Irish Republican News and Information, 18 October 2002,
http://irlnet.com/rmlist/
Analysis:
Republicans willing to compromise, not surrender
BY JIM GIBNEY
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 Fein 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 Fein 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 Fein 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 Fein'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.