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NORTHERN IRELAND DEPUTY First Minister Martin McGuinness has accused unionist leaders of allowing extremist factions from within their own community set their agenda over the last 18 months.
He was speaking amid fresh efforts to progress talks on flags, parades and the past, following the failure of negotiations chaired by US diplomat Richard Haass.
The leaders of the five main political parties held talks on the fallout from the Haass discussions at Stomont yesterday, according to UTV News, and have agreed to sit down for a further meeting next Tuesday.
Speaking afterwards, McGuinness said he had watched unionist parties “dancing to the tune of extremists within their own communities” for the last year-and-a-half and that “that has to end”.
“I say that because I believe the influence of these people has impacted on the Haass negotiations and the Haass outcome.
“This is a time for leadership, this is a time for standing up to extremists who are trying to bring this process down.”
He said he still believed the Haass proposals were the best way to deal with the outstanding issues of the peace process and that he would do “everything in his power” to move things forward.
According to the BBC, SDLP leader Alasdair McDonnell described yesterday’s discussions as positive, but said it was now time for implementation rather that negotiation.
The negotiations chaired by Richard Haass and Harvard professor Meghan O’Sullivan broke down without agreement on New Year’s Eve, following a series of marathon talks sessions over the Christmas period.
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No lover of Sinn Fein but he is probably right in this instance
I’m in the same boat, I have very little time for SF but agree with McGuinness on this one.
The only thing I would say is that the less said by SF on this the better as it will be like a red rag to a bull and make progress less likely.
Unionists just have to accept that Irish people now have the same rights as they do.
Let it infuriate them.
They had their fun for 70 years, time they accept that we all live here.
For too long they have been pandered to and given in to, all because Dublin and London were scared of the threat of Orange mass violence. A card used repeatedly by them for over 150 years.
Unionism is now bound by the law, time to enforce it.
Ur second name says it all
Sinn Fein have played a blinder over Haass. They’ve managed to position themselves as the most mature group in the room (that’s not saying much) and have made their unionist rivals look like recalcitrant children who are against progress. As the DUP are continually shooting themselves in the feet. I could easily see SinnFein topping the polls in the North in 2016. I doubt however that the DUP would ever countenance a nationalist first minister in the house on the hill and would cause the entire house of cards to fall by refusing to engage with Sinn Fein. Consociationalism only works when you win if you’re a unionist. The DUP will use the politics of fear in the next election “vote for us or get a Sinn Fein first minister” and it will probably work.
I’m a Sinn Féin supporter but I think that it was easy to play a blinder when Unionism collapses a talk over orange Marchers not being drunk or violent, it is easy to look good.
What about the past. SF want the Shankill bomber Thomas Begley to receive the same victim status as the 9 Protestant civilians he murdered that day.
Whats the forums take on that?
Members of the RUC and UDR and Orange Order/UVF, members of the DUP and UUP will also receive the same treatment as Begley and the victims.
Members of the UVF were terroists like the IRA, they dont deserve to be recognised as victims. They were victim creators.
As you said it’s the past, can’t you move on
That’s the one thing unionists can’t do Cathal.
Its sinn fein that want these past terrorists remembered as victims. How can a terrorist that bombed civilians be remembered as a victim himself? Its absurd.
And I’ve no bother moving on, it was the Haass talks that mentioned the past. Im just commenting on it. Surely im allowed an opinion on the news.
What about the laying of wreaths on Poppy day for UDR men and RUC dead, victim makers, bombers of bars and specialists in random murder.
Do you want British soldiers to not be honoured or treated the same either.
Don’t give me guff about them being Uniformed and legal forces, they were engaged in wholesale murder as well. The Law was very flexible for them.
Nobody is asking your community to lay wreaths for our security forces and past war dead. You can wear a Lily if you want, I’ll wear my poppy.
Officially though these illegal loyalist and republicans will never be allowed to be recognised as victims like the innocent people they murdered.
Thomas Begley murdered two children that day on the Shankill road, are you seriously suggesting hes as much a victim as they are?
How many children were murdered when the allies carpet bombed Dresden? But yet we remember the perpetrators of this act on Remembrance Sunday? There is one difference here, that being Begley didn’t set out to murder children. History can be twisted and turned but no one has a monopoly on suffering and no one has a monopoly on remembering war dead, no matter who they are, once it’s done in a dignified fashion. Ironically, part of the Haass proposals state that orange marchers should be dignified, not drunk, abusive and sectarian.
Why did Begley take his bomb to a busy street on a Saturday afternoon then?
And dont talk to me about remembering war dead, republicans wernt even willing to let our community do that in Enniskillen in 1987 when another one of their cowardly bombs murdered 11 civilians.
The building housed the UVF HQ and it was believed to be having a meeting at the time. Certainly it was a disaster.
