McDonnell says we must remember the dissapeared

Writing in the current issue of the Church of Ireland Gazette, Alasdair Mc Donnell MP has called on the republican movement to face up to its responsibilities to the disappeared. Full article below.

In recent days the grim images of forensic personnel sifting through the
sludge of a lonely stretch of Irish bog land for the body of a young man
abducted and murdered by members of a terrorist organisation have appeared
on
our television screens.
November is a time in the Christian calendar
when we
pay particular reverence to the dead.
Exactly a year ago year ago
the
spotlight of the search teams was focussed on finding the skeletal remains of
Danny McIlhone. This
November the same expertise is being used to try and return
the remains of
Gerry Evans to his family.
That such events continue to be
chronicled is
an indictment of a society that claims to be one built around
essentially
Christian values.
The apologists that tried to find validation in
the
summary executions of individuals such as Danny McIlhone and Gerry Evans and
others used words
that were shamefully hollow.
They argued that in a war
situation there is
no room for qualified sentiment.
There are still those
that are prepared
to give legitimacy to that cruel interpretation of a
grotesquely skewed
morality.
More than three decades on insincere words of
partial
contrition continue to be uttered by the political heirs of the original
gunmen.
Many would assert that there continues to be a shared
relationship
between the trigger puller and the expensively tailored suit.
The words spoken
are carefully chosen. But it is impossible to hide the
stench of cordite or to
wash away the bloodstains.
The sickening stench
of hypocrisy still permeates
our politics.
On November 3 2007 (check
date) the President of Sinn Fein,
Gerry Adams, spoke in the Northern Ireland
Assembly on The Disappeared.
He
acknowledged the grave injustice
inflicted on the families whose loved ones had
been abducted, killed and
left disappeared by the IRA.
However in a classic
example of doublespeak
credit was given to that same organisation in the
continuing search for
those still missing.
The objective said the Sinn Fein
President, was that the Disappeared would be
given Christian burials.
Why
however did it need to take all that time
for those words to be spoken? Remember
that when those in Sinn Fein speak on the issues
of political development they
do so with the authority of arbitrary
power.
Why did it take the Republican
movement so long to admit its guilt
when it could have moved positively many,
many years ago?
Its lack of
moral courage has left many hearts to be racked
with needless pain. It has
meant that many have gone to meet their God without
knowing the truth
surrounding the death and final resting place of their loved
ones?
All
they had to hold on to were images of the past. There was no hope
of
extending those memories. That had been extinguished by the pulling of a
trigger.
The only tangible legacy is the grainy shadows captured at a
family
function. They are faces frozen in time in the 1970s and 80s.
They
were
singled out to be the victims of faceless men and their lives were
viciously and
cruelly extinguished.
There was no judge or jury to
hear their last
words. There was no legal defence allowed to be mounted on
their behalf. All
that we can be certain is that Gerry Evans, like the rest
of the Disappeared
died a terrifying death before being dumped in a lonely
place.
Gerry Evans
had nobody to cradle and comfort him in his final
moments.
He died at the
hands of individuals who believed they were
empowered by the paragraphs of a
gunman’s rulebook.
For most people the
Disappeared is an issue that is well
below the consciousness level. It is
now part of a receding history.
Of
course it is right, in certain
circumstances, not to dwell on the negatives of
the past. However unless we
come to terms with the implications of our past it
is impossible to develop
a positive future.
The families of the
Disappeared have to
try on a daily basis to cope with their awful ordeal.
As
a Christian
community we have failed those families by not demanding and
insisting on
answers being given in the context of their pain.
The
daily
torment that is their unique inheritance from an obscene distortion of the
Republican ethos will always be their terrible burden.
No careful drip
feed
choreography of information engineered to suit the latest chapter in
the
political process can erase their pain.
The month of November
celebrates All
Souls day and the end of the church’s liturgical year.
Christians from
ancient times in Ireland have always remembered and revered
the dead.
The
belief that prayers are a positive force for the departed
is emphasised by the
blessing of grave ceremonies. It goes to the very core
of our shared
Christianity.
In November the Armistice Day ceremonies
honour the millions of
young men who died in the cold, muddy and horror
filled trenches of the First
World War.
It is impossible not to draw the
correlation between those images
of suffering in the fields of Picardy and the wind swept
Irish bogs that
continue to hold such sad secrets surrounding the
Disappeared.
In this
special month of November there still remains a
challenge for all Christians
living on this island.
It is to ensure that
actions, not politically crafted
statements, are the tools used to find the
remaining Disappeared.
Until that happens we will never be able
to legitimately bury the
past.

