squires@csd2.UUCP (Charles S Squires Jr) (11/06/85)
In Defense of the People of Northern Ireland ============================================ It is common for Americans to sympathize with the Nationalist cause of the Irish minority living in Northern Ireland for two reasons. First of all, we tend to draw false parallels between American history and Irish history. Secondly, most Irish-Americans (take note of the names of the posters both pro and con) happen to be Roman Catholic and therefore share a religious and national identity with this minority. I am not a native of Ireland, nor are my family's more recent immigrants British. I write from the perspective of a Protestant Irishman with Irish relatives in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, and British friends in the North. (Note that most of the inhabitants of Northern Ireland do not consider themselves Irish at all. Rather, they are British. There is, however, a 5% minority in the Republic of Ireland who are Protestant. The casual reader may find it interesting to note that most Protestants in the north are Presbyterian, whereas those Irish Protestants in the south tend to be Anglican [Church of Ireland]). We Americans are flooded with pro-IRA propaganda. Such material posted here on net.politics immediately discredits itself with overtly biased and radical diction: Message-ID: <614@sftig.UUCP> > Representative Howe and Ms. McCarthy were traveling along the M1 highway > from Armagh city to Belfast and were passing Long Kesh concentration camp, ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ > also known as "the Maze", which is a political prison. While passing the camp ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ > they took about 2 minutes of film with a Super-8 camera without stopping > the car. Message-ID: <1239@decwrl.UUCP> > You may be interested to note that this "prison" is run by the > british terrorists in Ireland. I strongly object to your ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ > "prison housing terrorists" remark, as it is an insult to the > those who have resisted the repression and criminalization > practised by the Brit forces of occupation. This is not mere ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ > rhetoric, as has been proved by the massive support for the > hunger strikers in 1981 and the electoral gains for Sinn Fein in > the interim. Peace will come to Ireland when the British have > been forced to leave and not before. The entire validity of the anti-British position rests on the argument that Northern Ireland is and ought be a part of Ireland. Since the majority of the population of the island of Ireland does not support this government, it is not valid. This argument carries no weight considering many instances of islands housing more than one sovereign entity. For instance, on the island of Hispanoila (sp?), both Haiti and the Dominican Republic exist as independent sovereign countries. This is legitimate since Haitians and Dominicans are of distinctly different nationalities and cultures. This is also true (but debated) on Cyprus, on many of the lesser Antilles, and in many Pacific Island groups. Similarly, English, Welsh and Scotts all live on Great Britain. In this case, however, these nations have VOLUNTARILY, along with Northern Ireland, joined to form the United Kingdom. Northern Ireland's Protestants do form a national entity distinct from the predominantly Catholic people of the south. They are descended primarily from the Scotts, they speak with a distinct regional dialect of the English language with its own discernable accent. They are legitimate inhabitants of the region for nearly 400 years. They also happen to be among the Queen's most loyal subjects. They also happen to form a clear majority in the north. The British of Northern Ireland face a difficult future at best. On the one hand, they are faced with a government which would abandon them. The government in London, not unlike out own, changes policy with each new administration. When an issue as hot as the Northern Ireland issue becomes a partisan issue, only the inhabitants of the region will suffer. And suffer they do from an internal state of unrest imposed upon them by a forceful group of fugitives-- the IRA. One should note that the IRA is outlawed in both the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom, even though most inhabitants of the south and its government tacetly support its cause. The IRA does not abide by the mores of the Catholic Church, nor does it favor the sovereignty of the existing Dublin government. The IRA is a heavily armed leftist group, supported by Eastern Bloc arms and Irish- American dollars, with its popular roots firmly planted in the poor economic conditions within the ghettos and slums of cities such as Belfast and Londonderry. IRA tactics are terror tactics. Northern Ireland has no battlefields. Murder is a slow but sure business there. No one can ever feel safe. You car may have a bomb in it. Your bus or train may be attacked. Any envelope may be a letter bomb. If you're related to a policeman or a soldier you're at a great risk. If you own land, you're a target. But the people of Northern Ireland are strong and will not be tortured by a terrorist minority of bandits. Still, rights in Northern Ireland are every bit as sound as rights in England, and even the United States. Measures taken in Northern Ireland are comparable to security ckeckpoints in American airports, riot police brought out from time to time in American cities, "no photographs" signs around military installations and major factories, and FBI powers. British troops are a fairly recent phenomenon in Northern Ireland. Their presence is necessary to keep the wholesale slaughter to a minimum; to protect the Catholics and the Protestants, the Irish citizens residing in the North as well as British subjects. The legitimacy of prisons such as Long Kesh is as legitimate as any other anti-terrorist measure taken by any nation, be it Israel, the United States, or the United Kingdom. And it should come as no surprise that the British inhabitants of Northern Ireland should feel resentful towards trouble-making American politicians who, while guests in their country, go around trying to stir up trouble. Albeit the actions taken by the Royal Ulster Constabulary are not always noble and innocent, they are quite understandable, and in any case far more legitimate than the terror tactics of the Irish Republican Army.
squires@csd2.UUCP (Charles S Squires Jr) (11/13/85)
Regarding the point about Scotland, incidental to my argument supporting British rule in Northern Ireland: The United Kingdom is "united" primarily because King James I of England was first a king of Scotland, then ascended to the English throne upon the death of Queen Elizabeth I. In less than 100 years, the present-day United Kingdom was politicaly established. This King James, in addition to being famous for chartering the King James edition of the Bible, was also famous for establishing the Ulster plantation on the island of Ireland. This Ulster colony, while one of only many plantations on the island, was the only one which survived the test of time, giving rise to present day Northern Ireland. /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | Charles Squires, Rm 619 WWH, | ARPA: squires@nyu-csd2.ARPA | | Courant Institute of Mathematical | UUCP: ...cmcl2!csd2!squires | | Sciences, New York University | CSNET: squires@nyu-csd2@csnet-relay | | 251 Mercer St, NY, NY, 10012 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ \/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/