Bilingual Traffic Signs At The Crossroads

Conor Murphy Signals New Direction For Road Map To A United Ireland

Stormont HQ Minister, Conor Murphy, has announced the possibility of a range of bilingual traffic signs in either Irish or Ulster-Scots as a method of promoting minority languages on the Partitioned Island of Ireland. 

The Department for Regional Development claims that this proposed policy will help Norn Irony meet its commitments under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages.

Announcing the consultation period for the plans yesterday, Mr Murphy said:

"The policy is intended to facilitate the introduction of a number of certain bilingual traffic signs in Irish or Ulster-Scots for the specific purpose of promoting minority languages……….We have obligations under the European Charter for the protection of minority languages and the proposed policy will permit the inclusion of either Irish or Ulster-Scots, on town or village welcome signs, some supplementary plate signs for example a 'school' warning sign and certain tourist signs."

Are Bilingual Traffic Signs ‘Directionless’?

However, Conor Murphy’s proposals may be hit by ‘STOP AND SEARCH’ down the road if the level of criticism by the DUP, the Alliance Party and the Ulster Unionists is anything to go by.  Michelle McIlveen (DUP) said:

"Given the range of problems on Connor Murphy's desk he should be focusing on more important matters rather than a pointless political exercise about bilingual signage……This is a Sinn Fein hobby horse and not a sensible proposal given the budgetary constraints faced by departments."

Ulster Unionist leader Tom Elliott also CHIPPED IN by saying:

"The cost of the consultation and provision of signs is outrageous, the money would be much better spent on repair of roads which are in an appalling state……… The European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages does not place any responsibility on the department in respect of traffic signage and it should be recognised that this could be a politically sensitive issue and divisive."

However, the TUV leader, Jim Allister, was CUTTING NO CORNERS when he claimed that there was no compulsion for such proposals under the Charter on Minority Languages and that it was an attempt to erode:

"Northern Ireland's Britishness".

And talking of 'Britishness' maybe one of our readers could translate this road sign for future reference!!

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Devolution of Policing And Justice Litmus Test

This is a guest article by Helen McClafferty, Chairperson for the Free Gerry McGeough Campaign.  Helen is of Irish American descent and is a dedicated human and civil rights campaigner.

Try and picture this scenario going down...

A political candidate stands as an Independent on issues of principle during elections in Zimbabwe. Every political dirty trick and smear in the book is used against him during the campaign.

At the end of the election count, he is arrested as he leaves the Poll Count Center and taken for interrogation. The international community, with Britain taking the lead, would be in uproar squealing over the injustice of it all.  Despite his high-profile during the election and before, the Zimbabwe police state that they arrested him at the Center only because they had no idea of his whereabouts prior to that date. The international media are disgusted at the pathetic excuse.

A few days later, the candidate is charged with attacks against the former Rhodesian military going back 35 years and thrown in jail.  Only after a massive legal struggle is he granted bail and freed under severe restrictions. Due to these restrictions he is unable to pursue his teaching career, which has an effect on his family as he is the main breadwinner.

While his political enemies continue to slander him on the Internet, he is dragged before courts every month and the case is put back for no good reason every time. Britain continues to highlight the injustice of his case and demands that all politically motivated charges be dropped.

Two-and-a-half years after his arrest, the candidate remains in legal limbo. He suffers a major heart attack. The British press and media are in uproar and demand that Robert Mugabe put an end to this vindictive political persecution.

The candidate survives the heart-attack but his health is now a source of major concern to his legal team. Regardless of this, the Zimbabwe authorities go ahead with a trial against him, which begins exactly three years to the day after his arrest.

In order to try him, a special non-jury court system is resurrected for the event, even though this system has been repealed years earlier and is notoriously corrupt. The British government is hysterical about this human rights abuse.

The trial is stopped for an Abuse of Process application. This is refused despite the excellent legal arguments in its favour.

The trial resumes six months after it first began. On the second day, the candidate is rushed to hospital for emergency heart treatment. The local national media censor all reporting on this major development. The British are outraged.

Following a surgical procedure, the trial is resumed for a third time. The charges against him involve membership of a Nationalist group and the wounding of a Rhodesian soldier during the conflict 30 years earlier.

The evidence against the candidate includes one of his novels, a stated work of fiction, which has been published and on sale for years. A chapter from this novel is read out of context in court and entered as "evidence". The international community is aghast at the idiocy of such a development, and writers' guilds around the world protest at the injustice of such Philistine behavior.

Next, it emerges that the candidate once sought political asylum in Sweden. The Swedish government readily hand over his application papers to the Zimbabwean authorities and dispatch one of their Immigration Officials to testify against the candidate. This constitutes the prosecution's main evidence.

International Human Rights and Refugee Groups are beside themselves with fury and the UN condemns the move. The British threaten a boycott against Zimbabwe and lecture the Swedes on their treachery.

The trial ends and the candidate is told to brace himself for a twenty year sentence.

The above story is hardly imaginable. A government provokes international anger  in order to pursue a vindictive, politically motivated trial against someone just because he stood in an election and articulated views that were at odds with the powers that be.

Guess what? All of this has happened, not in Zimbabwe but in the North of Ireland against Gerry McGeough. The only difference is that the British government far from speaking out against the injustice is actually responsible for it. Also, the international community, human rights groups and writers' guilds have been remarkably silent about it all. It's time we all spoke out.

Helen McClafferty (Chairperson for Free Gerry McGeough Campaign)

SHOW YOU SUPPORT BY JOINING THE FREE GERRY MCGEOUGH OFFICIAL WEBSITE HERE AND THE JUSTICE FOR GERRY MCGEOUGH FACEBOOK PAGE HERE

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Gerry Bradley Remembered

“I’m not another Denis Donaldson!” ~ Gerry Bradley ~

This is an Obituary written by The Pensive Quill on former PIRA Volunteer, Gerry Bradley, and co-author with veteran Irish historian, Brian Feeney, of ‘Insider: Gerry Bradley’s life in the IRA.’

Gerry Bradley’s publication of his memoirs became a highly contentious and thorny issue within the Irish Republican collective. So much so that he and his family were subject to intimidation in their native North Belfast, which extended to graffiti calling him a ‘Tout’ being dubbed on walls.

However, there was not complete castigation from the Irish Republican movement and several high profile Republicans were quick to stand by their former comrade including former Hunger Striker, Gerard Hodkins, who said:

Gerry Bradley's mistake was he wrote a book without going to them and asking their permission … If you wanted to write a book, they would expect to be presented with a copy for them to censor before it goes to publication.

Fellow PIRA volunteer turned writer, Richard O’Rawe, was also quick to jump to Bradley’s defence and publicly show his support stating:

You have to ask yourself - are they (the leadership) the only ones allowed to write books? Is history never to be recorded properly? It's no coincidence that Gerry felt compelled to write his book. And bear in mind, Gerry Bradley put no one in prison

Whether we agree with former PIRA volunteers writing their memoirs we MUST not forget that there was a 40 year ‘Dirty War’ waged here. Whilst such books may be viewed by some as revealing trade secrets, opportunistic, self-serving etc, are we in a position to judge?

We must candidly ask ourselves do WE have the right to deny future generations of Irish Republicans access to the truth surrounding events, the ability to analysis those events, and hence the opportunity to learn from any mistakes?

"Loyalty to petrified opinion never broke a chain or freed a human soul." ~ Mark Twain~

READ FULL ARTICLE HERE

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