British and Proud
03-13-2009, 07:05 PM
This is my latest blog post:
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_IsIVb_6uIco/Sbl13qkRGQI/AAAAAAAAAIM/0D6PTJv7M3Y/s1600/36THULSTERDIVISI0NMURAL2.jpg
Throughout history our politicians have betrayed the Northern Irish people - from Gladstone's Home Rule Bills, a cynical attempt to curry the favour of the Irish Nationalist Party and form a majority government, to Blair's negotiations with the the terrorists of Sinn Fein, who were not even representative of the majority of the republican people, being electorally inferior to the SDLP. The latter betrayal was particularly atrocious, as not only did it propel Sinn Fein to the forefront of Northern Irish politics, it also, in the eyes of many, rewarded the years of bloodshed they waged on the British people. In the words of Enoch Powell:
It is of the nature of all internecine violence that it lives on hope. Violence feeds upon the hope of success... violence will not continue indefinitely where the objects which it proposes to itself appear to be unattainable, or at any rate unattainable within a predictable future. The Government in Northern Ireland and the Government in this country actually assist violence and strengthen it in so far as they appear to act and appear to reform under the pressure of violence...[The Government should ensure that] neither by word nor deed do we treat the membership of the Six Counties in the United Kingdom as negotiable. Every word or act which holds out the prospect that their unity with the rest of the United Kingdom might be negotiable is itself, consciously or unconsciously, a contributory cause to the continuation of violence in Northern Ireland.
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_IsIVb_6uIco/Sbl14EVO9kI/AAAAAAAAAIU/msqtO8TPHgc/s1600/36THULSTERDIVISI0NMURAL3.JPG
Above: The murals reflect the deep pride loyal Ulstermen still have for the sacrifices their ancestors made in the Great War. The 36th Ulster Division were fierce and brave soldiers, and uniquely in Britain, were volunteers as there was no conscription in Ireland due to the fears of provoking a nationalist rebellion. Wikipedia quotes military historian, Martin Middlebrook, thus:
The leading battalions (of the 36th (Ulster) Division) had been ordered out from the wood just before 7.30am and laid down near the German trenches ... At zero hour the British barrage lifted. Bugles blew the "Advance". Up sprang the Ulstermen and, without forming up in the waves adopted by other divisions, they rushed the German front line ..... By a combination of sensible tactics and Ulster dash, the prize that eluded so many, the capture of a long section of the German front line, had been accomplished.
However it was not Ulster's gallant history and loyalty for which I nearly wept, when I visited Belfast recently. It had nothing to do with the fact this brave "wee country" is seemingly the last bastion of Britishness - the only part of the UK where Christianity isn't held in jest, or where the people are proud to be British patriots, where children can still benefit from a grammar school education and the true British community spirit flourishes, even in the face of adversity. No! It was the sight of a primary school languishing beneath a wall of steel and bricks, an unfortunate necessity, required to keep its young pupils safe from republican violence.
When visiting the north of the city I saw another 'interface', and again felt moved, only this time it was seeing the rows and rows of CCTV cameras, each one perched on top of a pole twenty metres high. It was explained to me that north Belfast's population was just 52% Protestant, and thus the republican community believe it to be an area where they can make demographical gains and form the majority, this is of course faster when the loyalist population are hounded from their homes through subjection to sustained periods of violence. I have scoured the 'net for statistics to support the claims made by my guide, and sure enough the first website I came across - one which celebrates the 'unsung heroes of the peace process' - substantiated his account of the demographics (see below). The rest was obvious from the situation of the cameras in relation to the nearby peace wall. Apparently, Sinn Fein had objected to the installation of the cameras!
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_IsIVb_6uIco/SbmFaP2P5nI/AAAAAAAAAIk/sMHG60tYw6k/s1600/belfastnorthdemographs2.jpg
Seeing these sights for myself, and knowing how corrupt and inept our politicians are, I couldn't help but understand why there is still widespread support amongst large sections of the loyalist communities for the Ulster Volunteer Force and the Ulster Defence Association, not that I endorse or condone their past activities. However, if the Police Service of Northern Ireland are unable to effectively police some areas of the country, how can they be expected to guarantee the safety of Unionists? The following is an extract from the BBC's website:
Derry City Council is to employ a private security firm to open and close security gates around the city walls.
The decision was taken after the police said it was too dangerous for their officers due to an increased dissident republican threat.
After the recent shootings over there, I couldn't help recall the words of a taxi driver after I asked him if The Troubles were over for good. "These bastards will never let it lie", he said, "not until they've got their Irish Republic". Rather prescient, or more likely obvious, considering today's (13th March '09) statement by the Real IRA's political wing:
The Real IRA's political wing has warned its "conflict" will not end unless Britain renounces its claim to sovereignty over Northern Ireland.
The 32-County Sovereignty Movement issued the statement after the Real IRA murdered two soldiers at Massereene barracks in Antrim last Saturday.
Shortly preceding the Battle of the Boyne, was the Siege of Londonderry in which the Catholic King James II and his army encircled the city's walls and called on the inhabitants to surrender the city to him. He was rebuffed and so the city was beseiged for 105 days, which led to the deaths of around half the city, some 4,000 people! It is said the others survived by eating rats, dogs, horses, and legend has it, that one relatively plump citizen was frightened to leave his dwelling for fear of being eaten! Yet the people refused to succumb, their cry was "No Surrender!"
The Siege of Londonderry is a fitting analogy for the loyalist people of Ulster today, a people who are beseiged by hostile foes, yet will not surrender.