I think everyone involved in the conflict was a victim in one way or another.
You are stuck in the past James and stuck in the mindset that sees the groupings like the UDR and RUC as the good people. In reality they were no different in their methods to the UVF.
@JB are you Jamie Bryson the loyalist Bigot by any chance?
The UDR and RUC were nothing like the illegal terror groups, they helped combat the terrorists and keep violence to a minimum. Many lost their lives in the process and they paid a higher price for peace than all the terrorists put together.
You can make all the excuses you want for Thomas Begley, he was nothing but a murdering IRA terrorist that murdered 9 civilians including 2 kids, your hero Adams carried his coffin too remember, a real hero.
Your terrorists were worse than our terrorists!! Your argument is childish and futile. Stuck in the past like a lot of so called Loyalists.
Yeeeeeow no surrender. That is the only language these orange men and loyalists know.
Politicians up north are a bunch of toddlers who throw hissy fits becuase they dont get there way .
Down south we have a bunch of liars and deceiving morons as politicians.
Shouldnt enda kenny be trying to influence his brethern in the unionist community to accept haass or does he support it himself. That would be strange territory to see kenny agree with sf.
Put the Haass proposals to a vote up north and the overwhelming majority of people would vote in favour of them. Why are mainstream unionists pandering to a few dissident unionists?
It was already put to a vote in Stormont and defeated.
Yes, by Neanderthals.
I couldn’t agree more with Martin McGuinness.
It’s time that the main unionist parties realise that it’s the moderates that have left Democratic system in drives up in NI.
They need to bring these moderates back into believing that they have a party to vote for.
They are simply pandering to the extremists that remain their core vote.
Says the man who was in the IRA
Tell me this Paul. Did you grow up in Northern Ireland and live through bloody sunday? Watching kids murdered on the streets during a Civil rights march. You have no idea how people felt after that. I am not a big fan of Martin Mc Guinness but he has done a lot to bring peace to Northern Ireland and without them and The great John Hume we wouldn’t have had a voice during darker days and John Hume and Gerry Adams were the 2 people who started the ball rolling for peace in the North.
You shouldn’t be too quick to slag off people who at this very time are still fighting for peace on this island
So what if he was in the IRA? He has moved on from a militant past to a democratic political career. If peace processes are to work then continuous comments about who was what or who did what will not help.
So what Paul.
Personally I admire him for taking a stance and fighting back when people in his area were being killed by soldiers. It would have been easier to join the SDLP and move to a nice suburb and turn a blind eye.
The IRA were killing before the soldiers were so how was he ‘fighting back’?
They were engaged in actions against terror units like the UDR and RUC. Both of whom were comprised of notorious sectarian killers.
The UDR didnt become operational until April 1970, the IRA campaign was already started.
You dont have many facts mate do you?
According to James Buchanon, Northern Ireland before 1969 was a little utopia where magic pixies blew fairy dust and everyone lived in harmony!!! He’d have you believe that the troubles were solely down to the Provos and that Unionists were 2nd class citizens!! Nice little alternate universe youse had there JB, but t’is no more. Why does equality frighten you so much?
It is like Unionists can’t even admit that all the killings and bombings at the start of the troubles were by Unionists, mostly by members of the RUC.
Mate, you are the one without facts…the first civilians killed during the troubles..by Unionists, the first policeman..by Unionists the first soldier..by Unionists the first child..by Unionists..the first bombings, by Unionists…the first people burned out of their homes..by Unionists…now go away and read a history book.
Im aware the troubles started over a sequence of events towards the late 60′s. Nothing can justify the level of violence that the IRA brought to the equation though, the situation could have been saved but republicans went on the offensive and made sure it wasnt.
And the first unionists were killed by republicans and the police, the same day loyalist terrorists shot dead the RUC man the RUC had shot dead two people on the Shankill. It was street disturbances, the same way most people died during that time. It was after that period that republicans specifically targeted the security forces, loyalist terrorists never had such a policy, that doesnt mean they didnt kill securiy forces on occasion.
There was absolutely no way the situation could have been saved, when? where? tell me…Unionism rejected every single proposal laid down before them…they are still rejecting progress and only through the fear of a worse situation just over half of them voted for the GFA..
It certainly was beyond saving when the PIRA started firing at the army. The army were here to stop sectarian unrest, why target them?
Yes, that was what Nationalists were told..and we took it at face value…but no one told the British Army that was their mission…curfews, houses searched and destroyed..beatings,,stood idly by as Bombay St was burned, stood idly by as St Matthews was attacked..Nationalists soon realised that these people are not here to defend us, they are here to bolster up the Unionist regime..of course the IRA were going to step into the vacuum.
That was their original mission, they did restore calm but that wasnt enough for the republicans who wanted them out but didnt stop to realise that their actions was what kept them here.
