Where debating everything under the sun is only the beginning

...... "If you walk down parts of Belfast, you are still confronted by concrete barriers separating communities. Upwards of what, 90% of the young people still go to divided, single tradition schools, neighbourhoods are still divided," he said.

"I don't see the society sowing the seeds of its own normalisation, of its own unity, if neighbourhoods and schools are still divided.

"What worries me in that kind of environment - particularly where politics are not shown to be making progress - alienation will continue to fester and violence, I fear, could very well re-emerge as a characteristic of daily life."

Dr Haass also said the recent controversy over secret letters to so-called On the Runs did not justify any party walking away from the ongoing negotiations at Stormont.

The controversy arose when it emerged the UK government sent letters to about 200 republican paramilitary suspects informing them they were not at risk of arrest.

The Ulster Unionist Party pulled out of the talks process over the revelations.....

Covered.

Quote from: Josh on 2014-04-10, 20:35:25

Covered.

Overruled. 

British forces should withdraw only if it is the will of the N. Irish people, by way of a vote indicating such, in my opinion.

British forces should withdraw only if it is the will of the N. Irish people, by way of a vote indicating such......

And if you don't like the result just blame Russia

No, not really ..... Ireland is not a part of Britain or the Commonwealth...

What's Going on in Northern Ireland?

Northern Ireland is a part of the United Kingdom...

Being a regular visitor across the Irish Sea is a better apraisal than your own unfortunate hangover from some deep past false dream.

Quote from: rjhowie on 2014-04-13, 10:50:05

Being a regular visitor across the Irish Sea is a better apraisal than your own unfortunate hangover from some deep past false dream.

Hmm, I guess my 2 to 3 trips I take there every year since 1983 don't count as much as yours.

JFYI........ I'll be there for 2 weeks this June - July, maybe you can find time in your busy schedule to come down to Béal Átha hAmhnais for a drink with me & some of my boys.

If you care to take me up on my invite, your overnight stay there won't cost you one single pingin, & as long as you don't orange-up, I'll vouch for your safety.

I'll be there for 2 weeks this June - July, maybe you can find time in your busy schedule to come down to Béal Átha hAmhnais for a drink with me & some of my boys.

Just wondering if you and your "boys" aren't just a bit

So, will you be joining us for a few dozen rounds then?

No bombs, no cappings, no beatings, no shots fired.

.......16 years after the Good Friday peace agreement was struck, 46 inquests into the killings of 74 people remain outstanding in Northern Ireland.....

......Mark Thompson, director of Relatives for Justice, a non-governmental organisation that works with many of the families, believes police are determined that some of the key documentation about the killings should never see the light of day. "It's initially a case of deny, deny, deny, then delay, delay, delay," he said......

........reopened inquests include five that will examine the shooting dead of 10 people in Ballymurphy, west Belfast, during two days of disturbances triggered by the introduction of internment without trial in August 1971. One of those who died was a priest shot while giving the last rites to a young man; another was a 50-year-old mother of eight, shot in the face from a distance of about 200 metres.

Five months later, on Bloody Sunday,, soldiers from the same unit, the 1st Battalion, the Parachute Regiment, shot dead 13 people and wounded 13 others, one fatally, in Derry.........

At a constituency meeting on Monday night, Gerry Adams criticised what he called the "negative approach" of the British government in dealing with proposals on flags, parades and the past........

"The Irish government has already agreed that Haass represents the best way forward and the US administration has endorsed this in recent weeks."

Claiming that the political process in Northern Ireland was facing its greatest challenge in recent years, Mr Adams added: "Citizens do not want the process slipping back.

"This requires genuine power sharing and partnership. It also requires the focus of the two governments, but especially the British government and a change in direction by the unionist leadership."

Accusing Ulster Unionist Party leader Mike Nesbitt of "posturing with the NO men on the extremes of unionism", Mr Adams further added: "Middle unionism must feel badly let down by the clear effort on the part of political unionism to roll back on the progress that has been made since the Good Friday Agreement was achieved 16 years ago.".......

........What now are the two Governments considering in the face of mounting evidence that the reckless behaviour of mainstream Unionist parties could precipitate a genuine and full scale political crisis?

In my opinion the Haass proposals on dealing with legacy issues were a compromise that offered the best hope for bringing closure to victims and families and of removing this divisive issue from the political agenda. Any doubts or misgivings should be set aside in pursuit of that priority which every party has claimed to support. Must we conclude about those who oppose Haass, that these professed claims are bogus?

There is now clearly a concerted effort by unionist parties to reverse the progress made since 1998 and to break binding agreements that were made as part of the peace process. But it is not only the Unionist parties, because the British Government have so far failed to back the proposals.

That should cause serious concern for everyone committed to the peace process; in particular the Irish Government.

Like I said earlier, "Continued British inaction could see a renewal of unrest & an eventual rise in bloodshed."

Hostilities will cease only when the very last Brit turns for home ..... not one moment before.  Tiocfaidh ár lá