The men in balaclavas say they'll go away
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Cayden
The men in balaclavas say they'll go away
The IRA has just issued their long awaited statement ordering all units to disband arms, end armed struggle (and all 'other activities') and devote themselves to peaceful and democratic means from 16.00 today.
"It might be a bit better to tune to one of my fiddle's open strings, like A, rather than asking me for an F#." - Martin Milner
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buddhu
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Absolutely.
What Susan says is true, but OnTheMoor raises a point. It must be getting increasingly hard to remain convinced that terrorism is a viable way to pursue political aims like those to which the Irish republicans aspire. Pragmatically, it makes more sense to align oneself by turning one's back on terrorism than by continuing to use it (or even to keep it in one's gameplan as a real option) in the current climate.susnfx wrote:No.OnTheMoor wrote:Think maybe the London events have something to do with this?
"Republicans had been under intense pressure to end IRA activity after the £26.5m Northern Bank raid in December and the murder of Belfast man Robert McCartney in January. "
Susan
And whether the blood be highland, lowland or no.
And whether the skin be black or white as the snow.
Of kith and of kin we are one, be it right, be it wrong.
As long as our hearts beat true to the lilt of a song.
And whether the skin be black or white as the snow.
Of kith and of kin we are one, be it right, be it wrong.
As long as our hearts beat true to the lilt of a song.
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The Weekenders
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Cayden
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Cayden
One big condition in the peaceprocess has always been that criminal activities are disbanded as well. It was a big issue last december when the IRA did not want to subscribe to that. Both governments made a big point of it and in response Gerry Adams was on television saying 'you can't be a volunteer in the republican movement and a criminal at the same time' (in effect saying there were no republicans mixed up in crime). That was days before the Northern Bank heist and the murder of Robert McCartney followed soon after. Public opinion didn't take well to that. And they've been trying to fix the situation ever since.djm wrote:I have heard that a great deal of the organized crime in Ireland is in the hands of the IRA (drugs, prostitution, extortion, etc.). Perhaps things have got so lucrative that they don't need to worry about terrorism any more (?).
djm
On another note: also remember that nearly all prisoners, regardless of the crimes they were convicted of, were released under the terms of the Good Friday agreement.
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OnTheMoor
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Last time I was in Belfast I was talking to a few friends there who, believing that most IRA members were thugs, still thought that they had a somewhat "positive" effect of not allowing any foreign gangs to do business there. A visit from the boys from Belfast usually sent Jamaicans or Asian gangs packing. Is there any truth to that?