Are the Tories Endangering the Northern Irish Peace Process?

[NOVA Green]

So, the Tories are now looking at forming a coalition Government with the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), that is widely reviled in Republican areas of Northern Ireland, because of their founder Ian Paisley and various Protestant Paramilitary Terrorists.

http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/dup-conservatives-northern-ireland-coalition-ulster-defence-association-paramilitaries-peace-process-a7782631.html

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/jun/11/arlene-fosters-stance-on-paramilitary-groups-brought-into-question

So, since the recent UK election, Northern Ireland is now divided between Sinn Fein which controls all of the Republican parts of the Nation with the SDLP wideout, and now the extremist Protestants control all of the Unionist districts.....

A sitting English PM is now practically begging the DUP to help form a majority government in Westminster, which Sinn Fein would consider a violation of not only the spirit of the Good Friday accords, but potentially much more than that.

Thoughts?

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

UUP wouldn't be so bad, but it's DUP.

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

Gordon Brown tried to make a deal with the DUP after 2010 election,

We don't know the terms of the Tory-DUP deal yet, but we know the DUP are in favour of customs union meaning soft brexit, that won't go down well with Tory backbenchers....

It seems some Scottish Tories might not be fans of Hard Brexit either. They had a majority from just England and Wales before, but now things are more complicated.

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

My favorite irony is that the DUP and Sinn Fein are forced to share power in Northern Ireland under the constitutional convention.

[Famous Mortimer]

So, the Tories are now looking at forming a coalition Government with the Ulster Unionist Party, that is widely reviled in Republican areas of Northern Ireland, because of their close links to Ian Paisley and the Protestant Paramilitary Terrorists of the Ulster Volunteer Force.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulster_Volunteer_Force

So, since the recent UK election, Northern Ireland is now divided between Sinn Fein which controls all of the Republican parts of the Nation with the SDLP wideout, and now the extremist Protestants control all of the Unionist districts.....

A sitting English PM is now practically begging the UUP to help form a majority government in Westminster, which Sinn Fein would consider a violation of not only the spirit of the Good Friday accords, but potentially much more than that.

Thoughts?

1. Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), not the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP).

2. The DUP does not have ties to the UVF (Neither does the UUP for that matter). The DUP has ties to an organization called Ulster Resistance, which met once and never actually did anything.

[Beet]

The DUP is not as extreme as its reputation suggests. They will probably mainly ask for pork barrel spending.

[Green Line]

No.  It's just fear mongering from the Bremainers.

[NOVA Green]

So, the Tories are now looking at forming a coalition Government with the Ulster Unionist Party, that is widely reviled in Republican areas of Northern Ireland, because of their close links to Ian Paisley and the Protestant Paramilitary Terrorists of the Ulster Volunteer Force.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulster_Volunteer_Force

So, since the recent UK election, Northern Ireland is now divided between Sinn Fein which controls all of the Republican parts of the Nation with the SDLP wideout, and now the extremist Protestants control all of the Unionist districts.....

A sitting English PM is now practically begging the UUP to help form a majority government in Westminster, which Sinn Fein would consider a violation of not only the spirit of the Good Friday accords, but potentially much more than that.

Thoughts?

1. Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), not the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP).

2. The DUP does not have ties to the UVF (Neither does the UUP for that matter). The DUP has ties to an organization called Ulster Resistance, which met once and never actually did anything.

Wrong... see updated links above.

[NOVA Green]

So my apologies for mistakenly conflating the DUP with the UUP in my initial post last Night.

As my Brother-in-Law who was born in Belfast at the peak of the Troubles would likely say "You drank a few too many cans before you posted".

Still, the fundamental question remains....

The Tories are trying to do a deal with an extremist Unionist Party, that has backed paramilitary terrorism for decades, including several recent incidents that happened only a year or so back.

If the DUP signs a deal with the Tories, they will likely want Terrorist Protestant Paramilitary leaders to go free, not to mention their god awful social policies, etc....

I find it hard to believe that Sinn Fein, who effectively "ratted out" those within their ranks that chose to continue the armed struggle after Good Friday, would view this is an sort of positive light.

I don't know what the future holds, but I know that this won't go down in West Belfast, Free Derry, let alone rural Republican strongholds like South Tyrone and Armagh....

The Civil War is over, but now the Unionists are kissing the ring of the Queen, in potential exchange for pardons for recently convicted terrorists, anti-Abortion and Anti-Gay legislation and the like (We don't know the content of the negotiations yet but all of these are likely at the top of the list)...

Initially, I had high hopes in the first few days after the UK election, that regardless of the Troubles, that the Irish Protestants and Catholics alike could find much more common ground than not.

Now, I am not so sure....

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/jun/11/arlene-fosters-stance-on-paramilitary-groups-brought-into-question

http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/dup-conservatives-northern-ireland-coalition-ulster-defence-association-paramilitaries-peace-process-a7782631.html

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/general-election-2017/arlene-foster-rejects-paramilitarylinked-backing-for-party-35796653.html

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/gerry-adams-referendum-on-irish-unity-now-inevitable-after-general-election-results-35809433.html

[Famous Mortimer]

May will not be releasing Loyalist terrorists from prison. That is simply a political impossibility.

