"We are no further on," said Paisley, after the announcement that the IRA had decommissioned. He doesn't believe in history, only in apocalypse, now. It must always be Ulster's Darkest Hour. Protestants must always be the victims. But he can't keep it that way without an active and brutal IRA. It is beginning to seem as if unionism cannot survive peace.
The assertion by General de Chastelain on Monday (26 September): "We believe that the arms decommissioned (by the IRA) represent the totality of the IRA's arsenal".
Peter Hain's first 100 days in office have been noteworthy for political inaction and a seemingly indecent haste to leave Northern Ireland and return to Westminster. He has managed to anger both unionists and republicans. Recent weeks have been his most testing. Colm Heatley assesses his performance to date
What they said about riots:
^^On Saturday 10 September, violence erupted in Northern Ireland after the re-routing of an Orange Order parade in Belfa...
The riots and the violence on the streets of Belfast are causing mayhem in communities and shifting the attention of the peace process to divided and embittered unionst parties and paramilitaries
A Sinn Féin banner calling for Irish Unity has been put up for auction on ebay. So far there have been 14 bids for it, the highest at $81. The banner advertises a rally in support of Irish unity on 24 September in Dublin. The banner is currently on display at 58 Parnell Square, Dublin, the office of An Phoblacht newspaper. It measures 30 by 30 feet. All the proceeds from the sale are to go towards the campaign. Bidding ends on 10 September.
The man accused of 1998 atrocity cannot be directly connected to it, except possibly via other bombings, writes Eamon McCann
Sinn Féin is planning a march in Dublin this weekend (3 September) in support of a united Ireland. A counter-march is being organised by unionists in Belfast, opposing a united Ireland. Both sides are beating a broken drum.
Fr Patrick Ryan was charged with serious explosives offences in Britain in 1988. The British authorities sought his extradition from Ireland to Britain to face trial on those charges. The Irish Attorney General at the time considered the extradition request and concluded the extradition request should be refused on the grounds that Fr Ryan could not get a fair trial.