Count down to Unity ?

national | miscellaneous | opinion/analysis Tuesday March 25, 2008 12:57 by P O'Brien - None None None

Oh what a tangled web we weave when we practice to deceive......

The old adage ‘You can fool some people some times, but you can’t fool all the people all the time’ comes to mind when summing up Provisional Sinn Fein’s ‘grass roots’. At what point will they stop being fooled and maybe step back and question the honesty and integrity of their party leader Gerry Adams ? Having once been a supporter and admirer of Adams I now find it difficult to listen to him. He was interviewed by Ursula Halligan on TV3’s The Political Party on Sunday, March 2nd . I have not read any comments regarding this interview on any of the usual sites where this might be debated or discussed. The first part of the interview was taken up with how Sinn Fein got it so wrong in the 26 counties Elections and what direction they where now taking etc etc. Ursula then went on to ask Adams…………

The old adage ‘You can fool some people some times, but you can’t fool all the people all the time’ comes to mind when summing up Provisional Sinn Fein’s ‘grass roots’. At what point will they stop being fooled and maybe step back and question the honesty and integrity of their party leader Gerry Adams ? Having once been a supporter and admirer of Adams I now find it difficult to listen to him. He was interviewed by Ursula Halligan on TV3’s The Political Party on Sunday, March 2nd . I have not read any comments regarding this interview on any of the usual sites where this might be debated or discussed. The first part of the interview was taken up with how Sinn Fein got it so wrong in the 26 counties Elections and what direction they where now taking etc etc. Ursula then went on to ask Adams…………

Ursula ’ Given the life that you have lived Gerry Adams, there must be times in the middle of the night when you wake up sweating about something, or maybe deeply depressed about something, is there ?

Adams ‘No no, I have to say I believe in positive thinking. I think I’m very lucky eh, you know a lot of my friends where killed, I have survived’.

Ursula ’You mentioned friends there and speaking of those friends, Brendan Hughes, the IRA leader, prisoner, Hunger Striker, good pal of yours, he died recently. The now famous photo of Gerry and Brendan with their arms around one and other appears on a large screen behind Ursula and Adams. Ursula then points to the photo and says ‘em, you see him here in the photograph, that’s him on the right and that’s you, you’d hardly recognise you. Do you know what year that was ?’

Adams ’That was about 1973.
Adams seemed reluctant to talk about the old days. He did not utter another word about the photo of Brendan and himself. Instead, he fast forwards to Brendan’s death.

Adams ’I was with Brendan when he died’

Ursula ‘That was a few weeks ago ?

Adams ‘Yeh, I was with him when he breathed his last eh…. Ursula cuts in,

Ursula ‘you where at his death bed ?

Adams ‘Yeh, with his family and also I mean I ‘m still very very sad eh, about his passing and ye know he was a very good friend and remained ye know eh, John O’Donoghue the poet philosopher said….. ‘Just because your friends move away or because ye don’t see them for a long time because they die, it does not mean they cease to be your friend’

Ursula ‘But Brendan Hughes, he was very up front and he was very frank about the things that happened in his life. He talked freely about things that haunted him. As the things he done as an IRA volunteer man that still haunted him in the middle of the night. Em, he talked to Suzann Breen in the Sunday Tribune last week and let me just quote something that she wrote, she said …..‘Later Hughes was haunted by the faces of IRA colleges who he believed had died for nothing. He’d spent his days crying in his flat. A photo hung on the wall of Hughes in Long Kesh with his friend Gerry Adams’ Breen quotes Hughes as saying, ‘I loved him, I’d have taken a bullet for Gerry, I probably should have put one in him’
Ursula ‘That’s what he told Suzann Breen, what’s your reaction to that ?

Adams ‘Brendan eh, said what Brendan said, eh,

Ursula ‘ He felt that he died bitter and he felt that you betrayed him’

Adams ‘Well I didn’t, but I’m not going to ye know, I mean I had a deeply personal relationship with Brendan. We where together in and out of prison. We where together a very long time, eh up until he became sick, he wouldn’t have passed me on the street without coming across and hugging me. So whatever about differences, the friendship and the camaraderie which was forged in really difficult times remained up until he breath his last, and I think that eh , for what its worth and who am I to say this, he would have been pleased that his family, his brothers and sister Moya and his two children, Josephine and Brendan Oge and myself and one or two other comrades where there when he died’ Interview ends.

