A clear strategy towards a United Ireland
Brian Campbell sees in Gerry Adams's latest article an
important landmark in the peace process
|
|
``Mr Trimble is making a huge mistake if he thinks that
any nationalist party can sign up to any agreement
which does not go as far as the fundamental changes
which are required for a democratic settlement,'' Gerry
Adams said. ``Mr Trimble is deluding himself if he does
not understand the sea change within nationalism over
the last thirty years.''
|
|
The significance of Gerry Adams's article in Ireland on
Sunday (published here) has largely been missed by
media commentators. They have described it as a
restatement of a ``hardline'' position and it has been
rubbished as unrealistic by Unionists at the Stormont
talks.
These Unionist and media viewpoints are not unexpected
but they are mistaken. In particular, they are part of
a general misreading of the popular mood among
nationalists and certain sections of unionism. It is
this mood which Gerry Adams has captured in his
article.
The media and unionists are not the only ones who have
misread this popular mood. Just over two weeks ago when
Sinn Féin were about to be expelled from the talks, the
relaxed approach of Seamus Mallon of the SDLP and
spokespeople for the Dublin government showed that
sections of the nationalist political elite were out of
touch with popular opinion. It was noticeable that as
the events in Dublin Castle unfolded that week, concern
among the SDLP and Dublin government grew. The reason?
In the background their supporters were telling them
how deeply unpopular the decision to expel Sinn Féin
was.
Similarly, when the SDLP conceded on a Northern
Assembly without a fight in the negotiations, the
backlash was immediate. I myself witnessed a senior
SDLP negotiator being berated on the subject by a
lifelong SDLP voter in a hotel toilet. ``What the hell
are yous playing at up there?'' the middle-aged man
demanded. ``We didn't send you up there to get us a new
Stormont.''
It was one small example of a widespread phenomenon:
nationalists want radical change. And they know that
the way to get it is by maximum nationalist unity. In
his article, Adams has recognised the mood and reached
out to that wider nationalist constituency by setting
out, in concrete terms, an acceptable outcome to the
talks.
d make no mistake, no-one is better at reading that
nationalist mood than the Sinn Féin leadership.
Gerry Adams, at a press conference on Monday, made
reference to this when he spoke about David Trimble's
rejection of his article. ``Mr Trimble is making a huge
mistake if he thinks that any nationalist party can
sign up to any agreement which does not go as far as
the fundamental changes which are required for a
democratic settlement,'' he said. ``Mr Trimble is
deluding himself if he does not understand the sea
change within nationalism over the last thirty years.''
That statement is central to the problem at the heart
of the talks. Quite simply, the status quo won't do
because nationalists won't have it. The old days are
gone and the talks agreement must begin the process of
moving towards a new Ireland.
d therein lies another constituency addressed by
Gerry Adams's article. There are those within Unionism
who realise that new thinking is required and that the
`no surrender' and `what we have, we hold' sloganising
no longer suffices. They will welcome this article.
They may not agree with it, but they will recognise it
as a worthy and genuine contribution to the process.
That is an important step in Sinn Féin's ongoing
engagement with Unionism.
The article is also an important development in the
thinking of Sinn Féin. It lays out for the first time
the transitional arrangements on the way to a United
Ireland. In the 1970s the party's position was to
demand British withdrawal in the lifetime of a British
parliament. But the nature of the arrangements over the
course of those five years was never explicitly stated.
It now is, and within republican policy. And the
remarkable development of Sinn Féin is such that it is
a position which can gain widespread support.
The Sinn Féin position can gain this support because
the party has the only strategy which charts a clear
way out of the conflict. Every other party is content
to tinker with the fundamentally unjust political
arrangements. The republican analysis recognises that
partition and the creation of a sectarian state are
central to the conflict. Structures which effectively
promoted sectarian politics and which entrenched
injustice and inequality as a result must be
dismantled. That cannot be done by any sort of an
internal settlement. There is a growing recognition
that the failed political entity of the Six Counties
cannot be resuscitated and that radically new
arrangements must be put in place.
It is this thinking that Gerry Adams's `Bridge to the
Future' article expresses. It is an important political
initiative which all republicans should study.
Adams also made it clear that Sinn Féin's objective of
an end to the union would not be achieved by May. ``Even
if everyone was agreed on it, it would take longer than
that to sort everything out,'' he said. ``Therefore the
struggle for this entirely legitimate, democratic and
desirable objective will continue beyond May.''
His statement brings into focus an often repeated point
made by Sinn Féin. The current talks are a phase in the
struggle. ``Whatever agreement is produced by this talks
process it will be judged on whether it effectively
tackles and removes the causes of conflict, and whether
it moves us all, as part of a rolling process, or on a
transitional basis, towards Irish unity and
independence,'' Adams said.
In his article, Gerry Adams lays out a clear path
towards moving out of conflict. The next two months
will be crucial in telling us whether others can also
recognise the need for fundamental change.
![[An Phoblacht]](http://republican-news.org/graphics/title_gifs/aprn.gif)