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LAST UPDATE | 4 Mar 2021
THE BRITISH PRIME Miniter has insisted that “goodwill and common sense” will deliver resolutions to contentious post-Brexit Irish Sea trading arrangements.
Boris Johnson expressed confidence that issues with the Northern Ireland Protocol are “eminently solvable”, amid a further escalation of political and societal tensions over the terms of his Brexit divorce deal.
The EU is considering legal action against the UK after the government unilaterally extended a grace period that is currently limiting red tape associated with the protocol governing trade between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
In a separate development, loyalist paramilitaries in Northern Ireland have withdrawn their support for the historic Good Friday peace agreement in protest against arrangements they contend have driven an economic wedge between the region and the rest of the UK.
Their move was conveyed in a letter to both Johnson and the Taoiseach Michéal Martin.
Asked about the letter from the Loyalist Communities Council (LCC), an umbrella group representing three outlawed paramilitary groups, Johnson indicated he had not seen the correspondence.
Speaking to broadcasters at Teesport, Middlesbrough, he added: “But what I can say is we are taking some temporary and technical measures to ensure that there are no barriers in the Irish Sea, to make sure things flow freely between GB and NI, and that’s what you would expect.
“Obviously these are matters for continuing intensive discussions with our friends.
“I’m sure with a bit of goodwill and common sense all these technical problems are eminently solvable.”
The LCC represents the Ulster Volunteer Force, Ulster Defence Association and Red Hand Commando, which were responsible for many deaths during 30 years of conflict.
The paramilitaries said they are temporarily withdrawing their backing of the 1998 Belfast/Good Friday accord amid mounting concerns about the protocol.
The LCC leadership stressed unionist opposition to the protocol should remain “peaceful and democratic”.
Its letter warns the protocol undermines the “basis on which the Combined Loyalist Military Command (CLMC) agreed their 1994 ceasefire and subsequent support for the Belfast Agreement”.
Commenting on the LCC letter, Northern Ireland’s Chief Constable Simon Byrne said he does not believe loyalists are likely to return to violence.
“Our initial assessment is that this is a political move,” he told the Northern Ireland Policing Board on Thursday.
“We don’t see the prospect of a return to protest or violence. We are prudently looking at an assessment of what that means in terms of a policing response or indeed any need to change our posture over the weeks ahead.”
Tensions have been ratcheting up in loyalist communities since the protocol came into effect at the end of the Brexit transition period on December 31.
NI First Minister Arlene Foster said she did not have advance notice of the letter.
“It’s not surprising to me after having met the LCC this day last week they were very clear about the difficulties with the protocol,” she said.
“I had not seen the letter before it went and why would I – this is a letter coming from the LCC to the Prime Minister and to the Taoiseach.
I do welcome the fact that they have said they will use peaceful and democratic means, I very much welcome that.
“It’s so important that we deal with matters through politics and through the constitutional way of dealing with issues, whether that’s through politics or through the courts or whatever. I think that that is to be welcomed.”
NI deputy First Minister Michelle O’Neill criticised the loyalist groupings and questioned their ongoing existence.
“I think the question that needs to be answered is, 23 years after the Good Friday Agreement, why loyalist paramilitary groups still exist, way they’re still carrying out organised crime, racketeering and extortion, holding communities to ransom?” she said.
“I think everybody in political leadership has a responsibility to encourage and to tell these groups to leave the stage. There is no place for them in today’s society.”
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Loyalist paramilitaries should have no say in what happens.
@ShaneO’Mac: why? If you take that rationale then Republican paramilitaries would also be removed from the process, and hey-ho, off we go again with another few years of violence.
Simply dis-regarding a stakeholder, any stakeholder, in a peace agreement is a recipe for disaster.
@D. Memery: Republican paramilitaries do not have an independent role to play and it couldn’t be imagined that a Representative of the IRA would write a letter to the U.K. PM and the Taoiseach and not be completely disregarded and in a very public way.
This is the work of the DUP, be under no illusions about this. They have failed their voters utterly and with no Plan B, no ability to think ahead, no flexibility or desire for cooperation with Ireland, they resort to threats of violence via a mouthpiece in loyalism
The DUP will incite violence and will press the self destruct button. The losers will be their supporters.
A United Ireland will happen, they know this. They don’t care about the consequences.
@DReynolds: It’s interesting that Miss Foster met Loyalist ‘community leaders’ last week and now we get this announcement. It just seems a bit strange. I’m not saying she was involved in dictating the letter or anything, but it’s just a bit of a coincidence!
