What is Blair's plan?
The claim over the years that Britain had no selfish, strategic
or economic interest in remaining in Ireland, was finally put to
rest by Tony Blair, who as newly elected Prime Minister, nailed
his political colours firmly to the Unionist mast.
Given the events of the past few weeks, and the ever widening gap
between Unionism and Nationalism, one could argue that such a
selfish pronouncement from a party with a clear parliamentary
majority, was once again consigning future generations of
nationalist children to a life of conflict and continuing
violence.
For as Blair stated in his Belfast speech, ``not even the youngest
child present here today, will see a United Ireland.''
That profound remark, viewed in the context of the events of the
Garvaghy Road, when Blair's storm troopers in the RUC and British
army, beat nationalist protestors, off the streets, clearly
illustrates that British imperialism transcends political
ideologies.
The Labour government has no intention, despite all the hype
about talks and peace trains and ceasefires, of conceding
democracy.
Indeed the question of Britain's imperialist plans to reintegrate
the whole of Ireland, back into the United Kingdom, must be
seriously re-examined.
It is clear that Blair wants to address the issue of this sick
and squalid society which Britain created through partition. But
he knows that this cannot be done in the context that of the
North of Ireland alone being the unit of self determination.
Internationally and nationally, the anti democratic constituency,
the apartheid Orange state, designed to give the British Unionist
an internally generated voting majority, is no longer acceptable.
Trimble, Paisley and the loyalist paramilitaries, are already
presiding over the outcome of the decommissioning debate and
therefore the talks, in a manner akin to re-arranging the deck
chairs on the Titanic.
The ``leaked'' document, the British government gameplan, to
accommodate the Orange Order, and Drumcree Mark 3, considered
that their key objective ``was to demonstrate that in a moment of
crisis in the North, the government is playing a proactive and
imaginative role and going the extra mile to find a solution''.
To ensure that the perception would be acceptable, the document
detailed the importance of bringing on board the media and
political support for the notion of the government doing its best
against the intransigence of the Garvaghy Residents Committee.
They considered that key influences in this gameplan would be the
Irish government, the US government, the SDLP, particularly John
Hume and Brid Rogers, Archbishop Brady, the Newsletter and the
Irish News.
The entire process was directed at putting pressure on the
Garvaghy Resident Committee, to do a deal, and get Brendan
McKenna, to disown his political past. The gameplan didn't work,
and the British resorted to the tried and trusted method of state
violence and terrorism, against the nationalist community of the
Garvaghy Road. The implications of Drumcree Mark 3, and its
effects on the current situation of round table talks will to be
lost on the Sinn Féin political negotiators.
The knowledge that the Mitchell Commission member who will
preside over the decommissioning of weapons, General John de
Chastelains has strong connections with the British Intelligence
Services, raises serious questions about the sincerity of the
Blair government, given their pro Union stance, to conduct talks
with any degree of success even for the Unionist community. It
would appear that the British strategy is to create a situation
where democrats become impatient and suspicion and mistrust
accumulates. Could the gameplan be to split not only the
Republican Movement, but the Unionist/Loyalist camp as well. The
indications from Mo Mowlam in the face of a no vote by the
Unionists on the decommissioning issue, is that the round table
talks planned for September, may now become proximity talks. We
look back on the last proximity talks and the subsequent utter
betrayal of the nationalist community.
As Gerry Adams so clearly states: ``If the political will exists,
there is the potential to resolve the conflict on the basis of an
agreed and democratic peace settlement among all the Irish
people.''
While our attention is diverted by the dying kicks of Unionist
intransigence, we would all do well to cast an eye on Blair and
Labour's little gameplans, for Wales and Scotland. Sovereignty is
still rooted in Westminster and even with decolonising attitudes
prevalent throughout the world, the British still cling to the
notion of Ireland as their territory. Which is where I came in.
Is Blair's gameplan for the North running on the same track as
Scotland and Wales?
![[An Phoblacht]](http://republican-news.org/graphics/title_gifs/aprn.gif)