OK Northern Ireland...we just aren't getting it

By Katie Murphy

The previous weekend saw the 12th of July celebrations in full swing throughout the province. Many people prepared to host barbecues with their families, attend communal bonfires and anticipated watching the marching parades around various big cities and towns in Northern Ireland. For the most part, the 12 July celebrations passed without as much upheaval as in previous years and many a citizen of all sides of the community enjoyed a leisurely holiday weekend. Like most Northern Irish young people, the only connection I can make with the customary 12 July celebrations and Europe is that during this summer weekend many people travel to Europe in seek of a blissful holiday destination. Imagine my confusion when, on my travels around the city of Belfast, I noticed a European flag perched on top of a ‘boney’ or ‘bonfire’ with the intention of being burnt in a commemoration of the unionist win at the battle of the Boyne all those years ago.

It is common for a tricolor to be perched on top of such ‘bonfires’ to portray the unionist opposition to nationalism in Northern Ireland, but why on earth would the extreme unionist people wish to show any opposition to the European Union or other European countries? Are Northern Irish people suddenly anti-Europe? Are the unionist people displeased at the outcome of the recent European Elections in June? For those who are not aware, Sinn Féin candidate Bairbre De Brun received the highest number of votes in this years’ European elections in Northern Ireland, beating favourable Unionist candidates Jim Nicholson (UUP) and Diane Dodds (DUP). On the other hand could it be that Northern Irish people are opposed to European citizens seeking job opportunities in our country, following the racist attacks on the Romanian families recently that grabbed headlines around the world in June?

At this point I began to wonder if any voter in Northern Ireland, young or old, realised that the European Parliament is much different to the parliament we have constructed here in Northern Ireland, Stormont. For a start, the MEPs sitting in the European Parliament come from a wide array of backgrounds and hold a vast amount of different religious beliefs. The European Parliament is a culmination of people from different backgrounds who have come together to make laws to benefit Europe as a whole, taking into consideration the different views and cultures of every European citizen. I wondered if any voter in Northern Ireland realised that in the European Parliament your religious views or ethnic background do not determine your eligibility of being a good ambassador or voice for your country. For all that the European Union and European Parliament stand for, inclusiveness, togetherness and co-operation, I was baffled as to why any community in Northern Ireland would express opposition to the EU.

When my fellow Northern Irish correspondents and I were following the campaign trail in the run up to the elections, one of our big concerns was that our young people would adopt a sectarian approach to voting. After conversing with my fellow first time voters on the upcoming elections and the election process, many highlighted that people in Northern Ireland vote for the candidates who represent their religious community, rather than the candidate who is best for the job and who intends to work to benefit the community as a whole. Surely, for the European Elections at least, the Northern Irish people would realise that our political and religious struggles are irrelevant? Surely, they would realise that any candidate selected to go forward to represent our country in the European arena is there as an ambassador for every social and cultural group throughout the province, not just one? Why are our MEPs not stressing to the voting public that voting on the grounds of religion stifles the political process of our country and our full engagement with the European Parliament? I wondered if this sectarian approach to voting suited some of our running MEPs as it secured their votes and in turn, secured their position in the European Parliament. Why would they not attempt to appeal to all sides of the community and stress the importance of a united Northern Ireland in the European arena if they were dedicated to their cause and in establishing Northern Ireland’s voice in Europe?

Northern Ireland has the potential to become a great advocate for issues that are prevalent and up for debate in the EU such as human rights, workers rights and environmental protection, if we only rejected this ‘politics of division’ that tore our country apart.

Northern Ireland report

The Northern Ireland team met with Ian Parsley of the Alliance Party of Northern Ireland...

The elusive third party

By Sam Law, Feresha Bayramova and Katie Murphy

An open race for Northern Ireland's third seat

Although the political status quo in the North can hardly be said to have changed drastically over the period of this European election, there have been several significant political developments; the split of the Unionist vote has left the previously unthinkable prospect of Sinn Féin becoming the country’s biggest party a looming possibility, the hard-line power race between the DUP and TUV has done nothing but intensify (perhaps at the expense of the peace process) and the lot of smaller parties has been potentially significantly reduced (the previously significant SDLP having slipped further into that category too).

It’s interesting to make a prediction about who’ll win seats, primarily in the context of which of the two heavy hitters will come out on top. Although both de Brun and Dodds will hardly worry about having positions come Monday morning, there could be a fascinating change in power-dynamic if the former comes out on top. Further, the availability of the third position remains remarkably up in the air. Although the UUP/Conservative Jim Nicholson remains favourite to pick up the seat, the unknown quantity of the Allister/TUV vote could potentially (and many nationalists will remark, hopefully) cause more of an even divide with the heavily-criticised UUP, clearing the way for Alban McGuinness to seize the outside chance and the open third seat.

A Crisis of Complacency?

Northern Ireland’s youth too detached from European politics to make a difference?

By Feresha Bayramova, Sam Law and Katie Murphy

Of all the most pressing issues in youth politics over the years, the most severe has remained the need to distribute the information and cultivate the concern to mobilise the young to contribute to and participate in the political process.

In addressing such concerns within our own constituency, we’ve decided to embark on a two-part process of our own: firtly interviewing at random a cross section of the country’s youth to gauge the levels and justifications for disinterest (video highlights from which are included here), before presenting what proved to be a worrying statistical representation of general indifference and near wilful excuses that European politics are either too distant or not sufficiently significant to warrant paying attention to to this year’s MEP candidates.





http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CD9VViizrZw&feature=channel_page


So we’ve seen that, predictably, mobilising the youth can be a problem, but how would this year’s candidates defeat such complacency? Do they truly value what youth vote there is? Can the young overcome the old sectarian prejudices to ensure a more streamlined, relevant political process? Or is there simply an inbuilt separation between politics and modern youth culture?

