MEP heralds end of 'Ulster sell-out'
THE DUP was last night accused of a sell-out of Ulster as supporters of a new unionist movement gathered for a dinner to raise funds for their venture.
MEP Jim Allister addressed the function at the Templeton Hotel, Temple-patrick, where an auction was held.
SPEECH
In a speech to hardline unionists, he lambasted the present DUP/Sinn Fein regime and repeated that a new unionist political movement will soon emerge.
But the DUP hit back at Mr Allister, with MP Jeffrey Donaldson saying that Mr Allister had nothing to offer the unionist community.
"No one pretends that the current situation is perfect but it is a lot better than what we would have had if we had followed Jim Allister's lead," Mr Donaldson said.
Doing so would have led to joint authority, the Lagan Valley MP added.
In his speech, Mr Allister told last night's dinner: "Tonight we've just auctioned some fine items for a fair price, and in a good cause, but over the last few months in Ulster some have sold far more precious things for far, far less.
"Long-held principles of the never, never variety have gone for the baubles of high, but shared, office; no terrorists in government was traded for an IOU in vanishing ink, meaninglessly called a 'pledge of office'; democratic government was surrendered for the absurdity of mandatory coalition, whereby you can never vote a party out of office, nor have an Opposition; and long-standing, principled rejection of the iniquitous Belfast Agreement was meekly given up for empty cosmetic tinkerings of no substantive value."
He continued: "As if all that wasn't bad enough, the lowest bidder, IRA/Sinn Fein, was rewarded with the unbelievable give-away that they can hold onto the pride of their military structures, the Army Council, meaning that at every (Stormont) Executive meeting Mr P O'Neill is the unseen guest, and as a final sweetener they were given a pack of 'get out of jail free' cards to be used when they feel the need to do the odd murder.
"One was just recently cashed in by the South Armagh brigade when they murdered Paul Quinn. Because of the sordid DUP/Sinn Fein deal and their mutual vested interest, the DUP, mark my words, will do nothing about that brutal killing, other than to twist and turn to pretend it wasn't what it patently was, the IRA enforcing its writ in its territory. It was murder and it was murder by the IRA and because they'll get away with it, it won't be the last IRA murder."
MORALLY WRONG
The MEP said the DUP was now part of a "crooked political environment" – "where that which is morally wrong is deemed politically right and those stained by the blood of the innocents rule over us and a state which they not only don't accept, but are pledged to destroy".
Against this background, Mr Allister said he has, however, "one piece of good news for unionism".
"Shortly," he noted, "I expect the launch of a political movement to provide a voice for those presently disenfranchised, which will hold the respectable traditional unionist ground once held by those who shamefully swung open the door of government to IRA/Sinn Fein."
It has been reported that around a dozen branches of the new movement will be established across Ulster to oppose Sinn Fein in government and to tackle the DUP's strategy and policies.
As yet, no one has formally announced they will be part of the new movement with Mr Allister.
But United Unionist Coalition councillors in Ballymena and Limavady are expected to be among those joining him.
DUP MP Jeffrey Donaldson last night hit back at Mr Allister.
"The reality is that Jim Allister, when he was a member of the DUP, supported the party's position.
"But the only difference in the end between us, when he parted company, was that he wanted a little more time in which to test Sinn Fein's commitment to the rule of law."
Mr Donaldson said that the DUP remained "on the front line defending democracy and the Union", while Mr Allister "has relegated himself once again to the sidelines just as he did in 1987 when he walked away from the DUP" in the aftermath of the Anglo-Irish Agreement.
Mr Donaldson concluded: "The reality is that Jim and his motley crew have nothing to offer the unionist community.
"They have no clear strategy or vision and they cannot bring themselves to recognise that Northern Ireland is a much better place today than it was a decade ago when people were still dying on our streets in large numbers."
Mr Donaldson added: "Of course one murder is one too many and we have made clear that we will work to bring those responsible for the murder of Paul Quinn to justice and we will hold others to account to ensure that they comply with and support the rule of law."
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Monday 28 May 2012
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