Issue 191, Saoirse: Irish Freedom (March, 2003)

              saoi use irish freedom the voice of the republican movement uimh191 marta — march 2003 http://saoirse.rr.nu 1 70p stg usa 30 p.a comoradh robert emmet agus eiri amach 1803 roll of honour — see page 4 neither london rule nor dublin rule but new democracy new ireland at a press conference in the comvay mill belfast on february 11 ruairi o brddaigh launched a new document from republican sinn fein an address to the people of ireland eighty-one years after the partition of ireland in 1922 and almost five years after the stormont agreement of 1998 republican sinn fein on the basis of a resolution passed at our annual ard-fheis held in october 2002 wishes to address the irish people on the current national position we wish to address the people of ulster in particular and to make a special appeal to people of the unionist persuasion as republicans in the tradition of theobald wolfe tone we seek the welfare of all irish people protestant catholic and dissenter we are conscious that men and women of all persuasions have over the centuries made their contribu tion to achieving the freedom and welfare of all the irish people we think that the lines penned by anoth er protestant republican thomas davis 1814-1845 are worthy of recall at this time what matter that at different shrines we pray unto one god — what matter that at different times your fathers won this sod - in fortune and in name we're bound by stronger links than steel and neither can be safe nor sound but in the other's weal it is our opinion that the continu ing instability results from an ill advised partition of our country a continuance of english rule and the failure of the stormont agreement of april 10 1998 this agreement was destined to fail because of its inher ent contradictions as it promised a secure place in the united kingdom to one group and an advance towards a free and united ireland to another a stage appears to have been reached where the london govern ment's will to govern the six-county area may possibly already be broken and where the dublin government is scared of taking it under its wing much has changed since 1969 which bewilders and dismays the unionists as they perceive the sov ereign authority of westminster to be weakening and the influence of leinster house to be increasing joint authority whether or not it is acknowledged as such may be ahead of us the nightmare of the nationalist community still endures watchtow ers patrols and checkpoints still operate prisoners are denied politi cal status and sectarian attacks and killings continue now the unionist community also experiences a sense of appre hension and insecurity as the cer tainties of the past give way to uncer tainty confusion and bewilderment there is likely to be continuing con flict as uncertainty about the future worries everybody in the six counties the setting up of the new stormont assembly has not brought real autonomy as the london gov ernment and to a lesser extent the dublin government are increasingly telling everybody what they may and may not do the partition of ireland in 1921 22 was a mistake in that it drew an artificial boundary creating a protestant state in the six counties and a catholic state in the 26 counties thus stifling the potential of all a house divided against itself cannot stand republican sinn fein holds dearly to the teaching of theobald wolfe tone that an independent ireland where protestant catholic and dissenter could work in partner ship under the common name of irishman and irishwoman is the desirable end the unionist people have been placed in a trying situation as the nationalist population and vote con tinues inexorably to increase this demographic trend hangs like the sword of damocles over them and the humiliation long endured by the nationalists could well be experi enced by the unionists before too • ruairi o brddaigh speaking in belfast on february 11 republican sinn fein do not wish to see unionists suffer the same humiliation as nationalists had since 1922 " long this can be averted by antici pating the likely result of the present trend and choosing a third way nei ther london rule nor dublin rule but a new democracy in a new ireland republican sinn fein and its leaders were prepared in 1981-82-83 and again in 1986 to take a princi pled stand to preserve the republican position which would cherish all the children of the nation equally and stood by an inclusive ireland and structures of government which would give real power to all the people in a new ireland we have always been conscientious and straightforward in our dealings we do not think in terms of a gain for us being a loss for others but seek only the welfare of all the irish people we believe that neither london nor dublin can guarantee the future welfare of the people of ulster only the people of ulster themselves can do that - and they can best achieve it by taking their rightful place as equals in the historic irish nation where their rights would be guaran teed by a new constitution and they would have access to real power as trust founders on all sides we ask everybody to consider again our eire nua programme for a four province federal ireland with opti mum devolution of powers down to community level even now unionists could still have a workii majority in a nine-county ulst subject to the checks and balances the new structures we do not regard incorporate of the six counties into the 2 county state as desirable and not ing resembling a takeover open or covert should be attempted we have consistently sought the creation of a new ireland fashioned by the repre sentatives of all the irish people in a constituent assembly which would draft a 32-county constitution opportunity beckons and this generation of irish men and women should seize the moment in unity and fraternity england has little or noth ing to offer at this stage as many have come to realize the time has come for them to bow out and for the irish people of all persuasions to plan their future together and set about national reconstruction we are prepared to meet with all individuals and groups in order to discuss our ideas and policies with them copies of eire nua — a new democracy and towards a peaceful ireland are available from our offices and may be viewed on our website at rsf.ie with respect we remain ard chomhairle — national executive republican sinn fein poblachtach february 2003 honour ireland's dead wear an easter lily easter lilies now avail able 32.00 per 1,000 front peig king 29 all saint's park raheny dublin 5 applications for speakers at county easter commemorations should be sent to an runat coiste cuimhneachain naisiuiita 223,sraid pharnell,bac 1