-Caveat Lector- >From TheNation > July 26, 1999 > > Ulster Must Not Say No > > > > See below for background and related information. > > > > Northern Ireland's peace process faces its gravest crisis since > George Mitchell negotiated the Good Friday accord--graver even > than after last summer's bombing in Omagh by a small band of > breakaway republicans. This time, it's not marginals but the > mainstream of Protestant unionist leadership who have thrown the > process into jeopardy, and with it the resolution of Europe's > longest-running civil rights struggle and civil war. > > The Good Friday accords called for Northern Ireland > self-government with Catholic-Protestant power-sharing. > Disarmament by the IRA and Protestant loyalist paramilitaries was > to move forward on an independent track. But unionist leader > David Trimble, fending off militant unionist challenges to his > leadership and abetted by dodgy language from British Prime > Minister Tony Blair, began insisting that the IRA disarm before > its Sinn Fein allies could take their elected seats. By the June > 30 deadline for forming the new governing body, Trimble had > painted himself into a corner. > > The real culprit is a unionist political vocabulary built since > the turn of the century on the slogan "Ulster Says No." To the > unionist siege mentality--of people who command a political > majority and make up 93 percent of the police but whose power is > eroding with Catholic population growth--every compromise by > Gerry Adams and Sinn Fein is, in Trimble's words, a "con job." > > Yet by the end of June Sinn Fein had made an extraordinary > commitment to "persuading those with arms to decommission them in > accordance with the Agreement." And the IRA itself has sustained > its cease-fire in the face of escalating attacks by loyalist > paramilitaries, who have staged at least forty-five pipe-bombings > against Catholics since January, as well as the bombing murders > of civil rights lawyer Rosemary Nelson and Elizabeth O'Neill, a > Protestant married to a Catholic. > > When the deadline passed, Blair and Irish Prime Minister Bertie > Ahern went public with a dramatic proposal to begin disarmament > shortly after the new government's inauguration on July 15. They > hope that a silent majority of Protestants eager for settlement > will lure unionist leaders from their rejectionist corner. The > Clinton Administration is dangling carrots and raising sticks to > preserve its one unalloyed foreign policy triumph, with the > President himself lobbying Adams and Trimble. > > The best hope lies not with political brinkmanship at Stormont > Castle but with shifts in both Catholic and Protestant public > consciousness aided by meticulously balanced historical > reckonings. In the run-up to June's negotiations, a British > tribunal reopened an investigation into Bloody Sunday, the 1972 > killing of fourteen Catholics by soldiers. A former Royal Ulster > Constabulary informant was charged with the 1989 murder of civil > rights lawyer Pat Finucane. Loyalist and republican paramilitary > prisoners walked free. The IRA released information about those > "disappeared" during the seventies. It's as if each historic > grievance is an obstacle to be overcome so that negotiations can > occur on the terrain of the present. > > If the new deal succeeds, the power-sharing executive it creates > will not alone bring justice to Northern Ireland. As Bernadette > Devlin McAliskey warns, it will not bring the united Ireland > sought by republicans but an "agreed Ireland" with battles of > equity and inclusion still to be fought. Nor will > "decommissioning" guarantee peace; the decommissioning debate is > about who's a terrorist and political legitimacy. The real > guarantor is a distribution of power that all sides find > equitable. That can happen only if David Trimble and the unionist > community take a leap of faith and consign "Ulster Says No" to > history. > > > > > ----------------------------------------------------------------- > ------- > > > Background and Related Information > > > Irish News Round-Up > > > RM_Distribution is an electronic news service carrying current > Irish Republican news updates and local Northern Irish > information and analysis. The site offers subscriptions to a > reliable daily news update from Ireland, including activist > bulletins, as well as a history of the IRA and a discussion > forum. http://irlnet.com/rmlist > > > > > Newshound > > > Collected articles on Northern Ireland from major US, UK and > Irish newspapers and wire services are posted daily on this site, > which covers the troubles in Northern Ireland. Also featured are > book reviews, Irish history topics and links to the full text of > the Good Friday Agreement. http://www.nuzhound.com > > > > > The Irish Times > > > This site has a link to the Irish Times on the Web, information > on breaking news (including up-to-the-minute updates on conflicts > arising over the Orange Order marches), a history of the peace > process, a description of the Northern Irish electoral process > and information on Northern Ireland's key political players. > http://www.ireland.com > > > > > ----------------------------------------------------------------- > ------- > > > Send your letter to the editor to [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > Copyright ©1999 The Nation Company, L.P. All rights reserved. > Unauthorized redistribution is prohibited. > > If you liked what you just read, you can subscribe to The Nation > by calling 1-800-333-8536 or by following this link. The Nation > encourages activists and friends of the magazine to share our > articles with others. However, it is mandatory that academic > institutions, publications and for-profit institutions seeking to > reprint material for redistribution contact us for complete > guidelines. > > Please attach this notice in its entirety when copying or > redistributing material from The Nation. For further information > regarding reprinting and syndication, please call The Nation at > (212) 209-5426 or e-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > ----------------------------------------------------------------- > ------- <Picture: home> > > A<>E<>R ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The only real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes. -Marcel Proust + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + "Believe nothing, no matter where you read it, or who said it, no matter if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and your common sense." --Buddha + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + A merely fallen enemy may rise again, but the reconciled one is truly vanquished. -Johann Christoph Schiller, German Writer (1759-1805) + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + It is preoccupation with possessions, more than anything else, that prevents us from living freely and nobly. -Bertrand Russell + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + "Everyone has the right...to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers." Universal Declaration of Human Rights + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + "Always do sober what you said you'd do drunk. That will teach you to keep your mouth shut." --- Ernest Hemingway + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + Forwarded as information only; no endorsement to be presumed + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without charge or profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this type of information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance—not soapboxing! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory', with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright frauds is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credeence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://home.ease.lsoft.com/archives/CTRL.html http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
