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Northern Ireland: Britian Waving Goodbye
Fragile Peace in Danger
Is Britain waving Northern Ireland good-bye?
With the launch of controversial new proposals for the future of
Northern Ireland by the British Prime Minister, John Major, and
his Irish counterpart, John Bruton, many are accusing the British of
turning their backs on the Province.
BY ANDY ROGERS & IAN GREGORY, AACHEN/LONDON
The fragile peace in Northern Ireland that has existed since the IRA
and loyalist cease-fires in 1994 is in danger. On the 22nd February
1995 John Major took a big gamble for permanent peace in
Northern Ireland by announcing the latest London-Dublin plan for
the future of the Province. The situation is delicate. The pendulum
could swing toward permanent peace or a return once again to
active war on the streets of Belfast.
The backlash from the Unionists, who support the British
Government, was inevitable. There was no hiding their fury over a
document in which Britain gave its clearest declaration that it was
prepared for Northern Ireland to leave the United Kingdom, if that
was the wish of most people in the Province.
To be British or Irish?
The corner-stone of the document is a constitutional exchange
between London and Dublin, under which the Republic
relinquishes its historic claim to the territory. In return, London
will propose changes to its constitutional legislation to accept the
will of the majority in Northern Ireland either to remain part of the
United Kingdom or to opt for a united Ireland.
In defence of the document, John Major emphasised that he wanted
to break the "spiral of despair" in Northern Ireland. "It is right to
try," he said. "I don't believe any Prime Minister of the United
Kingdom... .could or should sit in Downing Street without actively
trying to find a way out of the problems that have existed so long."
One way to Dublin
In Northern Ireland a Loyalist view prevailed. "I can tell what this is
without opening it," an elderly lady at the front of the queue in the
Post Office said. "You British are just waving us good-bye."
Outside the conference centre where two greyish prime ministers
were presenting their plans to journalists, half a dozen
demonstrators huddled under Union Jack umbrellas and held up a
soggy poster up to the railings: "No role for Dublin; Ulster is
British". Ian Paisley, leader of the Democratic Unionist Party
(DUP), said simply that the document was a "one way street to
Dublin". Gerry Adams, leader of the nationalist Sinn Fein party,
said "its ethos is for one Ireland and an all Ireland arrangement".
John Major's Chance
But how is this latest declaration by the British Government
different to any others? What made the announcement different is
the cease-fire by the terrorist groups which has lasted nearly six
months. This has changed everyday life. It is the existence of
relative peace that provides John Major with the chance to change
everything. But how did "the Troubles" ever begin...?
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Who is who?
Police
Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC). Protestants like them, Catholics
mostly do not.
Army
Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR). Until recently a locally recruited
Army regiment of full and part-time soldiers. It serves only in
Northern Ireland, and is almost entirely Protestant
Political Parties and Terrorist Groups
Loyalists
Northern Irish Protestants who want to remain British citizens
(about two-thirds of the population)
Democratic Unionist Party (DUP).
Protestant political party who firmly adheres to this principle. Ian
Paisley is the leader.
Ulster Defence Association (UDA)
Largest Protestant (and alleged paramilitary) organisation. Illegal.
Two extremist groups have separated from it - Ulster Freedom
Fighters (UFF), and the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF, the Secret
Army).
Nationalists
Usually, but not always, Catholics. Do not want Northern Ireland
to remain a part of the United Kingdom. Republicans want it to be
a part of a united socialist Ireland.
Sinn Fein.
Political party of the Republican Nationalists. Gerry Adams is the
President.
Irish Republican Army (IRA)
"Terrorist wing" of Sinn Fein or Sinn Fein is the "political wing" of
the IRA. In 1970 IRA split into two sections "Official" and
"Provisional". 1976 "Official IRA" disbanded when its militants
renounced violence as a solution and dedicated themselves to left-
wing parliamentary politics.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
From Independence to Military rule
In 1921 Northern Ireland was established as a separate six county
province, a separate entity from the rest of Ireland which became
known as the Irish Free State. While the Republic of Ireland had its
own parliament - the D il- Northern Ireland was governed by a
devolved parliament at Stormont.
The Catholic minority in Northern Ireland did not hold a great deal
of political force and were poorly represented in the parliament at
Stormont. Due to the overwhelming majority of Protestant
sympathisers at Stormont the Catholic community were harshly
discriminated against. Discrimination bred resentment and
ultimately led to violence.
Violence escalated and in 1969 the situation had become so bad
that British armed forces were called in to separate the warring
factions.
British Troops on Belfast Streets
The presence of British troops on the streets of Ulster only seemed
to make matters worse, it was not long before this security force
became the target of attacks and in 1971 the first British soldier (of
the most recent conflict) was killed. Internment legislation was
introduced (allowing for the arrest and imprisonment of persons
suspected of terrorist activities) but this too only led to a further
escalation of violence -including the infamous "Bloody Sunday",
when 13 Catholics were killed by the Royal Ulster Constabulary
(RUC).