@John Caplis: don’t forget wee sammy anouncing they will be gorilla warfare over the protocol
@reginald: Is he going to release animals from Belfast zoo?
@DReynolds: it’s easy for the south to constantly mention “a United Ireland will happen” yet fail to understand that you still will have unwilling unionists who will feel bullied, outnumbered and somewhat cornered on an island if a United Ireland happens. A United Ireland can’t be approached like a land grab..
We are asking them for concessions.. what concessions will we make ..? Change national anthem, change flag , change constitution, change educational curriculum. Orange march on the 12th July in the south? Etc EVERYTHING needs to be re-examined in a proposal of a United Ireland not just getting unionists to learn Amhran na bhFiann.
@Ciaran: The people who think there British they can go back to where they came from there be no problems then everyone will be happy
@Ciaran: I understand everything you say, I wouldn’t disagree with any of it, but you know what Ciaran, a United Ireland will happen.
Concessions: Unionists will represent 16% of the Island, and this number reduces every year so we need to lose our deferential behaviour towards this minority. We should be respectful, inclusive and accommodating, but within reason. The flag will change I’m sure ( even though it’s the perfect flag) but triumphalism and tribalism from both sides have no part in our future.
@high ho silver: that’s a bit simplistic, isn’t it?
@high ho silver: I don’t know what is worse, your point of view or your grammar..
@Ciaran: did you actually just say “land grab”… what do you think Northern Ireland IS? It is stolen land. If someone wants to be British, move to Britain. This is Ireland.
@reginald: I think that’s more likely to be Monkey business where wee Sammy is the mastermind.
@Ciaran: Yeah there definitely would have to be a new flag and anthem.
@DReynolds: why would we change our flag it’s all inclusive. Better than the butchers apron.
@Ciaran: I always think NI should become its own state. They’ve more in common with each other than the republic or UK. Fully appreciate the complexities of what a United Ireland would mean and not at all sure I’d fancy it in many ways.
@high ho silver: In the 2011 Northern Ireland census
48.4% of people identified as being British 12.9% of them were Catholic
29.4% of people identified as being Northern Irish 30.7% of them were Catholic
28.4% of people identified as being Irish 57.2% of them were Catholic
To have a peaceful united Ireland you need to persuade 77.8% of people in Northern Ireland to give up their identities and capitals.
THATS THE REALITY WITHOUT ANY SPIN.
The loyalist paramilitaries must be having trouble getting their drug shipments in
Can you imagine the reaction if a similar letter was written by a person claiming to be a representative of the IRA.
The very least we would see is a meltdown in Fine Gael and Coveney would lose it.
Let’s see what he has to say about the latest Loyalist paramilitary Spokesman and the silence from the DUP.
Responsibility for unraveling the GFA lies fairly & squarely lies with Little Englanders who devised Brexit and their allies in NI, the DUP.
If/when someone is killed in anger as the sectarian sore, which the GFA had put in a very fragile but effective bandage/cast, breaks out… Cummins/Farage etc should be held to account.
Peace on the streets in NI was only achieved by helping each side see they had more in common than what made them different & threw a cloak over differences… Brexit has blown that cloak away and the differences are now laid bare…each side is re-entrenching…
If these Loyalists don’t get their way, violence inevitably will return… if they do, likewise… Maybe not today or tomorrow but the seeds of the Trouble are re rooting… Thanks Very much, Boris & co.
@Shane: the thing is loyalist have been killing people in drug feuds and intimidating others out of their homes. The media don’t seems to have any interest in it and PSNI are standing aside. With political unionism now seemingly directing their activities history seems to be repeating itself and we know Nationalist will be the ones to suffer.
@Shane: Thanks very much, Boris & co. Don’t forget about David Cameron for holding the Brexit referendum and Theresa May for invoking article 50. Shameful how those two cowards have shuffled off into the shadows.
@Paddy Hopper: Plus the easy ride the DUP are given in the press. Imagne Mary Lou openly meeting dissident IRA! We’d never hear the end of it.
Make no mistake, tactics are changing, Westminster, the DUP and loyalism are colluding and the endgame is to drag all of Ireland into the UK trading zone with the EU border around both islands.
And with Michael Martin in charge, I wouldn’t bet against that happening, especially given the people who are advising him. An MI5 agent as Garda Commissioner and another unionist as his chief spin doctor.
We’re entering dangerous times for the island and the wrong man and party is leading us.
@Shane: very eloquently stated
@Paddy Hopper: Loyalist paramilitaries do not have the monopoly in the drug trade… drug lords are both green and orange….
