One Small Step for Sinn Féin: Why Iain Dale is Wrong

I read this morning that Iain Dale is feeling cold about a Sinn Féin member of the UK Youth Parliament preparing to speak in the chamber of the House of Commons. I disagree I feel a little warm buzz on hearing the news.

Connor Morgan is apparently is about to make history in being the first Sinn Féin speaker in the chamber. That is one small step towards a normalisation of politics. If his senior representatives can find a way to similarly to take a full role in their elected representatives of the people by voting and speaking in the chamber we would be a step closer here in Northern Ireland.

Iain objects to the young man on a number of grounds.

First, that he will address the house in Gaelic or rather Gaeilge. Iain should wake up, this is allowed in all three of the devolved chambers across the country. The addressing of the house in native tongues at Stormont, Holywood and the Senedd is as far as I'm aware allowed, but then must also be spoken in the majoritive language English*. If this is what Mr Speaker Bercow is allowing in the chamber today it is not unusual. The citation of Ray Michie taking the oath in Scots Gaelic is one that has been repeated in the devolved Assemblies and Parliament and is an exception as an approved version in the native tongues is already available. Personally I hope that Connor is as fluent as the Gael speakers in Kelly's Cellars rather than the stuttering version we hear from Gerry Adams at Stormont.

Second there is the objection that turns his heart cold. He cites the killings of Lord Mountbatten, Airey Neave, Ian Gow, yes all the victims of republican violence. But the people of Northern Ireland have less prominent people, their mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, friends etc who they remember who are lost, who have lost life, or home or livelihood as a result of the 'troubles'. In 1998 the people of Northern Ireland voted in a referendum to move on. To look for a shared future together, putting aside the things of the past to look for a new tomorrow. If the people of Northern Ireland are looking to do that since the Belfast Agreement then Iain you should allow us all to do that. That includes letting Sinn Féin, if and when they choose to do so, to speak in the chamber of the House of Commons. You may not agree with them, but Connor Morgan, just like Gerry Adams has been elected to a UK Parliament and if he wishes to speak he should be heard.

Finally Iain falls into the mainstream journalists trap of condemning youth by their Facebook pages. Iain before hurling that stone should look at the pages of some of the Conservative Future members of the same Youth Parliament. Yeah we are growing up with a generation of future politicians who have all their youthful high jinks captured on a mobile phone and uploaded before they have a chance to sober up. We've all done things that we regret, just in our youth if there wasn't a camera loaded with film present it wasn't recorded for posterity and picked over by someone who thinks they know better.

Therefore overall the fact that Sinn Féin are allowing Connor to not only take his seat today but to speak, is a good thing. The fact that the speaker is allowing Gaeilge to be spoken is also a step towards the normalisation that happens elsewhere, I expect the same conventions will apply, the exuberance of youth may have led Dale to believing that the whole speech will be unintelligible to an English speaker.

There is a little ray of hope and an anticipation of history on a young man's shoulders later today. I hope he strikes the right balance between the two, for his own and all of Northern Ireland's shared futures' sakes. Connor Morgan I wish you well, go n-éirí an t-ádh leat.

UPDATE: As I suspected Connor only gave a greeting in Gaelic before carrying on to speak assuredly against the raise of the cap in tuition fees. Some of what he said is here and below:

"It is a great honour to stand here before you and to have the opportunity to address you in Irish.

"Is it just that the current Members of Parliament, many of whom had a university education paid for by the state now expect us, the innocent and disenfranchised in this economic mess, to pay for the mistakes that they have made?

"Is is right that considering we, as young people, are constantly being told that we are the future, our future appears to us to be a burden of debt and uncertain job prospects?"

UPDATE 2: Paul Burgin has added this on his Mars Hill blog.

* I'm not sure if this applies in Wales which is legally bi-lingual, maybe one of my Welsh readers will clarify.

Kelly to Lead Talks with the Real IRA

While it may once have been strange to think of Sinn Féin as the arbitrators with terrorists in Northern Ireland, it is not something that after the last three years I'm apprehensive about.

Since they took over co-leadership of the power-sharing executive with the DUP they have proven over and over that there has been a sea change in their outlook and way to working and co-operating for the betterment of Northern Ireland. Therefore it seems natural that after a week of bombs that went off, bombs that failed to go off and bomb scares that Gerry Kelly will lead a delegation in talks with the 32-County Sovereignty Movement the political wing of the Real IRA. Kelly said:

"We have been very clear that we are prepared to talk with these groups, and that they have the absolute right to disagree with the Sinn Fein strategy."

adding

"These small groups have the ability to do damage; two or three people can do a lot of damage if they go undetected and they have the expertise."

