Parties

The Belfast Telegraph carries David McKittrick’s interview with Gerry Adams, also in The Independent, in which the Sinn Féin president confirms that some of those suspended from SF (and possibly some of those expelled from the IRA?) are known to him personally.The main point of the interview appears, unsurprisingly, to be to retread Adams’ message to the SF Ard Fheis. But the article also includes Adams’ interpretation of the events on 30th January – The incident began with words in …

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While most eyes were on the theatrics yesterday, David Trimble was using the UUP annual meeting to throw a few punches at the DUP – while, seemingly, calling for a election pact.. but only for Westminster seats – while, apparently, ruling out participation in, not just an Executive that included Sinn Féin, but also an Assembly, according to the BBC report that is – “Ulster Unionists will not re-enter an assembly which includes Sinn Fein, party leader David Trimble has …

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Sinn Féin have suspended 7 party members over their alleged involvement in the murder of Robert McCartney. The seven were on a list of names provided by the McCartney family. The SF Party President Gerry Adams has issued a statement saying that “if any of the seven were found to have been involved, Sinn Fein would take action to expel them”. The full list of names is on its way to the Police Ombudsman. Pete Baker

Strange, but a year ago you would have said that of the two parties celebrating a centenrary, the one with most celebrate would not have been the UUs. Now with the chance to have some time out of the spotlight, and with most of the internal dissent gone, they seem to be having the better of it. Mick FealtyMick is founding editor of Slugger. He has written papers on the impacts of the Internet on politics and the wider media …

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AS reported on the UTV website, “Gerry Adams has scrapped plans to raise funds during a visit to the US next week”, or, as the SF press release puts it, “Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams will travel to the United States on March 12th for a series of speaking engagements and [political] meetings”. Both, however, carry the same line from a Sinn Fein spokesperson – “The political situation is much too grave for both Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness to …

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In The Guardian, Martin Kettle argues that, rather than Adams’ preferred analogy with South Africa and, by extension, Nelson Mandela, Gerry Adams’ role is more akin to Yasser Arafat – Unable to complete the transition from violent to peaceful politics, dependent on the networks of dishonesty on which his authority restsAS he points out, the forthcoming elections, north and south, are being seen in some quarters as an ‘existential crisis’ for Sinn Féin – Much has been said in the …

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So how is that when the Iraq war has the British left and right so split that the IRA and Sinn Fein can unite it, apparently, so completely. Dean Godson in the Spectator wonders how Ahern will deal with an apparently recalitrant Republican movement.He warns there are some stringent lessons from history: Southerners have historically afforded the republican movement a degree of latitude in operating up north. But woe betide republicans who subvert the south: de Valéra hanged his former …

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Graham Walker, unionist and author of A History of the Ulster Unionist Party, has a piece in the Irish Times (subs needed) to mark the centenary of the formation of the Ulster Unionist Council (UUC) where he briefly goes through the Ulster Unionist Party’s history and, more relevant to today, mentions its continuing disinterest in winning over Catholics to the unionist cause.Walker begins by saying those behind the UUC initiative were “younger, middle-class politicians impatient with the patrician leadership of …

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Another interesting report in the Irish Times, Sinn Féin in the red for the first time in years. According to Sinn Féin’s Finance Director, Dessie Mackin The party’s accounts for the year 2004 will be published in April and will show that it is “in the red for about €400,000” – that’s the party’s head office accounts, which for 2003 showed a surplus of €271,358, and for 2002 recorded a surplus of €188,639.Some detail of SF’s Head Office accounts, and …

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Another article worth paying attention to, from John Waters in the Irish Times – whose previous IT article, back in January, on the thawing consciousness of Irish society is looking more and more prescient. This time his focus is on Sinn Féin’s credibility problemThe article deserves to be read in full, so I’ll resist the temptation to excerpt isolated lines or paragraphs, but I have added emphasis – Sinn Féin’s credibility problem – John Waters My daughter and her friend …

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ANNE Cadwallader interviews Ian Paisley Jr in Daily Ireland. She finds many parallels between him and his father, who Junior will always be defined against, but are they really such comparable personalities? One interesting note is how Ian Jr doesn’t deny reports that he wrote his father’s “sackcloth and ashes” speech, which some have said scuppered last year’s political deal.In response, Paisley says: “That is a widely held view out there. I do my job. It if attracts adverse publicity, …

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The excellent Newshound has this article by Ed Moloney from Ireland on Sunday. Whether the movement he notes is a ‘momentous step’, or a sideways shuffle, is a matter of interpretation. But his conclusions, and recommendations, are worth noting.Those final paragrpahs indicate that he clearly believes that any talk of an IRA split is only talk. And, more importantly, he notes that it was the public pressure, in support of the McCartney family, that forced the IRA to take the …

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RTÉ is reporting that there has been an IRA statement in which they state that, after “an investigation”, the three individuals responsible for the murder of Robert McCartney have been dismissed from the organisation. But, so far, only one individual has, as the BBC reports “made a statement to his solicitor”. Timing, eh? No-one, at this time, is in custody, or, has been charged. Pete Baker

A heads-up from Richard Delevan’s well-informed sicNotes. After the confirmation of the sanction on Sinn Féin’s Assembly grant and with the House of Commons about to debate the removal of SF MPs’ parliamentary allowances, the UUP website reports (who knew?) that, following a significant number of requests from MEPs, MEP Jim Nicholson, in his role as Chairman of the College of Quaestors (kind of a chief shop steward for MEPs, IIRC), has instructed the European Parliament’s parliamentary services to give …

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THE UUP has been accused by Sinn Fein of trying to criminalise republicans in its latest leaflet. It pictures Gerry Adams with half his face covered with a balaclava and accuses Sinn Fein of having consistently lied about IRA criminality. Makes a change from attacking the DUP, I suppose.Barry McCaffrey reported in the Irish News yesterday: A bitter war of words erupted last night with Sinn Fein accusing the Ulster Unionists of attempting to criminalise its voters. The row came …

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WHILE attention has been focused elsewhere, Sinn Fein has published an (appropriately named!) green paper on Irish unity. Whatever your thoughts on it, surely this is a useful starting point on the debate? Beats bombs anyway.Speaking at the launch, Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams said: “In 1992 Sinn Féin published a document ‘Towards a Lasting Peace in Ireland’ which set out our party’s peace strategy. That document signposted the development and evolution of the peace process. Now in 2005 we …

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AS Michael McGimpsey replaces Rev Martin Smyth as the UUP’s westminster candidate in South Belfast, the DUP says it will offer voters and alternative hardline unionist choice to the Trimble supporter. Belfast Gonzosluggerotoole.com

WHILE Gerry Adams’ popularity has sunk to an ‘all time low’, support for Sinn Fein remains practically unchanged, according to an Irish Independent poll.UTV reported: The poll asked a cross-section of the Irish public a number of questions, among them: “Do you believe or not that Sinn Féin was reponsible for the breakdown of the northern peace process in December 2004 by refusing to allow photographs of weapons being decommussionsed?” to which 46% replied that they thought so, 39% replied …

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