Sinn Féin's attitude toward Real IRA arrests.

MakeEmLaugh · 13-09-2012 10:42am #1

I am just wondering what people's expectations of Sinn Féin are towards the arrest of fourteen Real IRA members today? Obviously, the Real IRA broke away from the Provisional IRA/Sinn Féin in 1997, and probably do not hold Gerry Adams, Martin McGuinness et al in high regard.

However, Martin Ferris said, of the paramilitary display at Alan Ryan's funeral which has led to these arrests,

"This has been happening traditionally down through the years . . . I don’t think it’s a huge issue.

Ferris also described the litany of crimes in which Ryan is alleged to have been involved as "cynical media speculation".

This does not sound to me like someone who is hard-line on the Real IRA.

Additionally, several Sinn Féin members signed a letter to the Irish Times, which called for the release of Marian Price. Price is a former Provisional IRA volunteer, and prominent member of the 32 County Sovereignty Movement, the Real IRA's political front which was visible at Alan Ryan's funeral.

The Sinn Féin members who signed this statement include Ferris, Gerry Adams, Michael Colreavy, Mary Lou McDonald, Pearse Doherty, Aengus O Snodaigh and Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin.

Price was arrested after appearing alongside a masked Real IRA member in a cemetery in Derry in 2011. The Real IRA member read a statement, following the killing of Constable Ronan Kerr, which said

"The GAA, Catholic Church and constitutional nationalism will be unable to protect those who turn traitor. They are as liable for execution as anyone else regardless of their religion, cultural background or motivation."

Since Price opening supports these people, and Sinn Féin is sympathetic towards Price, are we going to see questions raised in the Dáil over the release of these fourteen "Prisoners of War" in the coming weeks?!

Laminations · 13-09-2012 11:26am

MakeEmLaugh wrote: »

Since Price opening supports these people, and Sinn Féin is sympathetic towards Price, are we going to see questions raised in the Dáil over the release of these fourteen "Prisoners of War" in the coming weeks?!

I doubt it but the support for Price is terribly misguided. Her cause and behaviour should not be supported and she should not be defended from the consequences of her actions. She was re imprisoned for breaking the terms of her release license. This did not need a trial to decide, it merely needed the approval of the secretary of state. That's how license releases and revocations work and it was clear in the GFA that prisoners were released on licensed and expected to reject dissident paramilitarism. They then moved it on to her health, she is allergic to prison it seems. Martin Corey was released on health grounds after incessant complaints about how he was deteriorating. Now that he is out, not a whisper about his poor health, likely because it ain't so poor no more.

Fenian Army · 13-09-2012 12:54pm

Right, where do I start with this?

Firstly you've selectively quoted Martin Ferris, he also said that that firing shots is "outdated" and there is "no need for militant republicanism".

Here's the full quote:

“This has been happening traditionally down through the years . . . I don’t think it’s a huge issue. It’s far more important to convince these people there’s no role for paramilitarism.”

And he is perfectly right.

He then also released a statement:

Last night Mr Ferris issued a statement clarifying his position. He said Sinn Féin had continuously condemned the ongoing activity of groups such as the Real IRA and asked them to disband.

He said there was “no justification” for such displays, and no necessity for them any more because there was a peace process.

This was the same as condemning the display, he said.

Sinn Féin figures such as MMG have called dissident republicans traitors and called on nationalist communities to report them to the PSNI. That's not a hard line? SF are loathed by dissidents, probably as much as the Brits.

As for Marian Price, lots of FF TDs(all of them I think) have signed letters, as have independent TDs like Clare Daly. They have also submitted parliamentary questions on her behalf. Nobel Peace Prize recipients have signed letters calling for her release. Noted human rights and peace activists have done likewise. The SDLP have called for her release. Sinn Féin have done so too. It's a large and growing campaign.

I suppose all these people and organizations have a sneaking regard for the RIRA? :rolleyes:

Laminations · 13-09-2012 1:03pm

Fenian Army wrote: »

Sinn Féin figures such as MMG have called dissident republicans traitors and called on nationalist communities to report them to the PSNI. That's not a hard line? SF are loathed by dissidents, probably as much as the Brits.

I would agree with you in thinking SF don't have much time for anti-GFA dissidents.

As for Marian Price, lots of FF TDs(all of them I think) have signed letters, as have independent TDs like Clare Daly. They have also submitted parliamentary questions on her behalf. Nobel Peace Prize recipients have signed letters calling for her release. Noted human rights and peace activists have done likewise. The SDLP have called for her release. Sinn Féin have done so too. It's a large and growing campaign.

