Unionists will not be DUPED by spin
27 February 2008
Statement by Traditional Unionist MEP Jim Allister:
"The results of the Dromore by-election – particularly the spectacular performance of the TUV’s Keith Harbinson – continue to have an impact upon the political process at the highest level. Ian Paisley Jur and the smiles of DUP representatives while in the company of Sinn Fein/IRA have disappeared.
Within a few days of the result Jeffery Donaldson was saying that his party would have to look at the “presentation” of devolution. And following the Lagan Valley MP’s appointment as a Junior Minister one can see that the spin has already commenced. Last night on Evening Extra he talked repeatedly about looking forward to working “in the First Minister’s office”. As Jeffery very well knows, no such office exists. The office of the First and deputy First Minister is a joint one. Thus when you work for Ian you also work for Martin.
One must also say that his comments about working for innocents victims have little creditability given that OFMDFM will be fighting 15 victims’ groups in the courts in order to defend the DUP/SF Victims’ Commission.
Then we have today’s article from Iris Robinson in the News Letter claiming that it would have been “easier” for the DUP not to get involved with Republicans, that they “cannot allow our repugnance at republican atrocities to cloud our strategic political judgment” and that “untold damage” would have been done to the Union had the DUP not placed gunmen and their apologists at the heart of government. Once again she is trotting out the old nonsense that her party was somehow blackmailed into doing the deal and acted in defence of the Union.
As Dromore showed, people no longer believe the Plan B fairytale. The Unionist electorate are well aware that the personal and political advancement of the DUP was infinitely more important than any supposed concern for the Union.
Her claim that my position is that “power-sharing is inevitable and ultimately the right course of action” because I supposedly only object to St Andrews because of the “present generation of Sinn Fein” is unfit for office is a distortion. People such as Martin McGuinness and Gerry Kelly are indeed particularly objectionable as government ministers but as Traditional Unionists have repeatedly made clear we believe that as British subjects we are entitled to the same form of devolution as Scotland and Wales where voluntary – not mandatory - coalition is the route to shared government. Power sharing as established under the terms of the Belfast / St Andrews Agreement will always be objectionable to democrats.
The DUP will no doubt seek to change the way devolution is “presented” and try to DUPE the electorate into thinking that they can somehow oppose Sinn Fein/IRA while being joined at the hip to that party but I believe the Unionist electorate will not be conned. Indeed ever growing numbers of people are beginning to recognise the magnitude of their betrayal."
