Government backs Paisley before Sinn Féin
The IRA was prepared to decommission all of its weapons before Christmas, in the presence of General John de Chastelain and two clergymen from both communities. It also offered to end all activities that would be contrary to the Good Friday Agreement.
I think this was a pretty good offer, especially when there isn’t a word about loyalist or British guns being decommissioned.
The most astonishing thing is that the Irish Government supported Paisley’s impossible demand.
It is clear now that Fianna Fáil and the PDs have more interest in stemming the growth of Sinn Fein than forwarding the peace process.
A few weeks later we had the Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, making a grovelling apology to Ian Paisley, for something so trivial that most people have forgotten what it was about at this stage. Then we had President Mary McAleese being forced to apologise to unionists for telling the truth.
And then Orangemen were invited to the St Patrick’s Day parade in Cork, with the support of Fianna Fáil politicians in the city.
This crawling has emboldened Ian Paisley to such a degree that it will be impossible to sate his appetite for concessions in any future negotiations.
Susan Walsh
Brookdale
Mill Road
Midleton
Co Cork.
