Ireland has no territorial claim over the 6. It is wiped from the Constitution and the Good Friday Agreement, which is an international accord, states it is apart of the UK.
The argument from SF and their supporters is a war and bad stuff happens in wars, when some Republicam atrocities are pointed out. Gerry et al say they regret what happened. So why isnât the same afforded to the other side, who have apologised for Bloody Sunday?
When one is pointed out, people scream the past is the past and you have to move on. When it is the other the same is not afforded to them.
SF want a unilateral agreed truth and reconciliation with the British.
The British and Free State Government are loathe to agree to this as their actions and inaction as democratically elected representatives of society might uncover some truths that will not sit easy with the citizens of Ireland.
Again, the British Army continues to occupy foreign soil where it isnât wanted, and the British state continues to whitewash war crimes - just last week it exonerated a war criminal, Sergeant Alexander Blackman. And it continues to glorify and promote the ideology of war in foreign lands.
There is no moral equivalence between fighting against a colonial oppressor and fighting to uphold colonial oppression.
My Thoughts on the Passing of Martin McGuinness:
Martin McGuinness knew conflict so personally that he valued peace so much more. His life was a remarkable journey from armed struggle, to the Good Friday agreement, to his election as a member of Parliament and deputy first minister. When he embraced the role of peacemaker, his courage, determination and willingness to risk it all helped make reconciliation possible.
When you talk with veterans of the peace process like George Mitchell or Tony Blair, or Gary Hart who worked with me at the State Department on this issue, all will tell you that Martinâs exhaustive personal engagement with all parties was essential in uniting leaders and communities behind the Good Friday agreement and subsequent agreements have led to a more peaceful and vibrant Northern Ireland. The road from bombs to the ballot box is a powerful reminder that real peace isnât just the absence of violence, but the presence of good schools and safe neighborhoods, accountable governments and systems of justice that treat people equally under the law.
As a Senator from a state where the peace process was always personal, I was proud to know and work with Martin. I will always remember, not long before I became Secretary of State, seeing that now iconic image of Martin McGuinness shaking hands with Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth. Words didnât need to be spoken. You could see and feel the power of that gesture, which was once unthinkable.
As a boy, Martin McGuinness read Yeats, who wrote of a âpeace that comes at length.â From a controversy that some can never leave behind, Martin McGuinness spent his last years on Earth believing in an enduring if elusive truth: violence is not inevitable, and peace â even when it takes years and steps backwards and forwards to bring about â is never more trouble than itâs worth.
Fergus OâDowd was on the Late Debate last night and employed the usual FG tactic of cheap political point scoring. He brought up IRA atrocities while totally ignoring what triggered the formation of the Provos in the first place. He brought up Jean McConville to which Peadar Tobin responded by asking O Dowd had he ever heard of Joan Connolly. OâDowd obviously hadnât and Tobin explained it to him. OâDowd blathered on about his abhorrence of violence but it seemed his abhorrence was reserved for one side only.
The problem sid, as you know, is that it is wanted by a swathe, possibly a majority, of the population.
The brits would love to get out. They should just do so, but Ni/eire would need to be ready for another generation of recreational rioting and sectarian violence.
