Paul Berry: DUP promised a battle a day and no roll over unionism but in fact it has been a surrender each time

Ever since the Belfast Agreement it has been an appeasement process to republicans and this latest deal is another one and even more dangerous.

I am disgusted that the DUP have accepted this deal which introduces an Irish language commissioner, Irish language legislation and Irish language statutory powers, all to further promote this minority language and one which is to further to de-British is Northern Ireland.

For a party who hammered the UUP over the years for compromising and indeed labelling them as lundies and traitors it stinks of hypocrisy that today they are the ones who have rolled over to the Sinn Fein/IRA machine.

Whilst I also opposed the UUP’s position on the Belfast Agreement at least they were open with the people and showed them what they had negotiated and allowing people to decide whether to support it in a referendum.

The DUP have agreed to this dirty, rotten deal to the dismay of many, many unionists and they should hang their heads in shame at this betrayal.

Enough money has already been wasted on the Irish language with government letter heads, TV and radio programmes and indeed road signs across the country. It was also a sad day when the DUP MLAs support republican Alex Maskey as Speaker in the Assembly.

They may try to sell it as a fair deal but we were promised a ‘battle a day, and no roll over unionism’ before by the DUP but time has proven that it has been a surrender each time.

By way of early observation, the Belfast Agreement ‘done’ at Belfast on 10th April 1998 contains in total, 30 pages.

The ‘New Decade, New Approach’ document contains a staggering 62 pages, which the DUP leader, Arlene Foster instantaneously accepts and is recommending to her party faithful.

This process is a staging post for SF/IRA and 20 years has proven that and unionism who is clearly concerned have serious decisions to make for the future ahead.

Paul Berry, Councillor, Tandragee