Post by RedFlag32 on Dec 4, 2007 20:25:15 GMT
Socialist alternative needed against sectarianism
Gary Mulcahy
Recent events have served as a warning that unless a working class alternative is built to fill the political vacuum against the capitalist policies of the Assembly, sectarian forces which at this time remain isolated and small can at a certain point fill the vacuum and cause major sectarian conflict to re-ignite.
The shootings of two PSNI officers in Derry and Dungannon has refocused the minds of some commentators away from the ‘love-in’ at Stormont towards the capacity of dissident republicans to potentially destabilise the power-sharing institutions.
The historic decision by Sinn Fein at its special conference at the RDS in Dublin to support the PSNI and participate on policing boards was a crucial step in paving the way to reaching an agreement with the DUP to restore the Executive. The Sinn Fein leadership faced real opposition amongst its ranks and from attempts by the various dissident republican groups to mobilise wider opposition. A sprinkling of Sinn Fein councillors resignations followed at local level, joined by formerly prominent individuals who had expressed reservations and had been relegated to the background by the leadership. The signing up to policing in the North, and the almost silent decision to support policing in the South, are not isolated events. It is the latest in a now long line of concessions made by the Sinn Fein leadership to the DUP and the British government. This is because Sinn Fein has long since abandoned any idea of engaging in ‘armed struggle’ against the state and instead have accommodated themselves to working within the parameters set by unionism and the establishment.
Sinn Fein’s response to the Real IRA’s (RIRA) attempted killing of a Catholic PSNI officer in Derry and again five days later to the shooting of an off-duty policeman in Dungannon was for Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness to call on people to go to the PSNI with any information they had to aid the investigation of the police. The current strategy of the RIRA is to target the PSNI, especially Catholic members, in order to sow divisions within Sinn Fein and destabilise the power-sharing institutions. Calling on people to report to the PSNI could create unease within the grassroots of republicanism.
But the actions of dissident republicans is not the only source of potential instability. The horrific murder of Paul Quinn in Co. Monaghan which has been blamed by the Quinn family on the IRA has also caused problems for the Sinn Fein leadership. It has been reported that the killing was sanctioned by the IRA army council, which if found to be true will have serious consequences for the current Executive. The hypocrisy of the DUP, which has chosen to look the other way, has also exposed their opportunist ambitions to stay in power. However, if any more revelations about the role of the IRA in this murder come to light, the DUP could find themselves unable to stay in government with Sinn Fein.
Like the killing of Robert McCartney in Belfast city centre in 2005, Paul Quinn’s death shows the role paramilitaries now play in communities. Their determination to control areas and not lose revenue from criminal activity to dissident groups continues. The defragmentation caused by the decision to ‘stand down’ paramilitaries will be a source of instability for the Assembly. Lack of central command could also lead to feuding and increased sectarian clashes.
The announcement of the UDA that it has ‘disbanded’ the UFF was quickly followed by a commitment to its ranks that it would not be decommissioning its weapons. The so-called disbandment of the UFF, a cover name for the UDA, has been as a result of pressure to be seen to move towards winding up all paramilitary activity, to secure bribes of millions of pounds for ‘community’ work for leading loyalists. However, the recent feuding within the UDA has demonstrated that there is no intention to give up its power and criminal enterprises. The establishment have chosen to support the dominant wing of the UDA which has been encouraged to clamp down on more unwieldy parts of the UDA such as the South East Antrim brigade. The reality is the announcement to disband the UFF is meaningless. It is an attempt to give the impression that it is serious in turning its back on violence in order to secure more public funding.
The failure of the sectarian parties in the Assembly and the governments to solve the real underlying questions has meant that events on the ground can cause paralysis and the collapse of the Assembly at some time. However, the dissident groups are currently isolated. They have no coherent alternative to the Good Friday Agreement. They even admit that there is no support for a return to the failed methods of individual terrorism. The overwhelming majority of the working class are opposed to a return to the dark days of the Troubles. This does not mean though that support for these incorrect methods cannot re-emerge over time, particularly if a socialist alternative is not built which can build opposition to the capitalist policies of the Assembly Executive by uniting working class communities and offering a socialist path out of poverty, repression and alienation.
