Good Friday Agreement has failed utterly to deliver what it promised

Manus McDaid  – ‘Denigrating Sinn Féin’ (November 28) – began to challenge my view of the Good Friday Agreement (GFA) as a political diversion that takes its focus off the fundamental issue of the establishment of a united Ireland. Manus was unwavering in his full-fledged support for the GFA which from its inception was proclaimed to herald a new era of equality and parity of esteem, politically, socially and economically.   He did so by brandishing his democratic credentials, indicating the democratic wish of the people must be respected, that political dogmatism must be avoided and that I had ignored the sterling work that Sinn Féin activists have carried out in their communities. I pointed out, however, that Manus had previously described himself as a lifelong republican, had praised deceased and former members of the IRA who had participated in an armed campaign without any concurrent electoral mandate. Manus did not respond to that. I also took the opportunity to point out to Manus that Sinn Féin heartlands tended to be the most economically deprived almost a quarter of a century after the GFA.  When faced with incontrovertible evidence he tried to recover by arguing weakly that, “One would have thought that Mr O Fiach would have known the history of disorientation and socio-economics relating to poverty.”  Manus needs to explain from his position of unequivocal support for the GFA why after a quarter of a century the nationalist community remains severely, economically disadvantaged?

The GFA has failed and failed utterly to deliver what it promised. Despite now being in the majority and a majority that is set to increase, nationalism is not the dominant ethos reflected in the six counties by the body politic. In signing up to it, Sinn Féin agreed to relinquish its values and to adopt those of the British establishment.Manus feels that I have denigrated Sinn Féin by stating that Sinn Féin can’t claim to be Irish republicans in accepting the consent principle in the GFA to British rule in Ireland. Yet it is people like Manus, who use the pejorative term dissident and worse to describe those who subscribe to the historical representation of republicanism up until 1998 and which people like him agreed with until then.

Sinn Féin has refused to acknowledge the slow, tortuous demise of the GFA when even the Free State establishment and British establishment are fearful of its terminal decline. Yet even they are hoping to attempt to resuscitate this now almost universally accepted, discredited form of political governance. It is time now for the majority here to speak and redress a historical crime.  That’s the only majority here deserving of respect Manus.

SEAN O FIACHBelfast BT11

British justice has never applied in Ireland

In the north of Ireland it took 34 years to find a British soldier guilty of manslaughter – when he shot an unarmed civilian in the back even though it was never disputed that he had fired the shot that killed Aidan McAnespie.  A national newspaper had carried the story a short time earlier of death threats from the soldiers in this checkpoint.

British justice, if it does exist, has never applied in Ireland and certainly not since the apartheid partition of this country.

Surely even the most loyal unionist must concede that we will never have justice in a divided society which is controlled from Westminster.

The hardline Brexiteers use the argument that ‘we’ are subjected to laws which we can’t change in Europe but they and unionists are under laws which are vetoed by English MPs – there are 650 in Westminster: 533 are elected by the English public, 59 elected by all of Scotland, 40 elected from Wales and 18 from the north of Ireland.

The whole system is set up so that England will always have total control just as the apartheid system of government was in the north of Ireland.

Even when Scotland, Wales and the six counties contest what’s happening every English government will have the power to overrule them.

You don’t need to be a rocket scientist to figure out why the Scottish people are looking for independence or that the people of this island of Ireland have the right to decide their own destiny without permission from English politicians.

Under the current UK government we have neither democracy nor justice.

It’s time from a referendum in Scotland and the six counties.

RAYMOND McMAHONClogher, Co Tyrone

Fitting tribute to a great historian

I like many readers am missing our daily snapshot of Irish history from Dr Éamon Phoenix. His range of knowledge and easy ability to explain the complexity of this place is a great loss.

Could I suggest that the Public Records Office ((NI) building in the Titanic Quarter be renamed in Dr Phoenix’s honour.

As a place where he delivered talks each year with Sam McBride on the secrets produced by each year’s release of government documents it would be a fitting tribute.

MICHAEL DONAGHYBanbridge, Co Down

Generalised protestations

Professor Colin Harvey (November 30) tells us he is against all violence, past, present and future. These generalised protestations sound a bit like being in favour of motherhood and apple-pie – and are just as meaningless.

The real test is responding directly to the specific question that goes to the heart of our recent history. This was: does he think the IRA’s armed struggle was justified? Or for that matter, was the loyalist armed struggle justified?

A simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’ would settle the matter in double-quick time.

EDDIE NAUGHTONDublin 8