That is the thing when you are dealing with a cell of guerrilla activity. They don't have to do a lot, because they can't because there are few enough of them. However, if they hit a high profile target and can co-ordinate attacks with other cells they have the ability to cause damage, injury or death. The 200lb explosion that went off in Derry on Tuesday could have had a major impact throwing Northern Ireland back to the bad old days of fear and suspicion.

But if we are to move forward as was eventually done with Sinn Féin dialogue is a stepping stone along the way. Many of us hoped for the day that the Republicans would be working alongside the rest of Northern Ireland on a peace; though many of us doubted we would see it happen. Now that it is we need to let them talk to the next level of extremist feeling.

It may well be no longer a case of "Ourselves alone" and more a case of "We're all in this together".

Division of Culture - Not me!

As the son of a west bank Derry/Londonderry (Stroke) City born and raised father, who father, and father's father and his father before him were all born in the city I'm proud of the culture of that city.

There are the poets Seamus Heaney and Seamus Deane, authors Joyce Cary, Jennifer Johnshon and Nell McCaferty, playwright Brian Friel, artist Willie Doherty. Musicians Dana, the Undertones, Damian McGinty and Keith Harkin of Celtic Thunder and yes even Girls Aloud's Nadine Coyle. There was also the restoration dramatist Geroge Farquhar and the hymn writer of There is a Green Hill Far Away Cecil Alexander is often said to have been inspired to write that from the view from the Bishop's Palace of the hills outside Derry's walls.

I know that at times it has been tough to reconcile all parts of the city together. Indeed the part of the city that as a boy and youth I visited to see my grandmother was a protestant enclave on the 'wrong' side of the Foyle in some people's opinion. My family also has strong links to county Donegal, the county just a few miles to the West or North of Stroke City but is actually in the 'South of Ireland'.

However, no matter how close the City is to the border of another country it is part of the United Kingdom, its culture is diverse and crosses that man-made imaginary line in the hills. It is a diverse culture and one that is as much part of this country as any other and one that if worthy of being a name being considered City of Culture for a year if it were awarded.

The problem of course is that the full title of the award under consideration is the UK City of Culture and the leader of Sinn Féin on the council Maeve McLaughlin has said:

"While we are a city of culture there has to be a recognition that we're not part of the UK. We are not opposing the bid, but we are putting down a marker at this stage and saying we should be exploring, rather than cementing, this relationship.

"There is a huge onus on the team that's been put together to lead this bid to put in writing how they will address the issue of the tens of thousands of nationalists and republicans in this city and region who do not recognise themselves as part of the UK."

As I've pointed out above the geography does make the city a part of the UK, but I readily admit that the culture is not so easily confined. As someone who support Bangor and Ulster in the Rugby yet Down and Derry in the Gaelic sports I'm part of that mixed up culture.

I'm more of the same mind as the former SDLP leader Mark Durkan MP who said:

"This bid is an opportunity for Derry to promote itself as a city and to promote the wider region. It is about our civic ambition. It is about our cultural ambition. It is nothing to do with political aspiration – in which the people of this city have very clear views and differences about wanting to be part of a united Ireland or United Kingdom.

"Are we going to say that any other funding or opportunity that is set up on a UK basis we count ourselves out of? We should not be disabling ourselves from making the most of any opportunity to which we are as entitled as anyone else.

"And we can do that without compromising any of our political beliefs, any of our interests and identities that we hold very dearly at a political level."

I know for a fact that nationalist groups are not backward in coming forward for funding from the Northern Irish departments since devolution, just because the money is from the UK coffers.

I hope Sinn Féin realise that the title is one thing how that is then promoted is up to the people and civic officials of Derry/Londonderry/Doire. Give the City a chance to celebrate its culture in all its diversity.

Northern Ireland Positioning Carries On

You thought the agreement last Friday to devolve police and justice to a Northern Irish Ministry would be the end of the arguments. Well hold the horses don't be so confident. There is still debate as to who will take up the post.

It had long been assumed that the Alliance Party would be the most acceptable party to hold the post and give the position a degree of neutrality. But the Ulster Unionist and SDLP are upset that this goes against the d'Hondt system of allocating Ministers by proportion of representation in the Assembly.

