Irish language next republican battleground – Allister

03 June 2011

 Commenting on Wikileaks revelations that the threat of crashing Stormont was used to lever in policing and justice powers – a longstanding Sinn Fein demand – TUV Leader Jim Allister has warned that in the new Assembly Sinn Fein’s next staging post demand will be substantial Irish language concessions.

“Having brought Stormont to the brink to get their way on policing and justice, and having proved that clinging onto power is the ultimate determinant for the DUP, don’t be surprised to see the same trick pulled over the Irish language, and, of course, sham DUP bravado will be part of the sequence before they roll over and, at least, an Irish language strategy emerges – all part of the process of shrinking the Britishness of Northern Ireland.

“I remind everyone that when they got their way at Hillsorough in February 2010, Sinn Fein, as they pocketed the concession, described it as a ‘staging post’. As a movement which does not accept there is a settlement in Northern Ireland, but merely a process, IRA/Sinn Fein will be demanding – and, I fear, extracting - fresh concessions from roll-over unionism. So I warn unionists to be ready for the next tranche of demands, with even ‘dissident’ violence used as leverage.”

NI politics