A New Dawn
Having condemned the murder of Bobby Moffett and the subsequent intimidation of people in the Shankill area, Dawn Purvis today went an extra mile by parting company altogether with the UVF's political wing, the PUP. Cynics may note that this puts her Stormont allowances beyond the grasp of any future sanction from the Independent Monitoring Commission. However anyone who knows the East Belfast MLA will recognise that she has a firm committment to her left wing unionist principles, and for her to take this decisive action points to something more than a temporary tactic. Ms Purvis never relished the role of explaining away UVF transgressions - she clearly had no stomach to act as a mouthpiece for those who ordered Mr Moffett's death. David Ervine's widow Jeanette has described the murder as "the last straw*" and blamed "a handful of people who don't want politics."
Councillor John Kyle, a Christian GP from East Belfast, is now taking over the PUP on an interim basis. He's told the Nolan show that he still believes the PUP has been a "superb project" which deserves support. However he wouldn't rule out a complete break with the UVF, responding only that this would be a decision for a future PUP meeting. The late David Ervine, as a former UVF member, undoubtedly had what his wife calls "the street cred" in persuading the paramilitaries to hold to their ceasefire during tense times. But if Dawn Purvis's influence turned out to be far more limited, the same will surely apply to John Kyle, leader of a party which no longer has as MLA. To that extent could the PUP face the same fate as the old Ulster Democrats, who parted company from the UDA, then withered away?
Apart from raising questions over the future of the PUP, the murder of Bobby Moffett brings into focus the credibility of the loyalist weapons decommissioning process. Back in June 2009the UVF and Red Hand Commando told the public they had put their guns "totally and irreversibly beyond use". Yet some of those guns seem to have been very much in use on the Shankill Road last week. What would have been the response from the mainstream unionist parties if Provisional IRA guns had been brought onto the streets and used in a murder carried out on a busy thoroughfare in front of passing shoppers? That is what seems to be the case with the UVF. How many UVF guns were held back from General De Chastelain's team, and how many weapons do other paramilitary groups still have at their disposal?
UPDATE: My colleague Martina Purdy interviewed Dawn Purvis in her East Belfast office earlier today and found herself just ahead in the queue of the UUP's Fred Cobain. old friends, one presumes, or have other parties started wooing the independent Ms. Purvis already?
I'm 
~RS~q~RS~~RS~z~RS~41~RS~)
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Could anyone explain exactly what is the difference of opinion between the UVF factions on the shankill?
A. Economic policy
B. Education /academic selection
C. How best to promote the case for the Union
D. None of the above
No answers allowed from anyone with a treble-digit IQ please.
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Mark
SDLP SUFFERING FROM A FESTERING BOIL ON ITS ASSEMBLY XXXX ...............
and it’s called Alisdair McDonnell.
The SDLP are making great play about ending MLAs double-jobbing on Councils [see Dolores Kelly, about eight minutes in] but that is only part of the scandal. A bigger outrage is that the pompous McDonnell is steadfastly refusing to accept the Party’s policy by retaining both his Assembly and Westminster seats. This is nothing short of self-interest on his part.
It’s now over to Ritchie. She did the right thing with O’Loan. It’s time to face down the arrogant, pretentious & bombastic McDonnell. The SDLP is going to have a very sore bottom unless Ritchie shows strong leadership on this issue and lances the offending boil
Susie
Carryduff
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NoFool It seems we are not allowed to answer you with the truth incase it would offend the murderers of Mr Moffett citing house rules. With all respect to Susie her comment has nothing whatsoever to do with the topic being discussed but its fine because its about the SDLP. Remind us Mark was the SDLP involved in Mr Moffetts murder.
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Mark,
Does Dawn condemn all drug dealing the paramiltaries are doing?
The cowboy!
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Miss Purvis,
Good girl!
If the IRA had done something like this, all hell would have broke loose! ...as history shows! I havent heard many condemnations of the brutal and disgraceful murder? if it was an IRA murder, I think the DUP and UUP would milk it for all they could...
No Fool,
I very much doubt that it would have been A, B or C. Obviously a feud over what their favourite episode of Sesame street is... Who will Dawn now jump too? the DUP? UUP? Certainly not the TUV?
Smart people stay out of politics, those with half a brain join the DUP or UUP (half (and I mean half!) sensible organisations) and all others join the TUV because they really are dimwits...
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Were now for loyalism? It would seem the articulate voice of loyalism is no more. Gangsterism,criminality and cold blooded murder seem to be the order of the day for those who would claim to the defenders of the faith and the union. The criminals of the u.v.f claim a blood link to those who fought in the great war against tyrany, but in reality the only thing they have in common is the tyrany they now bestow upon thier "own" people for which the brave men in the trenchs fought. In the past I,v said the strife within unionism/loyalism lends no favours to the greater nationalist/republican community and in the realisation of a new ireland which has equality at its core. loyalist Billy Mitchell once wrote, "Before there can be geographical unity there must be a unity of purpose and a unity of ideology between all the people of this island. That unity of purpose and unity of ideology is missing" is now not the time for the unionist people to embrace the concept of real change not as a threat but as a goal. Irish unity no doubt has a different meaning in a 21st-century global economy. The leadership of unionism/loyalism fear that failure to persuade working class people of the merits of staying within the union may evolve into an indifference to the union, and they know that the potential exists to persuade the unionist electorate that the union does not serve their best interests and that a united Ireland does.
