Just what are the DUP waiting for?
14 November 2007
Statement by Jim Allister MEP:
"Unpalatable as it may be for some and even an inconvenient truth for the political process, but we cannot carry on as if the IRA murder of Paul Quinn had not happened. It's not just a blot on the political landscape, it's a cancer which goes right to the heart of government.
If the IRA murder of Paul Quinn had taken place during David Trimble's stint as First Minister, the DUP would have been demanding decisive action. Now that it is they who sustain IRA/Sinn Fein in government we get dither and delay, even disagreement. Peter Robinson and Jeffrey Donaldson have spoken of the cop-out notion of a "corporate" decision (as if the IRA ever operated like a Board of Directors), but Lord Morrow, the Party Chairman, has gone on record to make it clear he has no doubt IRA gangsters were responsible and that Sinn Fein will block co-operation with the police (News Letter 30/10/07).
Sinn Fein, of course, as ever, would have us believe black is white, just like their continuing denials over the Northern Bank. It has always been a classic Provo tactic to perpetuate the big lie. Even their lack of honesty demonstrates their unfitness for government, but their inextricable link to this murder puts it beyond doubt. Quinn was murdered by the military wing of Sinn Fein. Just what are the DUP waiting for?
Of course, the DUP's embarrassment is twofold. Not only is the folly of their trust in Sinn Fein's weasel words on the rule of law, irrecoverably exposed, but so too is their breach of promise that they would have in legislation an effective default mechanism to cover such an eventuality and exclude Sinn Fein. Running to the Prime Minister to buy time and create the pretence of action will fool no one."
