Last night 3 PSNI officers including a women officer were injured after being shot by a masked gunman following severe disturbances in north and west Belfast. Over 200 people launched petrol bombs, stones and bottles in a clearly co-ordinated riot. Are we being slowly dragged back into conflict by these criminal thugs masquerading as dissident republicans? The legacy of peace is an end to their lucrative crminal empires, something it appears they are not willing to let happen. Something radical has to be done about these criminals before it is too late. My 8 year old daughter watched the news and saw the rioting and heard the mention of the marching season and asked me "what is a protestant daddy?". My heart sank that I now have to start explaining religion to my children who beforehand would not have been able to tell you what a Catholic, Protestant, Muslim, Hindu etc was. Last year I took my children to watch the parades in Omagh. I grew up in a Loyalist housing estate and was quickly educated in the perceived differences, however I also realised that 99% of the estate were/are decent people and I base my judgements on the experience witn the 99% as opposed to the 1%. I know that "my" side has the same.

I don't know what the answer is to these thugs. It is apparent that the PSNI are not able to counter them although they may be able to contain them somewhat. There appears also to be a fear of taking them on. For example, a two car patrol in Meigh, South Armagh reversed out of a contact with these boys. In Garrison in Co. Fermanagh, undercover armed police arrested a couple of these boys who were fully armed yet did not take them on. The Gardai came under fire a couple of days ago whilst thwarting thankfully what appears to be an attempted bomb attack, yet no fire was returned on any occasion. Is it that the political establishment do not want to create martyrs or is it that the new PSNI are just too inexperienced to take these boys on. Whatever the case, I have a feeling that the situation is going to get worse very quickly.

omaghredhand (Tyrone) - Posts: 3656 - 12/07/2010 12:14:08    704861

I replied to you in another thread Omagh but it is starting to get worrying. The clamp down on smuggling, counterfeiting and red deisel on the border has not gone down too well with some and they have drifted away from the mainstream Republican movement to the dissidents while there is no doubt criminal elements are stirring it up in Belfast. My question would be what role is MI5/PSNI Special Branch playing in all of this and what is the real agenda? Who is really pulling the strings here because Britain's Intelligence agencies often have to justify their massive budget to the government of the day?

Ulsterman (Antrim) - Posts: 9818 - 12/07/2010 14:29:49    705271

Ulsterman says:

smuggling, counterfeiting and red deisel on the border has not gone down too well with some and they have drifted away from the mainstream Republican movement

That say's it all about the mainstream Republican movement doesnt it!

jimbodub (Dublin) - Posts: 20763 - 12/07/2010 14:35:11    705291

Sorry Ulsterman, I posted this a couple of hours ago and it has just come up

omaghredhand (Tyrone) - Posts: 3656 - 12/07/2010 14:35:47    705297

South Armagh was always a law unto itself Jimbo and virtually acted independently of others. Furthermore smuggling has gone on in this part of Ireland for centuries so you can't stereotype all Republicans, there were many genuine people who died or went to jail for their beliefs. Don't take everything the Indo says at face value.

Ulsterman (Antrim) - Posts: 9818 - 12/07/2010 14:46:03    705327

ulsterman.
thats what i was implying in another thread , omaghredhand i hope things will not go back to the way it was, but clearly things are not looking good , but we must be hopeful and not give up , i also have a young son , so i understand fully when u were talking about your child , not another generation should have to put up with this , the people should march peacefully in their thousands , so our children and childrens children are free from this .
i echo ulstermans points froms the motives of the intelligent/p.s.n.i. , there is some strings being pulled somewere .

ta32 (Tyrone) - Posts: 4907 - 12/07/2010 14:48:14    705331

In all fairness Sinn Fein seem to be doing their part to preserve the peace and are on policing boards and community forums with the garda as well. My point is that people who were feared and held positions as enforcers before the peace process are still out there. These people lost their authority and "respect" or "fear" through the peace process and were left with little or no respect. You cannot decommission the mind of a psychopath and that is what these lads were. They are again wielding power through fear with the back-up of the dissidents and are out there urging on the young people to riot, petrol bomb etc. !! They know nothing else and are only thugs who cannot survive without the back-up of their organisation.

The Peace Process is not doing enough to keep people in the Republican family happy. There should be regular bulletins and briefings about where we are as regards a United Ireland as we seem to have lost that direction and people think that the politicians have lost direction !!

Cavan_Slasher (Cavan) - Posts: 10253 - 12/07/2010 16:08:38    705548

I started a "thread" similar to his basicall calling for a reasoned appoach.

