CHOOSE YOUR UNIONIST PARTY WISELY - FORWARDS WITH BEATTIE AND THE UUP OR BACKWARDS WITH BRYSON, DONALDSON AND ALLISTER - HOW WILL YOU VOTE ON 5TH MAY?

  DOUG BEATTIE SEEKS MEETING WITH            LURGAN PROTOCOL PROTEST                                   ORGANISERS. 

Doug Beattie seeks meeting with Lurgan Protocol Protest organisers 

Ulster Unionist leader Doug Beattie has requested a meeting with the organisers of an anti-Protocol rally in Lurgan after they accused the Upper Bann MLA of an "egregious slur" upon protest organisers and supporters. 

Lurgan United Unionists protesting against the Brexit-Sea-Border in Lurgan at an anti.             Protocol rally on Friday evening. 

IN A statement posted on Facebook, the Lurgan United Unionists said Mr Beattie was wrong to label those involved in the various recent rallies as "rabble-rouses". 

UUP leader Doug Beattie accused the anti    Protocol protesters of harnessing anger                      and increasing tensions. 

Wednesday 30th March, 2022. 

The loyalist grouping - comprising of members from all of the main loyal orders and several bands - has organised a protest against the post-Brexit trading arrangements in Lurgan on April 8th. 

The social media statement says: "Mr Beattie cites as a reason for his withdrawal from anti-Protocol rallies his belief that they are harnessing anger and increasing tensions. 

       DOUG WAS RIGHT - By Chris Hazz                                posted on Twitter

"To suggest that the ptotest rallies are anything other than a peaceful and dignified expression of loyalist opposition to the Protocol is an egregious slur upon those who have organised, attended, and addressed such events."

In response, a UUP spokesman told the News Litter that "rising tensions" and "some of the rhetoric" associated with the rallies has led to Mr Beattie's decision not to attend. 

"The Ulster Unionist Party absolutely respects the right of anyone to protest in a lawful and peaceful manner," the spokesman said. 

"The party leader has written to the Lurgan United Unionists to ask them to meet with him to discuss their concerns. 

"Amidst rising tensions and in light of some of the rhetoric that have been been used, we will no longer be participating in anti-Protocol rallies."

The party spokesman added: "Contrary to some of the wild and inaccurate claims made in the statement, we remain resolute in our opposition to a border in the Irish Sea. 

      The smashed window at UUP's leaders       constituency offices in Portadown raising             tensions over the Irish Sea Border. 

"Given what happened to the party leader’s office in Portadown (window damaged), we do not wish to be part of raising tensions in the community. Calm heads are needed now. 

   ANTI-PROTOCOL RALLY: WE WANT AN   APPOLIGY FROM DOUG BEATTIE - NOT A                               MEETING. 

The organisers of an anti-Protocol protest in Lurgan say they have no intention of holding private talks with Doug Beattie after the UUP leader pulled out of speaking at the event. 

     Roy Ferguson (above) one of the main        organisers and leading member of Lurgan    United Unionists' insulating and attacking       UUP leader Doug Beattie at the anti-            Protocol rally in Lurgan on Friday evening. 

THE LURGAN United Unionists' spokesmen also said the wider unionist community "awaits a clear and public apology" from Mr Beattie - claiming his stated concerns about the mass rallies were an  "egregious slur" against 'law-abiding citizens.'

     On the platform were DUP MP Jeffrey          Donaldson, TUV leader Jim Allister and      loyalist activist pound shop lawyer Jamie                                  Bryson. 

The protest rally took place in Lurgan on April 8th. On the platform were DUP MP Jeffrey Donaldson, TUV leader Jim Allister and loyalist activist pound shop lawyer Jamie Bryson. 

Thursday 31st March, 2022. 

At the weekend, Mr Beattie said UUP representatives would no longer take part in the rallies as some were beginning to "raise the political temperature" to dangerous levels across *orthern Ireland. 

An amended version of the anti-Protocol rally poster has appeared on the Facebook page of the Lurgan United Unionists "We want to see the Protocol replaced (which is never going to happen - although it can be amended) and we have been expressing our consistent opposition to it since it was first mooted in October 2019, but where I differ with others is the way in which we approach that. I am a confident, positive unionist representing a party which will engage to bring about change. It is a political problem which will only be solved by finding a political solution," he said. 

