Parties – Page 47 – Slugger O'Toole

“The only way to neutralise the U.K. prefix…”

Pete Baker on January 9, 2012, 2:06 pm

| Readers 87

Nevin pointed at a rare tree of relevance in the comment zone yesterday. It’s the full statement from the former Sinn Féin “Director of Unionist Engagement“, now “Sinn Féin Junior Minister”, Martina Anderson, on the reluctance of some within Comhaltas to host the all-Ireland Fleadh in Londonderry during the UK City of Culture year. [That would be the Northern Ireland Executive Junior Minister? – Ed] Quite. It’s now being covered, 4 days after being issued, by the Derry Journal. How …

“Ireland faces a major challenge this year with the United Kingdom.”

Pete Baker on January 7, 2012, 5:07 pm

| Readers 89

Some interesting speculation from Paul Gillespie in the Irish Times on the potential outworkings of an Irish referendum on greater euro zone integration. From the Irish Times Unless the UK rethinks its veto (unlikely because of the political pressures on Cameron) it will become an outsider with an interest in the euro’s survival for its economic health, but now a rule-taker not maker. It failed to attract allies at the summit or since. Increasingly, too, continentals see Britain as a …

“we are a city of culture…”

Pete Baker on January 5, 2012, 3:36 pm

| Readers 117

More symptoms of that political psychosis in evidence in Londonderry. Sinn Féin’s Martina Anderson has informed the BBC that, at a meeting of the Irish music organisation Comhaltas in the city on Wednesday night, members failed to agree on a bid to host the all-Ireland Fleadh in 2013. From the BBC report “It is deeply disappointing,” [Martina Anderson] said. “My understanding is that County Derry branches are against it and the city branches are for it.” The problem? According to the report Sinn …

Belfast City Council to invite Irish Government to Somme Commemoration

Pete Baker on January 4, 2012, 9:35 pm

| Readers 70

Not a bad opening gambit ahead of all those anniversaries. Belfast City Council have agreed to invite the Irish Government to participate in the Somme and Remembrance Sunday commemorations in Belfast [this year?]. But it wasn’t unanimous. From the BBC report SDLP councillor Pat McCarthy proposed the move which was discussed at a city council meeting on Wednesday evening. There was no opposition to the motion. The two main unionist parties, the DUP and the UUP, agreed with the SDLP …

Tories and the UUP go their separate ways…

Mick Fealty on January 4, 2012, 8:29 pm

| Readers 62

Acrrmoniously, according to Ken Reid. The Tories, at last, are to properly organise in Northern Ireland and run against the UUP… The BelTel points out the obvious problem for them: …there is an obvious difficulty for the Tories before they have even organised strongly here. By promoting themselves, first and foremost, as a pro-union party – which should be an unsaid given – they will undoubtedly divorce themselves for a sizeable minority of the population. That begs the question of …

“Investigations mean more locks are applied…”

Pete Baker on January 3, 2012, 2:27 pm

| Readers 48

In the Belfast Telegraph, Brian Rowan picks up on former police ombudsman Nuala O’Loan’s call for a “unified investigatory body with powers to arrest and prosecute” to deal with the past and argues that this can only ever be a partial solution. From the Belfast Telegraph article. Investigations will only scratch the surface of what happened. The past is not just about who pulled a trigger, or who placed a bomb. It is about the orders and the thinking behind those …

Nuala O’Loan: “that is not the foundation for a just society.”

Pete Baker on December 27, 2011, 3:28 pm

| Readers 17

A novel suggestion for dealing with the past from former Northern Ireland Police Ombudsman, Nuala O’Loan, in a Guardian interview. And it’s not an “absurd” and “disingenuous” call for an international ‘truth’ commission. From the Guardian article …the former ombudsman, now Lady O’Loan, stressed that a “Waking the Dead” style unit investigating Ulster’s recent conflict would not be tantamount to a truth commission like that which dealt with the apartheid era in South Africa. “There should be one unified operation to deal …

“more to do with their reluctance to take the hard economic decisions…”

Pete Baker on December 23, 2011, 1:36 pm

| Readers 16

As Andy said in his post yesterday Many people were surprised when Sinn Féin did not take the influential Enterprise, Trade and Investment portfolio after last May’s election, even though it was theirs for the taking. I have heard it said that this absence of interest in the economy is partly due to a lack of confidence in economic matters: although the IRA prisoners who became Sinn Féin leaders were famous for their attention to their studies when they were …

“That would require approval by the justice committee, the executive and by the assembly as a whole”

Pete Baker on December 21, 2011, 11:18 pm

| Readers 9

According to the BBC report’s headline -“Justice minister may look into the rehiring of RUC officers”. Well, he may. At issue, apparently, are the unknown number of former RUC officers in the 399 staff currently supplied by a recruitment agency for temporary employment, as civilians, by the PSNI. Apparently, again, “Sinn Fein has asked the Northern Ireland Audit Office to investigate the issue.” [Because the NI Policing Board decided not to? – Ed] Possibly… But as the first linked BBC report notes of the …

PSNI & Security Service [MI5]: “a sound working partnership and one that is to be commended”

Pete Baker on December 21, 2011, 1:41 pm

| Readers 14

The Northern Ireland Secretary of State, Owen Paterson, has “received and welcomed a report from Lord Carlile of Berriew on the operation of arrangements for handling national security matters in Northern Ireland for the year to date.” But he’ll not be publishing it “given its sensitive nature”. From the NI Secretary of State’s statement The report points out that there have been serious incidents during 2011, including the murder of P.C Ronan Kerr in Omagh in April and states that the …

“Boston College declined Judge Young’s offer to seek a stay and appeal his decision”

Pete Baker on December 20, 2011, 12:10 pm

| Readers 4

In the Irish Times, Kevin Cullen adds a significant detail to the Boston College archive ruling. From the Irish Times report Boston College declined Judge Young’s offer to seek a stay and appeal his decision, saying it would turn the records over to him by tomorrow. Pete Baker

Boston College Ruling: “These are serious allegations, and they weigh strongly in favor of disclosing the confidential information.”

