Latest News - 11 January, 2008
- 'Irish unity, independence and the Republic outlined in 1916 Proclamation' remain IRA goals
- Hypocrisy and denial over Britain's war in Ireland
- Ahern may be heading for last big gig
'Irish unity, independence and the Republic outlined in 1916 Proclamation' remain IRA goals
The following is the text of a New Year's message supplied to An Phoblacht this week by the leadership of Óglaigh na hÉireann.
THE LEADERSHIP of Óglaigh na hÉireann sends New Year greetings to friends and supporters at home and abroad. We send best wishes to republican prisoners and their families and we commend those working on their behalf.
We are fully committed to our republican objectives. Our goals remain Irish unity and independence and the Republic outlined in the Proclamation of 1916. We commend our comrades in Sinn Féin and all those working for those goals.
We salute the commitment and discipline of IRA Volunteers. They have continued to adhere, in the spirit and in the letter, to the instructions outlined by the leadership in 2005.
A tiny number of former republicans are engaged in criminal activity. We repudiate such activity and we denounce those who have chosen that path.
The developments of 2007 have begun to transform the political landscape.
Irish republicans did not shy away from difficult decisions and challenges. The will of the people has been to see progress in the political process.
There is an onus on all those in political leadership to ensure that the momentum created by the developments of the past 12 months does not wane."
Cuireann ceannaireacht Óglaigh na hÉireann bennachtaí na bliana úra d'ár gcairde agus d'ár dtacadóirí sa bhaile agus thar lear.
Cuirimid dea-ghuithe d'ár gcimí poblachtacha agus d'á gclanna agus molaimid iad uilig atá ag obair ar a son.
Tá muid go hiomlán tiománta d'ár gcuspóirí poblachtacha. 'Siad na spriocanna atá againn go fóill ná Aontas na hÉireann, neamhspleachas agus an Phoblacht mar atá sí leagtha amach i bhForógra 1916. Molaimid ár gcomrádaithe i Sinn Féin agus iad siúd uilig atá ag obair ar son ár gcomhspriocanna.
Déanaimid comhghairdeas ar an tiomantas agus féinsmacht na Óglach san IRA. Lean siad ag comhlíonnadh, san éacht agus ina gcuid bhfocal leis na treoracha leagtha amach ag an cheannaireacht i 2005. Tá mion-sciar d'iarr-phoblachtánaigh atá gafa sa ghníomhaíocht choiriúil.
Séanaimid gníomhartha mar seo agus cáinimid iad siúd atá i ndiaidh dul síos an bealach sin.
Tá forbairtí 2007 tar éis tosnú ar an tírdhreach pholaitiúil a athrú.
Níor chúlaigh poblachtánaigh Éireannacha ó chinntí deacra agus ó dhúshláin.
Tá cúram ar iad siúd go léir atá sa cheannaireacht pholaitiúil cinntiú go leanfaidh an móiminteam a cruthaíodh ag imeachtaí na blianna agus nach rachaidh ar gcúl.
P. O'Neill,
Irish Republican Publicity Bureau,
Dublin.
Hypocrisy and denial over Britain's war in Ireland
A SUGGESTION that the British state may be asked to formally say that it fought a war in the North of Ireland has sparked outrage from unionist politicians. The option is said to be one being considered by the British Government-appointed 'Consultative Group on the Past'.
For three decades, successive British governments and the crown forces attempted to portray the conflict in the Six Counties as a 'criminal conspiracy'.
The Six-County Junior Minister in the Office of First and Deputy First Minister, Ian Paisley Jnr of the DUP, said:
"Law and order would be turned on its head -- it would be sickening and that's why it should be rejected".
Meanwhile, Sinn Féin's Gerry Kelly, a junior minister in the same office as Paisley Jnr, said that it is ironic that unionist politicians, who for so many years had demanded that 'republicans should say the war is over', were now denying that a war had ever taken place!
While Ulster Unionist Party leader Reg Empey said,
"The reality is that the IRA were and are insurgents, who were resisted by the legitimate forces of the United Kingdom," Sinn Féin's Mitchel McLaughlin said the Consultative Group could "by no means be regarded as a neutral observer" as it was set up by the British Government.
Conflict of interests
The controversy over the status of the conflict in the Six Counties followed the first of a series of public meetings by the Consultative Group which was set up by former Six-County Direct Ruler Peter Hain to examine ways of dealing with the past.