Answers in the days to follow…

Northern Ireland politics infused with Obama-rama as UUP urge 'voting for change'.

By Katie Murphy, Feresha Bayramova, Sam Law

IT SEEMS THAT the historic events over the past year in America and particularly within American politics has somewhat inspired the MEPs running for European election in ‘wee Norn Iron’. Obama’s message of hope and transformation that won him the position of 44^th President of the United States of America over Republican candidate John McCain is one that is becoming a trend among politicians around the globe. "Vote for change" is the slogan at the very heart of UUP candidate Jim Nicholson’s electoral campaign, as a member of the UUP observed at a recent press conference, "We are putting forward the most experienced candidate, together with the best policies, standing on a platform for comprehensive change in Europe". Change in Europe? Change in Northern Ireland? What exactly do they mean?

When conversing with my fellow first time voters, I posed the question, "In your opinion, what would be a positive change in Northern Irish politics that you would like to see?" Initially, some of my responses where no more than a number of blank expressions. However, some young political enthusiasts commented that they would be keen to see a change in the "setup" of the political parties. They believed that encouraging the public to "vote for change" should be a message that unifies all people throughout the province and not just "one side" of the community. They believed that, "the days of sectarian politics and sectarian voting are over, especially within the European Arena, what religion or background you are from does not determine your eligibility as a great ambassador for Northern Ireland in Europe."

Check the official campaign videos below for some of the political parties involved in the campaign and decide for yourself if their idea of "change" is relevant to Europe and as inclusive as Barrack Obama’s.

Local MEPs in the hot seat as CADA raise human rights issues in Linen Hall

By Katie Murphy, Feresha Bayramova and Sam Law

CATCH 33: A SPLIT VOTE THE GREATEST THREAT TO UNIONIST DOMINANCE IN NORTHERN IRELAND?

By Sam Law, Feresha Bayramova, Katie Murphy.

FOLLOWING THE departure from the DUP of Jim Allister in 2007, the largest political party in the country was left without the representation of an MEP. Two years later and the inter-unionist rift has done nothing but intensify. Standing beneath his own, self-founded banner of the “Traditional Unionist Voice,” Allister finds himself running against both the DUP's Dianne Dodds and Jim Nicholson of the newly re-energised UUP/Conservative Party alliance. Although Allister’s hopes for election success remain purely speculative, an altogether greater issue has arisen; that of a split Unionist vote – the guaranteed success of the DUP within the Unionist community not entirely under threat, but their previous placing as the party at the pinnacle of Northern politics having become seriously tenable.

Comment from within parties and speculation in both the media and the public has begun to intensify in recent weeks, with each faction of the tripartite split providing its own individual and significant appeals. The traditional two-party dynamic between the DUP and UUP had been disrupted in recent years with the beginning of dialogue, for the first time, between the former and Sinn Féin marking their move towards more moderate political ground that would previously have been occupied by the former. Filling the space at the hard right, the TUV present a more hard line stance than the DUP did, but their appeal should not be underestimated considering the 29% who voted against the Good Friday agreement on its first introduction. With their backs to the wall and facing the choice of either the broadening of their appeal or obliteration in the polls, the alignment of the UUP with the British Conservative Party could prove to be either an ingenious or an entirely futile move. Recent tensions between the DUP and UUP have been based both on the issue of the severely split Unionist vote as well as apprehension towards the Conservatives, whose policies are likely to be anything but favourable towards the economy of the North as it currently stands. On the flip side, their dominance in the mainland UK could prove to be particularly transferable at this time of recession; bias in the English tabloids touting them as a preferable to Brown’s Labour without any real evidential backing, but without the necessity of it.

With the ranks on the Nationalist/Republican side still considerably biased towards Sinn Fein and many detractors pointing out that the SDLP present a toothless threat, it is unlikely that de Brun will face any such split in the vote and could emerge as the key beneficiary of such a divided election. There is no small irony in the fact that Allister’s ideological separation of himself from Sinn Fein could lead to their most comprehensive election result to date. With no particular resolution looking to be presenting itself among the unionist ranks, however, it looks like Sinn Fein could see their greatest foe become their best friend too.

The relevance of a strong EU presence for the youth of Northern Ireland

By Sam Law, Katie Murphy, Feresha Bayramova.

Having decided to approach this article through a peculiarly Northern Irish perspective, we, the reporters for the Northern Ireland constituency, managed to contact at short notice Stephen Agnew of the Northern Ireland Green Party, a key Northern Irish minister on panels for youth development and young people.

In considering the importance of a strong EU presence for the young people of Northern Ireland, Mr Agnew took the strong and approach that while an EU mandate may only have a limited reach regarding young people and youth issues such as the discrimination against those wearing "GAA and hooded tops," the very presence of youthful ministers could help prevent the "tarring [of the youth] with the same brush." "We seem to be blamed for anti-social behaviour as if it doesn't exist in older people." Pointing to the good work often done by the young people of the community, he seemed to show particular disdain for some of the older and often more closed-minded MPs who have traditionally dominated the EU and local elections. "We seem to be blamed for anti-social behaviour as if it doesn't exist in older people."

This is a notoriously prickly issue in Northern Ireland, where too often work in youth projects is diverted towards cross-community operations rather than those dedicated to understanding and dealing with more traditional youth issues. Mr Agnew's apparent concern that the progress made as of late could come at the cost of the "vital" need for enthusiastic and energetic youth involvement looks set to become more and more relevant. Mr Agnew, who is involved in work with the homeless in Northern Ireland, commented that Europe is best served to show that "it is a right, not a privilege, that people should have a home." Whether his liberal but undeniably agreeable agenda (from the youth perspective) will reach the European stage will be decided at the start of June.