The Frank McCallum memorial debate on human rights was held in The GAA Club in Ardoyne on Thursday evening, 5 August - a highly appropriate setting given the disproportionate level of violence to which the area and its residents have been subjected over the last decades.
Taking part were Sinn Féin's Gerry Adams, ubiquitous Presbyterian Minister John Dunlop and Geoff Martin and Noel Doran, editors of The Belfast Telegraph and The Irish News respectively.
To begin with, Geoff Martin shifted uncomfortably in his seat and laughed nervously at the gentle teasing he received from the audience about the fact that his newspaper is not available in that part of Belfast. He had relaxed considerably by the end of the proceedings, however, telling the audience that the evening had proved to be something of a ``revelation'' to him, although he did blot his copybook by declaring ``I employ Catholics'' with something of a flourish, as though expecting a round of applause for such a great act of liberal magnanimity.
Not surprisingly, the panelists agreed that human rights for all are A Good Thing. How human rights are to be achieved, and what precisely they consist of was less certain. The unionist members of the panel in particular were eager to claim that all sides of the conflict have been equally intent on denying human rights to the others, constantly emphasising to the audience how the loyal community is being denied its rights, with the implicit claim that the recent denial of the ``right'' to walk where they like (in law non-existent) to Orangemen is qualitatively similar to the denial of homes, work, education, social and political rights to the nationalist community throughout the history of the Six Counties.
Also implicit was the suggestion that nationalists' rights are for unionism to bestow, at its own pace and in its own time once it has managed to come to terms with the painful idea of equality with Catholics. It took Gerry Adams to point out to that human rights have to be grasped, reached out for and taken by those to whom they have been denied.
``In order to get rights, you have to struggle, you have to actually go and take them and that places a huge responsibility on those of us who want a better society. I certainly don't want to live in an Irish republic which is nominal and which is a 32-county version of the Six-County state or a 32-county version of the 26-County state.''
As ever, decommissioning raised its ugly head and Gerry Adams was told yet again, this time by Geoff Martin and John Dunlop, that it is his responsibility to come to the rescue of the poor, beleaguered David Trimble. Finally, and showing only the merest hint of exasperation, he told them that responsibility for Trimble lay elsewhere:
``The peace process isn't about saving David Trimble. It doesn't matter to me who the leader of the Unionists is in terms of personality. The Unionist leadership will behave in the way they behave if they are allowed to get away with it. The British government is not a referee, is not a sponsor or a facilitator. They are participants and they have to start implementing those parts (of the Agreement) over which they have responsibility.''
John Dunlop adopted his persuasively avuncular style, making jokes about coming into the ``lion's den'' of Ardoyne and referring to it as an ``away match''. He spoke of the time he spent in Jamaica - presumably saving heathen souls for the Lord (perhaps he sees events such as this in a similar light) before reverting - at the end of the debate when he could not be challenged - to slights against his audience, questioning, as he has done on so many occasions, whether ``there is a place for me and my people here''. It seems that no matter how much he is told, without any qualification, that there is, the man refuses to be reassured. Suddenly the avuncular mask slipped and a rather less appealing paternalism appeared beneath it.
![[An Phoblacht]](http://republican-news.org/graphics/title_gifs/aprn.gif)
