Reflection by Alex Elliott, TUV Fermanagh South Tyrone candidate, on BBC reinvention of Peter Robinson
11 February 2011
For years many put their faith in the DUP, as Ulster’s bulwark against the sanitising and rewarding of terrorism. Many of them must have been been sick to the stomach at the hypocrisy of Peter Robinson and DUP tactics since the mid 80’s, as revealed in the BBC programme on Monday night about the rise/ fall/ rise of Peter Robinson..
Anyone who has examined the programme will realise that, sadly, DUP interests from mid 80s did not lie with the hearts and interests of the Northern Ireland public, but lay in destroying fellow Unionists and the selfish pursuit of power and control. It is quite apparent from the programme that Robinson and DUP manipulated the Unionist community, aided latterly by some of the politicians who ‘jumped ship’ to their party, with only one vision in mind, destroying fellow Unionists at all costs as the means of gaining power, any power, even power with the IRA.
Why were all those lives lost since mid 1980s if today’s unionist leaders knew ultimately they were going to do a deal anyway?
While Rev Ian Paisley was shouting ‘never, never, never’ and while Trimble was being called a ‘traitor’, Robinson’s intention, it seems, was always to do a deal once the DUP was the biggest party.
Being an ex-DUP voter myself, I was amazed at Arlene Foster declaring she had ‘nothing but admiration’ for his leadership. This is the man who while paving the way for a deal with Sinn Fein was undermining the party to which she then belonged, so that he could replace Trimble as First Minister, not in coalition with the SDLP, but with IRA/Sinn Fein! When Arlene jumped ship in 2004 it was because she disowned Trimble’s deal, yet now she lauds Robinson for getting her into government with Sinn Fein.
For all its adulation of Peter Robinson, for me the programme portrayed him as a man so hungry for power at all costs he was prepared to trample on anyone to get there, including the ignominious dumping of Paisley.
Something of the disingenuous nature of the DUP’s constant tirade against Trimble was conveyed by the clip of Robinson describing the Belfast Agreement, that he now happily administers, as “a turbo-charged version of Sunningdale”. Just how, then, should one describe the version stamped ‘Made by the DUP’ which has IRA Godfather, McGuinness, as Robinson’s co-driver?
Faulkner gave us Gerry Fitt as deputy PM, Trimble gave us Seamus Mallon, but Paisley and Robinson gave us Martin McGuinness! If IRA/Sinn Fein leader said of Trimble, “Well done David”, what should we say of Ian and Peter?
