Hain not sorry for his slavery apology
The Northern Ireland Office has said Peter Hain will not be apologising for clouding the issue over Ulster's role in the slave trade.
The Secretary of State said his reason for attending an event in New York on Wednesday to mark the 200th anniversary of the abolition of slavery was to apologise for "the role Wales and Northern Ireland played in the slave trade".
"We acknowledge that. We take responsibility for it and we now are going to try and at least say that that historical legacy must be recognised and we are sorry for it," said Mr Hain, who is Secretary of State for both Northern Ireland and Wales.
His apology came despite the fact that ports here were closed to slavery and citizens of Belfast blocked an attempt to establish a slaveship company in the city assembly's room in the 18th century.
A NIO spokesman said Mr Hain had gone on to acknowledge that ports in Northern Ireland were closed to slavery – and "that's all we'll be saying on the matter".
While some local businessmen did benefit from the slave trade, slavery, as politicians yesterday pointed out, went very much against the grain of the views of the vast majority of people here.
"If you look at slavery, Belfast and the people of Belfast were at the cutting edge of enlightened attitudes and there was no association between Northern Ireland and the slave trade," said the DUP's Sammy Wilson.
UUP deputy leader Danny Kennedy said the Labour government were "obsessed with revisionist history" and that Mr Hain's latest apology had perhaps more to do with his plans to become Gordon Brown's number two.
Stuart Noble, Ulster development officer of Christian charity CARE, said it was all very well apologising for enslaving people over 200 years ago, but what about the here and now?
Mr Noble said "the modern-day slavery that is human trafficking" is more prevalent than the slavery experienced prior to the abolition of the shameful practice in 1807.
"While it's important that we recognise the awfulness of the slave trade and celebrate the achievements of the abolitionists, it's essential that we take this opportunity to tackle the modern slave trade – human trafficking," said Mr Noble.
"The UN calculates that there are more people enslaved today than 200 years ago and the Home Office suggests that there are 4,000 victims of human trafficking in the UK at any one time.
"Ninety-eight per cent of these hidden victims are women who have been forced into prostitution by gangs keen to make money off prostitution.
"In the last 10 years, the demand for prostitutes in the UK has doubled. This increase in demand has resulted in large numbers of women being trafficked into the UK."
Mr Noble said Northern Ireland was not exempt from the trade in people.
"Last year, commentators such as the Northern Ireland Women's Aid Forum and the House of Commons Northern Ireland Affairs Committee indicated that trafficking was a substantial and growing problem in Northern Ireland.
"The Home Office calculated a 'conservative estimate' that suggested the total social and economic costs of trafficking for prostitution to be around 1 billion in 2003."
Meanwhile, it emerged yesterday that there are no plans by the British or Irish governments for a ceremony to mark the shooting of 14 civilians by British troops at Croke Park in 1920. England play Ireland at the venue for the first time ever in a rugby international next Saturday.
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Weather for Belfast
Monday 28 May 2012
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Temperature: 12 C to 23 C
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