I suppose all these people and organizations have a sneaking regard for the RIRA? :rolleyes:

The support for Price is terribly misguided.

Turner · 13-09-2012 1:12pm

When she held up the statement that the masked terrorist read out why did she not wear a balaclava too??

Lets just remind ourselves that this statement said that in their eyes it was ok for the RIRA to blow up and kill a young 25yr old Catholic Gaa playing police officer.

I dont think "lots of FF TDs(all of them I think)" "independent TDs like Clare Daly" "Nobel Peace Prize recipients" or any sane person would agree with this criminal and terrorist statement.

Fromthetrees · 13-09-2012 1:17pm

If writing letters is the price to pay to keep the vast bulk of the Sinn Fein movement in one broad peaceful tent then I'm all for it. If Ferris and a few of the other more 'hardline' Republicans were allowed brake off than the whole peace process could unravel.
They can write letters until O'Snodaigh runs out of ink once there's no one being killed it doesn't matter what they do.

And they will probably say these people are on the wrong path to achieve their goals ect.

SaoriseBiker · 13-09-2012 1:19pm

MakeEmLaugh wrote: »

I am just wondering what people's expectations of Sinn Féin are towards the arrest of fourteen Real IRA members today? Obviously, the Real IRA broke away from the Provisional IRA/Sinn Féin in 1997, and probably do not hold Gerry Adams, Martin McGuinness et al in high regard.

However, Martin Ferris said, of the paramilitary display at Alan Ryan's funeral which has led to these arrests,

"This has been happening traditionally down through the years . . . I don’t think it’s a huge issue.

Ferris also described the litany of crimes in which Ryan is alleged to have been involved as "cynical media speculation".

This does not sound to me like someone who is hard-line on the Real IRA.

Additionally, several Sinn Féin members signed a letter to the Irish Times, which called for the release of Marian Price. Price is a former Provisional IRA volunteer, and prominent member of the 32 County Sovereignty Movement, the Real IRA's political front which was visible at Alan Ryan's funeral.

The Sinn Féin members who signed this statement include Ferris, Gerry Adams, Michael Colreavy, Mary Lou McDonald, Pearse Doherty, Aengus O Snodaigh and Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin.

Price was arrested after appearing alongside a masked Real IRA member in a cemetery in Derry in 2011. The Real IRA member read a statement, following the killing of Constable Ronan Kerr, which said

"The GAA, Catholic Church and constitutional nationalism will be unable to protect those who turn traitor. They are as liable for execution as anyone else regardless of their religion, cultural background or motivation."

Since Price opening supports these people, and Sinn Féin is sympathetic towards Price, are we going to see questions raised in the Dáil over the release of these fourteen "Prisoners of War" in the coming weeks?!

" Price was arrested after appearing alongside a masked Real IRA member in a cemetery in Derry in 2011. " Exactly, says it all :rolleyes:

So it's not just Latin American dictatorships were you can be sent to prison for been photographed standing beside someone wearing a mask :rolleyes:

Fenian Army · 13-09-2012 1:20pm

Laminations wrote: »

I would agree with you in thinking SF don't have much time for anti-GFA dissidents.

The support for Price is terribly misguided.

In your opinion. I guess we won't see you on Saturday then:

Turner wrote: »

When she held up the statement that the masked terrorist read out why did she not wear a balaclava too??

Lets just remind ourselves that this statement said that in their eyes it was ok for the RIRA to blow up and kill a young 25yr old Catholic Gaa playing police officer.

I dont think "lots of FF TDs(all of them I think)" "independent TDs like Clare Daly" "Nobel Peace Prize recipients" or any sane person would agree with this criminal and terrorist statement.

None of the people or groups I mentioned agree with the statement. That doesn't mean she should be jailed for holding up a piece of paper, the contents of which she was unaware.

I forgot some other people too, Dublin City Council passed a motion calling for her release a while back, only 1 person voted against it. So I guess the FG, Labour etc reps support the RIRA.

Prima Nocte · 13-09-2012 1:23pm

MakeEmLaugh wrote: »

This does not sound to me like someone who is hard-line on the Real IRA.

So how would you determine who is hard line on the Real IRA? The type of people who spout crap in the media without any regard for the deceaseds family and without any regard for the truth?

SaoriseBiker · 13-09-2012 1:23pm

Turner wrote: »

When she held up the statement that the masked terrorist read out why did she not wear a balaclava too??

