Loyalist paramilitaries and Unionist politicians are leading Northern Irish Unionism into a cul-de-sac once again. At this point there’s no doubt about that. When an entity such as Loyalism is led into a dead end with no way to retreat or escape, violence becomes the only option left because let’s be honest here, they’re not going to give in without a fight unless something radical is brought forward or offered. Being led to that destination by Unionist politicians openly using that pressure valve as leverage is what we have witnessed time and again from the Drumcree standoff to parades to the same old same old every 11th and 12th of July regarding sectarian bonfires and marching routes.
When PUP Leader Billy Hutchinson told Westminster’s Northern Ireland Affairs Committee it was a “very difficult job” keeping protests against the protocol peaceful, he neglected to add it was that way because Loyalist paramilitaries are now openly involved in creating that atmosphere of the perceived need for violent confrontation and that Unionist leaders were not making a concerted effort to dissuade Loyalists from resorting to violence. He also neglects to mention the fact the inflammatory hyperbolic language used by political Unionism went a long way to inflaming the situation which was nowhere near as combustible initially as it has become, since politicians such as Jim Allister began claiming the “Union was in peril.” This is why these assertions of lack of Unionist political leadership can be made without fear of reproach. The only semblance of leadership being shown within Unionism at the minute is lacklustre statements from the LCC aka Loyalist paramilitaries and the likes of Jamie Bryson who even Stephen Nolan is confident in saying, (and would not retract the statement as he claimed the BBC stood by it and believed it to be true) is a spokesman for the UVF.
Political Unionism is toothless in the eyes of their grass roots and it is their own doing. It spent so long attempting to suppress Irish Catholicism and Irish Nationalism, that it forgot it actually represented a people. It became reactionary, and had Northern Irish Unionism spent as much time genuinely sharing the North East 6 Counties of Ireland with its Nationalist and Catholic neighbours, building a genuine partnership and friendship with the same and showing their grass roots there was nothing to fear from sharing the North of Ireland with their Catholic and Nationalist neighbours, rather than attempting to suppress and oppress anything not British or Unionist, we would be in a very different place even with the perceived twin threats of Brexit and the NI Protocol entering the equation.
What we have now, due to the hyperbole and misleading statements, is a Loyalism listening more to Loyalist terrorists than its own politicians and in a severe state of siege mentality. Politicians, I might add, who have simply worsened the situation by falsely claiming Unionism itself is under threat. It’s the height of nonsense to claim the NI Protocol threatens the very fabric of society and its freedoms, the Good Friday Agreement and even the Union itself but neglect to then clarify that there cannot be a constitutional shift away from the entity known as ‘Northern Ireland’ and into a united Ireland without a majority, North and South indicating that is what the majority desires. Selective and inflammatory claims from both political and civic personalities within Unionism have led us to this impasse…and now they can’t control it and don’t want to because they have the LCC to do that. The LCC, when not abbreviated, is known as the Loyalist Communities Council. However, some, even within Loyalism, are now beginning to refer to the group as the Loyalist Combined Command…let that sink in.
Now is the time for political Unionism to stand up and retake control from organisations which should realistically have disbanded a quarter of a century ago. No matter how much leverage these protests and threats of violence are applying, no matter how much the likes of Edwin Poots and Billy Hutchinson think it is worthwhile, one thing is clear – they are damaging ‘Northern Ireland’ – the very entity they claim to love and protect. The burning of a Sinn Fein banner promoting a united Ireland will not stop the inevitable either. The ‘event’ was used as a focus point but once again let the cat out of the bag that this protest against the perceived stifling of trade between England and the North is a constitutional one. I’d bet my bottom dollar many taking part in these protests have noticed little to no change in their daily lives or products they purchase. It is quite telling that the foot soldiers within the paramilitary organisations are now being fined if they do not show up to these protests – something which apparently had to be put in place as very few people were attending them.
One thing which is now clear, is that the Loyalist paramilitaries are running these so-called ‘protests’ and if paramilitaries are running them, you can be sure there are more to come unless Edwin Poots and Paul Givan grow a set of balls and challenge them. The big question is will they? Or are they happy to sit back and allow this chaos to continue? Something tells me BoJo will be making a statement in the very near future to make sure Northern Irish Unionism gets the message that the NI Protocol is here to stay and they can either like it or lump it because at this stage…realistically, they’re the only ones protesting it.
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