Belfast – Page 107 – Paddy Duffy Collection

The Two Faces Of British Imperialism

1999-01-012025-11-05Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

“The two face of British imperialism: In Belgrade we bomb because they would not sign the Peace Agreement … In Belfast we merely try to re-write the Peace Agreement”.

Labour Prime Minister Tony Blair gave a statement on Britain’s participation in the NATO bombing of Serb targets in Yugoslavia after Slobodan Milosevic rejected an agreement with the Kosovo Albanians – this, Blair said, was only the latest in a series of bad-faith actions on Milosevic’s part; the targets included Milosevic’s house, the Socialist party’s headquarters, and a TV station (BBC | Guardian).

In Northern Ireland, the implementation of the Belfast (“Good Friday”) Agreement is going slowly, and Unionist expressions of buyer’s remorse and insistence on decommissioning of arms as a precondition for talks (Guardian) suggested to republicans that they would like to re-write some of the Agreement’s provisions. Rather than ordering up bombs, Blair gave a speech in June that insisted that “Unionism must share power with the Nationalist and Republican community. … Many Republicans do not believe that Unionism will share power with them. Unionists must prove them wrong” (CAIN). The IRA were not impressed (July statement at CAIN | Guardian defense of Blair).

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Copyright © 1999 Paddy Duffy
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We Demand The Truth!

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“We demand the truth! International investigation into the death of Pat Finucane and Rosemary Nelson.” Finucane and Nelson were both solicitors with nationalist and republican clients. Finucane was shot by the UDA in front of his wife and three children in 1989; RUC collusion was immediately suspected (and the weapon came from a UDR armoury) (WP). Nelson was killed by an LVF (“Red Hand Defenders”) car-bomb in March, 1999 (WP); the report of the eventual inquiry into her death can be found at CAIN. The allegation in the illustration here is that when the mask of loyalist “murder gangs” is lowered, the Orange Order and RUC are found behind it. “Disband the RUC”

Ardoyne Avenue, north Belfast

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Same Story, Same Bigotry

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Londoner Stephen Lawrence was murdered by stabbing in 1993 and, although arrests were made, no charges were brought. A 1998 public inquiry found that the London Metropolitan Police Service was “institutionally racist”. (In 2012, two of the original suspects would be found guilty of the murder (WP).)

Catholic Robert Hamill was beaten to death by loyalists in Portadown in 1997 while police in an RUC land-rover looked on (WP).

Brompton Park, Ardoyne, north Belfast

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Martin Luther King

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“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere …” “If colour, religion or political opinions do make us different, misery, oppression, unemployment and exploitation make us the same – Martin Luther King” The first quote comes from Martin Luther King’s Letter From A Birmingham Jail; the source of the quote is unknown.

Hillman Street, New Lodge, north Belfast

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Leonard Peltier

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“Leonard Peltier, Native American US political prisoner. “We must stand together to protect the rights of others. No child to go hungry, no woman denied the right to earn a living, no person denied health care or education, no prisoner held for political reasons.”” (The quote appears in a letter on Peltier’s web site.) Peltier, a member of the American Indian Movement, was convicted of the shooting of two FBI agents in a shootout at Pine Ridge in 1975 and sentenced to two life terms (WP).

Hillman Street, New Lodge, north Belfast

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Out Of The Ashes Of 1798

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“I ndıl chuımhne – this plaque is dedicated to all those from the greater Newington area who lost their lives as a result of the conflict in this country.” Pikemen from the 1798 uprising stand on either side of a phoenix, with portraits above of Wolfe Tone, James Connolly, Henry Joy McCracken, and Mary Ann McCracken.

Newington Avenue, north Belfast

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Looking For Lasting Peace!

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“Disband the RUC.” A fortune-teller sees the path to peace in an Irish News headline in her crystal ball: “RUC disbanded. New community peace force established”. Reform or replacement of the RUC is one of the top nationalist concerns in the peace process, after the release of POWs.

Market Street, Markets, south Belfast

James Buchanan

1999-01-012025-11-14Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

“”My Ulster blood is my most priceless heritage …” – James Buchanan 15th US president 1857-1861″. This is the first of the murals in the “From pioneers to presidents” series to be painted in Belfast, depicting James Buchanan. Three murals had already been painted in Londonderry, to Theodore Roosevelt, James Buchanan (which contains more information about Buchanan and his heritage), and George Washington.

The words along the bottom read, “250,000 Ulster Scots emigrated to America in the 1700s and were the driving force behind the American Revolution.”

The small plaque to the right reads, “Shankill Ulster-Scots Cultural Society. The Buchanan Mural. This mural was dedicated to the memory of those early Ulster-Scots emigrants by Ms Jane Benton Fort, US Consul General, on Thursday November 4th, 1999. Sae monie hairts gaed far frae hame – bot ilka yin oor ain fowk [So many hearts went far from home – but every one [is/remains] our own folk]. This project was funded by Belfast City Council and Making Belfast Work.”

See the Visual History page on Ulster-Scots Murals.

Ainsworth Street, Woodvale, west Belfast

Lamh Dearg Abu

1999-01-012025-11-03Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

On the left, volunteers from the Red Hand Commando with bare faces stand with lowered flags beside a plinth “in memory of Ulster’s fallen”.

On the right, “In memory of Ulster’s fallen.” “Lamh dearg abu” [= “Lámh dhearg abú”] [= “Red Hand to victory”], “Ulster to victory”, “It is not for glory or riches we fight but for our people” (from the Declaration Of Arbroath). With the insignia of the Red Hand Commando and a pair of bald-headed eagles.

Glenwood Street, upper Shankill, west Belfast