Defeat from jaws of victory
In spite of Sinn Fein's optimistic perspective respecting the
Good Friday Document - albeit with many caveats at the 10 May
party conference - the question that must be asked is:
Did Sinn Fein and the government of Ireland "snatch defeat from
the jaws of victory?"
This question is legitimate in view of the fact that Irish
nationalists will soon be a decisive majority in British-occupied
Ireland. Protestants now number only 53% of the population.
(Newsweek, 20 April, p34).
Moreover, four of the six counties now have decisive nationalist
majorities.
It would appear that David Trimble and the Unionists that support
the accord believe they have found a way to cope with this
demographic development by urging a "yes" vote on 22 May.
After years of insisting that a majority vote of the people of
British-occupied Ireland would decide whether or not they wished
to live under British or Irish rule, Trimble and his fellow
Unionists apparently believe that they have found a way to make
the British presence in Ireland permanent.
Why has there been a change in the rules in light of the
forthcoming Irish nationalist demographic majority in the north?
One feels obliged to ask why it would not have sufficed to wait
for that forthcoming vote to re-unite the northern six counties
with the Republic of Ireland?
The recent announcement that IRA dissidents plan to take up arms
again on behalf of a united Ireland suggests peace will not come
as a result of this accord and will come only when Britain once
and for all decides to return the northern six counties to the
people of Ireland.
William Gartland
Wisconsin
USA
No Irish
A chairde
I wish to refer to the letter in relation to the upcoming
referenda in last week's paper.
I have just recieved a copy of the following and all in English:
1. Text of Multiparty Agreement.
2. The Referemdum on Articles 2&3.
3. Amsterdam Treaty - for and against.
I am very disappointed at this lack of solidarity with the Irish
language. Albeit I have automatically got the versions above in
English, I now have to pursue Irish language copies from the
various agencies. Also, the newspaper ads are all in English.
This is a lamentable situation. Surely all publications in
connection with referenda should be bilingual, thus simplifying
life for us all.
I have to seriously consider voting no in the upcoming referenda
due to the imbalance shown towards the Irish language at this
critical time.
Tadhg O Cruadhlaoich
Cill Dara
No cherry picking
In recent days we have heard Bertie Ahern, Mary Harney, John
Bruton et al, all warning Sinn Fein that they are not permitted
to cherry-pick the Agreement. They loudly remind them that the
Agreement must be accepted in its totality or not at all. Yet in
almost the same breath they remind us that the agreement on the
release of prisoners cannot/must not include those convicted for
capital offences in the twenty six counties.
The Good Friday Agreement requires the British and Irish
governments "to put in place mechanisms to provide for an
accelerated programme for the release of prisoners..." (who are
party to the agreement) within two years of the programme coming
into effect. Therefore, whether Mary Harney, or Bertie Ahern, or
John Bruton, or the Garda Representative Body like it or not they
too cannot be permitted to cherry-pick what they like from this
agreement.
In the new dispensations families in the south are being asked to
be magnanimous and accepting in the release of men and women who
have brought pain and sorrow into their lives. But republicans
too have been grievously wronged over the duration of the
conflict. They too have carried their own pain - no different
from anyone else's. They will be asked to forgive the excesses of
the "heavy gang", the forced confessions, the unsafe convictions,
the brutality of Gardai and prison wardens, the collusion of
certain members of the Gardai with the RUC in the "shoot to kill
policy" in "Northern Ireland", the censorship and much more.
y in-depth study of the present "troubles" will cleary show
that no one has a monopoly on morality - or truth, or suffering,
or grief. I suspect that those who have suffered much, on all
sides, will accept that and will find it easier to adjust to the
reality of this agreement than those who, up to now, have ignored
the conflict in the "six counties" but who now wish to cash-in on
the "peace dividend" for selfish or strategic motives.
Fr Tomas Walsh
Ballyphehane
Cork.
A step forward
A chairde,
The British-Irish Agreement of Good Friday is not the solution to
the political conflict but in so far as it recognises the
legitimacy of the republican ideal of an independent united
Ireland it is a step in the right direction.
Insofar as it recognises the need for changes with regard to
protecting human rights and ensuring equality of treatment this
Agreement must be welcomed and should be implemented. The
immediate issues which concern Irish nationalists living in the
north of Ireland are Equality, Policing and Human Rights. There
are provisions and mechanisms for dealing with these concerns
within the Agreement. It is in the interest of unionists as well
as nationalists that these issues are dealt with satisfactorily
and soon.
The crucial issue for many of us is Britain's commitment to
either allowing the evolution of a national democracy or its
obstruction of this as in the past. It was because the British
have obstructed that devopment that Ireland was partitioned, the
British reneged on their commitments and almost eighty years of
conflict ensued.
The inequality that exists today is a direct result of the
determination of successive British governments to block the
creation of a democracy on this island. These inequailties must
be addressed if we are to believe that the British are now
willing to allow the evolution of a national democracy. We need
to see fundamental changes in the near future if we are to
believe that the Blair government is serious about righting the
wrongs of the past. We need to see signs of demilitarisation.
As far as nationalists are concerned the British government
cannot be trusted to fulfil their commitments. We need the
support of the international community. The United Nations must
be called on by the representatives of nationalist Ireland to
ensure that Britian meets its responsibilities and commitments in
this Agreement.
If the British adhere to their side of the Agreement then the
Good Friday Agreement offers all who support democratic
principles an opportunity to build a national democracy by
non-violent means. We all need to be preparing for the eventual
and inevitable British disengagement since that is the logical
outcome of this Agreement and the only way that a true democracy
can evolve on this island. The British must now show us that they
are not going to obstruct the creation of a national democracy in
Ireland. This Agreement could be the beginning of something good
for Ireland if Britain allows it and encourages it to happen.
Joe McVeigh
Centre for Human Rights
Springhill
Belfast.
Miami victim
A chairde,
On the emotive issue of "the release of prisoners"; I wish to say
that, as a victim of terrorism, I would be happy to take the
hands of those who seriously wounded me and murdered my friends,
and lead them out through their prison gates if they would agree
to abandon terrorism and embrace democratic means to achieve
their ends. I speak only for myself and not on behalf of the
families or friends of Tony, Fran or Brian.
Stephen Travers
(Miami Showband Survivor)
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