Lets just remind ourselves that this statement said that in their eyes it was ok for the RIRA to blow up and kill a young 25yr old Catholic Gaa playing police officer.

I dont think "lots of FF TDs(all of them I think)" "independent TDs like Clare Daly" "Nobel Peace Prize recipients" or any sane person would agree with this criminal and terrorist statement.

I'm a motorbiker, I wear a balaclava too under my " lid " (biker speak for helmet

) in the winter, does that mean I should also be put into prison ? :rolleyes:

SaoriseBiker · 13-09-2012 1:26pm

Fenian Army wrote: »

In your opinion. I guess we won't see you on Saturday then:

None of the people or groups I mentioned agree with the statement. That doesn't mean she should be jailed for holding up a piece of paper, the contents of which she was unaware.

I forgot some other people too, Dublin City Council passed a motion calling for her release a while back, only 1 person voted against it. So I guess the FG, Labour etc reps support the RIRA.

Yeah and Cllr Paul McAuliffe is from Fianna Fail the ' Republican party '

Laminations · 13-09-2012 1:27pm

SaoriseBiker wrote: »

So it's not just Latin American dictatorships were you can be sent to prison for been photographed standing beside someone wearing a mask :rolleyes:

She wasn't just casually standing by a guy who happened to be wearing a mask. She was aiding the delivery of a hate speech and threat against the Irish people in her role of secretary of the 32csm, openly and stupidly associating with dissidents when her release license was conditional on her not doing that.

It is as disingenuous as you crying foul over the imprisonment of someone for entering a public area they were prohibited from in the terms of their probation. For other people who were not expressly warned to stay away from that area, standing in that public space is not a crime. Similarly, standing beside a dissident in a balaclava is not a crime, unless it breaches the terms of your license.

Fenian Army · 13-09-2012 1:32pm

We wish to draw your attention to the continued detention of Marian Price, which we feel constitutes an alarming breach of human and civil rights.
Ms Price had previously served a long jail sentence in England and in the North and was released and pardoned in 1980 due to ill-health resulting from force-feeding over many months in 1973 and 1974.
Ms Price was arrested in May 2011 on the basis of charges, which have since been dismissed. At the time she was granted bail for those charges and has also been granted bail on subsequent charges brought against her, yet she remains imprisoned by order of Owen Paterson, British Secretary of State, who claimed to revoke her licence.
Ms Price’s health and welfare are at the forefront of this campaign and she has been declared too ill to attend court after spending more than a year in isolation. Ms Price is the victim of psychological torture and internment without trial, and as a result of this her mental health and physical health has deteriorated rapidly. Given concerns about her very poor health, we are calling for her immediate release based on humanitarian grounds. – Yours, etc,
Msgr RAYMOND MURRAY, Human Rights Activist; Fr PETER MCVERRY SJ, Centre for Faith and Justice; Fr SEÁN MCMANUS, President of the Irish National Caucus, US; MARGARETTA D’ARCY, Aosdána/Women In Media Entertainment; ÉAMON Ó CUÍV TD; MAUREEN O’SULLIVAN TD; THOMAS PRINGLE TD; JOAN COLLINS TD; RICHARD BOYD BARRETT TD; JOHN BROWNE TD; GERRY ADAMS TD; MARTIN FERRIS TD; DESSIE ELLIS TD; SÉAN CROWE TD; MICHAEL COLREAVY TD; JONATHAN O’BRIEN TD; MARY LOU MCDONALD TD; PEARSE DOHERTY TD; SANDRA McLELLAN TD; BRIAN STANLEY TD; PADRAIG MACLOCHLAINN TD; AENGUS O’SNODAIGH TD; CAOIMHGHÍN Ó CAOLÁIN TD; PEADAR TOIBÍN TD; JOE HIGGINS TD; CLARE DALY TD; Councillors: LOUISE MINIHAN; MANNIX FLYNN; Cllr CHRISTY BURKE; CIERAN PERRY; MELISA HALPIN; BRID SMITH; HUGH LEWIS; NIALL RING; ANNA QUIGLEY; PAT DUNNE; VINCENT JACKSON; DAMIEN O’FARRELL; Senators: LABHRÁS Ó MURCHÚ; JIM WALSH; KATHRYN REILLY; DAVID CULLINANE; TREVOR O’CLOCHARTAIGH; DARRAGH O’BRIEN; BRIAN Ó DOMHNAILL; and Dr FÉILIM Ó hADHMAILL, School of Applied Social Studies, UCC; Dr CIARÁN DAWSON, Centre for Oral Irish, UCC; Dr ÓRLA O’DONOVAN, School of Applied Social Studies, UCC Dr KIERAN ALLEN, School of Sociology, UCD,

That the letter? Thats a copy from a good while ago, there's a good few more signatures on it now AFAIK.

