BY PETE CLIFFORD
LONDON, England - Events surrounding U.S. president Bill
Clinton's recent visit to Ireland and the United Kingdom
showed that those fighting for Irish national unification
and independence continue to hold the initiative.
In the days leading up to Clinton's visit, spirited protests and meetings were held in Ireland and Britain by supporters of Irish self-determination. In Derry 2,000 joined a march organized by Sinn Fein on November 26 under the slogan "Save the peace process" - referring to the 15- month-old cease-fire in Northern Ireland and scheduled talks on the British partition and occupation of the north.
In Dublin a rally titled "All-party talks now" was held November 28. It was addressed by former Irish premier Albert Reynolds, Social Democratic and Labour Party leader Denis Haughey, and Sinn Fein leader Martin McGuinness. At the same time, women's "peace camps" were set up by Guth na mBan (Women's Voice) in Belfast, Derry, Dublin, and London for the duration of Clinton's visit.
On November 28 a letter signed by 140 prominent figures was presented to British prime minister John Major. Endorsed by 20 members of the British parliament and 21 European Union MPs from England, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Scotland, and Spain, it called for unconditional talks on Northern Ireland with all parties involved, including Sinn Fein. That same evening, 100 people attended a meeting in London called by the Irish Peace Initiative, which was addressed by British Labour MP George Galloway and Eamon O'Cuiv, Fianna Fail member of the Irish Dail for Galway.
O'Cuiv drew attention to the recent repeated appearances by himself and Albert Reynolds on the same platform with Sinn Fein leaders. "We have grasped the nettle," he said. "This is proof of progress." O'Cuiv criticized London for stalling on the peace process. Major's government has insisted since June that the Irish Republican Army (IRA) must disarm before peace talks can proceed. "First they [London] wanted proof that the IRA cease-fire was permanent. Then they raised the issue of decommissioning IRA arms. To ask the IRA to give up arms is not on," he declared. "That would be to forget what has happened over the last 25 years."
Hours before Clinton's arrival on November 29, the prime ministers of Britain and Ireland issued a joint communiqué setting mid-February as the target for all-party talks. The two premiers agreed to refer the issue of arms "decommissioning" to a three-person international advisory body headed by former U.S. senator George Mitchell. This committee will report its recommendations to the two governments by mid-January.
The Financial Times of London commented in an editorial that the communiqué "bore the hallmarks of a deal struck at Washington's bidding."
Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams described the announcement as a fudge. "They agreed about that which they disagreed about," he said. Nevertheless, Adams noted, "we want to interpret it positively and make it work. John Major may not. He may be buying time." Ulster Unionist Party leader David Trimble commented, "The essential issue is that there must be decommissioning and there will not be talks with Sinn Fein until that happens."
Clinton addressed the British parliament in London November 30. Referring to his talk, the Financial Times said Clinton was "effusive in his praise for the role played by Mr. John Major in devising a new strategy." The same paper said one of Clinton's major goals was "to calm British misgivings on the strength of the Anglo-American relationship."
The U.S. president refused to say publicly whether he favors London's demand that the IRA hand in some weapons in order for talks to proceed. Reports in the big-business press on his visit emphasized a new "surge of investment interest in N. Ireland," especially by U.S. corporations. In Northern Ireland, according to the Financial Times, "labour costs are 10 percent lower than the UK average, [and] 40 percent below the US average."
Large crowds greeted Clinton in Ireland, including a rally of some 100,000 in Dublin. At a reception for Clinton at Queens University in Belfast, Major appeared for the first time along with Adams, Irish prime minister John Bruton, and Unionist leader Trimble. Ian Paisley of the rightist Democratic Unionist Party turned down an invitation to attend, but met with Clinton separately.
Most reports in the big-business press in the United States and Britain painted Clinton's visit as a "triumph" of international diplomacy for Washington. Supporters of Irish independence, however, used it to push their demands for ending the British occupation of Northern Ireland. "The mood of the people from Belfast to Dublin is for lasting peace," said an editorial in the December 4 London Observer.
The British government, which continues to pursue its colonialist policy in Northern Ireland, was in fact pushed back. A ruling by the European Court of Justice November 30 illustrated this point. It declared Britain's Prevention of Terrorism Act in breach of European law. John Gallagher, a supporter of Sinn Fein who lives in Ireland, had initiated this case. Gallagher was barred from entering the United Kingdom in 1991 under this act, allegedly for being suspect of terrorism. He was never given the chance for a hearing.
In another recent victory for the republican movement, Patrick Kelly and Michael O'Brien, two Irish political prisoners held under onerous conditions in Whitemoor Prison's Special Secure Unit in Northern Ireland, were moved to the "normal" jail wings November 13. The two had sustained a "dirty" protest since mid-July, refusing to cooperate with prison authorities and wearing only blankets, according to Sinn Fein's newspaper An Phoblacht. The abuse of these and other Irish prisoners by British authorities was raised in a recent motion by 20 MPs in the British parliament and at a November 17 hearing in the UN Committee against Torture in Geneva.
Meanwhile, Sinn Fein leaders have continued to seek support in the fight for Irish self-determination around the world. Since September they have completed successful tours in Australia, France, the United States, and elsewhere.
On November 8, Sinn Fein leaders Adams and McGuinness addressed a 1,500-strong rally at the Ulster Hall in Belfast, known for a historic unionist rally against Home Rule in 1886. It was the first time a republican rally was allowed there.
McGuinness captured the determination of many Irish to press their struggle for independence when he said, "John Major does not have a strategy for peace. On the contrary, the British are adhering to the old strategy of war, demanding a surrender.... They will never achieve our surrender. They failed to achieve our defeat in 25 years of war, in 75 years of oppression."