10 & 11 of the European Convention of Human Rights, however, Haass suggests ‘societal interests’ supersede this legislation in deference to objections raised by republicans, using excuses ranging from commerce to community relations.
‘Parades Commission II’ is presented, with the necessity for all executive parties to approve decisions, with no clarification of shared spaces, or arterial routes being neutral.
Of course, OFMdFM are afforded central joint influence on any new body, and the goalposts are moved to permit anyone from anywhere in NI, object to any parade, anywhere, in Northern Ireland.
In Ardoyne, automatic gunfire, and just recently, a RPG attack at Police lines, achieved the objective of having no return parade home for the stoic marchers.
The residents’ spokesman was allowed to openly threaten to ‘bring thousands onto the street’ if the parade was ever to be permitted to pass by their enclave.
In comparison, bandsmen face prosecution for playing musical instruments.
In August last year, Republicans commemorated two bombers who set out in 1973 to blow up the very town the march was taking place in, namely Castlederg.
The Parades Commission determined it wasn’t contentious enough to ban, and gave it the all clear.
If this is a glimpse of a shared future, then it really does not augur well for the next generation, or for that matter the many victims who day in day out have to suffer in silence whilst terrorists are treated like statesmen and the empty chairs, at this time of year, bring home the reality of this obscene and immoral appeasement process.
Flags and Emblems
To restrict the flying of the proud symbol of our identity by the very people who reduced our capital city down to rubble with bomb after bomb, compounds the insult considerably.
TUV policy is quite clear, we advocate the daily flying of our National flag on our capital’s City Hall and in our submission, we made reference to policy in the USA, which prohibits not only any other flag from flying alongside the Stars and Stripes, but also recommends flying from schools, and public or administrative buildings on a daily basis.
We want the same rights for the people of Northern Ireland, or are we to be treated differently?
In addition, the US Flag flies 24 hours a day at the White House, the Washington Monument and other sites of national importance “under specific legal authority”.
Alas, here in Northern Ireland, normal rules of democracy do not apply, as the mutual veto in the Assembly renders any possibility of flying the Union Flag daily on the Stormont estate highly unlikely.
Dealing with the past.
The Haass team’s insulting refusal to morally uphold the principle of victims being created by terrorists, and the vast gulf in difference between those who carried out acts of terrorism and those who were murdered in cold blood as a direct consequence of their cowardly and sickening actions, is one of many core errors of judgement reached by the American duo.
Remarkably, throughout not just the section on the past, but the entire document, omits any mention of the IRA.
There was however, a proposal to create a parallel Police force, which would exclude any former member of the RUC George Cross and UDR, to oppose what they described as ‘state actors.’
Liam Neeson and Jimmy Nesbitt must be quaking in their boots.
In total, six new quangos are proposed, all under the remit of OFMdFM,
which ensures Bogside Marty will have his personnel placed into each and every one, and only executive parties will be given any involvement in the composition of such bodies.
Contending with the past, to use the Haass team’s terminology, is undoubtedly a complex issue, fraught with overlapping issues which are hindered by the lack of transparency from paramilitary groupings who are unsurprisingly reluctant to divulge any incriminating evidence in relation to their respective organisation’s past deeds.
It is imperative that we in TUV stand up for the numerous victims across not only Northern Ireland, but right across the rest of the UK and mainland Europe.
If we are to have enquiries, then let’s examine the organisation, and specifically, the leadership responsible for the majority of atrocities.
Kingsmills, Darkley, La Mon, Bloody Friday, Narrow Water, Enniskillen, Droppin Well Inn, Ballygawley, Warrington, Shankill, all remain unresolved.
To continue to reward those who inflicted such misery and mayhem on the rest of our citizens, in return for a reduction in murderous activity, is truly abhorrent.
The planned shrine at the Maze was a prime example of how desperate republicans are to claim legitimacy for their campaign of destruction.
How the DUP were willing to go along with plans to glorify Hunger Strikers and the intended retention of the buildings which housed the countless psychopaths and dedicated murderers of the IRA is beyond me.
Summary
In any shared future, adherence to the democratic wishes of Northern Ireland‘s electorate and our position within the UK must be reflected on our capital’s City hall.
Primacy must be afforded to punishing and restricting those who threaten, or indeed resort to violence to achieve their intolerant objectives in preventing peaceful expressions of culture on a shared arterial route.
Parades commemorating, or celebrating terrorists from any quarter must be prohibited.
Lastly, and perhaps most poignantly of all, the savage and barbaric perpetrators of terrorism must be dealt with and punished for their crimes against humanity.
The HET must be funded adequately, and staffed with appropriate personnel to ensure no stone is left unturned in pursuit of justice for victims.
In closing, my principled position has not deviated since entering politics in the run up to the Belfast Agreement in the nineties.
As long as I have breath in my body, I will continue in the fight against the ongoing appeasement of unrepentant murderers. I know those of you here today will stand by your convictions and together, we will expose the truth and shame those who have held our beloved Ulster to ransom for so long.