Belfast being robbed of rates by the DUP

The leaked memo from Environment Minister, Edwin Poots, to the First and Deputy First Ministers has been well reported. Behind it is another story of border politics and cash grabs on the southern fringes of Belfast City.
Mr Poots and Mr Robison’s, new Lisburn – Castlereagh council was set to loose the valuable rates from the Forestside Shopping Centre in south Belfast to Belfast City Council under the original boundary proposals. This seems to have irked the DUP and Minister Poots who has decided to take Forestside back (and all its cash) and in return give Belfast the Robinson Centre and Dundonald Ice Bowl in the east of the city which are expensive to run and bring no cash in for the local authority.
I live in South Belfast. The reality of is that those of us paying rates in this part of the city are paying for a big chunk of the Council’s services across the city. We shop in Forestside and yet will see none of the benefits from its rates coming back into the city it so relies on for its trade. What Min Poots is proposing is that Belfast rate payers take on another loss making leisure centre but be denied the rates from a shopping centre they all use.
No wonder people think the boys on the hill are a bit of a joke.

McDonnell gets commitment from NI Water

SDLP MP Alasdair McDonnell has been lobbying Minister Conor Murphy and NI Water to take steps to end the deeply distressing and ongoing flooding and sewage overflow in South Belfast.

The local MP has been given a commitment from NI Water, that until the point where the Belfast Sewer Tunnel comes fully into use, staff will immediately man the River Terrace pumping station when heavy rainfall is forecast and the River Lagan is at high water level. This staff presence will help reduce the possibility of flooding and sewage overflow in your area during periods when the risk of flooding is high.

NI Water has also assured the SDLP that a series of steps have been taken to clean out the pumping station following the recent flooding in River Terrace and that a rapid response cleanup crew has been set up to respond immediately should any further flooding occur.

Belfast City Council GAA take on Dublin City Council

The games took place in Dublin on Friday 23rd October and both the men's and ladies football teams did Belfast proud with stunning victories.

The Belfast Men's team proved too much for the Dublin side with a win of 4 goals 12 points to Dublin's 1:6.

The Belfast ladies also shot to victory. They played a spectacular game winning by 2 goals 9 points. The final score was Belfast Ladies 3 goals 9 points, Dublin 1 goal 4 points.

South Belfast Councillor Pat McCarthy who watched the matches with Dublin Lord Mayor Councillor Emer Costello said the Belfast Men and Ladies teams did the city proud.

"I always look forward to, and thoroughly enjoy, this event.

"This is the third Gaelic competition between both Councils.

"It's a great way to forge and build personal and professional relationships and gives officers in both cities the chance to learn best practice from each other.

"Both the Belfast Men's and Ladies' teams did our city proud as I'm sure they will again next year".

Big increase in cyclists and pedestrians being knocked down in South Belfast

South Belfast People has obtained figures from the local District Policing Partnership which show a 52% increase in the rise of road traffic collisions involving pedestrians and cyclists in South Belfast over the past 5 years.

Most experts say there is a direct link between this type of accident and traffic speeds. Ask anyone living in an urban area and they will be worried about traffic speeding through residential areas. The problem is particularly acute in South Belfast.

Speed bumps, chicanes and cameras have all been deployed to keep motorists at 30mph in built up areas yet the simple fact is that you still stand a one in five chance of being killed if hit by a vehicles travelling 30mph.

Drop the speed of impact to 20mph and the chances of surviving skyrocket (only one in forty chance of being killed).

We are asking people to support the 20s Plenty campaign to get the speed limit reduced to 20mph.

The big issues - survey results

Over 500 South Belfast residents have completed the South Belfast People community issues survey.

Respondents were asked to names the issues which most affect them. Here are the results so far:

Education & 11plus - 65%
Planning & over development - 56%
Traffic & speeding - 59%
Hate Crime & Sectarianism – 56%

Community Survey

If you live in South Belfast please take two minutes to complete this short community survey about the issues affecting people in this part of the city.


Click Here to take survey