Paisley Comments Raise Serious Questions for DUP
31 January 2013
Responding to comments made by North Antrim MP Ian Paisley Jnr in Westminster’s Public Bill Committee TUV leader Jim Allister said:
“If Ian Paisley Jnr believes that Sinn Fein are “quite content to allow paedophiles and international gangsters to run writ across Northern Ireland” one does have to ask if he now believes his party made a mistake in going into government with the IRA’s political wing. Does the First Minister agree with the comments of one of his MPs? If he does why does he remain in government with Sinn Fein?
“Also remember this is the same Ian Paisley Jnr who defended Sinn Fein’s elevation to government on the basis that the DUP “succeeded in ensuring that before Sinn Fein could get into government they signed up publicly to support for the rule of law”, trumpeted that “Sinn Fein has been forced to embrace the rule of law” and when a Junior Minister claimed “Today, Sinn Fein have had to take a pledge to support the police, In other words, a pledge to support the only legitimate Crown forces in Northern Ireland’s territory. They have had to extend that pledge to support to the rule of law and the Royal courts of justice. Their ministers are ministers of that same Crown acting within the legal jurisdiction of the United Kingdom. If ever there was an obvious abandonment of a republican ideology it must be in this regard.” (see http://www.ipjr.net/default.asp?blogID=532, http://www.ipjr.net/default.asp?blogID=531 and http://www.ipjr.net/default.asp?blogID=487).
“However, now Mr Paisley is saying that we have a situation where the person responsible for most illegal fuel in the UK is “a friend of the leader of Sinn Fein” and that Sinn Fein blocked the creation of a National Crime Agency in Northern Ireland because they have a “vested interest” in keeping “criminal power intact”.
“So what now is the DUP position on Republican support for the rule of law? Do they believe that Sinn Fein/IRA support the police and the courts or do they take the view that Sinn Fein are using their position in government to frustrate efforts to clamp down on criminality?
“Given that Sinn Fein are only able to do this because policing and justice has been devolved does Mr Paisley and/or his party now concede that they were wrong to bring those powers to a terrorist inclusive executive?
“During the debate leading up to the devolution of policing and justice TUV repeatedly warned of the dangers of a Sinn Fein executive veto on such issues. The issue which has arisen around the National Crime Agency has proved those fears to be correct.”
