Editorial News January-2002

Nationalist / Republican Selective Memory / Condemnation

The Protestant/Unionist/Loyalist cause is under the pressure yet
again. If you listen to Aherne, Attwood and Adams (" the A-Team") the only
violence taking place in Northern Ireland at present emanates from the Ulster
Defence Association or the Loyalist / Unionist / Protestant community. They complain at every opportunity about the violence, Aherne complains about the
lack of arrests by the police force he helped create, he says that the police
know who the "Loyalist Godfathers" are, why don't they do something? Attwood
comes of with the same lines and runs to see the Security Minister to complain
and then discusses who they (the Godfathers) are with the Police. We then have the final member of the A- Team, Adams complaining that the British Government
is not doing enough and according to him they (the British Government are very
lenient on Loyalists/Unionists/Protestants), the implication being that they
knock the crap out of Republicans. Then to cap it all the next thing is Adams is
on the first plane to London running to the Prime Minister about those bad
Loyalists with their bombs and guns.

Does all this not seem strange to you? The A-Team are basically saying to the
British Government those Loyalists/Unionists/Protestants are carrying out most
of the violence, particularly the UDA. You're not doing anything about it. There
are few if any arrests, there are few if any charged, there are few if any
convicted, you know who they are, they walk the streets openly so why don't you
go and arrest them. What they are really saying to the Government but can't is
intern them! Perhaps the A-Team do not realise that to convict you need evidence
which will stand up in court. How else do they expect the Police to get these
Loyalists/Unionists/Protestants off the streets? It gets stranger when you
consider the role of Adams. For years PIRA have tried to destroy the British
Government, they where after all the enemy are responsible for British policy in
" the occupied six counties." Now he runs to the British Government complaining.
He complains that our Government is not treating Loyalists the same way as they
treat Republicans. How would Gerry know does he live in a Loyalist area? Why and
this is only one example when trouble breaks out in the Limestone Road
interface, trouble invariably started by Republicans, that as soon as the
Security Forces arrive they swing into Hallidays Road and get stuck into our
community and leave the aggressors alone? This happens nine times out of ten.

Remember also that throughout the troubles more members of the
Protestant/Loyalist/Unionist community have been convicted than members of the
Catholic/Nationalist/Republican community. Yet Republicans/Nationalist/Catholic
community were responsible for the majority of the trouble. Did the A-Team call
for the Police to lift the 40 shades of green who where attacking all things
British, nevermind their own community? Of course not! So how have the A-Team
worked out that the community from which I am proud to come from are responsible
for most of the trouble? It appears it is only since PIRA went on their
ceasefire (what ceasefire - they continue to murder, commit armed robberies and
carry out punishment beatings) and that was only a couple of years ago. Check
the Irish News dated 16 January. According to them the troubles only lasted for
3 years. Also did you see McGuinness challenged by Michael Nesbitt (Ulster
Television)? He was as usual on TV condemning the attacks on Catholic schools
(not attacks on Protestant ones). Michael Nesbitt challenged him about the fact
that PIRA have murdered a Headmaster of a school and blown up a school bus.
McGuinness our Minister of Education quickly side stepped the excellent question
and as usual asked everyone to look forward as though their pogrom against all
things British never happened. A similar thing happened on the BBC programme
Question Time when McGuinness again asked all present to look forward rather
back when a man from the audience asked the panel about enquiries into the
sectarian massacres by Republican Death squads at La Mon, Teebane, Darkley,
Enniskillen etc.

The selective condemnation/memory and use of stats by the A-Team astounds me.

Did you know?

1. That recently in Dublin Mikhail Gorbachev the former President of the USSR asked
   why Britain was not as tough on terrorism in Northern Ireland as it was in
   Eastern Europe?


2. That on Christmas night that the Republicans from Newington launched yet another
   unprovoked attack on Protestant/Unionist/Loyalist community of Tigers Bay. They
   repeated it on Boxing Day morning. Did this make the news? No chance!


3. So far the Bloody Sunday Enquiry has cost Ł66 million to tell us all what we
   already know. It must be great to be a lawyer, solicitor or whatever in the
   legal arena up there getting millions of pounds belonging to the tax payer for
   what? The expected cost is Ł200 million.


4. Our Health Service hasn't got enough money to look after the sick, fracture
   patients wait for days for an operation, there are not enough beds for the sick,
   they wait in trolleys in the corridors. I wonder why the Health Service has no
   money?


5. That during the recent trouble in Ardoyne, which had nothing to do with Holy
   Cross, that the Loyalist/Protestant/Unionist community in Twadell Avenue came
   under sustained and unprovoked attack from Republicans from Ardoyne.


6. That the only school children, which have been injured, have been Protestant
   children who have been attacked by Catholic bigots. Does the worlds media give
   both sides of the story? Not a chance! Why show the injuries to Protestant kids,
   with blood streaming from their heads? It's only Catholic kids we show. Is there
   two sides to every story? In most cases yes but not when it comes to Northern
   Ireland.


7. That because a crowd of 2-300 Republicans were waiting to attack Protestant
   children they had to be taken home in armoured land rovers and even then they
   were attacked by the hate filled, sectarian mob from Ardoyne. Was this given the
   same coverage as Holy Cross? No.

The murder of Daniel McColgan was wrong.