After 23 years, but only 36 hours after the RIRA, the CIRA inflict their first casualty.
A 48 year old PSNI officer, it appears, was lured into an ambush in a nationalist housing estate in Craigavon Co Armagh.
This is quite different from the killing of the British soldiers as the target was a local man and a serving officer of a police force that was slowly becoming "everybody's".
As I outlined in my previous post, this should not change anything, the military capacity and political strength of the groups is at best an irritant. There is no threat to the political or civic institutions.
As such the response should be;
Sinn Féin. Need to continue to be clear in their condemnation of this killing. Continue to encourage people to work with the police. McGuinness should leave for the Washington meeting.
DUP. Need to start publically calling for no response from Loyalists and need to demand they decommission. They also need to realise that governing means a lot more than vetoing Republican projects. Robinson should also go to the Washington meeting as planned.
Hugh Orde. Need to resist any temptation or pressure to use any sort of military support to the police. The PSNI should be given further police resources and they should easily be able to contain this.
Irish Government. Need to ignore any calls for new legislative nonsense, such as internment as suggested by Senator Eoin Harris.
British Government. Need to stop overreacting. The visit by Gordon Brown was not necessary. It served only to confirm my unease that it's the dissidents that are driving the agenda. They also need to remove all British army personnel, including those garrisoned in the six counties, back to Britain.
Those in powerful and influential position have to stop, take a breath and reflect. The Island hasn't changed because of this and the only people who will ensure that these killings escalate are those in position of power and influence.
Steady as she goes is the wisest course at this time.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
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9 comments:
I hope the peace process can continue. Ireland will be the chief nation to suffer the is the peace is broken not the English. These issues just make Northern Ireland go backwards.
Look i am serious there is no way those northern irish brits want to be part of the republic, they are more british than the mainland brits, so what about a swap give liverpool to ireland. It would not bother me as a brit. What about a land swap.
Most scousers are irish. Why not? a swap deal, or how about i bet there are part of the uk that would be happy to be part of ireland with all the irish immigration.
I think this could satisfy those who feel humiliated by northern ireland being part of the UK.
It ill behoves an elected Councillor to be making the case that it is ok to kill soldiers but not policemen just because his party has made the decision to accept the PSNI. Perhaps I am a bit dim, but did people north and south of the border not vote in favour overwhelmingly for the good Friday Agreement and therefore for the ending of all political violence? Councillor Forde, you can't have it both ways. People are more intelligent than you seem to think they are.
Anon- it behoves people to think.
Now where did I say that it was ok to kill?
Nowhere because I didn't.
Its plainly obvious to me, and anyone who looks at Irish history, that the potential consequences of the kiling of a policeman are much more dangerous than those of soldiers.
Can you not see this?
Must we all participate in a outraged moral pissing competititon in relation to all three murders so we can all feel better about ourselves. I abhor group think and little circle jerks of mutual approval and blandly condemning these actions without analysing their potential to derail a peaceful political process is, in my view, highly irresponsible.
I did not and will not, as you claim, "make the case thats its ok to kill soldiers".
Well said Killian. Good piece.
Killian, how can you support a so called police force (RUC/PSNI) that uses 28 day detention orders to basically intern people?
Not that I support either but 28 day detention orders and internment are hardly the same. For a start there aren't 2,000 people being held under 28 day detention orders...
It's funny how the people that put out statements saying that internement and detention orders are the same thing are the first ones to distance themselves from people who are arrested and subsequently held under 28 day detention orders.
Killian will you post my blog as a link le do thoil
http://sinnfeinkeepleft.blogspot.com/
some people where interned for less than 28 days. as a former pow martin mcguiness spent something like 30 day's in jail, although agreed he was not interned, he was charged and convicted.
but just to make the point 28 days..bad.
p.s so was 7 which i was surprised to see SF support.
3 day's is shit as well. the whole thing, giving cops more time to establish 'facts', make time to make people say black is white more like.
any way way of topic. good blog, it's not as dry as some. all the best.
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