Issue 081, Saoirse: Irish Freedom (January, 1994)

              uimh.81 eanair january 1994 athbhliain faoi shean agus faoi mhaise d'arleitheoiri go leir opposition g rows to major reynolds • republican sinn fein s press conference in belfast the only peace process which can endure must begin with a british declaration of intent to leave ireland in the weeks since the publication of the reynolds/major declaration at downing street london with the accompanying enormous media hype opposition to its terms has been emerging from the republican and nationalist grass roots among local and community leaders and media in the six occupied counties and from republican sinn fein and the irish republican socialist party support for the december 15 declaration lies among the 26-county establishment parties jim molyneaux's ulster unionist party the british government and opposition and the leaders of the main churches an immediate reward for the unionists was the announcement in westminster on the following day december 16 that a british house of commons select committee on northern ireland was being established a key demand of the ulster unionists in return for their vital support for the tory government of john major john hume's sdlp who in the past opposed the setting up of a select committee on the grounds that it would strengthen british rule in ireland said it would have a positive attitude to any future committee the eight-page declaration contains much nationalist rhetoric but the substance reinforces british rule eg the guarantee of the continuance of the british presence in the six counties so long as a maj ority there desires it is repeated no less than eight times in the course of its 12 points the partition of ireland as republican sinn fein president ruairi 6 bradaigh pointed out in a statement on december 17 was imposed by the british in the 1 920s and was based on a sectarian head-count to ensure that the pro-british population would have a majority in the largest area feasible ie six of the nine counties of the province of ulster this majority is therefore artificial representing as it does only 18 per cent of the population of the whole island the only peace process which could endure he said must begin with abritish declaration of intentto leave ireland a new ireland negotiated by the irish people themselves and a general amnesty for all political prisoners albert reynolds has stated that after 50 years of partition in any country separate votes should be taken in the 73 years since the government of ireland act of the british parliament created the six^ount been constant political resistance to it active and organised physical resistance on the ground in the six counties with much loss of life sacrifice and suffering has been led by the republican movement in the periods 1920-23 1938-44 1954-62 and from 1970 onwards status quo draconian emergency"-type legislation - and internment without trial at regular intervals - were necessitated in the six counties to maintain the status quo similar coercive measures have been taken in the 26 counties to cope with the spill-over from north of the border and to collaborate in securing british rule there all of this resistance has disputed the claim of the british government to rule in ireland and maintained the right of the irish people acting as a unit to decide their own future the sacrifice and suffering ofrepublicans down the years have kept that claim open the government of ireland act has never been conceded as legitimate and republican sinn fein will not make that concession now eighteen per cent of the people living in ireland cannot have the monopoly of decision over the future of this country - thus maintaining a veto over the other 82 the nationally-minded people according to the reynolds-major declaration have no rights talexe the reynol presumably provides for a new stormont-type assembly republican sinn fein will do its utmost by every means in its power to remove such an obstacle on the road to national liberation in the days before the publication of the reynolds major declaration leading members of the organisation have been arrested and detained and attempts made to intimidate them into accepting the proposed adams sell-out this purely political pressure is not the work of the 26-county police no more than the entirely political pronouncements of cardinal daly at westminster and in dublin are concerned with moral issues both sets of action are those of political agents not of clerics and police all ireland democracy in the context of a british withdrawal takes precedence provincial self-determination in a nine-county ulster and in the other provinces are valid within that context playing with the loaded dice of a six-county referendum has failed - as was the british inten tion - for more than 70 years it is designed to produce the same result in perpetuity republican sinn fein will uphold the irish people's national right and will not accept partitioned referenda