I
welcome Eoin O Broin's
reply. I will in return try to answer his criticisms
as fully as I am able.
On
his point that my criticisms are 'well rehearsed'
and contain nothing new.
Well
so what? Unless or until someone addresses my concerns
and questions in an open comprehensive way I have
no alternative but to continue to believe that the
wheels have come off the Sinn Fein wagon and we
are on the road to nowhere unless together we can
turn things around. Outside of a few anonymous and
immature attacks in various letters pages and a
picket outside of my home Eoin has been the only
person to try, with dignity I must add, to answer
the many concerns I have. I have had no other responses
besides. Added to this I don't detect any sign of
internal dissent or unrest at the deteriorating
situation.
Eoin
makes the mistake that people fixated on vote counting
frequently make, that is equating an increase in
support at the ballot box with real progress. At
the best of times it's dodgy to follow the logic
that the ballot box will always deliver the best
and right result. The electorate can and have been
wrong in the past. Adolf Hitler and George W Bush
can thank the people for voting them into power.
According to a book I read many times throughout
the years I spent in the H blocks resisting criminalisation,
Jesus Christ lost out to Barabas in the popular
vote. People make the wrong decision for a myriad
of reasons. In most cases it can be put down to
lies, half-truths,
spoof and spin fed to them by those seeking votes.
If
15 years ago Sinn Fein gone to the electorate and
told them that by 2004 they would have achieved;
-
A return of Stormont with Sinn Fein playing a
key role administering British rule in Ireland,
-
A reaffirmation of the Unionist veto,
-
The removal of articles 2 & 3 of Bunreacht
na hEireann,
-
Strengthening
of partition,
-
The
almost total emasculation and disarming of the
IRA
What
would have been the reaction of the long-suffering
republican people?
I
don't for, one second think they would have rushed
out to vote early and often for such an eventuality.
But that is where we are at this moment in history.
Ian
Paisley has told the world that he wants to humiliate
the republican movement; I would advise him to hold
on for a week or two and let Sinn Fein complete
the job for him.
Eoin
continues to peddle the myth that Sinn Fein maintains
its radical credentials and claims that Bairbre
fought long and hard against cut backs in health
provision and resisted the introduction of Private
Finance Initiatives and Public Private Partnerships
into the Health Service budget. If that is the case
how does Eoin explain why, in their pre election
broadcast on TV and radio, did Sinn Fein claim that
their two ministers had brought 'Hundreds of Millions
of new money into their respective departments'?
Where
did this 'new money' come from if not from the private
sector.
Given
their political about turns, broken promises and
downright lies it is no wonder that senior Shinner
Jim Gibney calls for more ambiguity within this
political pantomime
"Words
like 'clarity' and 'certainty' are part of the fundamentalist's
political dictionary. They derive from an arrogant
mentality, which assumes legitimacy and moral superiority.
Demanding such words causes crisis
and paralysis."
Sinn
Fein President, Gerry Adams, when asked about the
Sinn Fein ministers' dalliances with big business
PFI's and PPP's replied.
"Well,
we are against them," he said. "Having
said that, Martin McGuinness, as education minister,
faced with the reality that he would either have
no schools or an involvement in a qualified way
with private finance, went for it. So I suppose
you could argue that that is the emergence of pragmatic
politics."
I
hope Eoin recognises why I shall not be joining
the throng to extol the virtues of the emperor's
new clothes. I have seen the big lad naked in Cage
6 and, believe me, it's not a pretty sight.
Index: Current Articles + Latest News and Views + Book Reviews +
Letters + Archives
|
