Abstract
The text studied is an abstract from the Report of the Committee Business of the Northern Ireland Assembly, talking about Devolution of Policing and Justice Matters, on March 11th, 2008. The document is the transcript of the intervention of different members, after the announcement of the Chairperson regarding this topic. Four politics, from three different parties, intervene: Alex Maskey and Gerry Adam from Sinn Féin (Republican party), Alan McFarland from UUP (unionist party) and Nelson McCausland, from DUP (unionist party).
After a first reading, the first thing that strikes the eye is the obvious discord between the three parties. Historically speaking, they have different visions and values, which has caused disagreements in the past, and is a challenge regarding all topics.
Extract
[...] Following this, we can review the assessment of the current situation regarding Policing and Justice Matters, as told by each party participating in the debate. To finish, we will dress the desired outcome for Sinn Féin, UUP and DUP. I - Context Good Friday Agreement When first mentioned, the Good Friday Agreement was not accepted by all. Unionists committed violent acts, to which the IRA responded with an attack. Starting in December 1999, the Good Friday Agreement reestablished peace in Northern Ireland, thanks to a political solution, ending thirty years of violence. [...]
[...] All in all, the abstract does not show a very constructive exchange as there is no real content, everyone stays on their own mind and is not open to suggestions. It actually feels like the opponents are not listening to each other. Issue raised The objective of this paper was to answer the question "how are the three parties defending what they think is the best interests of the community in front of their opponents?". The three parties rely on the previous agreements, use concrete examples to rest on their opinions. Somehow, they also make assumptions and seem very suspicious towards each other. [...]
[...] St Andrews Agreement The St Andrews Agreement reunited Sinn Féin and the DUP, in 2006, just two years before the committee we are studying took place. Following it, the Northern Ireland Assembly was reinstated, as reminded by the chairman in the text: "as required by section 18 of the Northern Ireland (St Andrews Agreement) Act 2006". This is also the moment when Sinn Féin decided to support the PSNI, courts and the rule of laws which is a major factor of the debate here. The agreement planned the devolution of policing and justice power within two years. [...]
[...] Opening This abstract illustrates very well the climate of the scene, and we understand the difficulties and challenges of communication. In order to go deeper in the heart of the debate, and really discuss the actual measures taken or to be taken regarding Policing and Justice Matters, it would be interesting to either study the following of the report, or maybe a report of a following meeting. [...]
[...] The main question to which we will try to answer through this commentary is the following one: how are the three parties defending what they think is the best interests of the community in front of their opponents? Framework In order to better understand the context and be able to answer to the issue raised appropriately, it is important to spend some time on the context. A small reminder in the introduction might have been too short because it plays a very important part here. [...]