Prima Nocte · 13-09-2012 1:36pm

I think there is a bigger picture in all this. What Alan Ryan’s funeral has highlighted is the ongoing, unresolved political situation which exists in Ireland. Both Governments are going to have to negotiate with dissident Republicans sooner or later and Sinn Fein are the only party that are taking them seriously enough and who are willing to enter into talks with, unlike the other parties in this country who would prefer to sweep this issue under the carpet until it becomes too big an issue to deal with. People in this country need to wake up. The biggest problem here isn’t the existence of dissident republicans but it is the continued existence of British involvement in Irish politics.

Laminations · 13-09-2012 1:37pm

Fenian Army wrote: »

In your opinion. I guess we won't see you on Saturday then:

No you won't see me there. What a nice piece of PR with that photo of a helpless old lady, oh and the sadness in her eyes. Why not advertise the event with the following photo

Or this one

http://cache3.asset-cache.net/gc/3255266-8th-march-1973-terrorists-bomb-the-old-bailey-gettyimages.jpg?v=1&c=IWSAsset&k=2&d=kaccgpgFY9VJEBa2TipdvOjmhZ0YKaMvc6Qi76NZLCW0ORYd0LwoUSY9dmbihuYW

Unfortunately you can't see the expression in the victims eyes...

Whether Price was aware or unaware of the contents of the speech is irrelevant. She was not unaware that they were dissident terrorists.

Laminations · 13-09-2012 1:40pm

Fenian Army wrote: »

That the letter? Thats a copy from a good while ago, there's a good few more signatures on it now AFAIK.

'Ms Price’s health and welfare are at the forefront of this campaign'

Did that only become the case after attempts to paint the imprisonment as internment failed?

So would you accept her release on health grounds if she has to return to prison on recovery? Or is kept under house or hospital arrest?

Fenian Army · 13-09-2012 1:42pm

Laminations wrote: »

She wasn't just casually standing by a guy who happened to be wearing a mask. She was aiding the delivery of a hate speech and threat against the Irish people in her role of secretary of the 32csm, openly and stupidly associating with dissidents when her release license was conditional on her not doing that.

It is as disingenuous as you crying foul over the imprisonment of someone for entering a public area they were prohibited from in the terms of their probation. For other people who were not expressly warned to stay away from that area, standing in that public space is not a crime. Similarly, standing beside a dissident in a balaclava is not a crime, unless it breaches the terms of your license.

As I've said previously it's debatable if she was even on license.

Leaving that aside for the moment, regardless, she didn't think she was on license. She was released decades ago, and associated with the provisionals, went to funerals, commemorations for years etc, and nothing was said. She emerged as a public figure again in the nineties, standing against SF and associating with other groups, giving speeches etc. Again, nothing was said.

Her release was certainly not conditional on not going to commemorations of any kind, dissident or otherwise. (sure how stupid and wrong is it to say her release was conditional on not associating with dissidents when they didn't even exist at the time of her release? (1980!!)

Fenian Army · 13-09-2012 1:45pm

Laminations wrote: »

'Ms Price’s health and welfare are at the forefront of this campaign'

Did that only become the case after attempts to paint the imprisonment as internment failed?

So would you accept her release on health grounds if she has to return to prison on recovery? Or is kept under house or hospital arrest?

Did you even look at who signed it, and is supporting her campaign? (support isn't limited to those sigs as I've outlined)

SaoriseBiker · 13-09-2012 1:54pm

Laminations wrote: »

She wasn't just casually standing by a guy who happened to be wearing a mask. She was aiding the delivery of a hate speech and threat against the Irish people in her role of secretary of the 32csm, openly and stupidly associating with dissidents when her release license was conditional on her not doing that.

It is as disingenuous as you crying foul over the imprisonment of someone for entering a public area they were prohibited from in the terms of their probation. For other people who were not expressly warned to stay away from that area, standing in that public space is not a crime. Similarly, standing beside a dissident in a balaclava is not a crime, unless it breaches the terms of your license.

So if I say, Tony Blair is a war criminal for invading Iraq, the Brit Secetary can deem it a " hate speech " and throw me into prison in your view !!!!!
" standing beside a dissident in a balaclava is not a crime " Evidently it's conjured up as a crime according to your Brit friends down in the six counties.