Sinn Féin has said that there is a conflict of interests in the British Government as a protagonist in the conflict and its role in this process. The party has serious reservations about the group set up to examine ways of dealing with the past as it was appointed by the British Government and will report back to the British Government, which will have the final say on any recommendations. Sinn Féin says that, given that the British state was a protagonist in the conflict and not an innocent onlooker, this represents a clear conflict of interests.
Despite these concerns, Sinn Féin has met with Consultative Group members Robin Eames and Denis Bradley to outline its views and has encouraged others to do likewise.
Sinn Féin believes that the issue of truth recovery, victims and the need for a healing process are crucial matters which need to be resolved and party spokespersons have stressed a commitment to the development of a process which can deliver closure for the families of those killed during the conflict. Sinn Féin says that any such process must be victim-centred, should deal comprehensively with the issue, and ensure that there is no 'hierarchy of victims'.
British fought war
Following the first public meeting of the Consultative Group this week, and the subsequent controversy over the suggestion that the British state admits that it fought a war in the North, Sinn Féin Mid-Ulster MLA Francie Molloy said that the war is over and he encouraged people to focus on winning the peace including addressing key issues such as victims and survivors and how the past is to be dealt with.
"Few will deny the reality that we lived through terrible times in which the lives of many thousands of people were lost," he said. "This hurt and suffering will not be addressed by denying the reality of our history.
"There is no dispute that the British Government fought a war. It was a key protagonist in the war and should rightly acknowledge its role.
"It is hypocritical of unionists, who have been fixated on the words 'the war is over', to now try and claim that we have lived through anything other than a war.
"The war is over. Now our focus should be on winning the peace, including addressing key issues such as victims and survivors and how we deal with the past."
Ahern may be heading for last big gig
JULIUS CEASAR was told to "beware the Ides of March" and he was duly assassinated in that month. As tribunal troubles mount up for Bertie Ahern his political demise may well be approaching and if he cannot disentangle himself then his own parliamentary party may decide to desert him once he has addressed the US Congress in Washington in March.
In an interview published on Christmas Eve Bertie Ahern said that he intended to remain as Taoiseach until at least the end of 2009, leading Fianna Fáil into the EU Parliament and local elections in that year. He repeated his intention to consider his future when he reaches 60, the suggestion being that he will not lead Fianna Fáil into the next General Election if the Dáil lasts its full term to 2012.
The interview was part of a public relations drive to restore Ahern's image after bruising encounters at the Mahon Tribunal. The Taoiseach's effort was assisted by RTÉ with Ahern being treated like a pop celebrity on Joe Duffy's Christmas Eve radio show and on a Late Late Show special on the boy band Westlife where Ahern shamelessly exploited his family connection with the group. His claim to have been "there from the start" with the group and to be a regular concert-goer may have been ill-judged as viewers contemplated the grey-haired Drumcondra head ensconced among screaming teenage girls.
Clearly the maximum effort was being made to exploit every possible PR opportunity over which Ahern could have control. He has no such control at the Tribunal and in the Dáil he will face mounting questions about the apparent inconsistencies in his explanations of his personal finances and those of his party in Dublin Central.
Misleading the Dáil
The most serious issue to emerge since the Dáil went into recess is correspondence between Ahern and the Revenue Commissioners on his tax compliance. This was always going to be the minefield for Ahern at the tribunal. Few people really care about his 'unorthodox' ways of funding his house and few are surprised at the 'loans' from wealthy business people. Such is the cynicism about establishment politics in the 26 Counties. But what really will damage Ahern conclusively is if it emerges that he misled the Dáil when he claimed last year that he was fully tax compliant. The correspondence revealed last weekend would seem to show that he did indeed mislead the Dáil and the public.
Ahern must now return to the Tribunal and to the Dáil with this issue hanging over his head. Even if it remains unresolved and if there is no political 'high noon' scenario, the continuing corrosive effect on Ahern's public image and political standing is serious. The most telling question will be whether he can credibly claim to be able to continue the demanding role of Taoiseach while trying to disentangle himself from the mess. And the most important people posing that question will be the members of his own Fianna Fáil parliamentary party.
If the saga of Ahern's finances rolls on through 2008, Fianna Fáil TDs, Senators and councillors will start to get cold feet. They see the local and EU Parliament elections on the horizon in the middle of 2009 and would not want a lame duck Taoiseach leading them into the contests. As always those elections will be preludes to the next General Election when TDs' careers will be on the line. It is never wise to write off such a shrewd political operator, but if things continue as they going now for Ahern his address to the US Congress in Washington may well be his last major State occasion as Taoiseach. His next 'big gig' after that might just be a Westlife concert.
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