[they don't love you like i love you]

Not to mention most were already released under the Good Friday Agreement. Any Loyalists in jail now would be for post-Agreement activities, most of which has just been general Mafia like crime that's impacted the unionist community greatly as well.p

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

Ftr, at this moment Northern Ireland is ruled directly from London, as Sinn Fein declined to name a McGuiness replacement for Deputy First Minister, and if either First Minister of Deputy positions are vacant, the devolved government is suspended.

[Mr. Morden]

Torie won't endanger the peace process unless one of the factions there starts badmouthing Hudson.

[Antonio the Sixth]

Ftr, at this moment Northern Ireland is ruled directly from London, as Sinn Fein declined to name a McGuiness replacement for Deputy First Minister, and if either First Minister of Deputy positions are vacant, the devolved government is suspended.

This ballet of suspensions-reinstatements is going to go on forever, isn't it?

[DavidB.]

No.  It's just fear mongering from the Bremainers.

This.

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

Ftr, at this moment Northern Ireland is ruled directly from London, as Sinn Fein declined to name a McGuiness replacement for Deputy First Minister, and if either First Minister of Deputy positions are vacant, the devolved government is suspended.

This ballet of suspensions-reinstatements is going to go on forever, isn't it?

Hah, I just read devolved government was suspended from 2002 to 2007, with Secretary of State for Northern Ireland assuming the power.

Just imagine Scottish government being suspended and direct rule imposed. That would be the greatest s**tstorm ever.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

Isn't the peace process virtually complete at this point besides a few street rumbles?

[Famous Mortimer]

Isn't the peace process virtually complete at this point besides a few street rumbles?

Basically there's a ceasefire that is unlikely to ever be broken. The NI issue will always remain officially unresolved though until the day Ireland is reunified.

[NOVA Green]

Isn't the peace process virtually complete at this point besides a few street rumbles?

Basically there's a ceasefire that is unlikely to ever be broken. The NI issue will always remain officially unresolved though until the day Ireland is reunified.

Of course the flip-side of the coin could well be that Brexit and the dramatic increase of trade with the Republic of Ireland, actually brings Irish reunification closer than ever (Although it might not be for another 30-50 years).

Still, I imagine that 30-50 Years from now, the times of "The Troubles" will be relatively distant memories for the younger generation coming into political power, and with no wall dividing the North and South of Ireland, as well as increased Liberalism on Social Issues on both sides of the border, might well become more the stories recounted by favorite Grandparents, Uncles and Aunts, and the like....

A free and united Ireland is actually much closer than it has been for over 500 years, although I still have deep concerns about how whatever election deals will play in Republican areas of the Six Counties, especially if pardons for recent Terrorists (Post Good Friday) are on the table as part of a negotiating tactic on the part of the DUP (As reported in the English Media).

[KingSweden]

May will not be releasing Loyalist terrorists from prison. That is simply a political impossibility.

Who knows with May. I can't imagine any other Tory PM letting UVF thugs walk

[parochial boy]

No.  It's just fear mongering from the Bremainers.

This.

Isn't it mildly hypocritical to complain, given how much time the Tories spent screaming blue murder about the IRA?

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

No.  It's just fear mongering from the Bremainers.

This.

Isn't it mildly hypocritical to complain, given how much time the Tories spent screaming blue murder about the IRA?

but muh fleg!

[Tetro Kornbluth]

Depends by what you mean by 'the Peace Process'. If you mean, "the Tories are helping a return to violence" then that's pretty unlikely to say the least but if you mean, "the Tories role in Northern Ireland is helping make it even more ungovernable and damaging the institutions set up in the GFA" then that's correct. And have been since at least a few weeks before 23rd June 2016.

[NOVA Green]

Depends by what you mean by 'the Peace Process'. If you mean, "the Tories are helping a return to violence" then that's pretty unlikely to say the least but if you mean, "the Tories role in Northern Ireland is helping make it even more ungovernable and damaging the institutions set up in the GFA" then that's correct. And have been since at least a few weeks before 23rd June 2016.

Thanks Gully Foyle for bringing an Irish voice to the conversation, although certainly there are many other contributions from various posters from the UK, America, and Poland that have added valuable contributions as well.

So it seems that it will be extremely unlikely to see a major return to sectarian violence, outside of unrest in various Republican/Unionist core constituencies, assuming that May does not agree to release post GF Protestant Terrorists from jail/gaol, according to the vast majority of Atlasians much more knowledgeable than myself on this topic.

However, the peace is still fragile, and obviously just a little bit of fuel on the ground can easily take minor spark to move the current situation from being ungovernable to something much worse....

In many ways it appears that the future of the Six Counties, economically, socially, and politically is becoming more inextricably tied to the Republic of Ireland than "Old England", and that in and of itself gives me hope for the future....

Still, Gerry Adams met with the Torie PM today,, and made this statement regarding the Good Friday Agreements....

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/live/2017/jun/15/theresa-may-northern-ireland-talks-dup-deal-delayed-politics-live

[NOVA Green]

Bump... again I wish I could rename the thread/poll from my previous typo but still..

Now just a few hours ago Gerry Adams released a statement as follows according to The Independent

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/gerry-adams-dup-deal-northern-ireland-peace-agreement-sinn-fein-leader-stormont-ira-loyalists-power-a7808866.html

I will actually now vote on my own poll now that there is an alleged deal signed and agreed upon with a Sinn Fein response....

Feel free to modify your votes accordingly how you see fit now that the election and coalition bargaining is close to over.