Quasi-military exercises dummy runs the activation of sleepers: the pike has been stirring in the thatch
Posted in General on 21. Sep, 2010
Quasi-military exercises, dummy runs, the activation of sleepers: the pike has been stirring in the thatch.This has alarmed some senior civil servants in charge of such matters, who took it for granted that there would be Islamic terrorism in Britain and who did not want to fight terror on two fronts.Some of those to whom such persons talked told them that they were being wet. Does the IRA now accept that Northern Ireland is entitled to become a normal society, deriving legitimacy from democratic consent? That was the principle which underlay the peace process, and Sinn Fein’s claim to become a normal political party. Is the IRA/Sinn Fein now sincere in subscribing to that philosophy of government?We shall see In the interim, recent events do not inspire confidence. Over the last few months there has been a lot of snarling from IRA sources, threatening a return to war. Will that now cease? Until it does, Northern Ireland cannot become a normal society.That raises another question. Outside the US, Sinn Fein is the best-funded political party in the world because it has grown rich on crime Nor is this merely a matter of bank raids.
Money-laundering, protection rackets, smuggling diesel fuel, milking drug-dealers’ profits: the IRA has created a culture of lawlessness in some of the Catholic areas of Northern Ireland. It was bound to insist on marching away from the battlefield with its head held high. But is it marching away? For that to be true, two conditions would have to be met, neither of which can be inferred from last Thursday’s text.The first is an end to criminality. Indeed, the undertakings fell short of those required by the Good Friday Agreement. In effect, the Provos were trying to sell the same horse for the third or fourth time, which makes one doubt whether Mr Blair was wise to reach so eagerly for his chequebook.
It could be argued that the Prime Minister is showing superior wisdom in concentrating on the big picture rather than on the small print The IRA would not humiliate itself.
When the factories went, both white and non-white workers were left for dead The neglect led to the rot we now see. British industrialists and politicians hold some responsibility for what has followed.Hundreds of thousands of Muslims volunteered to join the allies to defeat Nazism. Jews and Muslims who loathe each other today forget this fact. Yemeni and Bangladeshi lascars, Indian Muslim royal servants, brilliant Muslim lawyers and businessmen – they are as much a part of the story of Britain as American soldiers in the Second World War, Jewish writers and musicians and Italian cooks.Integration is a team sport. Our nation will fall apart; the centre will not hold, the bombers will win, unless we all play our part.y.alibhai-brown independent.co.uk
More from Yasmin Alibhai-Brown. It is much too early to tell whether Thursday’s statement from the IRA was a historic transition or a tactical ploy.