Adams seems to paint a completely different picture regarding the true relationship between Brendan and himself in the years since the signing of the GFA. Having known Brendan, I was saddened to hear of his passing. Since Brendan’s death I have read any material I came across in relation to Brendan’s views before he died, and also the conduct of Adams and other PSF members at his funeral. From some quarters of the printed media, to discussions here on Indymedia the story that emerged about Adams was one of manipulation. I feel that Adams words above are insulting to the memory of Darkie. To power hungry politicians such as Adams, lasting friendships have no place. A life long friendship will be jettisoned as soon as it interferes with the political ambitions of the man who gets a taste for power. As with most politicians lying is the key to a great career. The lies just keep stacking up, one covering the other in a continuous construction of deceit. Adams has matured into a compulsive liar who has shed all scruples in the pursuit of power.

Adams says ‘the friendship and the camaraderie which was forged in really difficult times remained up until he breath his last ‘ This is a complete contradiction to the truth. If Brendan believed that their friendship was never broken why would he say to Suzann Breen that he probably should have put a bullet in Adams ? I cringed as I read about Adams behaviour at Brendan’s funeral.To quote one mourner at Brendan’s funeral who wrote words of criticism about Adams.

‘People were very angry & disgusted at his shameless self-promotion over Brendan's death - his issuing a press release over it, pushing his way to the front to carry the coffin in front of all the cameras, getting up in the middle of the mass, and crossing the altar, leaving the chapel in front of the coffin, breaking off and running ahead of the cortege to be in the memorial garden first, trying to put pressure on the family to give the oration, claiming 'the rift had healed' because he carried the coffin’ …