My comments re peace on the streets is in ref to sectarian/political violence… sadly part the normalisation of NI was the changed focus of the paramilitaries to drug trafficking in its own right and not just as a means to raise arms to support ‘the cause’.
@Del Boy: you have a point re BB’s predecessors- though DC did issue an apology for Bloody Sunday that impressed even Martin McG… Also, it would seem DC never thought for a minute Brexit would happen & TM did negotiate the backstop (which made the best of a bad situation) and it was the DUP that sabotaged that.
BB has only ever been about himself and will happily shaft his allies, if it suits…
Wow writing a letter, it’s normally graffiti on a wall. They must have employed a PR firm.
So the government they are loyal to has made am agreement with the eu which they don’t like, and their answer is going back to violence against their own government who they claim to be loyal too? Ffs, nobody wants them
@Darren Carroll: Doesn’t it have a very historically ring to It?
@Darren Carroll: Doesn’t it have a very historical ring to it?
Fake news, these people don’t know how to write a letter!!
@Anto Curran: I think that you if you take the time to check out the background of this LCC group spokesperson David Campbell you will find that he is more than capable of writing a letter of substance ( no pun intended !)
Anyone with a semblance of knowledge of Northern affairs past and present will be aware that this grouping have more support from mainstream Unionism than people may think.!!
Coupled with this you have wee Jamie and his pals stirring it up
@Anto Curran: That’s no true ,I heard one of them spent three years in sixth class .
So put their prisonors out on licence due to the GFA back into prison.
In 2023 their corporation tax will be 25%, while ours will be 12%. We will be moving ahead whilst they will be staying in the old testament.
Nationlist and republicans seem to be fairly timid on the subject. There should be an all Ireland pan Nationalist front to counter the DUP and their feral support base.
@Setanta Stylfox: the best thing for the republicans to do is to keep their mouths closed and let the loyalists have a go at Uk government and that will push them into conflict with them and that might be the push that sets the ball rolling for a United ireland
@Setanta Stylfox: You’re right, but that would require all political parties working together and FFG would sink the country first before working with SF.
The loyalist veto is still alive and well. The bully boys will threaten violence if anything is done to reflect Irish Unity on any level. Imagine the outcry that will be orchestrated whenever a border poll is mooted, as contained in the Good Friday Agreement. They won’t be so fond of quoting the GFA then.
@Setanta Stylfox: when your Adversary is making is making a mistake, don’t stop them.
Drug supply interruption
Loyalist paramilitaries are like sh:t on the shoes of the conservative party.they will gladly get rid of northern ireland as it’s only a pure headache to them.
@reginald: Unfortunately, NI is currently very useful to Westminster.
@Teresa Ryan: how so?
@Drunk in Dublin: The plan now is to put the border around-the whole of Ireland and pull the Rep into the UK zone and out of the single market.
Westminster and the DUP will use NI and GFA to do it.
@Teresa Ryan: That’s my longer term concern also. And while the Brits are doing that, Micheál the nodding altar boy is thinking that throwing our lot in with Boris for a ticket to the soccer World Cup is a great idea; the Free State is preparing to systematically discriminate against every child in a Gael Choláiste; the devil’s own mix of political parties glommed together to keep anyone Irish out of governmental authority in Dublin. The sooner there’s a general election the better, but that also suits the civil service here who seem to be riddled with Whitehall wannabes…
Of course we know that the Loyalist paramilitaries have been armed, trained and directed by the british government and its intelligence services and that the loyalist paramilitaries were never forced to disarm so this bluff needs to be called once and for all.
@Ronan Murphy: And you think its not the same the other way round…lol
Sorry to say fifty years ago when I was in England most people didn’t know where the six counties were and the people there were referred to as savages. Don’t push to hard you might find a door open to someplace you don’t want to be.
@Kathleen Callaghan: If you were in England 5 days ago, you would still find that most people don’t know anything about the 6 counties, and far less could they care.
@Sean Murnin: Get an education will you, nearly 30% of people in England have Irish ancestry, 10% of people in England have Grandparents born in Ireland(ROI) the vast majority are still alive and most are living in Ireland, that means more people in England have Grandparents that were born in Ireland than Ireland has.
@On the right side: 6 counties. Please keep up.
@On the right side: I’m sorry, what the hell are you talking about you absolute thick? Put the bottle away.
Sounds like a threat. Let’s see if the the British negotiate with terror ists
@Simon F: but they are British as least according to themselves anyway
@Simon F: Of course they will. Particularly as London historically hasn’t been averse to terrorism itself.
