Murder at Massereene
When I first received a text late last night to indicate that at least one soldier had been killed and others injured in Antrim, I responded by texting back "an attack?" During the troubles I would have probably assumed we were dealing with a deliberate killing. But in this era, naive as it might sound, a part of me wanted to keep open the possibility that there had been a bus crash or some such terrible accident. Within a short time I discovered the circumstances and the truth that the shadow of the gunman has returned.
Overnight and during the morning politicians have been responding to the murders. Phrases like "futile", "sinister" and evil" have been frequently used.
Around half past eleven this morning, nearly 14 hours after the killings, Sinn Fein released a carefully calibrated statement. Gerry Adams called the murders "wrong and counterproductive". He argued that dissident attacks must end and the people support peaceful and democratic change.
Speaking at the scene Peter Robinson offered his heartfelt sympathy and condolences to the families of the dead soldiers. Such a sentiment did not feature in the Sinn Fein statement. Perhaps Martin McGuinness or some other representative will fill in this gap as the day goes on. But the almost clinical style of the Sinn Fein initial position seems to reflect general republican antagonism towards the army (presumably this would have been different if the casualties had been PSNI officers) and the sensitivities of the recent row over the deployment of reconnaisance soldiers against the dissidents.
The Ulster Unionist Deputy Leader Danny Kennedy says his party "will be watching closely and evaluating the reactions of all political leaders and parties to this indefensible act". So far the only unionist to have pointed the finger at Sinn Fein has been the anti-power sharing MEP Jim Allister. The Traditional Unionist MEP asks to be spared "the crocodile tears of the Stormont political wing of the IRA", arguing that Sinn Fein's opposition to the deployment of the reconnaisance soldiers "tells us all we need to know about the bona fides of McGuinness and Co. when it comes to resisting terrorism".
Of course MrAllister is opposed to the Stormont system. He's not the only one. In Antrim Peter Robinson got a taste of the challenges to come when he was heckled by a solitary protestor who wanted to know where Martin McGuinness was and used the oft quoted line "if you lie down with dogs you'll get fleas". However Mr Robinson insists that he will not allow the dissidents to drag politics here back to the bad old days.
UPDATE AT 1300: Speaking on the Politics Show, Martin McGuinness has just specifically offered his condolences to the families of those killed and injured. Neither he nor the SDLP leader Mark Durkan backed away from their previous criticism of the use of special army units, although Mr Durkan made the point that this should be a test for al the local parties, not one, and Mr McGuinness added that the focus should be on the unity of the parties' responses against the murders.
I'm 
~RS~q~RS~~RS~z~RS~53~RS~)
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It seems some leaders are more concerned about dancing on the head of a pin for electoral advantage than they are about ALL of our security.
Surely it is time for all politicians to clearly accept the position in the GFA that NI wll remain in the UK until a majority vote otherwise and that won't happen for at least say 10 years. This will undermine the 'dissidents' as they will be the only people trying to force a situation that won't happen without the votes.
They everyone else can spend the next 10 years trying to sort out the economic mess here and forget about the politics of the border; by that time the border position can then be rechecked to see what direction the people are going in.
Trying to be all things to all people leaves room for the dissidents to do their evil deeds.
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Its important not to inflame or over-react here, but the irony of nationalist 'concern' over deployment of special services to protect those who protect us is now almost too much to bear.
I'm sure Gerry and Martin are writing their supportive statements for Sir Hugh as we speak.
God help the families of those murdered and maimed.
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Hi Mark.
First, condolences to the families involved in the Massereene tradegy.
Not too sure what to say about this; not sure either if we are returning to the shadow of the past (too young to have witnessed the Troubles at their height) nor sure if it will derail the peace process [shouldn’t it take more to do so? We surely do not fall apart at one incident that may be related to god knows what. Apologies if the preceding sentence offends at all.]
Whoever did it must be jailed and for a long time. Retribution would not work; that may put us back where we do not wish to be. We need peace. We need a future to look forward to- I like to think we have that, especially my generation.
We need to reach a conclusion on power sharing or whatever the politicians have been on about, learn to live and just get on with things as those in Poland, France, and Netherlands etc do.
We don't want to be the next Gaza. We’ve moved on from bombs, bodies and bullets.
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Sinn Féin must urge all the people of Northern Ireland to assist the Police and Security forces to route out these Republicans who wish to return to the days of the bomb and the bullet. This Sinn Féin need to do to show the world that they are truly committed to peaceful Political exchange.
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Mark,
In my opinion Sinn Fein know who carried this out. Therefore they should bring forward the names to the Police so these criminals can be brought to court and punished. For Gerry Adams to say anything else is simply wrong. If he does not do this then Stormont should either be collapsed or Sinn Fein expelled.
My greatest fear is that these criminals will never be caught. The people responsible for Omagh, The Northern Bank robbery and other big events will never be prosecuted as the PSNI are not up to the job.
Stormontspy
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14 hours to respond.
150 days to settle a form of words over policing.
A decade long peace process.
1000s of lives lost to get a local parish-pump-mindset of an administration.
And SF wants to play a main part in the governance of the Republic.
Question: is this real politics in real time?
Also, does Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness know what a real job is, or how they come about?
Are all jobs here like that of the Dominos pizza business, just one big collaboration in a 'British' state?
Not anymore perhaps they might say.
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I was probably being very naive but I did think that the days of people being shot at army barracks was over. I am willing to accept that the RIRA is not the same as the IRA but I have no doubt that many people within the republican movement will know who is in the RIRA and who organised and took part in these horrific murders.
I pray they are caught and brought to justice.
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Mark:
i know, how you felt when the first report of the story broke....i was shock like you...
~Dennis Junior~
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Mark:
update
I am in complete agreement with Martin McGuinness with the condolences to the families who members were killed...and also, to the families who were injured....
~Dennis Junior~
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