Alex Kane: More than a symbolic victory needed from the ashes of Avoniel

It may not have been their intention to convey the impression that they were involved in some sort of showdown with an element of loyalism/unionism in east Belfast, but that’s certainly the impression that was given almost every time one of their representatives had a microphone placed in front of them.

And quite why the ‘problem’ – which is clearly how some councillors saw it – was allowed to rumble on until the Eleventh Night is beyond me. I use the Avoniel swiming pool quite regularly and the pyre had been under construction for weeks. So why was it left so late in the day for supposed ‘decisive action’ from the council?

Again, it conveyed the impression that there were elements – on both sides as it happens – who were prepared to use the countdown as a way of pursuing a particular agenda; one that had nothing to do with potential damage to property or the safety of local residents.

The fact that the pyre remained and the fire was lit has been described as a ‘momentous and truly significant victory ... for the people of Avoniel and loyalism’. Hmm. I’m not sure how reducing a stack of pallets to ashes in the grounds of a leisure centre is actually a victory for unionism or loyalism. What I wanted to hear is why the fire was so important to the people in that area. I know why. I live in east Belfast and I know some of the people who would have been there on the Eleventh. But I’m pretty sure that most people who aren’t from a unionist background were none the wiser on Friday morning; and remain none the wiser now.

Too many have portrayed the events of last week as a showdown between loyalists in part of east Belfast and the ‘pan-nationalists on the city council’ (not my description, by the way), but that wasn’t the full story; and shouldn’t have become the main story.

Bonfires are an important part of loyalist culture and the opportunity should have been taken to explain why. If we are not to see this saga continue next year then it is vital that the loyalists in the area tell their own story: not as a supposed political/propaganda battle between them and the city council, but as the broader story of their own history and culture. Who they are and why their culture, history and identity matters to them and why it deserves to be recognised and accommodated.

If it is true that there is an agenda by elements on the council to ‘stamp out loyalist/unionist identity and culture in east Belfast’ then there has to be a coordinated, coherent response to the agenda. It should begin with a detailed analysis of the voting figures. Why are only 19 out of the 60 councillors from unionist parties? Is it the case that unionists/loyalists aren’t voting? Is it the case that there is no party which truly represents their interests? Is it the case that too many unionist parties contesting elections (DUP, UUP, PUP, TUV) is leading to the loss of seats? Is it simply the case that a significant and continuing narrowing of demographics (and maybe the movement away of unionists from Belfast) means that the numbers game is now stacked too heavily against them?

There also has to be an equally detailed analysis of how the anti-loyalist/unionist agenda manifests itself. Simply repeating the mantra – for that it what it is in danger of becoming – that Sinn Fein/SDLP/Alliance are involved in a pan-nationalist front isn’t enough. How does the front operate? What is the end goal? Why was stopping a bonfire in Avoniel of such interest to the front? How can the front be thwarted? What role do the unionist political parties play in all of this: and I only ask because the lead at Avoniel came mostly from people connected to the East Belfast Cultural Collective and East Belfast Community Initiative.

As part of the overall analysis it is only right to ask about the EBCC and EBCI (who may be one and the same for all I know). Who are they? What is their mandate? What is their goal/agenda? What is their role? What is their relationship with the unionist parties and loyal orders? Who are their key players?

What matters most, of course, is the direction of travel for unionism/loyalism in Belfast, particularly in what would once have been considered their strongholds. If they are in a minority position politically and electorally in Belfast how do they protect their interests? Is there any point in picking fights that can only end, as Avoniel did, in what one person described as a ‘symbolic’ victory?

It was actually fairly quiet over the Twelfth this year, but doesn’t that mean that increasing numbers of loyalists/unionists/Orange have recognised that the era of stand-offs and showdowns didn’t deliver? Which raises the question of what was or will be delivered as a consequence of what happened in Avoniel? Once the debris has been swept away, what remains? In what demonstrable way have the lives of those who attended the Eleventh Night bonfire been changed?

Avoniel ended well in one particular way: it ended without violence. But if, as some suggest, this is only the beginning of ‘taking the fight to the pan-nationalist front,’ then what comes next? One thing I do know is that picking a fight with elements of Belfast Council is a tricky strategy when there aren’t the unionist numbers on the council for follow-through at the monthly meeting and assorted committee meetings.

I share some of the concerns about what is happening to unionism/loyalism in Belfast (I’ve written about it for years): but I also know how easily we fall into the trap of another gesture-led strategy with no clear end goal. The next move must begin with the detailed analysis, followed by a collectively agreed and coherent plan to address the conclusions of that analysis.