As loyalist paramilitaries have withdrawn from the good Friday agreement can we assume that the PSNI are busy arresting the members of those organisations who were released under the terms of agreement and returning them to prison complete their sentences?
Unionists belong in the UK, not in Ireland. The geography makes it very simple- pick an island and stay there.
@Drunk in Dublin: In the 2011 Northern Ireland census
48.4% of people identified as being British 12.9% of them were Catholic
29.4% of people identified as being Northern Irish 30.7% of them were Catholic
28.4% of people identified as being Irish 57.2% of them were Catholic
To have a peaceful united Ireland you need to persuade 77.8% of people in Northern Ireland to give up their identities and capitals.
THATS THE REALITY WITHOUT ANY SPIN.
@On the right side: “identify as” is the key phrase here.
They’re definitely all in it together, wouldn’t be surprised if Boris himself had a word with Arlene to round up the troops. Disgusting backwards behaviour.
Did they ever support the agreement?
They can write???
I’d say the Loyalist paramilitary Whatsapp group has been hopping since the implementation of the protocol .
Who are they going to fight with all this sabre rattling – the British, the EU? The only targets they have ever had in the North has been innocent random nationalists. That’s what they do. Of course, the DUP will pretend that they condemn violence and were simply warning everyone. Howver, they have been actively encouraging loyalists paramilitaries/drug dealers by their statements and then meeting them too. Imagine the outcry there would be North and South if Sinn Féin were to meet and mentor local drug gangs and write their statements for them.
Presume they temporarily go back to prison so????
Just wait until the Centenary celebrations start… Poor Seamus Heaney RIP
Right. We’ll be writing that territorial claim to the island of Ireland and its islands back into the constitution then.
Do we have to call them loyalists is there not a better name
@Colin Deane: confused Irish man and women.
@Colin Deane: insurgents?
One thing both sides in this divided region that I live in, Northern Ireland, will all agree on, there is very little common sense here, and no goodwill…
Well that didn’t take long.
God help us all with Boris in charge
Who did they get to write the letter for them?
@Macus Mc Mahon: David Campbell, Trimble’s former advisor and former Chair of the Official Unionist party and one time ambassador to Turkey. I don’t think he ever got his hands dirty in the Troubles himself but he apparently now wants “to fight physically” and is happy to encourage some other mothers’ sons to repeat history and spend years in jail.
https://twitter.com/AllisonMorris1/status/1367393496773128195?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet
Unfortunately Bojo has neither goodwill or common sense….
@Paul Shepherd: The EU goodwill was to announce a hard border on the island a few weeks without discussing it with anyone and they are still refusing to ratify the trade deal in Brussels, also Ireland is enforcing a border on the island right now, you people make me laugh…lol
@On the right side: You sound really really s1lly.
He’s burned through enough of our good will with constantly saying he is going to break the NI protocol.
@Ciaran Burke: The EU just done that and Ireland has already broken the GFA because there is a border on the island right now…lol
They definitely got better murals that us… we got gretta
Nobody seems to see it from their point of view that throughout the Brexit negotiations Ireland took a tough stance over the border and the GFA, that there could never be a border on the island or checks because of the GFA, thats why in their view there had to be a border in the sea. A few weeks ago the EU said they were going to stop goods going across the border and right now Ireland has checks at the border, this proves to the Loyalists that neither the GFA or protocol are not worth the paper they are written on, it also shows to them it was never about the GFA it was just a land grab. The best thing for everyone would be not to totally get rid of the protocol but for Ireland to soften their stance over it to reel them back in because the trouble is not going to in Great Britain or Brussels back garden its going to be in yours.
@On the right side: except nothing you’ve said is true or accurate.
@On the right side: That is some amount of inaccurate waffle tan boy. Sad day when the UK aligns herself with loyalist terrorist appeasers and drug dealers.
Omg this is all we need. Stu.pid, stu.pid, stu.pid. Just an excuse to start the whole thing up again. We’ve already had a s.ex toy found on the luas. Really scary. What next lol.
Who in their right mind would TRUST, Boris Johnson, he would agree today for the sake of agreeing and tomorrow he would say he never agreed if in hindsight it didn’t suit him. Definitely not trustworthy.
If they are no longer party to the Good Friday Agreement then all loyalist paramilitaries released under the GFA need to be put back in prison. Also any members of the DUP who are actively meeting with these known terrorists need to be arrested. If the UK won’t do it then let the EU list them as terrorists and put them all on the no-fly list so they can’t travel outside of N. Ireland and if they do go to any other country they are arrested as terrorists the minute they land.
have your say