From Unity, 17 September 2005

Planned anarchy

by James Stewart
Belfast was engulfed in rioting and destruction during and after the Orange Order Whiterock parade, which refused to accept the Parades Commission’s determination of an alternative route for the parade, which involved a 100-yard diversion, taking the parade away from a Catholic part of the Springfield Road and towards a neutral district.
     The refusal of the Orange Order to accept the Parades Commission’s determination was backed by the DUP leader Ian Paisley and UUP leader Sir Reg Empey. Paisley warned that “this could be the spark that kindles a fire there will be no putting out.”
     Paisley and Empey for months have been telling unionists that they are being sold out by the British government and that republicans are receiving concessions at the expense of unionists.
     Before the parade, Belfast’s Orange Grand Master called for mass demonstrations of support in protest against the rerouting of the parade. His call was answered by petrol bomb, blast bomb, stone attacks and bullets fired at the police and British army. The “protest” was obviously well planed and co-ordinated, with loyalist paramilitaries obviously directing the attacks on police and army. Since then, on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday, riots have spread into areas outside Belfast: Ballymena, Ballyclare, Bangor, the Newtownards area, and other parts of Northern Ireland.
     Supplied with clear CCTV footage, Sir Hugh Orde, Chief Constable of the PSNI, laid the responsibility for the riots on the shoulders of the Orange leadership and the paramilitaries. In response, Belfast’s senior Orangeman, Dawson Bailie, refused to condemn the rioting. “I’m not condemning anything at all at this moment in time . . . The people in my eyes to blame is the Secretary of State, the Chief Constable, and the Parades Commission.”
     Both the DUP and UUP leaders were slow to make any condemnations of the violence and qualified their remarks with claims that “Protestants” felt alienated and betrayed by the British government’s—in their words—appeasement of Sinn Féin. Claims from the unionist leaderships, paramilitary and Orange leaders are that republicans were rewarded because of their violence and that this has been the catalyst which caused the anarchy on Belfast streets and other towns.
     However, this summer the PIRA directed its members to stand down as a paramilitary organisation, to get rid of their weapons, and to engage in a democratic political process, plus the announcement that arms decommissioning would be completed. According to British and Irish government sources, the process of final decommissioning is taking place and should be completed in a few weeks’ time.
     The DUP’s and UUP’s response to this has not been welcoming. Instead they have continued to regurgitate their old slogans of hate. Those people in the working-class districts of Belfast and other towns who have fallen for the line that republicans have gained from the peace process whilst they have been treated as second-class citizens should question the ability of the unionist leadership to give leadership and to meet their needs.
     They should also be aware that the violence of the past few days has created massive destruction in the areas they live in, that the cost is in millions of pounds, and that the long-term effect can be in job losses, higher taxes, and greater deprivation. The reality is that the DUP and UUP leaderships are not happy with conducting politics without the PIRA. Those who have plunged us into anarchy should ask themselves why.
     Does it mean that Sinn Féin are better negotiators?

Home page  >  Publications  >  Unity  >  2005  >  Planned anarchy
Baile  >  Foilseacháin  >  Unity  >  2005  >  Planned anarchy