(by Suzanne Breen, News Letter)

Events in Northern Ireland over the past week are the stuff of anti-Agreement unionist fantasy. If the Rev Ian Paisley and Peter Robinson ever dreamed of their ideal political scenario, it surely couldn't have been much better.

Sinn Féin offices at Stormont raided; the party apparently caught with its hand in the till; the power-sharing government on the verge of collapse; and the DUP political analysis - attacked from all sides since the Belfast Agreement - vindicated in the eyes of the unionist electorate.

Not that everyone is ecstatic. The DUP has long accused the media of a pro-Agreement bias and the assembled press certainly looked glum as developments unfolded at Stormont this week. "Cheer up!'' urged Peter Robinson at one press conference.

Down another corridor, Sinn Féin didn't have too much tidying up after the PSNI raid. The widespread outrage at the search, or why Hugh Orde apologised, is difficult to comprehend. Sinn Féin party offices were raided countless times during the Troubles and, apart from Sinn Féin, nobody minded.

I've every sympathy for ordinary citizens, be they republican or loyalist, whose homes are raided in a heavy-handed manner. Everyone's home is their personal sanctuary.

Families have watched helplessly as carpets and sofas are destroyed, floor-boards ripped up, celings torn down, and wall panelling destroyed. But these were the business premises of a self-proclaimed constitutional political party which is part of the British administration in Northern Ireland.

The bills for Sinn Féin's Stormont office are paid by the British Exchequer. The premises were searched by a British police force. What is there to complain about? In comparison to pre-1994 raids on Sinn Féin premises, the police didn't damage the computers or telephone lines.

They didn't sledgehammer down the door - they asked the assembly administration for the key. They didn't even scatter papers across the room. As raids go, it was rather timid.

Until then, Sinn Féin was softening on the PSNI. Last month, Gerry Adams spoke positively of Orde and wouldn't rule out meeting him. Indeed, the party criticised the PSNI for not being tough enough on dissidents and condemned those republicans threatening the force.

Now the Shinners are yelling that the PSNI is every inch as bad as the RUC and the old Nazi chants are back. It's remarkable how the attackers of Danny McBrearty and Raymond Kelly are so sensitive about a raid.

There has been speculation that MI5 identified Sinn Féin spies at Stormont long ago and fed them duff information along with some low-grade material. The security services built up their intelligence picture and then pounced when it suited their own political agenda.

Maybe so but Sinn Féin still had to fall for it and fall they apparently did. The quantity of documents allegedly found in the home of a senior party official will surprise many observers who thought the Provos would be more professional.

But an eight-year ceasefire leads to rustiness. Arrogance sets in too. The Provos generally reckoned the security forces were too busy chasing other paramilitaries to bother with them.

There was also a belief that so long as they didn't plant bombs in Britain, they could do what they liked. And as they had managed to get away with about a dozen murders since the Agreement was signed, they grew cocky.

They have become ever so over the top too. Assembly member Mary Nelis compared the imminent fall of the Executive to the coup which toppled President Salvador Allende in Chile. Even the most avid fantasist would find that a tad far-fetched.

This article appeared in the October 10, 2002 edition of the News Letter.

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