Unionists keep rolling over and acceding to republican demands

There will be widespread condemnation of the relatively minor, and isolated, violence that has taken place in Northern Ireland, over recent days, that is the norm in a civilised, law abiding, democratic, stable society.

Sadly, NI is far from all of the above, by design, through the workings of the 1998 Belfast Agreement.

Whilst the agreement is extolled from on high, and claims to provide the blueprint for conflict resolution in other parts of the world, it does not.

It is a pernicious agreement that facilitates and promotes the aspirations of one side of a divided society, whilst eroding the identity, and threatening the very existence of the other side.

The two-tier policing was put in place by design, and formed one element of appeasement to republicans, to revert to an undemocratic political process to achieve their aspirations.

Normal democracy was never going to persuade those who had waged a heinous terrorist campaign, of murder, destruction and ethnic cleansing, over 30 years. They had to be offered another route to fulfil those aspirations, which the Belfast Agreement delivered.

The acceptance of the Belfast Agreement by unionists was achieved through deceit and inept political leadership, who could not see beyond the end of their noses, or as many believe today, the only detail that interested them, was their monthly bank statements.

Since the implementation of the Belfast Agreement unionists have continued to roll over, continually acceding to republican demands, and offering no resistance to shameful pressure exerted by Westminster, Dublin, the EU, and the US.

So today, the anger within unionism is manifesting itself in violence, and we continue to hear the same old rhetoric from both the UUP and the DUP, in simply condemning recent unrest, and not taking any responsibility for their failings of the past and present, that have led to the dire situation we find ourselves in today.

Political unionism needs a total reset, building and maintaining a prosperous NI, with equality for all, as an integral part of the UK, should be the raison d’etre for all party’s purporting to be unionist, both the UUP and the DUP have lost their way, in the tangle of ongoing appeasement to those seeking to destroy NI.

If we cannot get strong unionist political representation and leadership, to counter the republican agenda, and the inherent inequality of the Belfast Agreement, then I fear the disorder of today will be a minor prelude to what may come, and what nobody should want.

John Ross, Belfast BT6

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