Allister lays it out on policing and justice
13 November 2009
Speaking to the annual dinner of West Tyrone TUV in Newtownstewart, the Party Leader Jim Allister QC returned to the topic of the week, policing and justice, but also dealt with the startling evidence from Norman Baxter about the Omagh bomb.
In the course of his remarks Mr Allister said:-
“I invite any rational person to stand back from the policing and justice debate and ask themselves three questions:
1) Before giving more powers to Stormont ask the common sense question, ‘have they merited more powers by the manner they have discharged their present powers?’ The answer is an overwhelming ‘No’. Shambolic dysfunctionalism hallmarks everything they touch, be it the vital issue of education, local government reform or any subject you care to mention. So, no one in their right mind could think them fit for more powers, least of all the most sensitive and key issues of all, policing and justice.
2) With all Unionists agreed that IRA/Sinn Fein is unfit to hold the Justice Ministry, do the anticipated arrangements adequately protect against Sinn Fein meddling and corrupting the process? The answer, again, is undoubtedly ‘No’. The stooge appointed till 2012 will be a puppet of OFMDFM, with every proposal for legislation, every contentious issue, every significant spending requirement and every cross-cutting issue having to come before the Executive where IRA/Sinn Fein hold the absolute power of veto. Imagine if in a worsening security situation a request for British Army backup is necessary. What chance would the Justice Minister have of getting that through the Executive? None! Not to mention that come 2012 the Department dissolves, giving Sinn Fein a fresh opportunity to extract more concessions as the price for fresh agreement. These flawed arrangements do not guarantee against a Sinn Fein minister, they merely postpone the day.
3) Would Sinn Fein try to meddle in policing and justice? Is the Pope a Catholic? Look at this week as an object lesson and a warning. Sean Hughes - according to the First Minister’s parliamentary exposure in 2002, a most notorious IRA terrorist, who is still at the heart of the IRA/Sinn Fein operation - had his assets frozen according to due process of the law, in pursuit of an anti money laundering operation. What is the Sinn Fein response? Apart from his close friend Minister Murphy lauding him and lambasting the police, Gildernew really let the cat out of the bag by declaring, “it strengthens the need to have devolution of policing and justice as quickly as possible. We need decisions, we need accountability, and we need decisions to be taken by a local minister.” This is Sinn Fein speak for we need policing and justice devolved and we need it now so that we can meddle in everything we don’t like and protect our criminal element from the reach of the law.
“Hughes is a man personally known to every Sinn Fein Minister in Stormont. His central role in IRA/Sinn Fein was illustrated by him being nominated to give the oration at last year’s funeral of top IRA leader, Brian Keenan. Make no mistake Hughes is a man as close to the heart of IRA/Sinn Fein as it is possible to get. .
“Peter Robinson has demonstrated he knows all about Hughes, yet, on the day Hughes’ assets were frozen, Peter Robinson was sitting in the Assembly jointly piloting through with McGuinness the Justice Bill which will gift to Hughes’ associates in government veto powers over the vital matters of policing and justice.
“These events in themselves should be a wake up call to those Unionists who are sleepwalking into empowering IRA/Sinn Fein on policing and justice. Just imagine the travesties when IRA/Sinn Fein gets veto powers on every cross-cutting justice issue, including the funding necessary to adequately fight crime and money laundering.
“Another wake-up moment for those who console themselves that Sinn Fein has changed and the IRA is inactive was the stark evidence from Norman Baxter on Tuesday to the NI Committee in London that some of the Omagh bombers at the time of the bombing were still members of the Provisionals and had been responsible for the spate of town centre bombs during the previous year when the IRA was supposedly on ceasefire and Sinn Fein was parading itself as wholly committed to peace. Does this help explain why McGuinness at the time refused to ask the public to help solve the Omagh atrocity.?
“What Mr Baxter spoke of about Omagh in 1998 is I fear still with us in 2009. Even the IMC has had to admit the free transfer of expertise and personnel between the Provisionals and those conveniently labelled dissidents. Despite this some foolishly think we should grant the republican strategic demand of devolving policing and justice to a place where the IRA’s politicians and placemen will veto and meddle with all the vigour that their pernicious cause demands.
“The DUP may be in utter disarray over policing and justice, but we in TUV are very clear: policing and justice should never be devolved to an Executive and Assembly in which IRA/Sinn Fein – the murderers of policemen and judges – hold not just sway but the power of veto. Not now, not by Christmas, not ever!”
