Ulster Unionist MLA Mike Nesbitt has questioned why no speaker at Friday’s Anti-Protocol rally in Ballymoney condemned a terrorist attack believed to have been committed by the UVF in north Belfast earlier that day.
An electrician aged in his 40s spoke to Sunday Life about how he was forced at gunpoint by two masked men to drive his van to a peace event on Friday morning with what he believed to be a bomb on board.
Once in the grounds of Ardoyne’s Houben Centre, the electrician rushed to alert guests who included Irish foreign minister Simon Coveney.
Although the bomb alert turned out to be a hoax, the reconciliation speech at the centre, which was organised by the John & Pat Hume Foundation, had to be abandoned and Mr Nesbitt has condemned what he deems as the DUP and TUV’s silence on the matter.
Mr Nesbitt, who is also a member of the policing board, said: “An ordinary man, making a living driving a van, was highly traumatised by masked and armed terrorists who forced him to drive his vehicle to the venue where Mr Coveney was speaking.
“But that was not worthy of a mention by the DUP or TUV, even though they claim to support the working classes.
“Simon Coveney is a democratically elected politician, invited to our country to endorse the principle of peaceful politics, only to be censored by unelected, faceless and frankly brainless individuals who think they know better, yet neither Sir Jeffrey Donaldson nor Jim Allister deemed it important enough to mention.
“As someone who was among the young unionists who came straight home after university in England in the 1970s and has stayed, my commitment to Northern Ireland is beyond question. In contrast, I see those who purport to defend the Union who do more than Republicans could ever do, to undermine our position.”
Both the DUP and TUV have been contacted for further comment to Mr Nesbitt’s comments, but while neither have responded, TUV leader Jim Allister did retaliate to further remarks made by UUP leader Doug Beattie, stressing that he “refuted and deplored” them.
Mr Beattie said that his party “will continue to engage to get a political solution to the Protocol, but will not be part of raising tensions that others seem intent on doing”.
“There are many issues that face the people of Northern Ireland and the most pressing and immediate now is the cost-of-living crisis including fuel poverty,” the Upper Bann MLA added.
“The Northern Ireland Protocol remains a political issue that cannot be ignored and we have repeatedly stated that it needs to be replaced with a solution that works for everyone. It is leading to real societal harm. There are also media reports quoting UVF sources that they intend to escalate their terrorist activities in the coming weeks.
“It is now clear that anti-protocol rallies are being used to raise the temperature in Northern Ireland and adding to tensions that now see a resurgence in UVF activity. The Ulster Unionist Party will not be part of raising tensions or the temperature by bringing people onto the streets with an intent to harness anger.
“The protocol is a political problem and it will be dealt with through political solutions. What we cannot allow is for a small group of individuals with the loudest voices to lead politicians by the nose in doing their bidding. The Ulster Unionist Party is confident that through political engagement, including the use of all articles within the protocol, we can deal with the issues that face Northern Ireland.”
Mr Allister responded: “Every protest I have attended has been utterly peaceful. Thus to adopt the tone and approach of opposing such protests is not just to echo the rhetoric of the pro-Protocol brigade but is to slight the thousands of concerned unionists who have attended these peaceful protests.
“If Doug Beattie put real effort into opposing the iniquitous Protocol, then he would be serving unionism better. Facing up to the constitutional peril of GB being decreed and treated as a foreign country by the Protocol, with goods originating there being subject to foreign customs checks, would be a suitable starting point for a UUP that has been lacklustre in its ‘opposition’ to the Protocol.”
The DUP has not responded at the current time of publication.
*Niamh Campbell*
March 27 2022
Won’t be surprised if the uvf smuggle in arms from Russia just as they from Germany in 1914.
2 comments
Ulster Unionist MLA Mike Nesbitt has questioned why no speaker at Friday’s Anti-Protocol rally in Ballymoney condemned a terrorist attack believed to have been committed by the UVF in north Belfast earlier that day.
An electrician aged in his 40s spoke to Sunday Life about how he was forced at gunpoint by two masked men to drive his van to a peace event on Friday morning with what he believed to be a bomb on board.
Once in the grounds of Ardoyne’s Houben Centre, the electrician rushed to alert guests who included Irish foreign minister Simon Coveney.
Although the bomb alert turned out to be a hoax, the reconciliation speech at the centre, which was organised by the John & Pat Hume Foundation, had to be abandoned and Mr Nesbitt has condemned what he deems as the DUP and TUV’s silence on the matter.
Mr Nesbitt, who is also a member of the policing board, said: “An ordinary man, making a living driving a van, was highly traumatised by masked and armed terrorists who forced him to drive his vehicle to the venue where Mr Coveney was speaking.
“But that was not worthy of a mention by the DUP or TUV, even though they claim to support the working classes.
“Simon Coveney is a democratically elected politician, invited to our country to endorse the principle of peaceful politics, only to be censored by unelected, faceless and frankly brainless individuals who think they know better, yet neither Sir Jeffrey Donaldson nor Jim Allister deemed it important enough to mention.
“As someone who was among the young unionists who came straight home after university in England in the 1970s and has stayed, my commitment to Northern Ireland is beyond question. In contrast, I see those who purport to defend the Union who do more than Republicans could ever do, to undermine our position.”
Both the DUP and TUV have been contacted for further comment to Mr Nesbitt’s comments, but while neither have responded, TUV leader Jim Allister did retaliate to further remarks made by UUP leader Doug Beattie, stressing that he “refuted and deplored” them.
Mr Beattie said that his party “will continue to engage to get a political solution to the Protocol, but will not be part of raising tensions that others seem intent on doing”.
“There are many issues that face the people of Northern Ireland and the most pressing and immediate now is the cost-of-living crisis including fuel poverty,” the Upper Bann MLA added.
“The Northern Ireland Protocol remains a political issue that cannot be ignored and we have repeatedly stated that it needs to be replaced with a solution that works for everyone. It is leading to real societal harm. There are also media reports quoting UVF sources that they intend to escalate their terrorist activities in the coming weeks.
“It is now clear that anti-protocol rallies are being used to raise the temperature in Northern Ireland and adding to tensions that now see a resurgence in UVF activity. The Ulster Unionist Party will not be part of raising tensions or the temperature by bringing people onto the streets with an intent to harness anger.
“The protocol is a political problem and it will be dealt with through political solutions. What we cannot allow is for a small group of individuals with the loudest voices to lead politicians by the nose in doing their bidding. The Ulster Unionist Party is confident that through political engagement, including the use of all articles within the protocol, we can deal with the issues that face Northern Ireland.”
Mr Allister responded: “Every protest I have attended has been utterly peaceful. Thus to adopt the tone and approach of opposing such protests is not just to echo the rhetoric of the pro-Protocol brigade but is to slight the thousands of concerned unionists who have attended these peaceful protests.
“If Doug Beattie put real effort into opposing the iniquitous Protocol, then he would be serving unionism better. Facing up to the constitutional peril of GB being decreed and treated as a foreign country by the Protocol, with goods originating there being subject to foreign customs checks, would be a suitable starting point for a UUP that has been lacklustre in its ‘opposition’ to the Protocol.”
The DUP has not responded at the current time of publication.
*Niamh Campbell*
March 27 2022
Won’t be surprised if the uvf smuggle in arms from Russia just as they from Germany in 1914.