The union - root cause of conflict
The reaction which met Martin McGuinness's remarks this week
about `smashing the union' indicates the level to which some
politicians are deluding themselves in relation to the republican
agenda. McGuinness did no more than reiterate what is, and always
has been the core republican position in relation to any
negotiations.
British occupation of the Six Counties and the partition of
Ireland is the root cause of conflict in this country. The aim of
Irish republicans has always been to change British policy from
one of maintaining the union to one of working to end it. Such a
change in British policy removes the blockage to a peaceful
resolution of the conflict and opens the way to national
reconciliation and the building of an agreed Ireland.
The British government has a particular responsibility towards
the unionists. That is, to become persuaders for an agreed
Ireland. As long as the British government underwrites the
unionist position of vetoing any move away from an internal
arrangement for the Six Counties, they postpone the achievement
of a negotiated settlement. The unionists have no incentive to
negotiate a future with their fellow Irish men and women while
Britain upholds that veto.
The maintenance of such a veto also straightjackets the political
options for nationalists in the Six Counties. Their
identification with Ireland as opposed to Britain, their
alienation from a state to which their consent was never sought
nor given, is not addressed by maintenance of the status quo.
Only fundamental constitutional change can level the playing
field for nationalists. Anything less sows the seeds for
continuing conflict.
Sinn Féin are not the only who see the injustice of partition and
Britain's illegal claim to the Six Counties as the root cause of
conflict. The Irish government has a constitutional imperative to
work towards the ending of partition and for the re-unification
of Ireland. All the nationalist parties in Ireland subscribe to
the view that partition is wrong and that any solution must
transcend the present partitionist arrangement. Furthermore, it
has been recognised, even by the British government, that an
internal settlement is not a solution to the conflict.
Partition, the union, British occupation. These are central to
any meaningful talks on the future of Ireland. The removal of
such obstacles are central to the achievement of a peaceful
settlement. Republicans will not shirk from pointing out these
truths. It is our duty and our responsibility to do so.
As Sinn Féin's Chief Negotiator Martin McGuinness pointed out
this Tuesday in his address to the Opening session of Strand One
of the Substantive Negotiations at Stormont: ``It is our view
that Britain's policy is the root cause of the conflict in our
country and therefore is the key matter which must be addressed
in these negotiations.''
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