...........eyes wide open
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9. eyeswideopen1
I think it is fair to say that unionist unity makes convincing loyalism/unionism easier. At present, if the UUP were proponents for a united Ireland the DUP would be automatic adversaries. If the DUP were proponents of a united Ireland, the UUP would be adversaries. No one listens to the TUV (the same way no one on the DD's listens to the cowboy). So with a united unionism, a united Ireland is an easier objective =)
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p.s. Moderators
You know it's the truth. The Israeli state is a terrorist state, propped up by two more terrorists states.
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IMHO the assembly will ultimately lead to a sort of osmosis, where protestants are more likely than now to vote nationalist and more catholics are likely to vote unionist.
The reason is that Martin McGuinness and Ian Paisley (just to use specific examples) acquitted themselves fairly well, worked together, and were (or at least appeared to be) reasonable people. In a very short time, the worst fears of both nationalists and unionists were shown to be unfounded, or at least exaggerated. Ordinary people on both sides will therefore be prepared to do the unthinkable - and think about who they vote for, rather than shuffle mindlessly into the voting booth, sectarian voting pencil in hand.
By way of corroboration, I was sitting at work talking to some catholic friends a few months ago, when the rates bills had just arrived. It was earnestly stated by my (bogside-born) colleague, that only ratepayers should be allowed to vote in council elections! He was in favour of "one-man, one vote" back in the early 1970's, but didn't realise that he had just, on the drop of a rates bill letter, changed his views.
Anyway, my point isn't the merit or otherwise of the rates, or electoral system, but that when the demons have been exorcised or shown to be a mirage, peoples attention will truly turn to bread and butter issues.
The only issue (here's to you susie) is whether the assembly can become fully functional
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Mark,
The IICD should now fully investigate all illegal groups and find out what weapons they have. I would put money on it that the IRA have weapons stored.
The cowboy!
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DisgustedinDERRY,
"the same way no one on the DD's listens to the cowboy".
Have you a link to prove this?
Who listens to you?
The cowboy!
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@#14
COWSPY - You can relax, no one is listening to you on the DD's. I can guarantee this 100% because the DD's is a text based web blog and therefore silent. No one is listening the Mark's posts either or DinDerry's comments for that matter.
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The silence from the TUV about this loyalist execution is breathtaking, no comments about Unionist terrorist cheerleaders at the assembly and Dawn Purvis being so upset and full of integrity resigning from the PUP after Mr Moffetts murder, did the previous 20 odd murders committed by the UVF during their ceasefire slip her mind.
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Jimmy
WATCH IT!
Your barbed comment at Post 5 is noted.
A couple of points:
1 Dawn Purvis’s resignation from the PUP is neither here nor there. She is an irrelevance that needs no further debate.
The awful killing of Mr Moffett points up again the elephant in the room in terms of decommissioning. Decommissioning was a carefully choreographed mirage. Brit and local politicians colluded in the notion that the IRA, UVF, UDA etc had given up their arsenals. Poppycock! Take this latest killing, and the fact that the IRA killed Paul Quinn and Robert McCartney with impunity, for example; these heinous crimes have not been, and will not be, subject to appropriate police and judicial process. The Establishment decreed long ago that the Peace Process must not be disturbed by the odd murder or three.
2 Mark may set an agenda with his blogs but I haven’t seen any rules that prevent me from following my own agenda [even the Moderators haven’t tried to impose that restriction on me]. I may be a bit of a cow but, as a rule, I don’t follow the herd.
So, watch it, big boy!
Susie
Carryduff
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SusieFlood, lol its nice to read a bit of humour on this blog, like I said in post 5 no offence intended to your good self, apoligies if I offended. I dont really know if you're right about decommissioning, if you are, a lot of respectable people including members of the clergy are telling lies. Mr Moffett was murdered with a shotgun easily bought in the criminal underworld the strange bit being how they knew he was wearing a bulletproof vest. I agree with you that murders have been carried out using the no claim no blame tactic by both sides and they are swept under the carpet in the interests of the peace process I suppose there are some people who just cannot give up the power that they have in areas under their control.
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Susie,
Decommissiong was only a stunt to get terrorists into Government. For all we know the only thing decommissioned was a tin of beans!
Both sides have killed people and the Government will not do anything because as you say the Peace Process must not be disturbed by the odd murder or three.
The cowboy!
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Susie,
How is your investigations going? Did you see Lord Gord was in Dublin today. As usual he was stuffing himself....
The cowboy!
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19. rhinestonecowboy
"Government will not do anything because...the Peace Process must not be disturbed"
The only people involved in the Peace Process who are still armed and involved in murder on a mass scale are the British government. Why do you never winge about that???
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DisgustedinDERRY,
As we know the IRA and UVF still have weapons.
Deal with it.
The cowboy!
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