Is it fair?

This story began a few days ago when the British Army revealed it had applied to attend a jobs fair in Derry/Londonderry in a bid to speak with anyone interested in a military career. This, of course, led to a row as the BBC report makes clear as Nationalist politicians on Derry and Strabane Council were vehemently opposed…

“Sinn Féin’s Christopher Jackson said his party “fully opposed” the military’s attendance and they would “not be welcome” at the event, run by the Department for Communities (DFC)…SDLP councillor Brian Tierney also argued against it, saying there were “ample opportunities” elsewhere for anyone wishing to join the armed forces. He also raised concerns about “potential security risks” at the event, if the military were invited.”

…whilst Unionist politicians came out forcefully in support…

“Hussey said the opposition from the nationalist benches was “disgraceful” and “tears the heart out of me”. Citing his own family’s military background, Hussey said he was “proud” of the contribution of the many local people who don the uniform to serve their country. DUP councillor Chelsea Cooke said many local young people would welcome the prospect of joining the British Army. “I know many young people who are proud of joining the British Army and various young people who need jobs, and this is one route,” she said. “We need to be respectful of them, and I welcome them to these opportunities.”

Then DUP leader Gavin Robinson got involved…

“Opposition to the armed forces attending a Londonderry jobs fair is “a complete failure of political leadership”, the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) leader Gavin Robinson has said….He said DUP ministers “would not allow discrimination against those seeking to pursue a career in the armed forces”…Robinson said the “spectacle” which played out within the council “highlighted a complete failure of political leadership”.

After the British Army confirmed it was not attending due to the controversy, Robinson declared he did not believe that Michelle O’Neill was a ‘First Minister for All’…

“DUP leader Gavin Robinson has said he does not believe that Michelle O’Neill is a “First Minister for all”. Mr Robinson called on the Sinn Féin vice president to “show leadership” after a row over a jobs fair in Derry. Mr Robinson said it was “a failure of leadership” in nationalism and republicanism. He told the BBC Nolan Show: “The First Minister for all needs to speak up and say her people got it wrong, those councillors got it wrong. “They have created a hostile environment which is unwelcome in Northern Ireland.”

To which First Minister Michelle O’Neill responded rather pugilistically…

“First Minister Michelle O’Neill has called for DUP leader Gavin Robinson to “butt out” of a row over a jobs fair in Londonderry. Her comments came after she was accused of not being a “first minister for all” because her party, Sinn Féin, said the armed forces would not be welcome at the event…The first minister said it was “inappropriate” that the Army would be invited, and that she would not “take lectures” from Robinson about how the people of Derry felt about the issue. Asked what her response said to unionists, O’Neill said: “It may not have went the way the DUP would have liked, but they have to respect the outcome.”

Is it hypocritical for the First Minister to say she is a First Minister for all when hosting the British Army is clearly too difficult for Nationalist dominated councils to contemplate? Earlier this year Belfast City Council declined to implement the Armed Forces Covenant due to Nationalist opposition, showing a pattern of behaviour.

On the other hand, is it disingenuous of Unionist politicians to act as if the Nationalist community’s difficult relationship with the British military does not exist and to ignore all the history there that informs that relationship, a history that is surely felt all the more keenly in Londonderry/Derry?

Slugger Team

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