However the adminitration of Hogan Stand appear to be opposed to a rasoned approach so it was not blhed.

patrique (Antrim) - Posts: 13709 - 12/07/2010 16:15:54    705580

Slasher, what possible updates towards Irish unity do you think there could possibly be? The shinners have signed up to accept partition, warts and all, no matter what way they might dress it up. There is and will never be progress towards Irish unity in yours or my lifetime that is a fact, so to suggest that 'Republicans' need to be kept informed of this is a little bit fickle if you ask me.

brendtheredhand (Tyrone) - Posts: 10897 - 12/07/2010 16:33:55    705641

brendtheredhand
County: Tyrone
Posts: 2398

But there was a compromise when SF signed up to partition. The unionists signed up to the possibility of Irish re-unification. Anyway, the only way Irish re-unification can be achieved is through dialogue, and reaching out to the unionist community. The southern government should do more, but Fianna Fail abandoned its core values a long time ago.

Sergeant_Slash (Cavan) - Posts: 2182 - 12/07/2010 17:31:57    705814

Are you Cavan Slasher's OC Sergeant?

omaghredhand (Tyrone) - Posts: 3656 - 12/07/2010 17:43:34    705853

Brendtheredhand,

I don't believe they signed up to partition warts and all. There was talk of a referendum when the population was of equal size to decide that issue as far as i remember. My point is that they have lost contact with much of their grassroots !! They should be constantly informing them of the situation and keeping them onside. I don't think its fickle at all !!

Cavan_Slasher (Cavan) - Posts: 10253 - 12/07/2010 17:45:15    705858

As long as these parades take place issues like still will keep arising, people need to grow up. But to show how clueless one side is you just love to look at the love Ulster Parade and what happened.

freetaker1 (Limerick) - Posts: 758 - 14/07/2010 09:53:26    708119

The actions of these mindless thugs is disgraceful, and a throwback to the bad old days. Yes people can go on about banning Orange Order parades etc, but at the end of the day there are hundreds of people in the Nationalist community who just use these parades as an excuse to destroy their own area, and attack the Police. How the PSNI showed so much restraint in not cracking most of these scumbags skulls is beyond me, but no doubt had they done, we would have the usual diatribe trotted out about Police brutality etc. You regularly see posters on here from the North bemoaning the fact the people in the South don't care about them, are not bothered about a United Ireland etc, is it any wonder people in the South are so removed from the North, as believe you me there are very few people down here who would support that kind of organised mayhem.

gilly0512 (Galway) - Posts: 1176 - 14/07/2010 09:55:30    708124

Scum...

jimbodub (Dublin) - Posts: 20763 - 14/07/2010 11:37:40    708276

gilly2308.galway.
your post says it all .. reading and engrossed in what the irish indo , and mr. myers says .
southern media ?

ta32 (Tyrone) - Posts: 4907 - 14/07/2010 16:23:22    709050

Well said Gilly. Suffice to say the majority of Nationalists want nothing to do with those thugs who have wrecked Belfast the last few nights

pplocal (Tyrone) - Posts: 5878 - 14/07/2010 16:35:44    709077

Recession = boredom, anger, criminal activity..which means that dissidents will pray on the vulnerable young and down and outs...

Brolly (Monaghan) - Posts: 4472 - 14/07/2010 16:36:04    709081

Brolly
County: Monaghan
Posts: 1532

709081 Recession = boredom, anger, criminal activity..which means that dissidents will pray on the vulnerable young and down and outs...
-----------------------
Maybe this is what they meant by the "peace dividend" brolly, although few if any have seen it in real terms!

brendtheredhand (Tyrone) - Posts: 10897 - 14/07/2010 16:42:19    709095

Gilly wrote

You regularly see posters on here from the North bemoaning the fact the people in the South don't care about them, are not bothered about a United Ireland etc, is it any wonder people in the South are so removed from the North, as believe you me there are very few people down here who would support that kind of organised mayhem.

Number of murders in Northern Ireland in 2009: 18
Number of murders in Republic of Ireland in 2009: 133

Drug trafficking offences in N. Ireland: 668
Drug Trafficking offence in R of Ireland:4346

Public Order offences in N. Ireland 1381
Public Order offences in R of Ireland (disorderly conduct only) 49,155

A real utopia you are living in alright

omaghredhand (Tyrone) - Posts: 3656 - 14/07/2010 20:18:47    709442