Hands up if you know (Lord) Paul Bew? I don’t mean know in the sense that you go for the occasional pint together, but know who he is? At the danger of teaching my granny to suck eggs, here’s some of his background.
Once a member of People’s Democracy (remove that woman – she appears to have fainted), Paul Bew is an academic at Queen’s University. He’s a historian and his written several books – on the Land League, on Parnell -all with a strongly revisionist flavour. He was central to the establishment of the infamous Boston Tapes, which recorded the views of loyalists and republicans opposed to Sinn Féin. He was an adviser to David Trimble (no, Virginia – to the best of my knowledge Lord Trimble hasn’t asked for his money back.)
You’ll notice that Lord Bew has managed to combine an academic life at Queen’s alongside an active political life.
In contrast, consider Professor Colin Harvey. He too is an academic at Queen’s, where he’s Professor of Human Rights Law. He’s also a Fellow of the George Mitchell Institute for Global Peace, Security and Justice. He has headed Queen’s Law School, a Director of the Human Rights Centre and a Director of Research. Like the unionist academic Paul Bew, Colin Harvey is interested in politics but unlike Paul Bew he believes a united Ireland is on its way. He has spoken to that effect publicly, notably at that Waterfront Hall event attended by some 2,000 people from civic nationalism.
He believes a border poll should be called and has even sugges-ted a date for it: 10 April 2023, which would be exactly twenty-five years from the signing of the Good Friday Agreement.
Professor Harvey has attracted the attention of some people.
This tweet from Steve Aiken OBE of the UUP‘
‘Is it official @QUBelfast policy to support a border poll or is Prof Harvey stating an individual view again?-perhaps QUB might consider as a matter of policy that academics proffering individual opinion refrain from using their faculty positions to do so @News_Letter @uuponline’
This from somebody called ‘Dana Tweets’
‘QUB a SF recruiting centre. Academics are there doing a job educating our future. All schools and universities should be just that. Personal views should be kept out of the workplace as they have to be in any other job.’
This from a Stephen Elliott:
‘Colin Harvey shouldn’t forget that his salary and his platform both derive from The Queen’s University of Belfast (the clue is in the name). I trust he isn’t pitching his ideas to vulnerable 14 year-olds on QUB Open Nights. @QUBAlumni @RuthDE’
And then there’s this level-head tweeter :
‘brexitmeansbrexit 🇬🇧 🇮🇱 @billybop43 Jan 28
‘He’s [Prof Harvey] a sectarian bigot and should be sacked’
I could go on with other tweets and articles attacking Professor Harvey. The nub of their argument (when they’re not slandering him) is that an academic shouldn’t be involved in politics, especially local politics. And super-especially if he’s taking a nationalist line.
The clear aim is to shut Professor Harvey up. And yes, Virginia, you could call it intimidation but I couldn’t possibly comment. I don’t, however, recall a similar line of attack directed at Lord Bew, or Professor Richard English of QUB, or Professor Arthur Aughey of Ulster University, Or any other unionist academic.
But I do recall a retired nationalist academic who used be on the wireless a good bit. Don’t know what became of him. Or why.
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