Pete Baker on December 17, 2011, 11:56 am

| Readers 23

Via Newshound. The Boston Globe reports the long awaited US court ruling on the release of the Boston College archive material. And it’s something of a half-way house. For now. From the Boston Globe report A federal judge rejected yesterday a motion by the trustees of Boston College to quash subpoenas that order them to turn over recordings of former members of the Provisional Irish Republican Army and other items to British officials investigating crimes including murder and kidnapping. But Judge …

“Something, Something, Something, Dark Side…”

Pete Baker on December 14, 2011, 6:35 pm

| Readers 130

The last time Sinn Féin wheeled out little known placeman, and non-public representative, Declan Kearney, in November 2009, the party was trying desperately to raise the stakes over the devolution of policing and justice powers – while muttering about “the NIO spooks and PSNI’s political detectives“. What he’s doing out of his box again is anyone’s guess… ANYhoo, here’s the script this time Sinn Fein’s support for democratically accountable policing is unambiguous, but it is not unconditional. We have repeatedly said that our Party …

Euro crisis: “Anyone who claims to know what is about to happen to Europe is a fool.”

Pete Baker on December 14, 2011, 11:56 am

| Readers 7

In the Guardian, Simon Jenkins identifies a key point missing from most analysis of the aftermath of the EU crisis summit. From the Guardian article Anyone who claims to know what is about to happen to Europe is a fool. An unprecedented collapse in world credit has hit against years of reckless state borrowing to produce economic meltdown. Where there is economic meltdown, there is always a danger of political meltdown. While all other sciences have advanced over the ages, …

Conor Maskey: “regardless of what the incident may or may not be…”

Pete Baker on December 12, 2011, 3:55 pm

| Readers 125

A short BBC report notes that one man has been arrested and a vehicle seized after a shot was fired at a man in the New Lodge area of north Belfast this morning. From the BBC report Detective Chief Inspector Alan Little said the attack was “an extremely reckless act in a heavily populated area”. He added: “We are investigating a number of lines of enquiry and I am keen to hear from anyone who was near the Antrim Road/Stratheden Street …

“be careful what you wish for…”

Pete Baker on December 11, 2011, 4:00 pm

| Readers 46

In the Belfast Telegraph, Henry McDonald picks up on the recent reports of the Historical Enquiries Team’s findings, and how they undermine the “changing narrative [that] has become mainstream republican orthodoxy”. From the Belfast Telegraph article The HET’s conclusions over the Enniskillen massacre paints those responsible as, at the very least, guilty of callous disregard for civilian life and, at the worst, as viscerally sectarian. In relation to Loughgall, the HET line is quite stunning, because it actually aids the …

Local Political Reaction to EU Crisis Summit Outcome

Pete Baker on December 10, 2011, 4:09 pm

| Readers 5

How have our local political parties reacted to the outcome of the EU crisis summit? Well, neither the Green Party nor the Alliance Party appear to have noticed… The “Conservative and Unionist” MEP, Jim Nicholson, has, unsurprisingly, “welcomed the use of the British veto over a new EU-wide treaty by Prime Minister David Cameron”. “David Cameron was correct in effectively vetoing a new treaty and keeping the United Kingdom out of this new economic accord agreed at the EU emergency summit, …

“The Reviewer states that the residual terrorist threat has continued on broadly the same level as 2010…”

Pete Baker on December 8, 2011, 5:55 pm

| Readers 8

The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Owen Paterson, MP, has published the Fourth Annual Report [pdf file] of Robert Whalley CB, Independent Reviewer of the Justice and Security (Northern Ireland) Act 2007 . From Owen Paterson’s statement The report highlights the continuing security threat posed by residual terrorist groups, the activity of organised criminals and incidents of public disorder. The Reviewer comments on the importance of the powers under the 2007 Act in dealing with this broad range of security …

“The Committee views this matter with the utmost seriousness…”

Pete Baker on December 7, 2011, 2:57 pm

| Readers 82

The BBC reports the Northern Ireland Assembly Public Accounts Committee’s (PAC) press release on their report in response to NI Audit Office report into the Farm Nutrient Management Scheme – the actual PAC report is here. In general there’s little new information on the NI Department of Agriculture’s mishandling of the Farm Nutrient Management Scheme – the largest capital grant scheme ever run by the Department of Agriculture, through which some 4000 farmers received grants worth £121million – an earlier draft PAC report was leaked to the …

“Splendid News!”, says the King.

Pete Baker on December 6, 2011, 9:03 pm

| Readers 6

As the Irish Times reports The original Anglo Irish Treaty document of 1921 has been made available to the public for the first time today in an online exhibition marking 90 years to the day since its signing. The Treaty was signed in the aftermath of the truce which ended the 1919-1921 War of Independence. The original document was acquired by the National Archives of Ireland from the Department of the Taoiseach in 2002 and has never before been made …