David Ford the Alliance Party leader has said this evening that his party will not be nominating for the position of Justice Minister. Speaking at Stormont earlier he said:

"The situation is that at the present time we have not seen enough movement around a shared future and around the policies for the Department of Justice for an Alliance nomination to be made. There is plenty of time before April the 12th. I do not think we are in a long dragged out process. But clearly there is still a little bit of work that needs to be done.

"If others wish to engage, then others are entitled to engage. What we are saying is what Alliance believes to be necessary for the job to be done right."

Meanwhile the SDLP who would be next in line under d'Hondt have said that newly elected party leader Margaret Ritchie will not be their nomination. She is currently the only SDLP Minister serving as Minister for Social Development, however they will be nomination lawyer Alban Maginniss as their proposed option. Mrs Ritchie however says that the current approach for the role is a "corruption of democracy". She is looking for clarity on just what was agreed between the DUP and Sinn Féin last week saying:

"We will make our judgement on the Hillsborough arrangement when we know what is on the table and, more importantly, what is under the table.

"If the two parties won't reveal what they have already agreed then we will be pressing the two governments for greater transparency."

The Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness however remained confident that a new Minister for Justice would be in place after the 10 days of talks that lead to his party and Peter Robinson's agreeing a framework to devolve policing and justice and to set up a new independent parades body. He said:

"It will be whatever person can command cross-community support in the assembly.

"At this stage, I think all I can say about it is I'm supremely confident that come 12 April we will have a person nominated who will command cross-community support."

So while a week is often considered a long time in politics we only need a weekend in Northern Ireland to throw a whole different cat amongst the pigeons. So while Alban Maginnis may be qualified for justice being on the Northern Irish and Irish bar, the debate even from Sinn Féin it would appear is that cross-community support is key.

We certainly live in interesting times.

Ello, Ello, Bout Ye

Yes they almost were talking about it until the 12th....

....April that is, not July. It certainly feels like it, and reading some of my friends' Facebook updates from Hillsborough Castle of the last couple of years, err, I mean weeks, they certainly say it felt like it.

But responsibility for the Police in Northern Ireland will be transferred from Westminster to Stormont on 12th April.

The PSNI go from ello, ello, ello to bout ye in just over 2 months times.

Still Talking at Hillsborough

I know a lot of eyes will be on the Queen Elizabeth exhibition centre today, but don't also lose sight of what is going on at Hillsborough. Even though the Prime Ministers Gordon Brown and Brian Cowen have left the Northern Irish politicians are still talking.

If there is no agreement made by later today the British and Irish governments have said their own proposal on policing and justice. Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams said naming two controversial parade routes:

"Anybody who thinks that the price of policing and justice is a walk down the Garvaghy Road or Ardoyne is just ridiculous."

While Alliance Party leader David Ford said that the politicians were not "merely going through the motions". Of course Northern Ireland politics would be that if not for the one dissenting voice, step forward Jim Allister, Traditional Unionist Voice Leader:

"The manner in which Sinn Féin seeks to advance its agenda, not through accepting the processes within devolution, but by loading its gun to the DUP's head with every pet project, is a reminder that even if the present Stormont crisis is sorted, Sinn Féin will be back for more and more."

Of course the devolution of policing and justice powers is not merely the Sinn Féin agenda it was agreed upon in St. Andrews before the resumption of devolved powers. It would be a sign of maturity in Northern Ireland politics if such powers could be devolved. The fact that the TUV leader is still using the language and symbolism of war when others are trying to negotiate a settlement shows a lack of productivity on his part for a stable Northern Ireland.

Is that a true voice of Northern Ireland? I for one don't think so. I'm hoping that the talks are at a substantive stage where agreement may be met once they resume this morning and come to a swift conclusion.

Northern Ireland Update

In chess terms the parties are in adjournment.

Nobody is really sure if we are in the end game, or the more complex middle game at this point. Both Sinn Féin and the DUP left in the small hours without speaking to the press. As these are the two main players we don't know what their sealed next move is going to be.

The bright news is that nobody appears to have knocked over the board yet. Although listening to the press statement from Arlene Foster and Sammy Wilson last night they seemed most likely to do so, already laying down the back story for why that would be justified.

In the meantime something more exiting watching paint dry

Now Sinn Fein are Threatening the SNP Tactic

Yesterday I blogged about the bankers at RBS using the SNP tactic of not just taking the ball away, but themselves out of the game if their bonuses of £1.5 bn (25% of profits) are turned down by Government. Today I see that Martin McGuinness the Deputy First Minister in Northern Ireland is threatening, in coded language, that the same may happen in Northern Ireland over the timing of devolution and justice to Stormont.

