In recent days, a large presence of ‘Irish Guards’ paraded at Belfast City Hall, protected by the PSNI. The ‘Irish Guards’ are part of the ‘household division’ of the ‘Infantry regiment’ of the British Army.
That Army is the same force that committed the Ballymurphy and Bloody Sunday massacres in Ireland, when they shot and murdered unarmed civilians on Irish streets. The ‘Irish Guards’ themselves, are those recruited from across Ireland in order to serve the forces of British Imperialism around the globe.
They are in occupied Ireland on a tour to celebrate their 125th Anniversary since they were founded by the British monarch Alexandrina Victoria, fommonly known in Britain as “Queen Victoria” – the same “Queen” who reigned over occupied Ireland during The Great Hunger of 1846-1852 which saw the Irish population decimated, with millions dead and emigrated.
Those that paraded outside Belfast City Hall act as guards for that monarchy and have been involved in British Imperialist wars around the world, most notably, their imperialist endeavours in Iraq, Afghanistan and, more recently, Ukraine.
No regiment of the British Army should be welcomed and celebrated in Ireland, especially not whilst Irish families are still campaigning to get justice for their loved ones, the victims of state sanctioned murder and collusion, at the hands of those same forces – a justice which is denied by those that command them.
The scenes of pomp and ceremony at Belfast City Hall in recent days displayed the true nature of Britain’s Imperial role in Ireland, which former Republicans turned administrators of British rule in Ireland normalise by their deeds and inactions.
More than 25 years since the signing of the Good Friday Agreement and British forces still walk our streets, with no indication as to when they might ever leave.
Good Friday wasn’t about peace; it was a pacification process.
