Last Friday night, in a deadly escalation of the feud among loyalists, a man was shot dead. Last Saturday night, loyalists shot and seriously injured another loyalist, whose child was with him in his car at the time. Last Sunday night, loyalists fired a burst from a machine gun at a PSNI patrol. Last Monday night, loyalists tried to kill another two men, one of whom they shot in the head. All these incidents happened in Belfast.
In the same feud the weekend before these shootings, two loyalists were shot and wounded. The week before that, a leading loyalist was arrested in possession of a firearm. Three weeks ago, two UVF men were sentenced to ten years in gaol in Scotland when they pleaded guilty to trying to import explosives into the six counties, enough to make 20 car bombs.
It is accepted in all political circles that the UDA/UFF ceasefire does not exist. The UDA remains an illegal organisation. Yet it is not uncommon for the media to interview UDA figures and no one bats an eyelid or complains about the airwaves being corrupted by 'unreformed and unreconstructed' terrorists. That sort of language is used only for republicans. It is also accepted in all political and policing circles that the UDA is running a huge drug operation, worth tens of thousands of pounds.
Does any of this catalogue of violence tax the British government? No. Does any of it bring howls of condemnation from any of the unionist parties? No. Is there a motion put by unionists on the floor of the Assembly calling for the expulsion of Assembly members Billy Hutchinson and David Ervine because of UVF activity? No.
Will the DUP ministers resign their seats in protest at the ongoing loyalist violence? No. Will the DUP demand that the crown forces take action against the UDA? No.
Is David Trimble jumping up and down demanding action from the crown forces to deal with the loyalists? No. Is he threatening to bring down the institutions because loyalists are killing each other, trying to kill Catholics and have refused to make similar moves to the IRA with their arms? No.
Do the crown forces continue to occupy the hills along the border? Yes. Have they and do they still plant listening devices in the homes of leading republicans like Gerry Kelly? Yes. Is British intelligence tapping the phones of senior republicans? Yes. Are the crown forces clandestinely following republicans every hour of the day? Yes. Is this activity at odds with the peace process? Yes.
Did British Secretary of State Mo Mowlam authorise the bugging of a car used by Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness when she was engaged in daily talks with them? Yes. Did she apologise when she was found out? No. Was her action a threat to the peace process? Yes.
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The new Chief Constable of the PSNI, Hugh Orde, authorised the Stormont raid. He knew there was nothing to be found in offices that are permanently unlocked and accessible at any time day or night. He knew the political cover such a raid would give to David Trimble
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Did Gerry Adams stop talking to her or any other British official? No. Why? Because republicans realise the peace process is too important to be deflected by bugging incidents or activities which find their source in a process that is aimed at moving people, who were in mortal combat with each other for nearly 30 years, into a new and peaceful situation.
For some time now, those forces inside the political and military establishment in the Six Counties and in London, who cannot live with the fact that they failed to defeat the IRA and that republicans are stronger today than they were ten years ago, have been engaged in a series of activities aimed at slowing down political change on the one hand and trying to provoke the IRA on the other.
They are blocking the full implementation of the Patten proposals on policing because they want to retain military control over the future of policing and the best way to do that is to keep republicans out of the ranks of a new police service and off the Policing Board.
They are blocking the demilitarisation of South Armagh and Fermanagh for selfish military reasons and to cause maximum difficulties for the leadership of Sinn Féin.
Their hand is to be found in the sectarian violence of the UDA/UFF; their hand is to be found in some of the activities of dissident republicans. This activity fits into their desire to maintain a militarised society in the Six Counties.
Last week, Patten's recommendation that the RUC Reserve, some 3,000 men and women, be stood down was rejected. They will remain for at least another three years. The argument for their retention was the threat posed to society by violent elements. The most violent people are the loyalists and everyone knows they are directed by the PSNI Special Branch and Military Intelligence.
They were involved in the sting operation that led to a number of republicans appearing in court on document charges and the raid on Sinn Féin's office at Stormont.
The sting operation was over a year in preparation. British Secretary of State John Reid publicly admitted he knew about 'something going on' last July. What was going on?
Does Tony Blair know what his intelligence agencies were at over the last year? Is he going to try to find out?
The timing of the arrests was perfect for David Trimble. Last week, he was being blamed for bringing down the institutions; this week, republicans are being blamed.
However, it was the high media profile of the raid on the Sinn Féin offices that gave David Trimble the excuse he desperately needed to collapse the institutions on his terms.
The new Chief Constable of the PSNI, Hugh Orde, authorised that raid. He knew there was nothing to be found in those offices. He knew they are permanently unlocked and accessible at any time day or night. He knew the political cover such a raid would give to David Trimble.
He knew the sensational nature of the raid. The media were tipped off in advance by the PSNI to have cameras there to record the dozens of jeeps and the hundreds of PSNI personnel descending on Sinn Féin's offices. The pictures were flashed around the world.
He approved of the raid on Sinn Féin's offices because he and others wanted to stitch the party up, to blame Sinn Féin when in fact they are blameless.
Hugh Orde was forced by embarrassment to issue a lame apology for the nature of the raid, not the raid itself. His apology will not hide the fact that he participated in an exercise cooked in the ovens of the securocrats and dished out by the PSNI aimed at helping anti-Agreement unionists.
Whatever happens over the next few days, the one thing we can all be certain of is that republicans will not be distracted or demoralised. We are disappointed at the turn of events but we are committed to the peace process and to ensuring that the progress that has been made in recent years is carried forward.
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