I say coded message so let me decipher, McGuinness says that the institutions are unsustainable without a date for devolution of policing by Christmas. You may think so what if you are not Northern Irish, but that is code for all the institutions of devolution, not just cross-border agencies but also the Assembly and the dual mandate of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister. Devolution of policing has always been one of the major stumbling blocks in fully implementing the Good Friday Agreement. After all Sinn Féin and their military were never going to be likely to be on friendly terms with the force that was arrayed against them throughout the Troubles. So this has been the longest, hardest and most painstaking march towards a peaceful, settled Northern Ireland there has been.

However, it is one of those rare occasions that I agree with the DUP Jeffrey Donaldson. I quite often have found the man objectionable in the past, but he is correct when on the BBC this morning I heard him say that setting deadlines in stone was something that should never be done in Northern Ireland politics, but that the best settlement for all sides should be worked out. If that is done by Christmas then that is fine, however if it is not Sinn Féin should not arbitrarily walk away from all the progress that has been made.

There are signs that a consensus is almost settled on the first Justice Minister under this period of devolution. David Ford the Alliance party leader looks set to gain the cross-community support to take on that role. Now the politicians need to reach agreement over policing and McGuinness is right in that it has to cover equality issues. But with only three weeks to Christmas and probably less that two of those productive setting a Christmas deadline for a resolution is ludicrous so close to that date. Even Tony Blair over ran on his deadline to get the Agreement signed off initially.

Hope Against Hope Against Violence

There are days that no matter which part of the UK you come from you hid your head in shame. For the English there are football and cricketing failures. For the Scots the general, annual malaise in most sports. But for the Northern Irish is usually comes some time in July as regular as clockwork.

Yesterday evening as the news started to break through of the annual trouble surrounding the marching I was wondering how bad can it get. Being somewhat closeted over in Scotland I went to bed hoping against hope once more that full scale civil unrest or war breaks out overnight.

You see in Northern Ireland shots being fired at the police and Molotov cocktails don't just exist in the world of Grand Theft Auto, oh no! They have long been an existence in reality for the youth growing up, even from the time before I could crawl.

On Saturday I blogged about 6 new style beacons that were lit on Sunday evening, beacons that were trying to recognise one part of the culture of the people and while not doing away with it bring it up to date for the modern age, bring it into harmony across the divides. But of course it is not the pyres that are lit at this time of year that are the most contentious issue it is the rights to march and the rights to not have sectarian triumphalism thrust down your throat if you don;t want it.

Of course there are signs of light on the marching issue, earlier in the week the First Minister Peter Robinson met with the residents' group leaders of the Garvaghy Road. Significant steps were made towards that 12 year stand off that often is the high or low light of the marching season. The nationalist residents said that the DUP leader was open minded and understood the residents' concerns.

Sinn Féin were also condemning the violence in the Ardoyne and Rasharkin yesterday, Gerry Kelly MLA saying:

'This evening’s actions expose very clearly the anti-peace process and sectarian agenda which feeds these factions. It has nothing whatever to do with Irish republicanism.'

'They [The Real IRA] chose to try and use the opportunity presented by this parade to further an agenda which has time and again been rejected by the republican community in Ardoyne and everywhere else.'

So looking at who is working together to forge a peace I am glad. The extreme edges of Northern Ireland society appear to be getting smaller. The majority wanting peace is getting bigger. However, that just makes the steps as Gerry said of an 'anti-peace process' all the more magnified as the people of Northern Ireland are striving for a greater normality than at any time in my lifetime.

Another Dark Day for Northern Ireland

I don't like what I'm seeing from back home. The fact that what appears to be dissident republicans have now killed the first police officer on duty in over 10 years in Northern Ireland. The Real IRA are claiming responsibility.

However, it was good to see Sinn Féin MLA John O'Dowd as one of the first to condemn this attack.

"This is an attack on the peace process. Whoever carried out this shooting was not doing so to advance Irish republican or democratic goals.

"They have no strategy to deliver a United Ireland. This is a time for strong political leadership and cool heads. It is a time for all political parties and the two governments to recommit to the principles which have underpinned the peace process and delivered the stability of recent years."

Local nationalist councilor Dolores Kelly who sits on the police board said the people of Northern Ireland were "staring into the abyss" adding:

"All of us have to realise we are on the brink of something absolutely awful."

How the people, all the people, of Northern Ireland come through these difficult times the first real test of the new peace, the new hope, the new future. The wording that Sinn Féin mulled over on Sunday was used again last night. It is being raised in the Telegraph that the wording ''wrong and counter-productive'' and assertion of a United Irish goal show true feelings of strategic error rather than outright condemnation.