With the funeral out of the way and the Ard fhies, Mr Adams sat there in the TV3 studio, distorting and moulding the truth until it fit into his parcel, a parcel that he would sell gift wrapped and tied with the usual green ribbon for PSF grass roots. He twisted the truth and told blatant lies on National TV with the familiar ease that we would normally associate with other brass-necked politicians. No doubt, within the North Korean type authoritarian circles of New Sinn Fein he’s a class act. He appears to have a new generation of young people under his spell. He knows that he has an audience of loyal followers who latch on to every word he speaks. What does it take for these grass roots supporters to finally wake up and smell the flowers ? At the recent Sinn Fein Ard fheis, Gerry Adams said in his presidential address that he will be ‘establishing a high powered taskforce led by Martin Ferris, Gerry Kelly, Larry Downs, Bairbre Bruin and Rita O’Hare, to drive forward the roadmap to Irish Unity’.
If my memory serves me correctly, we already had a high powered taskforce in place, but they where decommissioned. He also said that ‘ We are closer, friends to bringing about Irish unification than any other time in the past’. His words are spoken with such confidence. He asked the ‘Irish Diaspora to put its weight behind a renewed campaign for Irish reunification’. Adams once again is calling on people to get involved in the campaign for Irish reunification. He is requesting that the we put our shoulder to the wheel of the freedom cart, which has gotten harder and heaver to push up the hill to a United Ireland.
He is appealing to the grass root donkeys to pull and push while he and the rest of the SF intellectual elite sit on board the cart discussing their latest pay rise. I remember standing and listening to Adams at graveside orations in the eighties. I remember eating and swallowing his words of inspiration. He talked about how armed struggle was right and that it must continue. He used to finish up his oration by saying ’When you leave here today, I want you to rededicate yourselves to the republican struggle’ I have to say that his words always hit home, you felt a sense of guilt that maybe you where not doing enough for the ‘cause‘ when compared to ‘the ultimate sacrifice’ .
You would leave the cemetery thinking that maybe you could do more. After Adams words of inspiration people where rededicating themselves to the cause and dieing in the process, while behind the scenes he was making plans to end the armed struggle. Talk about speaking with a forked tongue. Theses days I would take his words of inspiration like a pinch of salt.
We all remember the posters, books and thousands of pamphlets that where churned out in the eighties and early nineties. The leadership of the Republican Movement back then, educated a whole generation of young men and women with history lessons and lectured them with revolutionary zeal. They explained to us how the British empire never left anywhere voluntarily, they had to be put out by force. Adams now tells us that times have changed, it is no longer necessary for armed struggle. There’s no doubt that a change has taken place. The border has become invisible, the watchtowers are gone of the hills. Military barracks have been demolished, Her Majesties soldiers have stopped patrolling the streets etc. The one thing that has not changed is the geographical appearance of Ireland on any map. The occupied six counties is still a different colour compared to the rest of Ireland, its still the same colour as Britain. So what has really changed. The reason why the British military war machine is no longer visible on the hills of South Armagh or the streets of Derry is because there is no real challenge to it authority. The Provisional IRA threw the towel in, that alone brought the about the change. The British Army have not gone away ye know. At present there are 5000 on stand by in case the Croppies raise their heads again. Challenge that authority and you will see that nothing has really changed. The out going general officer commanding the British Army in the six counties, Lieutenant General Nick Parker, speaking at the ending of ‘Operation Banner’ made it clear that scaling down the British military presence did not constitute a withdrawal : ‘’Northern Ireland is part of the United Kingdom, we have barracks across the whole of the United Kingdom, we need to put our soldiers in those barracks and we will always do so’’
Forty years ago from this year, we asked for civil rights, they where denied. We then demanded civil rights and the response from the state was one of brutal repression.
The IRA campaign that followed was inevitable. It started as a community based response to sectarian/state violence, and then progressed into the long war. Its objective was to end British rule, which it believed to be the root cause of all strife. How did it unfold looking back, ASK in 1968, DEMAND in 1969, and TAKE 1970-1998. Now it looks like we are back to square one again, ASK. Are Sinn Fein’s new ‘task force’ going to ASK the British Government if they would not mind granting us reunification ?. What a brilliant strategy, why did no one else think of that one before ? Just ask and you will receive. Does Gerry Adams know something that the rest of us doesn’t know ?. Did he make a secret deal with the British Government on reunification ? Or is Gerry Adams working on a hunch ? Is he assuming that because the guns have been decommissioned that the time is right to grant us a United Ireland. Adams now speaks with the confidence of a seasoned politician who could convince you that your Granny was really your Granda. He has already said that we will celebrate the 100th anniversary commemoration of the 1916 rebellion within the context of a United Ireland. What if he gets it wrong ? He has got it wrong in the past, look at the defeat SF suffered in the 26 counties elections. He got that completely wrong. SF did not increase their vote as Adams predicted, they did not break even, they actually lost a seat. If the British had intentions of pulling out of the Six occupied counties we should hear about it well before 2016. Just like in Hong Kong, surely a count down would be appropriate to give people time to prepare for the change.
As 2016 is only eight years away, at what stage will SF start organizing the stage for a United Ireland party ? (party as in celebration). As in the past, commemorative anniversaries with such importance usually begin a few years before the actual event. Remember, (If SF get it right) this is not just a commemoration, it is also a celebration. It will be the culmination of 839 years of struggle against foreign British rule. With that in mind, What if Adams gets it wrong again ? The celebration would go down like a lead balloon. Adams is also taking it for granted that their will be no Unionist opposition. At present the Unionist community in general are passive. They are not overly keen on power sharing but for them its not to bad because they are still within the Union of Britain. Whatever about power sharing I don’t think that they will except a United Ireland. My guess is that when the time comes for a British departure the Unionist will win the day. It will only take a few thousand or even a few hundred noisy flag waving Loyalist to march around in circles, maybe even burn the odd bus or lorry. That will be enough for the British Government to turn to Mr Adams and say ’ Gerry, the time is not right just yet, maybe you could postpone your party until 2116’. Sinn Fein have painted themselves into a corner. They have set themselves against the clock. The countdown is now on for the delivery of the last great Sinn Fein Promise, a United Ireland before 2016. When the handover does not materialise, I wonder will this be enough for Sinn Fein’s grass roots to finally get the message.