Northern Ireland (merged thread)

[davidbfpo]

The title comes from the leader of Saoradh, a political party that reflects New IRA thinking and their statement:

A republican volunteer attempted to defend people from the PSNI/RUC. Tragically a young journalist, Lyra McKee, was killed accidentally.

In response to the murder:

The murder of this young woman is a human tragedy for her family, but it is also an attack on all the people of this community, an attack on our peace process and an attack on the Good Friday agreement,” said Sinn Féin’s deputy leader, Michelle O’Neill.

Link:https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/apr/19/new-ira-and-saoradh-face-backlash-over-lyra-mckee?

Just whether a "backlash" from the local community will happen or have an effect is a moot point.

[davidbfpo]

A short report using the footage taken at the scene, plus what the PSNI has released.
Link:https://www.bellingcat.com/news/uk-a...of-lyra-mckee/

I am not an expert on such issues, but is clear that the police were inside their armoured Land Rovers - which were being hit by petrol bombs and other missiles. Oddly IMHO standing some distance behind the two vehicles at the front is a large group of individuals, who appear to be mainly adults just watching. The shots fired, estimates vary, would not have hit any police officer, just those watching.

[davidbfpo]

As if by magic Aaron Edwards, a British SME on Northern Ireland has an article 'The Fragility of the Good Friday Peace: The Persistence of Terrorism in Northern Ireland' in CTC's 'The Sentinel' and he starts his conclusion with:

The murder of a journalist on the night before Good Friday in 2019 was a reminder of the fragility of peace in Northern Ireland. On the surface, the persistence of terrorism in Northern Ireland is indicative of centuries-old grievances that have remained remarkably unchanged. At its heart is a competition between the British state and its militant Republican adversaries who violently oppose the continuing presence of British governing institutions in Ireland. Yet, it is also ground contested by loyalist paramilitaries who wish to maintain the status quo.

Link:https://ctc.usma.edu/fragility-good-...thern-ireland/

[davidbfpo]

The linked comment was id'd via Twitter and is rather direct - the author's bio explains:

Former IRA volunteer and ex-prisoner, spent 18 years in Long Kesh, 4 years on the blanket and no-wash/no work protests which led to the hunger strikes of the 80s. Completed PhD at Queens upon release from prison. Left the Republican Movement at the endorsement of the Good Friday Agreement, and went on to become a journalist. Co-founder of The Blanket, an online magazine that critically analyzed the Irish peace process. Lead researcher for the Belfast Project, an oral history of the Troubles.

Link to bio:http://www.thepensivequill.com/

A "taster" passage:

Lyra McKee, sadly, is highly unlikely to be the final victim of the malevolent militarism that remains both arrogantly indifferent and haughtily impervious to the twin concept that others have rights and that there is no right to practice homicide. Citizen rights - not on their watch, just their right to kill. Lyra was not in the wrong place at the wrong time. Her killers were.

Link:http://www.thepensivequill.com/2019/...wrong.html?m=1