The 20th IMC report has been published [pdf file here]. Northern Ireland Secretary of State Shaun Woodward, MP, responds. And RTÉ reports Republic of Ireland’s Justice Minister Dermot Ahern’s comments. The BBC report focusses on what the IMC say about dissident republican paramilitaries – as does the Irish Times. Only Dermot Ahern appears to have read Henry McDonald’s article..
This reads as if a mad picaresque tale. Myers as first a reporter for RTÉ and then as a freelance journalist with no real experience, finds himself wandering into savagery as he hastens north as the Troubles explode. A soldier dies next to him; he witnesses an IRA ambush; he sees children shot to death [...] read our review »
How has Ulster unionism arrived at where it is today – fractured and uncertain, yet dominated electorally by the DUP, a party that tells us it offers unionists sure footing in uncertain times? In his latest book, Ulster’s Last Stand? Reconstructing Unionism after the Peace Process (Irish Academic Press, 2010), Prof. James McAuley from the [...] read our review »
Are you confused about ‘dissident’ Irish Republicanism? Anxious about its existence and its seemingly increasingly deadly capabilities? Martyn Frampton’s new book, Legion of the Rearguard: Dissident Irish Republicanism (Irish Academic Press, 2011) serves both as a primer on active dissident groups and a timely analysis of their historic significance and contemporary capabilities. This book clears [...] read our review »
“This underlines the fact that the devolution of policing and justice is not some abstract concept but will have a real and positive impact on people’s lives and the problems they face on a daily basis.
The Report also makes reference to the potential for dissident groups to exploit uncertainty on this issue and try to argue that politics is not winning in Northern Ireland when the reality is very different.”
Well said Shaun.
All the Unioinst parties from Alliance to TUV need to re-examine their positions on this issue or they will continue to be open to the charge of not working in the best interests of the security of the people of Norn Iron.
“The devolution of justice and policing has yet to be achieved but we think it is now
timely to look ahead to when that happens. It will provide two important
opportunities. First, it will facilitate the closer integration of law enforcement with
other domestic policy. Second, it will enable the Executive and Assembly to
ensure that the functioning of the criminal justice system is fully aligned to the new
circumstances. Behind both these issues lies the concept of an overarching law
enforcement strategy tailored to the needs of a normalised Northern Ireland”
From the IMC report – not a republican mouthpiece in anyway – just a bunch of sincere people hoping for a way forward.