It wasn’t so long ago that Unionists including Doug Beattie were frothing at the mouth over a funeral. Oh how they waxed lyrical about how people in black trousers and white shirts were IRA members and were a reflection of Republicanism and the short distance it had come in building peace. I wear black trousers and a white shirt to funerals, I have been to many and not all Republican funerals. I wear this ‘uniform’ because it is simple, discreet and those attending the funeral shouldn’t be the centre of attention.
What happened yesterday in Portadown was the absolute height of hypocrisy from a Unionist. A parade, an illegal parade at that, and Doug Beattie was present along with Carla Lockhart I might add. Doug claims he was there to ensure the “area remained calm.” Pull the other one, Doug. Doug was there because he is attempting to raise his reputation within militant Loyalism. This is the man Loyalists asked to “drill” them in 2019 at a meeting in a Portadown Orange Hall against the Brexit deal, using his military experience to do so. Clearly they weren’t talking about marching up and down a road. No, they were talking militarily. Doug identified this parade in his Upper Bann constituency as a way to show people he supports their cause and that he’s one of them, as a way to raise his profile, now as leader of the UUP. So, does he also support the masked men marching throughout the parade he was attending? It was a main point of the parade after all.
There were masked men at this parade, not what we have witnessed in the past, of people wearing a medical mask over their faces with their hoods up, or hoods up with scarves over their nose and mouth. I was initially led to believe there were simply a couple of masked men at the start of the parade but what I’m being told now is there were scores and scores of men wearing balaclavas openly marching in the parade and walking in and around the parade. This can’t even be compared to the ‘black and whites’ on the Falls Road. I’m going to go out on a limb here and say these were UVF paramilitaries, openly walking the streets of Portadown, wearing balaclavas while the PSNI looked on. This can’t even be construed as Covid precautions which was the excuse used in the past at protests when the protestors wore masks. You can’t protect yourself against Covid when you’re wearing a three hole balaclava with one of the holes being around the mouth. UVF paraphernalia was clearly on display with many of the balaclava-wearing goons, carrying UVF flags.
Doug said, “I was present in Portadown due to the fact I was aware an un-notified demonstration was taking place. This demonstration had an effect on the town, its people and its business. So I was on hand to speak to people and businesses as they required and, if necessary, help to ensure the area remained calm. That is what representing your constituents is about. Thankfully it was a peaceful demonstration.
I did not take part in any parade, I stood with a church minister about 60 metres from the demonstration before moving to talk to police about what had occurred. At a distance I did not see the detail of the demonstration but did hear the speakers. They spoke about their opposition to the protocol. For a lot of the time my view was obscured because I was shadowed by anti-abortion protestors who held placards in front on me in my line of view.
I did not see anyone in a balaclava but I have made it clear this sinister development, that I was made aware of later, was unwanted and must be addressed. Having spoken to the police I was informed they had some engagement with individuals who would have been responsible for the parade and that the parade passed off peacefully. I reiterate again, as I have done on multiple occasions, that all demonstrations must adhere to Covid regulations and must tie into the police to notify them of parade intentions. I’m not sure why anyone would feel that me being in my hometown during a demonstration, engaging with constituents is a bad thing.”
Well Doug, it would be a bad thing because you stood by while masked paramilitaries took to the streets of Portadown. In the North, paramilitaries denote violence, something you claim to be against…as an ex British army Captain. It would be a bad thing because the “demonstration” was illegal in so much as the organisers didn’t apply to the Parades Commission for permission to hold the parade and it would be a bad thing because the numbers permitted at an outdoors gathering as per Covid regulations is 500 people and there were clearly more than 500 people at this parade/demonstration.
The problem for Loyalism’s campaign against the Protocol is that at the forefront of their opposition to it are violent Loyalist terrorists. Had this been a parade with normal everyday Loyalists and Unionists at the head of the parade with a big banner saying ‘Loyalist Communities Against the NI Protocol’, while still illegal, I would have ultimately supported their right to protest. What I draw a line at is Loyalist paramilitaries openly walking the streets of this state, in plain view of the PSNI, carrying UVF flags and paraphernalia. When are these people going to go away? Loyalism is constantly using violence as a threat to keep the North on a knife edge and instead of standing against it, political Unionism facilitates the use of this threat and seemingly accepts the threat of violence as part and parcel of opposition to…well, everything. While many say they do not ‘know’ who any violence will be directed at if or when it breaks out, I know many from the Nationalist and Catholic communities understand exactly who it will be directed at. The very people who made good on their promise to move away from paramilitarism, who decommissioned, who do not walk about the streets in balaclavas.
Political Unionism has a responsibility to everyone on this island, believe it or not, to stop the ‘bad old days’ reigniting again. The attendance by Doug Beattie and Carla Lockhart at this parade, while it may have been fine in any other circumstance, was made inexcusable by the fact they accepted masked men on our streets again. Their selective visual ambiguity is laughable. Sweeping masked men under the proverbial carpet so readily as if they weren’t there, is a sad indictment of how slow political Unionism is moving regarding how peace is viewed within that community.
Portadown was a very open threat that Loyalist paramilitaries are still present, still active and are now able to walk about masked and unchallenged within a Loyalist demonstration. The question is, with those masked men present there…a demonstration of what?
Comments are closed.