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_IsIVb_6uIco/Sbl13qkRGQI/AAAAAAAAAIM/0D6PTJv7M3Y/s1600/36THULSTERDIVISI0NMURAL2.jpg
Throughout history our politicians have betrayed the Northern Irish people - from Gladstone's Home Rule Bills, a cynical attempt to curry the favour of the Irish Nationalist Party and form a majority government, to Blair's negotiations with the the terrorists of Sinn Fein, who were not even representative of the majority of the republican people, being electorally inferior to the SDLP. The latter betrayal was particularly atrocious, as not only did it propel Sinn Fein to the forefront of Northern Irish politics, it also, in the eyes of many, rewarded the years of bloodshed they waged on the British people. In the words of Enoch Powell:
It is of the nature of all internecine violence that it lives on hope. Violence feeds upon the hope of success... violence will not continue indefinitely where the objects which it proposes to itself appear to be unattainable, or at any rate unattainable within a predictable future. The Government in Northern Ireland and the Government in this country actually assist violence and strengthen it in so far as they appear to act and appear to reform under the pressure of violence...[The Government should ensure that] neither by word nor deed do we treat the membership of the Six Counties in the United Kingdom as negotiable. Every word or act which holds out the prospect that their unity with the rest of the United Kingdom might be negotiable is itself, consciously or unconsciously, a contributory cause to the continuation of violence in Northern Ireland.
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_IsIVb_6uIco/Sbl14EVO9kI/AAAAAAAAAIU/msqtO8TPHgc/s1600/36THULSTERDIVISI0NMURAL3.JPG
Above: The murals reflect the deep pride loyal Ulstermen still have for the sacrifices their ancestors made in the Great War. The 36th Ulster Division were fierce and brave soldiers, and uniquely in Britain, were volunteers as there was no conscription in Ireland due to the fears of provoking a nationalist rebellion. Wikipedia quotes military historian, Martin Middlebrook, thus:
The leading battalions (of the 36th (Ulster) Division) had been ordered out from the wood just before 7.30am and laid down near the German trenches ... At zero hour the British barrage lifted. Bugles blew the "Advance". Up sprang the Ulstermen and, without forming up in the waves adopted by other divisions, they rushed the German front line ..... By a combination of sensible tactics and Ulster dash, the prize that eluded so many, the capture of a long section of the German front line, had been accomplished.
However it was not Ulster's gallant history and loyalty for which I nearly wept, when I visited Belfast recently. It had nothing to do with the fact this brave "wee country" is seemingly the last bastion of Britishness - the only part of the UK where Christianity isn't held in jest, or where the people are proud to be British patriots, where children can still benefit from a grammar school education and the true British community spirit flourishes, even in the face of adversity. No! It was the sight of a primary school languishing beneath a wall of steel and bricks, an unfortunate necessity, required to keep its young pupils safe from republican violence.
When visiting the north of the city I saw another 'interface', and again felt moved, only this time it was seeing the rows and rows of CCTV cameras, each one perched on top of a pole twenty metres high. It was explained to me that north Belfast's population was just 52% Protestant, and thus the republican community believe it to be an area where they can make demographical gains and form the majority, this is of course faster when the loyalist population are hounded from their homes through subjection to sustained periods of violence. I have scoured the 'net for statistics to support the claims made by my guide, and sure enough the first website I came across - one which celebrates the 'unsung heroes of the peace process' - substantiated his account of the demographics (see below). The rest was obvious from the situation of the cameras in relation to the nearby peace wall. Apparently, Sinn Fein had objected to the installation of the cameras!
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_IsIVb_6uIco/SbmFaP2P5nI/AAAAAAAAAIk/sMHG60tYw6k/s1600/belfastnorthdemographs2.jpg
Seeing these sights for myself, and knowing how corrupt and inept our politicians are, I couldn't help but understand why there is still widespread support amongst large sections of the loyalist communities for the Ulster Volunteer Force and the Ulster Defence Association, not that I endorse or condone their past activities. However, if the Police Service of Northern Ireland are unable to effectively police some areas of the country, how can they be expected to guarantee the safety of Unionists? The following is an extract from the BBC's website:
Derry City Council is to employ a private security firm to open and close security gates around the city walls.
The decision was taken after the police said it was too dangerous for their officers due to an increased dissident republican threat.
After the recent shootings over there, I couldn't help recall the words of a taxi driver after I asked him if The Troubles were over for good. "These bastards will never let it lie", he said, "not until they've got their Irish Republic". Rather prescient, or more likely obvious, considering today's (13th March '09) statement by the Real IRA's political wing:
The Real IRA's political wing has warned its "conflict" will not end unless Britain renounces its claim to sovereignty over Northern Ireland.
The 32-County Sovereignty Movement issued the statement after the Real IRA murdered two soldiers at Massereene barracks in Antrim last Saturday.
Shortly preceding the Battle of the Boyne, was the Siege of Londonderry in which the Catholic King James II and his army encircled the city's walls and called on the inhabitants to surrender the city to him. He was rebuffed and so the city was beseiged for 105 days, which led to the deaths of around half the city, some 4,000 people! It is said the others survived by eating rats, dogs, horses, and legend has it, that one relatively plump citizen was frightened to leave his dwelling for fear of being eaten! Yet the people refused to succumb, their cry was "No Surrender!"
The Siege of Londonderry is a fitting analogy for the loyalist people of Ulster today, a people who are beseiged by hostile foes, yet will not surrender.