Republican News · Thursday 17 October 2002

Republicans are willing to compromise, not surrender

BY JIM GIBNEY

The British government cannot ride two horses simultaneously: the horse of 'conditional democracy' and the horse of 'military occupation' even if they are out of the same stable and going in the same direction

The time has come for the British government to live up to its responsibilities. The time has come for the British government to apologise to the Irish people, or the people of Ireland, as appropriate, for the misery they have caused this nation since their ancestors first set foot on Irish soil in the 11th century.

The time has come for the British government to declare a date and time to leave Ireland for good, although preferably not midnight - I'd like to see the whites of their eyes as they leave.

The time has come for the British government to right the wrongs of partition.

The time has come for the British government to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth about their dirty war in Ireland.

The time has come for the British government to put on public display their intelligence files used by loyalists to kill hundreds of Catholics and nationalists over the last 30 years.

The time has come for the British government to accept the democratic norms that prevail elsewhere in the democratic world.

The time has come for British Secretary of State John Reid to step down off his pedestal and consult a dictionary with the true definition of 'democracy' and 'morality' before he starts questioning the democratic credentials of republicans.

The British government cannot ride two horses simultaneously: the horse of 'conditional democracy' and the horse of 'military occupation' even if they are out of the same stable and going in the same direction.

What chance, dear readers, do you think there is of Tony Blair's advisers, political and military, approving such a policy shift?

The time has come for the political leaders of unionism to face up to their responsibilities. The time has come for the leaders of unionism to apologise to the rest of us for administering British occupation and repression in Ireland since the 17th century.

The time has come for the leaders of unionism to apologise for promoting and sustaining sectarianism in Ireland for centuries.

The time has come for unionist leaders to apologise for the partitioning of Ireland by their predecessors.

The time has come for this generation of unionist leaders to acknowledge and apologise for the years of unionist, one party, and one government rule in the Six Counties. To acknowledge and apologise for establishing an apartheid state which systematically and scrupulously discriminated against Catholics and nationalists and treated them as second class citizens in their own country.

The time has come for unionist leaders to accept and apologise for those unionists in the 'A', 'B', 'C' Specials; the RUC, the PSNI, the UDR, the RIR, the Crown forces, the Orange Order, the unionist paramilitaries, the judiciary, the prison service, the civil service, Harland and Wolff, Mackies, Shorts Brothers and many, many more institutions for mistreating and killing Catholics and nationalists.

The leaders of unionism cannot ride two horses at the same time: the horse of 'hypocrisy' and the horse of 'double standards'.

What chance, dear readers, do you think that the advisers, political and military, to David Trimble and Ian Paisley would encourage such a shift in policy?

We know, as does everyone else, the reality, the potential and the limitations of the peace process. Are we likely to achieve the conversions required above? I very much doubt it.

The time has come for everyone in Downing Street, Glengall Street, the White House and Leinster House to get real about the peace process, to get real about how a conflict resolution process, which took hundreds of years to take shape, works itself out.

Let them begin by realising what they currently have. Two IRA cease-fires, two IRA arms initiatives, one unprecedented IRA apology. What they have from Sinn Féin is participation in a northern Executive and Assembly and a commitment to pursue the reunification of Ireland through 'exclusively democratic and peaceful means'.

What is on offer from an undefeated IRA, despite provocation from the British and unionists, is a commitment from them to continue to support the peace process.

What is on offer from the IRA is a disciplined, united Army behind the peace process and the Sinn Féin leadership.

What is on offer from the IRA is their silent weapons under disciplined control in secure dumps. What is on offer from the IRA is their silent explosives under disciplined control in secure dumps.

What is on offer from the leadership of Sinn Féin is the integration into the political system on an all-Ireland basis of a powerful community who for nearly 30 years supported the IRA's armed struggle, through thick and thin, and are now committed to peaceful persuasion.

What is realistically achievable from Sinn Féin's viewpoint, in the correct circumstances, is the end of a 200-year-old republican armed conspiracy.

What is not realistic is the demand that the IRA disband. Republicans are willing to compromise, not surrender.