A view from the West
H-Block escaper Pól Brennan writes from his prison cell in
California
It never rains but it pours, at least as far as news goes for me
6,000 miles away at Federal Detention Center, Dublin, California.
Just this week alone, I learned that most or all of our POWs in
English jails are to be repatriated back to Ireland. Yesterday
Sinn Féin's visit to 10 Downing Street was reported and today,
word of an escape from our old alma mater, the Kesh. Indeed, a
good week for Republicans.
However, the real news is nowhere to be found in the US media;
namely, the lack of commitment to the peace talks by the
Unionists, who from the start have tried to undermine all efforts
by Sinn Féin to engage in meaningful dialogue.
The unionists seem to be there mainly to erect obstacles and
moan. They haven't come up with anything remotely progressive or
viable, only what they know to be wholly unacceptable to
Republican nationalists, such as a return to Stormont.
The British are plainly aware of Unionist obstructionism, and
have even found it useful at times, but if peace is going to be
allowed to break out, it's up to them to ensure that the
foot-dragging does not continue.
The Official Unionists cannot be permitted to hold a veto on a
hard-won agreement towards a workable peace simply because they
are too frightened to break out of their old entrenchments. The
near total lack of flexibility from their quarter is unacceptable
if we are to reach what is ultimately our common goal, peace.
The white South Africans and the Israelis have moved forward
(albeit haltingly and only in the wake of armed resistance), then
the Unionists should also be made to do so. It's time for David
Trimble to bite the bullet and start talking directly with Sinn
Féin about solutions which will take every man, woman and child
in the Six Counties towards a working peace.
As we approach the millennium, there is much talk of new
beginnings, new eras and new changes. We can find existing
solutions in the recent past which are consistent with those
concepts, solutions that would allow for accommodation of the
unionists' wish to remain British within a unitary state. One of
these is dual citizenship (arriving at a settlement should not be
about ramming Irishness down anybody's throat).
Others are to be found in the latest history between Britain and
China. Though they hadn't much choice in the matter, the British
eventually returned Hong Kong to the Chinese. Using the scenario
they employed in Hong Kong would be a sane, calm way to initiate
their departure from the Six Counties.
By simply designating a date for withdrawal a number of things
could be accomplished: not only would it present the unionists
with a fait accompli but it would also give them time to absorb
the ramifications of the upcoming change and provide a chance to
realise that their best interests would be better served as 20%
of a unitary state rather than 2.6% of the United Kingdom.
It would be a decompression period that would enable greater
interaction between the two communities to explore new ways to
dismantle the barriers that we have thrown up over the years, to
forgive and rebuild trust on both sides. It could be a time when
an economic revitalisation programme for the North could further
facilitate more community integration at the work place, a time
to disband the RUC and reconfigure an unarmed police force drawn
initially from the communities they would be policing.
The possibilities are many and varied. For everyone's sake, I
hope we are at the stage where we can work it out amongst
ourselves and avoid returning to the physical and emotional
ravages of armed conflict.
This won't be easy. There are many on both sides who wish
otherwise. The pitfalls are numerous so each of us must proceed
carefully. Destabilising any peace process, especially one as
fragile as ours, is an easy task as evidenced in the Middle East,
Bosnia and elsewhere.
yhow, that's how things look to me here in California. The
outcome of our own battle against extradition is, of course,
tethered to the evolving security policies of Britain and the US.
The 1986 revised extradition treaty is now the model for any such
future arrangements, especially with those countries whose
repressive internal policies could result in politically
embarrassing exiles showing up on the shores of these United
States. This treaty circumvents any political exclusion clauses
in extradition cases and as such will enhance our attempts to
regain bail while the appeals go forward.
We maintain that the present state of affairs in the North and
the prominence of the issues of political prisoners do indeed
constitute the ``special circumstances'' necessary to allow bail in
extradition cases. We wait in hope.
Finally, I'd like to issue belated and heartfelt words of
gratitude to Martin McGuinness and Caoimhghín O'Caoláin for their
recent visit to us here in these California prisons.
Upon arriving in the San Francisco Bay area, Martin postponed the
welcome of local officials and well-wishers to come immediately
from the airport to meet individually with Terry Kirby, Kevin
Artt and myself. They gave us their undivided attention for
hours, providing a tremendous morale boost to us and our families
while reminding everyone that Irish political prisoners of war
are a high priority among the chief negotiators for peace in
Ireland.
Beir bua.
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