Republicans must be united

IT was interesting to hear Arlene Foster, in an interview with RTE’S Tommie Gorman, pontificate as to how confident she was that the DUP would still be the largest political party after the upcoming Assembly elections.

She was basing this confidence on her belief that the majority of people in the Six Counties want to “remain within the United Kingdom” and would vote accordingly. She went on to state that there was no possible way that her “Britishness” could ever be accommodated in any way after the overturn of the disaster that is partition.

How does she think nationalist and republican people who live in the Six Counties feel, given that they have been trapped in a sectarian and bigoted system of apartheid in their own country for 100 years, because of partition?

Sadly, I felt that the leader of a party which coined the phrase “pan-nationalist” had good reason to be confident of returning with a unionist majority, given the fragmentation in nationalism — and more so in republicanism — to the extent that some who claim to be republican are so opposed to other republicans that they are opposing a border poll, because it is supported and driven by Sinn Fein.

As an unrepentant Irish republican, I believe that nationalists and republicans need to unite to show the world that there is a desire to reverse partition and unite our country in line with the 1916 proclamation, “cherishing all the children of the nation equally”.

RAYMOND MCMAHON

State’s actions amount to nothing less than a coup d’etat, effectively making redundant ministers’ positions, neutralising my vote, and throwing democracy into the wastebin.

Further, it means any decision taken by the Assembly can now be disregarded, according to the Secretary of State’s latest whims.

I ask your readers to write to their MLAS and demand they stop this genocide of, and discrimination against, the unborn by withdrawing their parties from the Executive in response to this unconstitutional power-grab.

JOHN AUSTIN