There is no justification, moral or political, for this sort of behaviour - to blockade a school so as to prevent children going into school. Now I understand that there are grievances - legitimate grievances - that the Protestant people in Glenbryn have. Those grievances, however, cannot be allowed to create a situation where children are not allowed to go to school. Now that is totally unacceptable by any civilised standard. But let me say, we have an MP in north Belfast, a DUP member, Nigel Dodds, and I suspect that he does not agree with this blockade. Indeed, I would expect him to disagree with this blockade - and yet he remains silent. If you are elected as MP, you have to show leadership to the whole community. You cannot represent one section of the community. He should come out now and condemn this for what it is - it is immoral and it is wrong. If we want to become a sort of Hebron or West Bank, I think that we're working well towards achieving that particular target because, you know, if this continues, there will be other situations will arise throughout North Belfast. And that is something which I am very, very frightened of. Let us get away from the West Bank mentality, that confrontation and violence can solve anything. It cannot, and will not, and at the end of the day people have to sit round the table and have to solve their problems by discussion, by dialogue. And I would, once again, say to all those interested parties to renew that dialogue. There is a solution, but the situation cannot be solved if there is going to be a blockade of children going into school - that is something which will simply serve to exacerbate the difficulties in this situation.




