DAVID ROSE,
Sir, - Gerry Moriarty's article "A vicious campaign to create Taig-free areas" (August 20th), provides us with yet another example of victim-journalism, so beloved by the Irish nationalist press. In years to come, when historians analyse why the Northern Ireland peace process failed, they will surely identify the sectarian Irish press as a key reason. Close examination of Mr Moriarty's article explains why.
Let us start with the two photographic images. Representing Irish nationalism we have a female standing at a bus stop. From the lamp post flies the Tricolour. The surrounding area is clean and ordered, as one would expect in a civilised community. Meanwhile,loyalism is portrayed as a male walking an alsation dog. In the background we find a loyalist mural set in a grey run down housing estate. Surely civilised life could not exist in such a place.
Moving onto the article itself, Mr Moriarty paints the usual picture of vulnerable nationalists enduring endless sectarian torment. We are informed that the "majority" of families forced to feel their homes are Catholic. To back this up Mr Moriarty quotes unidentified sources that claim to have been intimidated out of their areas. It is so bad that local SDLP spokesperson Mr Donovan McClelland is able to tell us that loyalists use language like "Taig-free areas".
Moving on, Mr Moriarty quotes "Mr Martin Meehan, the Sinn Féin councillor for the area" and "Mr Ken Wilkinson, of the Progressive Unionist Party, which is linked to the UVF". Has Sinn Féin no connections to match the Progressive Unionist Party?
It would appear that the problem is, as usual only caused by the activities of loyalists involved in "a turf war because whichever loyalist group controls the estates controls the protection rackets, the drugs and the money-lending". Meanwhile, we are left in the dark as to who is putting Protestants out of their homes. Not to mention why it is happening.
As one who supported the Good Friday Agreement it is tragic to observe it collapsing. What started out as an attempt to honestly build peace between nationalists (Irish republicanism died two centuries ago in Wexford) and unionist/ loyalists, has now become an attempt to criminalise a whole people. This being the only way Irish nationalists can justify their violently imperialistic attitude towards the unionist/loyalist people.
The fact that Mr Moriarty does not embrace the traditional physical violence central to imperialist Irish nationalism does not excuse him. By adopting the sanitised violence of the poison pen he is as guilty as anyone for the failure of the peace process. The Irish Times would play a role in rebuilding that process by appointing a journalist to replace the green propagandist, Gerry Moriarty. - Yours, etc.,
DAVID ROSE, Deputy Leader, The Progressive Unionist Party
of Northern Ireland, Belfast