The parliament at Stormont was dissolved and direct British rule
was imposed. It was during this period of violence that the
provisional side of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) was born.
25 years of bloodshed
The provisional IRA are one of the most ruthless and efficient
terrorist outfits in the world today. They claim allegiance to the
Irish Republic made up of the 32 counties (6 of which make up
Northern Ireland) and demand the end of British imperial rule in
the whole of Ireland.
Their activities have claimed the lives of many innocent people,
Catholic as well as Protestant, and haven't just been restricted to
Northern Ireland but have also been carried out on the British
mainland. In 1984 they claimed world wide media coverage for
their cause when they bombed the Conservative Party Conference
at the Grand Hotel, Brighton.
The arms of terrorism
The IRA are not, however, the only paramilitary outfit in action in
the province. The Unionists also have their cause violently
supported by the terrorist groups the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF)
and the Ulster Defence Association (UDA). While the IRA demand
the unification of Ireland and the end of British `Imperialist' rule,
the loyalist paramilitary fight for exactly the opposite. It is their
desire that Northern Ireland remains a part of the United Kingdom.
The loyalist paramilitary traditionally target Catholics, they use the
bomb and the bullet to show the British government that a peaceful
solution to the troubles in the province cannot be engineered by
appeasing the IRA. They would step up their bombing campaigns if
they felt that they would be forced to live in a united Ireland
dominated by Catholics.
Anglo-Irish Agreement
The present cease-fire has come into being only because of
negotiation and compromise. For many years the British
government refused to hold talks with Sinn Fein (the political wing
of the IRA) because that would force them to recognise the
existence of the IRA as a political organisation and not just a
terrorist group.
Circumstances have radically changed now. In 1985 the British and
Irish governments took their first step to removing some of the
barriers to peace when they signed the Anglo-Irish Agreement. This
agreement recognised that "the present wish of a majority of the
people of Northern Ireland is for no change" but also agreed that if
this wish should change both governments would do what they
could to see that the desire of the people became a reality. This
agreement was reiterated in 1993 when John Major and Albert
Reynolds (the then British and Irish Prime Ministers) jointly
announced the Downing Street Declaration.
Finally in August last year the IRA laid down their arms and two
months later the unionist paramilitary also called a cease-fire. Since
then negotiations have been going apace as demands are made and
compromises sought. There are many sticking points which could
potentially kill off the peace process, for example: the demands by
the IRA for the release of `political' prisoners and the British
governments demands that the IRA should surrender its weapons.
The Future
Life in Ulster returned to normal remarkably quickly after the
cease-fire last August but the peace is still fragile. Incidences like
the discovery of a semtex bomb in a furniture shop in Enniskillen
at the end of last year and the revealing of the London-Dublin
peace document could, however, see a return of the violence.
Fortunately their does not seem to be the hysteria there was
previously.
It is probable that the peace can survive but a speedy end to the
Northern Ireland question is not likely. The ideologies of a vast
amount of the population need to change before the conflict is
really over. Any separation of Northern Ireland from the United
Kingdom is therefore likely to take a long time, involve many
constitutional changes and above all be something the people of
Northern Ireland will have to agree and decide upon themselves.
Partial Source: The Times Newspaper; February 23 1995, February
27 1995.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
two hundred years of irish unrest
1780: Grattan's parliament in Dublin threatens armed
rebellion to support greater autonomy for Irish colony.
1801: Act of Union establishes the United Kingdom of
Great Britain and Ireland.
1914: Asquith's Home Rule Bill passed.
1916: Easter Rising in Dublin against British Rule.
1920: Government of Ireland Act partitions Ireland.
1921: George V opens Northern Ireland parliament
1921: Anglo-Irish Treaty creates Irish Free State and
triggers civil war in South.
1923: Civil war ends.
1939: IRA declares war on England. Bombing campaign begins.
1949: Unification possible only with the consent
of the majority in the North.
1969: British Army sent on to Belfast and Londonderry streets
after serious sectarian rioting.
1971: Internment introduced.
1972: British troops kill 13 protesters on Bloody Sunday.
1972: Parliament at Stormont dissolved. Direct rule
by Westminster imposed.
1979: Government initiates inter-party talks at Stormont.
1981: Ten Republican prisoners die on hunger strike.
1982: James Prior announces "rolling devolution".
New Northern Ireland assembly elected.
1985: Anglo-Irish Agreement signed by London and Dublin.
1986: Assembly dissolved.
1989: Government begins in-conclusive inter-party talks.
1993: Joint Anglo-Irish Downing Street Declaration.
1994: IRA and loyalist cease-fires.
1995: London-Dublin revealed
Source: The Times Newspaper; Thursday 23 Feb. 199
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