And dont blame the army for Bombay street or any of the other unrest, it was this escalation of violence that caused them to be sent in to start with, they were literally only here as that rioting was unfolding. They maintained a presence at the flashpoints and the violence quickly subsided. The IRA’s plans were already in motion as we know.
How did a discussion about the flags issue in Northern Ireland turn into a witch hunt against mr. Mcguinness! A majority of people on here seem to appear every time there is anything vaguely talking about the IRA! They seem to be bitter about the fact that most people have moved on from the troubles and are willing to give Adams and mcguinness credit for their role in the peace process!
Lot of them are the same person.
A lot of the republicans on here are the same person
We are the people JB ;)
Another story on the occupied territories. Yawn.
Why couldn’t he have kept his mouth shut? Comments like that are hardly going to help.
Because he’s an elected representative and he’s voicing the concerns of his constituents?
I like dancing…
Obviously. There’s elections coming up after all.
More than that.
If Unionism agrees that the Green is equal in every way to the Orange, that Orange Marches have to be respectful when marching in mixed or Nationalist areas.
If Unionism agrees that society is to be shared for the benefit of both sides, and a responsibility of both sides.
When that happens Unionism has signed its death warrant and they know that.
Hating and believing in the superiority of your side over the Irish is all that ties Unionism together as a movement.
Unionism is fighting for its very existence here.
‘dancing to the tune of…….’
Maybe.
But McGuinness was the opposing dance master, not very long ago.
Yes glen, McGuinness has reinvented himself – and its amazing how many are being fooled by the new version. Simply because of their disillusion with southern politicians.
Does anyone even read/remember what this fanatic was saying a few years ago – or is that now irrelevant? Its so obvious that this bloke sees a great opportunity now for a statemanslike role!!!
But it won’t work. Far too many skeletons in the cubard – or wherever they are….
You sound like a fanatic yourself there Bill.
And of course, McGuinness was never an extremist and was never a member/leader of the IRA.
Yes he was a senior IRA volunteer, so!
Why not admit it then – it might just help his very serious credibility issues?
McGuinness past is out there, he’s not denying his role in the provo’s. Its pointless throwing comments like that out at this stage.
Admit what? Martin has always admitted he was in the IRA.
It jast goes to show that Glen hasn’t a clue what he is talking about in asking McGuinness to admit he was in the IRA, he has admitted this for decades. Seriously why comment if you haven’t a clue what your talking about?
Ian, McGuinness has admitted virtually nothing. Everyone knows he has an awful lot to tell, but chooses not to. His long silence seriously affects his credibility; the simple and indisputable fact is – ‘if he did tell the full story, he would be ostracized by all.’ His Catch 22….
And your point being?…..
Its true McGuinness has admitted little – only what he was forced to by information from other sources. And he continuues in the same vein.
Put simply, some people have decided to forgive his undocumented past. Others have not.
One thing is sure – he has taken a high jump onto the Haass bandwagon. To show perhaps, that he is a reasonable and reformed character?
It just doesn’t stand up to scrutiny. A man – who knows so much more about what happened, than us – asking for our support, in the dark.
No.
In fairness to Martin McGuinness, he has admitted to being a manner of the PIRA.
He was able to speak freely when he gave evidence at the Bloody Sunday tribunal. His evidence couldn’t be used in a court.
I think that the truth and reconciliation process, being called for in NI by SF could allow other members of the PIRA to give their own accounts. I really think that the British Government should consider this.
But while the conservatives are in power, there’s no chance. Hopefully, Labour will get in after the next GE and can move forward with this particular debate.
I say this, not as a SF supporter, but as a member of FF. Just in case anyone is in any doubt.
If his credibility is affected by his not going in to depth about his role in the Army then it is not reflected in opinion polls where he is consistently the most respected man in Stormont by both sides.
Ya bill what is the point you are trying to make? Are people not allowed to move on and try and make things right! It’s easy for you to sit at your computer and type nonsense in comfort and anonymity! I don’t know you but I’d say you aren’t a patch on Martin mcguinness as a man! It’s gobsh###s like you who stop peace from really moving on!
Durkin, your bias is palpable – and your last point is rubbish. Why condone a man who refuses to tell those who deserve to know – what happened in the past?
Perhaps, if he did, opinion polls would say differently! But then, its not in his interest to go into depth – or deaths…
Pot, kettle.
Tell me this, are SF pandering to the dissidents republicans like the unionists are to the paramilitaries and the OO on the other side? Could you explain your pot kettle analogy in this instance please?
Idealogue
Summoning.
Do you even know what the Haass talks are about.
This coming from a convicted terrorist- pathetic
I wish a big chain saw would cut off the 6 counties and let it float away … imagine the peace and the annoyed people up in greenland…when that lot arrive as your neighbours lol
In contrast to sinn fein dancing to the tune of adams & co
have your say