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Ulster Protestants are as determined as ever
to maintain the link between Northern Ireland and the rest
of the United Kingdom, and that message has come through strongly
in recent months.
The huge turnout at the Waterfront Hall in Belfast for two
nights of Orange culture, the peaceful protests in support
of the stand of Portadown Orangemen in the Drumcree issue
and the refusal of true loyalists to bow the knee to violence
or the threats of violence underlines the strength of the
opposition to republicanism.
Unionists must keep their nerve in the political debate on
the future of Northern Ireland and irrespective of pressures
from home and abroad they must stand firm in refusing to compromise
on the position of the Province within the United Kingdom.
The encouraging signs so far are that the Unionist parties
of various hues are united on this essential issue, but it
would carry a lot more weight if Unionism was not so fragmented
and presented a picture of division and dissension to outsiders.
The Unionism of Carson, Craig and Brooke was unyielding on
the key principle of Ulster being British, with no compromise
on the total allegiance to the Crown. As long as Unionists
and their leaders adhere to this vital plank of Unionism,
then they will command the loyalty and respect of the vast
majority of Northern Irish people.
Ulster people, by and large, retain their inherent God-fearing
qualities of decency and respect for law and order. The vast
majority want nothing to do with gangsterism, with evils like
drugs, prostitution, and degeneracy, however much those might
be cloaked under the guise of respectability.
The Ulster majority want firm rule of law, they want - and
are entitled to respect - the protection of HM Forces against
terrorism, murder, ethnic cleansing and intimidation. There
is nothing different from the evil of ethnic cleansing and
terrorism in Kosovo and that which has taken place in Ulster
during the past three decades.
Yet, much of the free world has been kept in ignorance of
the crimes perpetrated against the peace-loving Ulster majority
- a majority whose only crime has been one of loyalty to the
Queen and Britain.
It is time to call a halt to false values, to dispense with
the ridiculous spectacle whereby men and women who have committed
atrocious crimes against humanity in Ulster are released from
prision for political reasons, while victims are largely ignored.
No wonder so many new groups are springing up all over Ulster
dedicated to putting the spotlight on the indifference and
apathy towards the plight of the innocents, going hand-in-hand
with pampering and pandering to the wishes of the unrepentant
murderers.
In recent years the spectacle has been presented of the security
forces being used to prevent Orangemen and members of the
other Loyal Orders from walking peacefully along traditional
routes, rather than dealing with the violent men who have
broken the law and attacked these parades with petrol bombs,
bricks and missiles.
Where is the respect for the rights of Protestants and loyalists
on the part of such unrepentant killers who have refused appeals
to apologise for their crimes and to say simply that the terrorism
is over?
Yet, 'liberals' and 'moderates' persist in calling on Portadown
Orangemen and others to surrender on the parade issue, and
there is the constant clamour on Ulster Unionists to make
all the concessions during the political talks.
It is time for an end to the humbug, to the one-sided concessions,
to the insatiable and unrealistic demands of the republican
movement - demands which even the Dublin Government recognises
as being out of order.
Now is the time for a new start, and for fair play, combined
with a recognition of the rights of the Ulster majority to
live peacefully as part of the United Kingdom, and on friendly
terms with their Southern neighbour. That's how true reconciliation
can begin to take place, based on realistic goals and realities,
and not something so undemocratic and one-sided as to be in
the realm of fantasy.
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