Laminations · 13-09-2012 2:22pm

Fenian Army wrote: »

Did you even look at who signed it, and is supporting her campaign? (support isn't limited to those sigs as I've outlined)

Contrary to what you may think, I don't just disagree with things that I think SF agree with. I know that there is a wider support for her release, I still think that support is misguided. If there are health grounds, allow her some temporary respite.

MakeEmLaugh · 13-09-2012 2:22pm

Prima Nocte wrote: »

So how would you determine who is hard line on the Real IRA?

I would say the Minister for Defence, Alan Shatter, is pretty hard-line on the Real IRA:

"[Their actions are] reprehensible and absolutely unacceptable... In treating the will of the people, North and South, with contempt, they dishonour democracy"

Also, our former Minister for Justice, Michael McDowell:

"These days when a small group of 'dissident' political psychopaths and cynical would-be revolutionaries cling to the belief that Mother Ireland is still crying for the blood of Irish police constables in the North and that she wants to keep alive the prospect of some future Balkan-style inter-communal blood bath there, we Republicans cannot remain as passive spectators when we are called on to be friends."

Prima Nocte wrote: »

The biggest problem here isn’t the existence of dissident republicans but it is the continued existence of British involvement in Irish politics.

But the unionist politicians - Peter Robinson, Tom Elliott, Jim Allister - and the people who vote for them are British. This is recognised even by former IRA men like Gerry Kelly:

I accept, and we [Sinn Féin] have long since said that we accept that there are people here who look upon themselves as British, and are British. Not just my opinion of it. They are British.

As long as these people exist on the island of Ireland there will always be, as you put it, "British involvement in Irish politics."

the_syco · 13-09-2012 2:28pm

SaoriseBiker wrote: »

So it's not just Latin American dictatorships were you can be sent to prison for been photographed standing beside someone wearing a mask :rolleyes:

She was released on licence in 1980. She was granted the royal prerogative of mercy (RPM) in respect of another conviction which carried a 20-year fixed term sentence. The RPM did not cover her life sentences.

As part of her license for release, she was most likely told not to associate with terrorists. Being photographed standing next to someone that claims to be a terrorist would be breaking that clause.

Fenian Army wrote: »

Did you even look at who signed it, and is supporting her campaign? (support isn't limited to those sigs as I've outlined)

I wouldn't care if the Prophet himself signed it. Should the loyalists also only follow the law when it suits them as well?

Laminations · 13-09-2012 2:29pm

Prima Nocte wrote: »

The biggest problem here isn’t the existence of dissident republicans but it is the continued existence of British involvement in Irish politics.

If that is the view of SF, that despite the GFA providing an agreed upon resolution to the conflict and partition that the Brits are a bigger problem than the RIRA criminal terrorists then we are going backwards.

I do not think that is the view of SF. Could SF posters please distance yourselves from such stupid remarks.

jimmy rabbit snr. · 13-09-2012 2:33pm

who cares politicians and ira are all a shower of **** **** off the lot of you the ****ing war is over we won you ****ing morons theres alot more pressing issues going on in this country at the moment like jobs and the economy so **** off with your poxy belated agenda

Laminations · 13-09-2012 2:39pm

Fenian Army wrote: »

As I've said previously it's debatable if she was even on license.

She was given two life sentences and a concurrent 20-year sentence on November 15th, 1973. She was released on licence on April 30th, 1980. Sometime shortly after her release, Mrs McGlinchey received a Royal Prerogative of Mercy (RPM), commonly referred to as a Royal Pardon. The issue is a simple one. Did the RPM cover only the 20-year determinate sentence or did it also cover the two life sentences? This should be a simple matter to determine by looking at the RPM. The difficulty is that the Secretary of State has informed the panel that the RPM cannot be located.”Price’s lawyers have told the commissioners that, “It is difficult to fathom how, even exercising a modicum of care, this document was destroyed without someone, before destruction, ensuring that the original (or at least another copy) was still in existence. There is certainly a foundation for suggesting that this document may (and we can put it no higher) have been deliberately ‘buried’ given the embarrassment it might cause.”
The panel found that Paterson’s view was correct, that while the balance of Price’s 20-year sentence was remitted, her release from the life sentences was conditional on future behaviour. They cite a letter dated April 30th, 1980 – the day Price was released – from the private secretary to the Secretary of State to the private secretary to the Queen: “Her (McGlinchey’s) release involves release from the life sentence which means that she will always remain liable to be recalled to prison if her behaviour justifies this step.”
The commissioners supported this view with a quote from an Irish Times news story on May 1st, 1980: “The official announcement explained that the release was ‘on licence’, meaning that Price could be recalled at any time.” The panel goes on to note, however, that the Royal Prerogative of Mercy was issued “sometime very shortly after her release . . . although the precise date is uncertain.”
In an affidavit, Price says that, “In the wake of my release my solicitor Patrick Marrinan visited me to inform me that I had subsequently been granted the Royal Prerogative of Mercy which pardoned me of all of the 1973 convictions including the life sentence . . . He stated that I was as free as he was under the law [and] not on licence.”

