2 December 1999 Edition

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Mála Poist

The Good Friday Agreement



A Chairde,

I wonder if your readers are as confused as I am following the vote of the Ulster Unionist Council (UUC) on Saturday, 27 November, 1999.

What exactly have the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) decided if anything? Why are they going into the Northern Ireland Executive? If the UUP enter the Executive is their entry conditional on the IRA decommissioning some weapons before the end of February 2000? What happens if the UUC meet in February and refuse to ratify the vote of Saturday, 27 November 1999?

Will the UUP resign their seats; if so what happens then?

With the UUP having decided to enter for now and review their position in February, what is the situation re: Articles 2 and 3?

Are Articles 2 and 3 deleted from the Irish Constitution after the devolution of power from London and Dublin on Thursday, 2 December?

Do we give up Articles 2 and 3 for three months? (Surely not)

As the UUC/UUP have not made a definitive decision and will not make their final decision until late February 2000, should the Irish Government, in keeping with the spirit of the Good Friday Agreement, withhold ratifying the changes to Articles 2 and 3 until the final decision of the UUP is made known in February 2000?

What assurances did John Taylor receive from Peter Mandelson? What are the contents of the three-page letter he received? What concessions did he negotiate and what will the impact of these concessions be for everyone else?

What are the contents of the resignation letter from David Trimble? Does his letter set a date for decommissioning of IRA weapons and under what circumstances will his resignation come into effect?

Gerry Adams, speaking to the assembled media on Wednesday 24 November, in the Davenport Hotel, Dublin said: ``There are no hidden agendas.''

This is clearly not the case with the UUP, or the British government. With confidential letters being sent by the Secretary of State to John Taylor MP, the anonymous nature of any concessions won by Taylor and the unknown content of David Trimble's resignation letter, one could hardly describe their positions as open or transparent.

I am unsure how to answer the questions I pose. However, I do feel they have to be asked and answered to clear up the confusion caused by the UUP's decision to review their position in February.

The vote of the UUC has in my opinion muddied the waters and sends out a very unclear message.

John Doyle
County Wicklow
(Address with the editor)

Make Women's Day a Holiday



A Chairde,

May I congratulate Eoghan Mac Cormaic on his article supporting the campaign for a Public Paid Holiday on International Women's Day. It would be a real trailblazer if Sinn Féin as (we hope!) ministers in the New Executive were to endorse the idea and campaign for it north and south. In the north, there are even fewer public holidays than here in the south and what better recognition of the enormous contribution of women towards making the peace agreement work!

Eoghan Mac Cormaic mentions the murders of Mairéad Farrell and Rosemary Nelson. Might I also mention the murder of Miriam Daly, who, on 8 March 1979, International Women's Day, along with the Relatives Action Committee and Women Against Imperialism, had helped to organise the protest outside Armagh Women's Gaol, 50 of us from both sides of the border, in solidarity with the POWs inside. It was Miriam who asked me to take part.

This was the first public statement from women in the north of Ireland to feminists all over the world that solidarity with the Armagh prisoners and a commitment to oppose British rule were central issues in the struggle for women's liberation. If my memory serves me, from then on the ``H-Block'' campaign became the ``H-Block/Armagh'' campaign, the first time that women prisoners were recognised in their own right.

Margaretta D'Arcy,
10 St. Brigid's Place Lower,
Galway.
Steering Committee for the Public Paid Holiday,
Executive Member of the National Womern's Council of Ireland

Hunting logic



A Chairde,

The Field Sports Alliance of Ireland has been crowing about its ``impeccable record'' in preserving wildlife habitats in the countryside. The group is anxious, it seems, to show the public that there is more to hunting than blowing horns and sipping brandy after a ``kill''. It has marvellous spin-off benefits for the conservation of flora and fauna, they tell us.

Certainly, hunting has created wildlife habitats. Rats and liverfluke are two of the delightful species to benefit from the ``sport of princes''. By dispersing foxes and hounding them, the hunters make life easier for the rat population. Nests of these intelligent if less than friendly creatures flourish wherever their natural predators are under pressure from baiting or shooting.

Recently, a man was attacked in his bed by a rat and the case got national media prominence. Fox numbers in his district had been decimated by the local hunt, backed up by squads of terrier men. His assailant may have been preserved by this ``conservationist'' activity.

Liverfluke, for those not in the know, is a parasitic flatworm which infests the livers of sheep and cattle. It can cause severe illness or death. Hoof-prints made by horses on exposed soil happen to be the favourite habitat of snails that spread liverfluke. Every hunt in Ireland is helping to create these habitats.

Like the rats, the parasite-carrying snails are no doubt grateful for this excellent conservation work. The downside, however, is that liverfluke has wrecked the livelihoods of farmers. The price of worm doses alone is enough to drive any farmer to drink, or off the land.

Of course, you'll never see the redcoats chasing rats on horseback, or setting hounds after flukey snails. They have their reputatioins to watch. A judge, auctioneer, or bank manager couldn't boast at a high society function of ``the rat who gave us a jolly good run on Sunday''.

Sure, that wouldn't be sport at all. Pigs will fly and chickens will shout ``Tally-ho'' before these fine ladies and gentlemen will sip from stirrup cups around the carcass of a ``dispatched'' rodent... or dance to an old time waltz at a rat ball.

We can't have the unspeakable in full pursuit of the obnoxious.

John Fitzgerald,
Callan,
County Kilkenny.

Calling all women POWs



A chairde,

Following on from the meetings we have already held and our successful reunion of women ex-prisoners held recently in the Felons Club in West Belfast, a meeting has been arranged which will also be held in the Felons on Thursday 9 December at 7pm. It is hoped that at this meeting structures can be put in place for the setting up of a republican women ex-prisoners' association. The association will act as a focal point for women ex-prisoners and represent their interests. It will also provide a platform from which women can address issues of concern to them. One of the main aims of the association is to provide support and to sustain or renew bonds of solidarity which developed through jail. Finally, we hope to create a sense of identity and belonging which recognises and acknowledges the sacrifice and suffering of women ex-prisoners and their families.

Whatever course we decide to take, it is important that your ideas are heard, so I look forward to seeing you all in the Felons. If you are unable to attend but would be interested in participating in the association, please get in touch with me at the number below. Go raibh maith agaibh.

Máire Cush,
Tús Nua
Tel 01232 430142

Help us perfect our arts



A chairde,

This letter is aimed at readers of An Phoblacht who have an active interest in the Arts. As Sinn Féin spokesperson for Culture, Arts and Leisure at the Assembly, I am working with a team of party members and other people directly involved with the Arts to formulate strategy in this area.

We plan to stage a weekend conference in January in a pleasant rural environment in County Tyrone or Donegal to develop such a strategy. The overall push for change has its relevancy in the Arts as well.

We would very much welcome the participation of any progressive individual or supporter to help us in this undertaking. We are very keen to take a national perspective, not just a Six-County approach. So effectively, we are sending out an open invitation.

If anyone is interested in taking part please write to me at 21 Main Street, Carrickmore, Omagh, County Tyrone or telephone our West Tyrone Constituency Office (08) 028 807 61744 and ask for myself or Seán.

Go raibh maith agaibh. Tá faílte romhat má tá suim agat sna Ealaíon.

Barry McElduff,
Carrickmore,
County Tyrone

An Phoblacht
44 Parnell Sq.
Dublin 1
Ireland