"We respect the right of anyone to legally and peacefully protest. However, tensions are rising, with some spokespeople at anti-Protocol rallies are openly calling for people to get angry and to raise the temperature. 

  DUP MP calls for 'guerrilla warfare' on the         streets against the *orthern Ireland                                      Protocol. 

Blood and thunder rhetoric from a lectern will not help or solve the Protocol problem. This is exactly what we need to avoid. We need to learn the lessons of the past."

Mr Beattie did issue an invitation to meet privately with the organisers, however, that offer was firmly rejected in a statement issued by the the Lurgan United Unionists on Thursday. 

They said: "Mr Beattie, having turned down the offer to publicly unite with the wider unionist community, it would be both inappropriate and unnecessary for Lurgan United Unionists to engage in a private forum with Mr Beattie. 

"Indeed we would challenge Mr Beattie, if he wants to see the destruction of the Protocol and he is prepared to stand publicly with us and the wider unionist community? 

"The suspicion must surely be that such an image is not one Mr Beattie feels will play well with those whom he seeks to court in Alliance and the SDLP. Be that as it may, Mr Beattie has clearly indicated he does not wish to join the United Unionist Front opposing the Protocol. 

Video of Roy Ferguson insulting UUP leader Doug Beattie

"It would also be remiss of us not to remind Mr Beattie that the wider Unionist community awaits a clear and public apology following his recent comments suggesting that protest rallies were harnessing anger and that those who organised, attended and addressed such were somehow guilty of increasing community tensions and inciting violence. 

"Whether intentional or not Mr Beattie has besmirched and blackened the name of all loyal, law abiding Ulstermen who have peacefully protested against the Protocol as well as organisations such as the Loyal Orders established upon biblical and Christian principles." 

     The Brexit Sea Border the one the DUP       claimed wasn't their fault but all the other    parties in *orthern Ireland were to blame... 

The statement goes on to say: "After 24 years of a process of appeasement and humiliation designed to bleed unionism to death, the imposition of the Protocol and the consequent constitutional change to *orthern Ireland's place within the Union, 

      The Good Friday Agreement was An          International Agreement signed by World      leaders and will 'NEVER' be renegotiated. 

The loyalist people of Ulster can take no more -more than enough has been stripped from us over the years, if we do not stand now in defence of our culture, our heritage and our way of life we will bear the shame of being the generation who failed Ulster."

The statement is signed: 

Roy Ferguson (above bottom) - President, Apprentice Boys of Derry. 

David Martin (above top) - District Master, Lurgan District No.6. 

  TUV leader Jim Allister along with Mr Roy   Ferguson who is standing in the upcoming                    elections on 5th May. 

Follow this link on the 1996 loyalist picket: Loyalists picket Harryville Catholic Church in Ballymena 1996

Mr Roy Ferguson was (standing in the Elections on 5th May) before becoming President of the Apprentice Boys was an Independent Orange officer who was highly involved in the controversial picketing of Harryville Roman Catholic Church in Ballymena. Which in the end had to close its doors forever... 

——— ———

with many thanks to the: News Letter and Mark Rainey for the original publication 

Follow these links to to find out more on this story: 

Doug Beattie seeks meeting with Lurgan Protocol Protest organisers

Anti-protocol rally: we want an appoligy from Doug Beattie - not a meeting 

BEATTIE SLAMS VILE HANGMAN POSTER

ULSTER Unionist leader Doug Beattie has condemned "mindless idiots" who placed one of his election posters with a noose around the neck. The poster was removed from a bench in Lurgan on Friday evening by fellow unionist leaders MP Jeffrey Donaldson of the DUP and Jim Allister of the TUV.

    Doug Beattie Infamous Election Poster 

                 'The Hangman's Noose' 

Mr Beattie also hit out at one of the speakers at the event who referred to him as a "traitor". The UUP leader, who has refused to attend the rallies claiming they were raising tensions, said he would "not be bullied, intimidated or distracted". 

Mr Beattie announced he would not attend the events after a security alert halted a peace-building event in north Belfast which Irish Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney had been addressing last month.

  Ongoing intimidation of UUP leader Doug           Beattie the smashed window of his                constituency office in Portadown. 

Since then, his constituency office in Portadown was attacked and the front window was smashed by a brick. 

