IRA disarmament . . .

[El D]

So the IRA have withdrawn their offer to disarm have they - after pulling a multimillion pound bank robbery and failing to show an inclination to actual fulfill their promise at all. And how ludicrous of any opposition party to want physical proof of this - after all we have no reason not to trust them do we? When is Gerry Adams and his unsavoury group of 'politicians' going to actually commit to the peace process and remove themselves from the terrorism of the past 30 odd years?

[andy hughes]

I think you have to remove the quote marks from politicians - Mr Adams and co. are elected MP's, although they choose not to take their seats.

From the IRA's perspective, Britain is an invading force, and it is they who are at fault for the state of war within Northern Ireland, and they feel that they have fought long and hard to rid themselves of opressors, they are not going to give up their fight easily, unless they are sure that the advantages are aimed at their side of the arguments. Until they perceive this to be the case, the IRA are going to hold back from committing themselves to the Peace Process. We wait and hope.

[bernardo]

I have not heard or seen any evidence whatsoever to substantiate the accusation that the IRA was responsible for the bang crobbery.  I believe that it was irresponsible of the police in NI to make such an accusation without backing it up.

[El D]

I doubt sucha  volatile statement would have been amde without strong evidence to back it up bernad. The IRA can think what it wants, terrorists have no say in the Peace Process. And having studied the troubles in great depth, I can assure you that the Irish are far from blameless, but we can't go on about that now can we.

[banjo]

Have the claims that they were responsible for the robbery been substantiated then?  Also, not disarming doesn't necessarily mean back to acts of violence.  Though this announcement doen't particularly help the peace process, it doesn't mean its the end of it.

[bernardo]

Quite apart from the question of whether the IRA did or did not do the bang-crobbery, it should have nothing to do with the political process.  Sinn Fein's legitimacy comes from the democratic mandate it has received from its voters, and that should not be hindered by any historical umbilical link that there may be between the two.

[Tweed]

From the perspective of most of the people on Ireland, Britain is an invading force and always has been, and the people have always resisted. Maybe El D should look deeper than just the last 30 years of history to gain a better insight. I agree with Bernardo on this one. The unionists demand proof of decommissioning, yet they will believe without hesitation any alleged acts of criminallity from republicans without any proof. The situation has come about because Sinn Fein have become the largest (and only all Ireland) nationalist party since the Good Friday agreement. It wasn't 'meant' to be like this. Sinn Fein are now in the ascendency among nationalists, and the unionists, SDLP and Fianna Fail don't like it. Democracy in action eh?

[bobtheduck]

andy why in your answer do you paint the IRA out to be the "good guys"? the british army are far from blameless but they are there primarily to protect innocent men women and children from the most brutal teerroist organisation of modern times and before you retort i have lived in NI for 30 years and the IRA will NEVER give up its weapons believe me

[THECORBYLOON]

As Northern Ireland is part of the United Kingdom, the British Army have a legal right to be there so there is no question of an invading force. The majority of folk living in Northern Ireland want to be a part of the UK and will remain so, as long as that is the wish of the majority

How can anyone argue that what the IRA is involved with should not have repercussions on Sinn Fein? Those who vote for Sinn Fein, vote for the political wing of an illegal terrorist organisation which is responsible for the murder of 698 members of the Army and  287 members of the Royal Ulster Constabulary. 

As for those who demand evidence to back up the statement that the IRA was responsible for the recent bank raid, would they expect the police to give hints as to their sources thus endangering the investigations and the lives of  those who have co-operated with them?

The IRA are quick to dish out "punishment beatings" to criminals who trangress their rules so why don't they force the "real" culprits out of the woodwork then?      

[Tweed]

Talking of a legal right when it is the occupying force that make the laws is ludicrous. NI was gerrymandered to be a protestant (read Unionist) state for a protestant people, in fact at the time of partition, the Unionists could have had more counties than the six that make it up now, but declined because they might not have a majority in elections. Again, democracy in action.

[El D]

Are the Northern Irish people Irish or British to you tweed?

[El D]

Don't feel like having a proper debate then Tweed?

[THECORBYLOON]

I think the answer is "No"......

[Tweed]

Some people there feel they are British, and some feel that they are Irish. Under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement they have a legal right to be recognised as they choose. They all have Irish accents though.

[El D]

not what i asked tho is it - how do you personally regard them? And does their accent represent the defining factor of their nationality?

[Tweed]

As implied, I think those who see themselves as British are British and those who see themselves as Irish are Irish.

[El D]

So Northern Ireland, the majority seeing themselves as British, would be British also?

[Tweed]

Using that logic you could argue the same for many other small areas where there is a small majority. In fact you could gerrymander any area so that a majority exists.

[El D]

So you'd rather democracy didn't exist in NI?

[Tweed]

I'm not sure it does exist there, elections were cancelled last year to save Trimble's political neck and elected representatives were denied the power to carry out their work. Gerrymandering isn't democracy, that's the point. When Unionists were in power, they severely abused it. 'The other side' were denied jobs, housing and other social benefits, forced from their burning homes so that 'acceptable' people could live in that area. The road and train networks were built to the advantage of Unionist areas, RUC, rubber bullets etc. That type of democracy is clearly unacceptable.

[El D]

I'm not defending Unionists, far from it. However, I do not think you can write off a democratic process when you do not lke the outcome. You seem hung up on the 'gerrymandering' of the past. The way NI is set out is the way it is set out. And yes I agree a number of smaller nations would be entitled to their own country if given the luxury of democracy. NI is finally beginning to represent a political and not paramilitary state, and I do not believe complaining about the past will help anyone.