Young
Unionists

Junior Minister Gerry Kelly has been at the centre of recent controversy surrounding his appearence on the BBC documentary ‘Breakout’ where he, without any hint of remorse, described the moment where he put a put a bullet in the head of a Prison Officer. Gerry Kelly by this stage was a well know terrorist with such atrocities such as the Old Bailey bombing already under his belt. Only in Northern Ireland and the current corruption of government can an individual like Gerry Kelly not only play a leading role, but be widely touted as Sinn Fein’s nominee for a role in the Policing & Justice Ministry. Michael Shilliday has hit on some of the themes in a previous post.

Lately we have been treated to the dulcet tones of Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams announcing to the world that the devolution of Policing & Justice was agreed to be completed by May 2008 in the St. Andrews negotiations and subsequent agreement. Sir Reg Empey has clearly stated that ‘blackmail‘ will not cut it, and here Sir Reg and First Minister Peter Robinson will need to stand together in the face of Sinn Fein’s demands. Both the DUP and UUP have explicitly stated that the marker for devolution of Policing & Justice will be the confidence of the unionist community, nothing less.

Let’s get back to Sinn Fein’s self-inflicted predicament. What do Sinn Fein not understand by ‘gaining the confidence of the unionist community’? Gerry Kelly is a prime example. How can a person with Gerry Kelly’s past where his bread and butter was the killing, maiming and sectarian pursuit of a united Ireland through terrorism be best suited for this role? Then just to rub salt in the wounds Junior Minister Kelly appears on ‘Breakout’ discussing his unrepentant pursuit of his ‘political’ goals. We can also throw into the mix the ‘unionist outreach’ approach headed up by another convicted terrorist, Martina Anderson. What were Sinn Fein trying to achieve if not to wind up unionists?

Unionisms approach to the peace process has frequently featured a requirement for repetence. If not repetence, then surely it is reasonable for civic society to expect that a shared future somehow requires a coming together over shared values. While we all aspire to a shared future, Sinn Fein’s deliberate strategy, exemplified by the staging of hunger strike and Loughgall ‘martyrs’ commemerations recently at Queen’s University; Gerry Kelly’s most recent contribution is unlikely to build confidence that a new generation of young nationalists and the republican movement, in a post-agreement Northern Ireland, regard respect for life, human rights, policing and law & order as prerequistites in a democratic society.

What is the point in Sinn Fein in a modern Northern Ireland?  I caught the last twenty minutes or so of Break Out last night, and whilst it was, as has been noted, a disgraceful piece of Provo propaganda, it was somewhat comical in how it drew out the hypocrisy of Sinn Fein’s political shifts in the past ten years.

Gerry Kelly, having escaped from incarceration for a bombing campaign that killed one and injured more than 200 , fled to the continent.  He told of how he rejected disappearing into a new life, and chose to continue with the “struggle” from there.  The ending sequence of the programme showed Mr Kelly struggling against the British state and its oppression from the vantage point of the Northern Ireland Assembly in his role as a Junior Minister in British Northern Ireland.

The boxes the Belfast Agreement constructed for Sinn Fein and the DUP have proven to be resilient.  The IRA has surrendered its capacity to murder and destroy, the DUP the pretence of opposition to the Belfast Agreement.  There is still a fear in rural areas of the IRA, and here the legacy of it’s sectarian murder campaign is particularly apparent.  But in this same area not two weeks ago the DUP’s political blackmail, once so effective, was a swing of 120 votes away from failing to win them a by-election.  Sinn Fein continue to agitate about Northern Ireland’s place in the UK and the repercussions of that, but are reduced to criticizing a school in an area they count as “theirs” for daring to do other than what they are told.

Northern Ireland is changing.  The UK is changing. The UUP must change in order to achieve our goals.  Sinn Fein are a party incapable of responsible politics.  The DUP are a party incapable of a positive future for Unionism.  We must do all that we can shape the future we want to see, and take Northern Ireland to where it should be.