Reacting to Friday night's events, Mr Beattie said: "It is a poster and some mindless idiots have put a noose around my neck on it - they are not reflective of the vast majority of people who were there. "A poster can go in the bin, a window can be replaced. "My concern for the people of *orthern Ireland remains. Nothing has changed." 

Mr Beattie, an Army veteran who has been decorated with the Military Cross, said he was disappointed at being branded a "traitor" by a speaker at the event. He said:  "That is where my main disappointment is, in being called a Lundy and a traitor when I'm clearly not. "I am a unionist who supports the union, who will do everything I possibly can for the people of that union. 

"I will neither be bullied nor intimidated nor distracted from the path that I believe is the right path for the people of *orthern Ireland, so nothing has changed whatsoever. 

"Those who called me a Lundy and traitor or put a double-knotted noose around my neck on a poster are not the people who stood beside me in battle. "They are not the people who I served alongside who were some of the finest men and women who have ever donned the Queen's uniform, as we literally bled blood, sweat and tears in the heart of battle, in the service of our country. "A minority shout the loudest and make a lot of noise as they seek to raise temperatures and create instability in *orthern Ireland, but I believe the silent majority in *orthern Ireland will want no truck with those comments and will despair at the type of leadership it represents for unionism." 

Mr Beattie added: "I don't blame the vast majority of people who were there. The people who did it are the ones to blame, they are the ones who have to answer the questions and we should not lay the blame at the feet of others when it was mindless individuals who did it." 

Mr Allister said he removed the poster of Mr Beattie from view because he felt its presentation, whether intentional or inadvertent, was "entirely inappropriate". 

With many thanks to the: Sunday World  and Hugh Jordan  for the original publication.

Follow these links to find out more about this story and the ongoing anti-Protocol rallies: Loyalists Reject Doug Beattie Noose Claims - MJS Writing.  

The Good Friday Agreement (GFA) will 'NEVER' be Renegotiated and UVF Intimidation will not Achieve the Removal of the Protocol

IT WAS RALLY JIM'S SHOW

◼️ TUV boss steals limelight at Lurgan anti-Protocol demo

◼️ Donaldson puts on brave face as Beattie stays away

It may have been billed as an 'Anti-Protocol Rally' - after all that's what the posters said.

But in reality, Friday night's unionist parade and protest in Lurgan was the Jim Allister Show. 

   Brownlow House - known locally as 'The         Castle' and owned by Lurgan Orange                                        Order. 

It was a TUV pre-election presentation in all but name.

And DUP leader, MP Jeffrey Donaldson knew it!

Ulster Unionist Party boss and decorated British Army veteran Doug Beattie had already pulled out, claiming the event was divisive and likely to raise community tensions. He was branded a traitor for his actions and even had a noose tied around his neck in an election poster. And despite his obvious discomfort throughout, Donaldson knew that a no-show from him would have left him open to similar abuse.

                         IMPORTANCE 

The predominantly Catholic town of Lurgan in Co Armagh may at first appear a poor choice for a rally of such importance to unionists claiming trade protocols introduced Post-Brexit have smashed their British birthright.

But Brownlow House - a short walk from the town centre - enjoys a warm place in the hearts of many unionists. It is reputed to be the largest Orange Hall in the world.

Known locally as 'The Castle', Brownlow House is the former home of landlord Lord Lurgan. And today is owned by the Lurgan Orange Order which organised Friday night's anti-Protocol rally in the car park. 

As PSNI/RUC officers began appearing on a deserted High Street shortly after teatime, an air of anticipation swept through the town. 

And with more and more people arriving at the junction with Windsor Avenue, it soon became clear something big was going to happen. 

Life-long loyalist and former UDR soldier Paul Craven (68) had travelled 10 miles (up the road) from his home in Portadown (are you having a laugh?) to voice his opposition to the trade Protocol. 

"We need to take a strong stance against it," he told me. 

Former DUP representative in the European Parliament and a party candidate in the forthcoming election, Diane Dodds having arranged to meet her party leader Jeffrey. 

And to pass the time, Mrs Dodds chatted amicably with TV reporters and cameramen. 

But the senior DUP politician was spotted by hardline unionist supporter and fundamentalist Protestant Brian Johnson from east Belfast. 

