Workers' Liberty 29, March 1996

Northern Ireland: Conservatives confront conservatives

Standing back from the conflict: one of the most Conservative governments in Europe is facing one of the most conservative opposition moments. There is a strong degree of fundamentalism in the Republican movement which is utterly detached from modern left wing thinking and re-thinking. The issue really, given these poles, is how can the left inject some different thinking into the situation? The question is: what should the left advocate? The problem is similar, in a way, to the problem faced in the British Labour Party: either side with Traditionalists who seem to exist in a time warp and...

Northern Ireland: not peace, but an imperialist offensive

Any impartial assessment of the 18-month IRA ceasefire in Ireland would register not surprise that it has ended, but wonderment that it lasted so long. Initial British concessions — withdrawal of the troops from the urban areas, the opening of border roads, withdrawal of the radio and TV ban on Sinn Fein — gave place to the “spoiling” demands that IRA weapons be “decommissioned” before the promised all-party talks could begin. This had little military significance. The IRA could have lied about its weaponry and easily replaced “decommissioned” weapons with new supplies. The Canary Wharf bomb...

Ireland: call a congress of Republicans and socialists

There was always a probability that the ceasefire would break down. The British went too far and the Irish government could not provide sufficient reassurances for the IRA. It is understandable that the British want to keep the Unionists on side. The statement clarified matters but the ceasefire will be hard to restore. The resumption of the military campaign won the restoration of talks. Generally it is not going to work. My position is much the same as Bernadette McAliskey’s, who has called for a ceasefire, and a congress of Republicans, socialists and anti-imperialists to work out what to...

Northern Ireland: create the right atmosphere for talks

Eighteen months Sinn Fein were able to go with others to the IRA with a package which we believed was an agreement for a ceasefire, and would create conditions whereby the British government would enter into full and meaningful negotiations, which they promised would be held within three months. They broke that promise, and went on to break a series of promises, and I think the resulting frustration, the sense of getting nowhere, were factors that contributed to the breakdown of the ceasefire. We remain committed to a peace process, however difficult that is going to be. We have been...

Northern Ireland: there is no capitalist solution

Clearly the IRA were responsible for the physical breakdown of the ceasefire. But the underlying reason for the collapse of the peace process was the intransigence of the British government — their refusal to move on the question of talks while continually shifting the goal posts. The on-going sectarian obstinacy of local politicians also continued unabated. This led to genuine frustrations within the Republican movement. Republicans felt the talks were being deliberately stalled and that the process was going nowhere. However, these frustrations in no way justified the IRA’s resumption of the...

A united Ireland is a united people

The blame for the breakdown of the ceasefire lies, firstly, with the Provisional IRA. There can be no equivocation of any kind on that question: they carried out the Canary Wharf bombing and killed two totally innocent people. Having said that I also believe that the British government have grossly mishandled the situation over the past few months. We had 17 months of peace. To maintain that peace, the government should have convened all-party talks long ago. In addition the Prime Minister presented an unbalanced view of the Mitchell Report’s recommendations to parliament. Senator Mitchell’s...

Northern Ireland: deal with the remnants of imperialism

There were undertakings given before the IRA ceasefire took effect that there would be all-party talks within three months of an ending of the military campaign. After the ceasefire took effect the British government began to raise all sorts of questions that they had not previously mentioned. Is the ceasefire “permanent”? Well, how permanent is permanent? Then they demanded the decommissioning of weapons. But there had been no mention of such a demand in the Downing Street declaration or the Framework Document. It was made quite clear by Adams that the IRA were not going to deliver before...

Northern Ireland: forget about the border

We now have enormous support for the reinstatement of the ceasefire. Although it is a hard thing for me to say, it is the truth that John Major has worked hard for the ceasefire and to get the IRA to stop their campaign. Major and the southern Taoiseach, John Bruton, have actually done quite well. Bruton has used the right language and has managed to get a dialogue with the Provos. The Provos are difficult people to deal with. Although they have only 10% of the votes here they continued their counterproductive military campaign for a long time. However I firmly believe that politics must not...

Northern Ireland: the solution has to come from within Ireland

The ceasefire broke down because people on the Republican side are impatient. Nothing had happened. They were frustrated. I hope there will be another ceasefire and genuine all-party talks, and I hope the British government expedites matters — by actually listening to the recommendations when they bring in people like Mitchell to make recommendations, and by talking to all parties. It appears that Gerry Adams is having a very hard time to keep the various groups together in the Republican movement. The British government must realise that, and they must help him. I think Adams was sincere in...

Northern Ireland: the working class has been cannon fodder

The Protestant community, I think, was very angry about the breaking of the ceasefire. It must be said that people in the Nationalist community are angry too. Even the letters page of An Phoblacht [Sinn Fein’s weekly paper] is full of criticism of the IRA’s decision to end the ceasefire. The weight of opinion within their community and the opinion that they have always cared about internationally will push them in the direction of the resumption of the ceasefire. The IRA seemingly broke the ceasefire because there was no substantial movement within the peace process towards all-party...

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