Gary Mulcahy
Recent events have served as a warning that unless a working class alternative is built to fill the political vacuum against the capitalist policies of the Assembly, sectarian forces which at this time remain isolated and small can at a certain point fill the vacuum and cause major sectarian conflict to re-ignite.
The shootings of two PSNI officers in Derry and Dungannon has refocused the minds of some commentators away from the ‘love-in’ at Stormont towards the capacity of dissident republicans to potentially destabilise the power-sharing institutions.
The historic decision by Sinn Fein at its special conference at the RDS in Dublin to support the PSNI and participate on policing boards was a crucial step in paving the way to reaching an agreement with the DUP to restore the Executive. The Sinn Fein leadership faced real opposition amongst its ranks and from attempts by the various dissident republican groups to mobilise wider opposition. A sprinkling of Sinn Fein councillors resignations followed at local level, joined by formerly prominent individuals who had expressed reservations and had been relegated to the background by the leadership. The signing up to policing in the North, and the almost silent decision to support policing in the South, are not isolated events. It is the latest in a now long line of concessions made by the Sinn Fein leadership to the DUP and the British government. This is because Sinn Fein has long since abandoned any idea of engaging in ‘armed struggle’ against the state and instead have accommodated themselves to working within the parameters set by unionism and the establishment.
Sinn Fein’s response to the Real IRA’s (RIRA) attempted killing of a Catholic PSNI officer in Derry and again five days later to the shooting of an off-duty policeman in Dungannon was for Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness to call on people to go to the PSNI with any information they had to aid the investigation of the police. The current strategy of the RIRA is to target the PSNI, especially Catholic members, in order to sow divisions within Sinn Fein and destabilise the power-sharing institutions. Calling on people to report to the PSNI could create unease within the grassroots of republicanism.
But the actions of dissident republicans is not the only source of potential instability. The horrific murder of Paul Quinn in Co. Monaghan which has been blamed by the Quinn family on the IRA has also caused problems for the Sinn Fein leadership. It has been reported that the killing was sanctioned by the IRA army council, which if found to be true will have serious consequences for the current Executive. The hypocrisy of the DUP, which has chosen to look the other way, has also exposed their opportunist ambitions to stay in power. However, if any more revelations about the role of the IRA in this murder come to light, the DUP could find themselves unable to stay in government with Sinn Fein.
Like the killing of Robert McCartney in Belfast city centre in 2005, Paul Quinn’s death shows the role paramilitaries now play in communities. Their determination to control areas and not lose revenue from criminal activity to dissident groups continues. The defragmentation caused by the decision to ‘stand down’ paramilitaries will be a source of instability for the Assembly. Lack of central command could also lead to feuding and increased sectarian clashes.
The announcement of the UDA that it has ‘disbanded’ the UFF was quickly followed by a commitment to its ranks that it would not be decommissioning its weapons. The so-called disbandment of the UFF, a cover name for the UDA, has been as a result of pressure to be seen to move towards winding up all paramilitary activity, to secure bribes of millions of pounds for ‘community’ work for leading loyalists. However, the recent feuding within the UDA has demonstrated that there is no intention to give up its power and criminal enterprises. The establishment have chosen to support the dominant wing of the UDA which has been encouraged to clamp down on more unwieldy parts of the UDA such as the South East Antrim brigade. The reality is the announcement to disband the UFF is meaningless. It is an attempt to give the impression that it is serious in turning its back on violence in order to secure more public funding.
The failure of the sectarian parties in the Assembly and the governments to solve the real underlying questions has meant that events on the ground can cause paralysis and the collapse of the Assembly at some time. However, the dissident groups are currently isolated. They have no coherent alternative to the Good Friday Agreement. They even admit that there is no support for a return to the failed methods of individual terrorism. The overwhelming majority of the working class are opposed to a return to the dark days of the Troubles. This does not mean though that support for these incorrect methods cannot re-emerge over time, particularly if a socialist alternative is not built which can build opposition to the capitalist policies of the Assembly Executive by uniting working class communities and offering a socialist path out of poverty, repression and alienation.