A one-time Shorts Aircraft factory worker in the early 50s, Johnson was distributing religious tracts when he suddenly rounded on Mrs Dodds, accusing her party of selling out the Protestant people of *orthern Ireland. "Don't listen to her," he blasted, "she's already been bought off by globalisation. 

                        OVERTAKEN 

"We are being overtaken by a new world religion based in Abu Dhabi, the Bible still matters, but the DUP has sold us down the drain!" he screamed at the shocked DUP veteran. 

And as Mrs Dodds turned to leave, Johnson grabbed his groin before shouting: "The DUP has no balls. It appears to have forgotten the word 'no!" 

       DUP's Diane Dodds and MP Jeffrey            Donaldson join the anti-Protocol rally in                                  Lurgan. 

Minutes later, Mrs Dodds and Mr Donaldson joined the loyalist parade as it wound its way around the main shopping street and down Windsor Avenue on its way to Brownlow House. 

Prominent members of the unionist community, including leading Apprentice Boys of Derry members Worthington McGrath, Billy Moore and the organisation's current Governor Graham Stenhouse, travelled from the Maiden City to show their support. 

       The infamous Doug Beattie poster 

               'The Hangman's Noose' 

The Doug Beattie poster - showing a noose around the UUP leader's neck - was spotted on a park bench near the entrance to the property. 

But it was turned away from public view by fellow unionist leaders (any publicity is good publicity especially during an upcoming election) Jeffrey Donaldson and Jim Allister. 

But other posters urging those present to vote TUV were left in place. 

                       SUPPORTERS 

As Jim Allister waved to supporters from the covered platform, large sections of the crowd chanted: "TUV. TUV." 

   Some of the crowds at the anti-Protocol       rally on Friday evening but nowhere near       the 10,000 supporters they claimed there                                    were. 

Organisers claimed 10,000 supporters were expected to take part in the parade along with 160 loyalist bands, but those estimates appeared to be well wide of the mark. 

Loyalist spokesman and Pound Shop lawyer Jamie Bryson kicked of the main speeches by proclaiming he was proud to stand alongside unionist leaders Mr Donaldson and Mr Allister. 

And it was also great to see such a strong representation from the Progressive Unionist Party (PUP), he added. 

But in a not so subtle attack on UUP leader Mr Beattie, Bryson said: "And to those who should have been here, but aren't, because they strayed from the unionist family, it is my sincere hope that one day, they will return to the unionist family and stand with us. 

"The two men behind me on the platform have been clear that there cannot be and will not be, power-sharing in *orthern Ireland until the union-subjugating Protocol is removed and the principal of consent operates to safeguard the union," he said. 

Bryson also attacked Irish government Minister Simon Coveney for what he called his "aggressive" attitude to *orthern Ireland and its union with the United Kingdom. 

He added: "The DUP, TUV and PUP have stood firm in their opposition to the Protocol and have been backed by grassroots unionism and loyalism and the Loyal Institutions." 

                             PODIUM 

As he prepared to step forward to the podium, MP Jeffrey Donaldson shook his head in dismay at a protester who accused him of being a traitor and he urged those present to use their votes wisely in next month's election. 

He thanked those present for the attendance on such a cold night in support of their cause. 

He asked: "What is out cause? Our cause is (apart from an armed hijacking of a van and placing a hoax bomb inside) peaceful and lawful. 

And our cause is designed to remove those impediments and barriers that have been put between us and the rest of the United Kingdom."

Mr Donaldson added: "Our demand is simple. We want full citizenship within our own country. It is something which has been denied to us by this Protocol. 

"The union isn't just a political union. It is also an economic union," he said to polite applause. 

TUV leader - by far the most popular of the speakers - told the enthusiastic audience the Protocol was Irish unity in transition. 

He said: "Such is the fundamental assault made by the Protocol on our constitutional position that it is irreconcilable with meaningful membership of the UK. 

"The core premise of the Protocol is that GB is a foreign country and that *orthern Ireland in trading terms, is an integral part of the European Union (EU) on what is to be the economically integrated island of Ireland." 

And to loud applause, he added: "The declaration of GB as a 'third' or foreign country cuts to the heart of the union."

With many thanks to the: Sunday World  and Hugh Jordan  for the original publication.

Follow these links to find out more about this story: Loyalists Reject Doug Beattie's Noose Claims - MJS Writing.