The people of Northern Ireland need to step forward together in a spirit of unity to get through and over this. They expect their leaders to do the same just as Ian Paisley did with his praise of Father Tony Devlin's word on Sunday. If he can call a Roman Catholic Priest a man of the cloth and say it one of the best speeches ever given by one surely there is room for Gerry Adams and Sinn Féin to condemn violence unequivocally and continue to pursue a peaceful future.

The Slow, Carefully-Crafted, Eventual Condemnation

It had been a dozen years since the last murder of a British soldier in Northern Ireland. That was until Saturday night.

A lot has changed in that time. Sinn Féin and the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) now head up the power sharing executive of the Northern Irish Assembly and the squaddies now see Northern Ireland as a welcome break from 24 hour worries in Iraq or Afghanistan. Indeed the two who were shot dead, either from across the road or point blank as they lay wounded, were hours from disembarkation to Helmand Province.

However, has that much changed behind the scene in the minds of those once who would have supported such action. Sinn Féin did condemn the attack but took 14 hours to do so when they did the statement issued by Gerry Adams lacked the spontaneity, grief or anger of the other political leader. Not calling it an attempted mass murder but merely an attack on the peace process as if no life had been lost.

Adams did go on to say "Those responsible have no support, no strategy to achieve a united Ireland." In light of the events a weighted statement. It is doubtful that Sinn Féin themselves currently garner enough support to achieve a united Ireland, and their strategy has only recently changed. But it is a subtle way of saying this is a small faction.

The words on the page tell one story, how they were addressed reminds those of us who recall the Sinn Féin carefully worded statements of old to look between the lines. Although praise is due that whatever the choice of words, style of delivery etc. this was still a condemnation of the attacks.

"There should be an end to actions like the one in Antrim last night. The popular will is for peaceful and democratic change."

Is Oath a Barrier Too Far?

Yesterday's cancellation of talks between Ian Paisley and Gerry Adams is down to the ability of one man to say an oath.

Martin McGuinness is widely tipped as Sinn Féin's chosen candidate to become Deputy First Minister is power sharing can be agreed. However, he is a former commander in the IRA and their is a doubt over his ability to swear an oath in support of the police and rule of law should he take office.

While some press only mention that Peter Hain stepped in to postpone the meeting the Belfast Telegraph has no qualms about laying the blame on Paisley's door. Dr Paisley is quoted as saying that the Oath should be taken by both the First Minister and Deputy First Minister at the time they assume shadow responibilty upon their designation on 24 November.

However, a senior source in the Northern Ireland Office pointed out that this would appear contrary to what the DUP were striving for at the St. Andrew's talks. The DUP's stance during those talks was to avoid the appearance of actually taking up office on 24 November. Comparing this dilemma that Dr Paisley is creating the source added:

"It is analogous to an oath of office being taken by any MP. You don't take it when you are nominated or even when you are elected. You take the oath when you actually take up your seat."

So the question to Dr Paisley must be do you want an appearance of taking up office on 24 November or do you want to carry out what you negotiated for in Fife?

Something Strange in the State of Stormont

There really are some strange goings on back home in the world of politicsNorthern Ireland style.

It looks like to get the Assembly up and running the leader of the second largest party is prepared to nominate the leader of the largest party for the role of First Minister. Nothing unusual about that you might think.

Until you realise that this means that Gerry Adams has offered to nominate the Rev Dr Ian Paisley for the top job. You can guess the reaction from the Free Presbyterian to the president of Sinn Fein, and you wouldn't be far off.

"I have very good news for Mr Adams - he can't do it," Mr Paisley said.

"There'll be no proposing of anybody who doesn't accept it and I certainly will not be accepting anything from Gerry Adams."

The offer was made to move things along at the business meeting when the Assmebly is recalled on 15 May, the plan is for the election of a new First Minister and Deputy First Minister to go ahead on 23 May. However, signs of how this may all turn out are conveyed by Mr Adams when he said:

"Do I believe Ian Paisley will be first minister? I don't know. I don't even know if he knows."

Many in Northern Ireland seem to have given up hope for the two biggest parties from the two extremes of the politcal divide getting their act together and actually getting down to the work that they were elected to do.

However as Mr Adams also said:

"But I'm sure [Dr Paisley] will be conscious of the irony involved in Sinn Fein preparing to go to Stormont to have him elected as first minister."

It's a shame that it is with irony and not reconciliation and progress that the offer appears to have been taken.