21 May 1998 Edition

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Mála Poist

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.

Any 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)

An Phoblacht
44 Parnell Sq.
Dublin 1
Ireland