Should the IRA apologise for past atrocities?

[fluffybiscuits]

It's Martin McGuinness, Mr.McGuinness or Mr Deputy First Minister to you Fluffy.

[C. Flower]

Someone commented on CLR that there is a pattern of SF floating something like this, then denying, then going ahead and doing it, and shedding anyone opposed.

Sinn Fein leadership are clearly grooming themselves for power in the Republic and want to make themselves acceptable to the middle classes here. They must see a big opportunity with Fianna Fail floored. They appear not to be supporting the anti-Water and Household Charge campaign. Every move SF takes appears to be very carefully considered and strategic.

[riposte]

Someone commented on CLR that there is a pattern of SF floating something like this, then denying, then going ahead and doing it, and shedding anyone opposed.

Sinn Fein leadership are clearly grooming themselves for power in the Republic and want to make themselves acceptable to the middle classes here. They must see a big opportunity with Fianna Fail floored. They appear not to be supporting the anti-Water and Household Charge campaign. Every move SF takes appears to be very carefully considered and strategic.

Wiley devils aren't they.?

[Apjp]

Again that is perhaps subjective , crimes against people are crimes .!

You sound like Thatcher now. According to the British state it was a crime to kill Lord Mountbatten but not 33 people in Monaghan and Dublin. Every act of war is subjective. A Crime is breaking a law. An act of war is surely killing/acting in the name of some political/economic cause. I do not think we can call every signal IRA action a crime.

[bernadette]

SF playing silly buggers with words is nothing new. The m.o. is usually to mock the whole idea, deny they have anything to do with and sure we all know the army council doesn't exist and Gerry and Marty wouldn't recognise them if they tripped over their begging mats in the street. Then! low and behold and would you adam and eve it they are going to graciously extend the hand of friendship - for Ireland...

[Apjp]

In my view we won't be long having conversations about apologising for shooting dead British spies on Bloody Sunday in 1922 after this. The British can hardly expect an apology after everything they still have not apologized for(Cromwell, orchestrated starvation and forced exodus of around 5 million Irish people in the 'famine'). Maybe the best thing is to just forget it on both sides instead of dragging out old scars. The victims of war couldn't possibly benefit anyways. Apologising for massacres on both sides is one thing. Doing it on one side is just stupid and SINDO territory.

[bernadette]

I knew it wouldn't be long before someone mentioned Cromwell.

[riposte]

Again that is perhaps subjective , crimes against people are crimes .!

.................

[Saoirse go Deo]

The IRA apologised for the deaths of civilians a decade ago.

When it comes to the RUC, British army or loyalists there is nothing to apologise for.

[tomasocarthaigh]

All sides done wrong, all MUST apologise...

[C. Flower]

Wiley devils aren't they.?

Whether for or against, it would be wrong to underestimate the SF Leadership. But this has come just a bit too soon after the Royal Handshake for it not to look manicured.

Fianna Fail armed the Provisionals, when they were starting up. Perhaps SF will now call in the favour, and pull Fianna Fail as junior partner into a coalition with them. The past associations with armed actions would have to be well buried first.

[riposte]

Whether for or against, it would be wrong to underestimate the SF Leadership. But this has come just a bit too soon after the Royal Handshake for it not to look manicured.

Fianna Fail armed the Provisionals, when they were starting up. Perhaps SF will now call in the favour, and pull Fianna Fail as junior partner into a coalition with them. The past associations with armed actions would have to be well buried first.

It will take a while longer for Fianna Fail to be allowed out of the decontamination zone before Sinn Fein would find them as acceptable as fit for government.

[C. Flower]

It will take a while longer for Fianna Fail to be allowed out of the decontamination zone before Sinn Fein would find them as acceptable as fit for government.

...Only to make the numbers up. But "the decontamination zone" is a good term for the time and place of political rehabilitation.

Of course, as politics is contentious, one person's decontamination is another person's contamination.

Sinn Fein are a good fit with Fianna Fail, both being populist parties with a claim to identification with nation, and an orientation to the lower middle class.

Neither party would have a bother dealing with our new European Overlords.

[riposte]

...Only to make the numbers up. But "the decontamination zone" is a good term for the time and place of political rehabilitation.

Of course, as politics is contentious, one person's decontamination is another person's contamination.

Sinn Fein are a good fit with Fianna Fail, both being populist parties with a claim to identification with nation, and an orientation to the lower middle class.

Neither party would have a bother dealing with our new European Overlords.

Of course Fine Gael are the most populist party having the most seats in the Dail and consistently topping the opinion polls.

[C. Flower]

Of course Fine Gael are the most populist party having the most seats in the Dail and consistently topping the opinion polls.

I'm using the term populist to describe "all things to all people" "popular appeal" politics - not their current electoral popularity (FG), or lack of it (FF).