This Just In: Tories Again Mock Good Friday Agreement (GFA)

Edited by John O’Brien

BRITAIN’S TORIES AGAIN

MOCK GFA

February 12    Philadelphia, NYC & Washington D. C.

Until the 1998 EU-UK treaty known as  the Good Friday Agreement (GFA), Northern Ireland (NI) was a story of despair the British labeled “The Troubles.”  Twenty-five years later the pact has met with a measure of success because American political leadership has stood up to Britain’s efforts to destabilize the peace process.

“Voices from the White House and Congress and the steadfast American commitment to the peace process made it possible for Sinn Fein to assume leadership at Stormont,” stated ABC Chair John Corcoran.”  Continued the Philadelphia attorney: “Last year Parliament abandoned the rule of law to bury the NI crimes of their Army, police, and MI-5 forces, and produced the SAFEGUARDING THE UNION report (Command Paper 1021) to mock the GFA unity poll and neutrality obligations.” 

The text was laced with hypocrisy and a sense of doom and fear that the empire was coming to an end.  There was, unfortunately, no ‘historic’ change at Stormont just a rearranging of the deck chairs on the Titanic courtesy of Whitehall choreography.”

Massachusetts attorney John Foley observed: “As if to emphasize the six Irish counties will remain a colonial ‘region’ of the UK, neither Prime Minister Sunak nor Foreign Secretary Cameron hustled to America to deliver this Reports’ latest insults.  It was up to the unfortunate NI Secretary of State Christopher Heaton-Harris to explain Britain’s focus is on perfecting partition, not Ireland’s reunification.”

PM Sunak recently instructed a gathering of NI officials “to focus on problems and not reunification.”   Member Sarah McAuliffe (PA) noted that hypocrisy and arrogance was breathtaking.

“After 100 years of bad sectarian government in NI, garrison rule, economic stagnation and the folly of Brexit, a British Prime Minister remains blind to the fact that partition is the primary problem in Ireland.    Job one should be to end it NOT preserve it.”

“The U. S. Department of State “claimed member John Conway of OHIO, “has rubber stamped deceitful UK representations on human rights violations in NI in its annual Human Rights Report.  Its’ virtual silence on Parliament’s unilateral adoption of the ‘legacy law’ undermines all that is fundamental to the GFA.  Can we expect any analytical response to the Command Paper from the Department of State?”

 The ABC has worked to inform Americans and their political leadership about Britain’s bullying Ireland and the impact of the fumbling British EU exit.  The SAFEGUARDING THE UNION CP1021) is dismissive of Britain’s obligations under the GFA peace pact.    For example, member Kathy Savage (MA) noted one critic of the Report (CP 1021) questioned …” the value of any of its recommendations based on a private conversation with one party [ DUP] …and no negotiation with other parties!” 

The Report concludes, in part, there was “…no realistic prospect for a border poll leading to a united Ireland…NI future is secure for decades.”

Kevin Barry (NJ) took issue with the Reports statement that “…the best future for NI is based on our [UK] assessment of objective facts.” ‘Our’, in this case, ” stated Barry, “refers to the Conservative Party “which has failed for 8 years  to provide the British people with ANY reports or any ‘objective facts’ on the failures of Brexit.”