So one side has some written evidence, the other side has some verbal testimony. Why didn't Price keep the RPM if it was her 'get out of jail free' card? Where are the newspaper reports from the time? How hypocritical is it of her to use a defense that relies on the mercy of a monach that she doesn't recognise?

Laminations · 13-09-2012 2:43pm

Did her solicitor Patrick Marrinan ever corroborate Price's account?

http://www.lawlibrary.ie/members/barrister.asp?barID=297

Fenian Army · 13-09-2012 2:52pm

Laminations wrote: »

If that is the view of SF, that despite the GFA providing an agreed upon resolution to the conflict and partition that the Brits are a bigger problem than the RIRA criminal terrorists then we are going backwards.

I do not think that is the view of SF. Could SF posters please distance yourselves from such stupid remarks.

I honestly think that the conflict will never be resolved until the nation is reunited. The GFA isn't a solution to the issues, but it provides a peaceful method to resolve it.

Of course the British involvement is a bigger problem than a group like the RIRA, as their existence is a symptom of partition. Thats not to say that they are not a major problem, they are. In fact the British, especially the former secretary of state Owen Patterson, have exasperated that problem through immense intransigence. I think if the main parties are smart about things dissident activity can be kept to a bare minimum.

SFs primary aim is to end British rule. SF have, and will continue to speak out against dissident republicans, the best way to do things is to convince people that SFs way is the right way to go about things and can bring about Irish unity.

Laminations · 13-09-2012 2:57pm

Fenian Army wrote: »

I honestly think that the conflict will never be resolved until the nation is reunited. The GFA isn't a solution to the issues, but it provides a peaceful method to resolve it.

Of course the British involvement is a bigger problem than a group like the RIRA, as their existence is a symptom of partition. Thats not to say that they are not a major problem, they are. In fact the British, especially the former secretary of state Owen Patterson, have exasperated that problem through immense intransigence. I think if the main parties are smart about things dissident activity can be kept to a bare minimum.

SFs primary aim is to end British rule.

It is not in Britains power to do anything now to end partition. As of the GFA being accepted it is up to the people of Ireland, north and south. Partition exists now regardless of what Britain does. The British are not murdering people on the streets, they have agree with a peaceful resolution through the GFA, RIRA have not and continue to kill very often indiscriminately. To suggest that British 'forces' are a bigger problem than RIRA is an insult to the progress made in the peace process.

Laminations · 13-09-2012 2:58pm

Fenian Army wrote: »

SFs primary aim is to end British rule.

How?

Fenian Army · 13-09-2012 3:00pm

Laminations wrote: »

It is not in Britains power to do anything now to end partition. As of the GFA being accepted it is up to the people of Ireland, north and south. Partition exists now regardless of what Britain does. The British are not murdering people on the streets, they have agree with a peaceful resolution through the GFA, RIRA have not and continue to kill very often indiscriminately. To suggest that British 'forces' are a bigger problem than RIRA is an insult to the progress made in the peace process.

They could devolve more powers, keep their secretary of states nose out of things... there are many things that could be done.
I never said anything about British forces, so I dont know who you are attributing that quote to.

Turner · 13-09-2012 3:01pm

SaoriseBiker wrote: »

I'm a motorbiker, I wear a balaclava too under my " lid " (biker speak for helmet ) in the winter, does that mean I should also be put into prison ? :rolleyes:

I am also a biker, a Garda biker...And also on occasion wear a balaclava under my lid.

If i was appearing in public holding up a speech that openly supported the blowing up / murder of an innocent young Gaa playing member of An Garda Siochana, while I was on conditional release for other terrorist offences....

You can be well sure I would wear a balaclava.

Or if i didnt, and was arrested and imprisoned. I woulnt give out about it or expect people to start a campaign for my release.

Sinn Féin's attitude toward Real IRA arrests.

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