2003 must be a turning point

Andersontown News, www.irelandclick.com, Editorial

January 4, 2003

2002 came to an end with the brutal killings of two young men David Cupples, who died on Christmas Day, and Jonothan Stewart murdered after a Boxing Day party.

It was a depressing end to a depressing year for North Belfast, which finished as it began with UDA violence dominating the headlines.

The continuing UDA bombing and assassination campaign against Catholics plunged this community into grief in 2002 with the murders of two young men, Daniel McColgan and Gerard Lawlor.

The sectarian violence peaked in the summer but the murder of David Cupples and a recent gun attack on two Catholic youths at Cliftonville Circus are stark reminders that there can be no room for complacency about this.

The biggest threat to peace continues to come from a now much-fragmented UDA, which has drifted further and further into organised crime, operating brothels, drugs and protection rackets, and fighting turf wars to carve up the pickings.

North Belfast has also become increasingly remilitarised over the last year. British army and PSNI patrols have increased dramatically and several huge CCTV spy cameras have been erected, ironically most of them are trained on nationalist areas.

The increased sectarian tensions have also disrupted all attempts at regeneration of the North of the city, putting increased pressure on social services and much-needed housing has been abandoned by families on interfaces who just can’t take any more of the violence and intimidation. And during a world economic downturn, forcing many local businesses to trim their sails, sectarian intimidation of workers outside Teletech during the summer did not send an encouraging message to other potential investors.

The collapse of the political institutions set up under the Good Friday Agreement in the Autumn in a welter of allegations of an IRA spy ring and unionist threats to bring the Assembly down if the British government moved further on policing has made the task of rebuilding even more difficult. It would be easy to become disheartened in the face of all this but that is not an option.

Political stability is a must if we are to consolidate the peace process. It is vital that our political leaders show the same imagination and determination in the tough talks ahead to achieve the full implementation of the Agreement.

Making the Agreement work will require major movement from all parties involved, particularly from the British government, and Unionists will need to embrace the changes required for a just and egalitarian society.

But there will be challenges too for nationalism and for the Republican Movement, in particular, if the British government meets its responsibilities on demilitarisation, on human rights and equality and on the key area of policing.

But we also have a golden opportunity next year to help shape the future of North Belfast as the Partnership Board begins to deal with applications for Urban II funding for training. This is a one-off opportunity that will not come our way again.

We have to ensure that our community and business sectors use this opportunity to ensure that our young people have the skills to compete on a level playing field when investment opportunities come our way.

Building and developing the skills base of our young and our workforce is one of the most concrete ways we can bring hope back into this community.

We have the people, the talent, the energy, the commitment and the desire to do better in North Belfast. We need to harness all of that to make 2003 a turning point for this community.