29 January 1998 Edition
Editor's desk
Much has been made in the media about Ken Maginnis calling Gerry Adams a ``fucking murderer''.at the talks in Lancaster House in London.
Gerry Adams was asked about it by the media who had been tipped off by someone else. He told them:
``In the plenary session Ken McGuinness went on a rant, a long and personal invective against Martin McGuinness and myself. He was not acknowledging at all the very real anger there is in the community about the recent murders, or reflecting on it at all. Afterwards, when I went over I just very quietly said that his remarks were a disgrace and at a time when people are being killed we we need to start talking and inject some sense of urgency into the negotiations in the interests of peace. He called me a fucking murderer and walked off.''
What remained unsaid by the media is that Major Ken of the UDR (among whose members were many a murderer) speaks regularly to murderers. Take Billy Hutchinson (PUP) and John White (UDP), both convicted of sectarian killings. Or, even more pertinent - Ken was part of the delegation of Ulster Unionists which visited UDA prisoners in Long Kesh earlier this month. Among the prisoners were a number of well-known murderers. Maybe Ken didn't notice.
I'm worried about David Trimble. Watching him live on Sky News this week as he faced the press at the talks at Lancaster House it was clear that he needs to chill out.
The first signs were when he was filmed within twenty yards of a Shinner. David would go rigid and amid signs of panic, skip about looking for an exit. Very strange.
Then there was the famous document ripping press conference on Tuesday. When Jeffrey Donaldson started speaking, David began drinking from a glass of water. Suddenly, Jeffrey went into overdrive and ripped up the Framework Document. David nearly swallowed his glass, then his first reaction was to reach out to stop Jeffrey from doing any more damage. Thinking better of that, he was about to speak himself. He stopped. Then he began to laugh. What emerged was an embarrassed titter. Very, very strange.
When he later did one-on-one interviews, David's control had gone completely. It's not hard to see when he's under pressure. Remember Drumcree when he went haywire, walking up and down in a frenzy? The man needs to calm down.
The big film of the moment is, of course, Titanic and even it doesn't escape the dangerous icebergs of Irish politics.
This came to light when I met a friend who spends his well-earned retirement being entertained in the courts and cinemas. In between the murder trials he sees all the latest releases.
``What did you think of Titanic?'' I asked. ``I wouldn't go near it,'' he told me before describing how, when the ship sailed out of Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast, it was festooned with anti-Catholic graffitti and its ship's number represented the words ``No Pope''.
It was a story I had heard as a child. Is it an urban myth that the number of the Titanic was 3909 ON, which, when reflected in the icy ocean, read NO POPE? Write and let me know.
Titanic has been criticised in both the Guardian and the Daily Telegraph (where would I be without the Daily Telegraph?). Their gripe is that all the goodies in the film are Irish and all the baddies are English. Of course it should be the other way round.
Gerry Adams was asked about it by the media who had been tipped off by someone else. He told them:
``In the plenary session Ken McGuinness went on a rant, a long and personal invective against Martin McGuinness and myself. He was not acknowledging at all the very real anger there is in the community about the recent murders, or reflecting on it at all. Afterwards, when I went over I just very quietly said that his remarks were a disgrace and at a time when people are being killed we we need to start talking and inject some sense of urgency into the negotiations in the interests of peace. He called me a fucking murderer and walked off.''
What remained unsaid by the media is that Major Ken of the UDR (among whose members were many a murderer) speaks regularly to murderers. Take Billy Hutchinson (PUP) and John White (UDP), both convicted of sectarian killings. Or, even more pertinent - Ken was part of the delegation of Ulster Unionists which visited UDA prisoners in Long Kesh earlier this month. Among the prisoners were a number of well-known murderers. Maybe Ken didn't notice.
I'm worried about David Trimble. Watching him live on Sky News this week as he faced the press at the talks at Lancaster House it was clear that he needs to chill out.
The first signs were when he was filmed within twenty yards of a Shinner. David would go rigid and amid signs of panic, skip about looking for an exit. Very strange.
Then there was the famous document ripping press conference on Tuesday. When Jeffrey Donaldson started speaking, David began drinking from a glass of water. Suddenly, Jeffrey went into overdrive and ripped up the Framework Document. David nearly swallowed his glass, then his first reaction was to reach out to stop Jeffrey from doing any more damage. Thinking better of that, he was about to speak himself. He stopped. Then he began to laugh. What emerged was an embarrassed titter. Very, very strange.
When he later did one-on-one interviews, David's control had gone completely. It's not hard to see when he's under pressure. Remember Drumcree when he went haywire, walking up and down in a frenzy? The man needs to calm down.
The big film of the moment is, of course, Titanic and even it doesn't escape the dangerous icebergs of Irish politics.
This came to light when I met a friend who spends his well-earned retirement being entertained in the courts and cinemas. In between the murder trials he sees all the latest releases.
``What did you think of Titanic?'' I asked. ``I wouldn't go near it,'' he told me before describing how, when the ship sailed out of Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast, it was festooned with anti-Catholic graffitti and its ship's number represented the words ``No Pope''.
It was a story I had heard as a child. Is it an urban myth that the number of the Titanic was 3909 ON, which, when reflected in the icy ocean, read NO POPE? Write and let me know.
Titanic has been criticised in both the Guardian and the Daily Telegraph (where would I be without the Daily Telegraph?). Their gripe is that all the goodies in the film are Irish and all the baddies are English. Of course it should be the other way round.