Alternative views do not sit well with the republican ideology of victimhood

This Saturday will see a coming-together of nationalist and republican leaders in politics and academia to discuss Brexit and its impact on Irish citizens and on the island of Ireland.

Its spokesperson Belfast lawyer Niall Murphy claims it’s “a conversation which is for all of society” but that the event’s organiser Ireland’s Future is “a movement for everybody that wants to embrace their EU citizenship via their Irish citizenship”.

The named participants in the event are predominantly from nationalism and republicanism, including its political representation that are Sinn Fein President Mary Lou McDonald; SDLP Leader Colum Eastwood; Fine Gael Irish Education Minister Joe McHugh; and Fianna Fail Deputy Leader Dara Calleary.

The event will have keynote addresses by political leaders and two panel discussions along with a Q&A session with audience participation, all to last three hours from 11am to 2pm.

The event’s central narrative is that the current political crisis at Stormont was created by a “denial of rights” and asks how these rights are “guaranteed and respected” in a “future Ireland”, with its promotional poster featuring the Belfast Agreement and an Irish passport together.

Though the event’s organisers deny the purpose of the event is to push for a united Ireland, I find it very strange that no unionist representatives were invited, that a “conversation” on a complex topic like Brexit is to only last three hours and that the participants of the event are the usual commentators on current affairs here.

Even more bizarre is that the event seeks to rebalance ‘misrepresentation’ by unionist politicians and criticises “political unionism” for setting its “face against rights, against progressive, inclusive politics” and that political unionism “misrepresented the outcome of the referendum”, further adding that “this jurisdiction voted to remain and that is not being appropriately represented.”

I would suggest to the organisers that Sinn Fein has seven MPs who all claim parliamentary expenses they are entitled to but do not take their seats nor vote in crucial parliamentary decisions where their voice would have been instrumental.

Instead, they would rather “influence” from the outside, and sometimes this is literally outside Parliament in the cold weather by their own choice talking to journalists.

Republicans do not want Northern Ireland to be part of the UK but bemoan that it does not remain part of the EU as per a democratic UK-wide decision.

If republicans would like to see progress in Northern Ireland, they can do that tomorrow by Sinn Fein agreeing to restore power-sharing here but instead Sinn Fein refuse the responsibility and power of government while people in Northern Ireland suffer from divestment of funding and decisions regarding public services and the economy.

But I suppose my views won’t be represented at this event as they do not sit well with the republican ideology of powerless victimhood whenever they actually have the power to impact real change to people’s lives.

Michael Palmer, Newtownards, Ulster Unionist Party