BY PETE CLIFFORD
LONDON - London and Dublin outlined their joint proposals
for the future of Northern Ireland to the multiparty talks
taking place in Belfast on January 12. All of the parties
participating in the talks agreed to consider the proposals,
although Sinn Fein, which is leading the resistance to London's
rule over Northern Ireland, made clear its objective is to end
British domination. London says its goal is to secure an
agreement by May.
The proposals have three elements: an elected Assembly for Northern Ireland, an all-Ireland body to promote cooperation between Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic, and a "Council of the British Isles." The task of the latter would be to review the relationship between Ireland and Britain. , There is no agreement, however, on the connection between these different bodies, nor on what their powers would be.
Sinn Fein representative Mitchel McLaughlin emphasized that a Council of the British Isles that usurped the power of an all- Ireland body would be "totally unacceptable." Sinn Fein also opposes the establishment of a Northern Ireland Assembly with governmental powers inside the United Kingdom - it is fighting for a united and independent Ireland.
On the other hand, David Trimble, leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), focused on welcoming the proposal for an Assembly in Northern Ireland, claiming this signaled the six counties would stay within the United Kingdom. Trimble's party ruled Northern Ireland on behalf of London from 1921 until 1972, when the British government established direct rule after sending in tens of thousands of troops. The UUP draws support from Protestants whose caste-like privileges lead them to look to London. Trimble has still not met face-to-face with Sinn Fein leaders in the talks.
The day before the talks, Terry Enwright, a relative of Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams, was killed by gunmen from the pro- British Loyalist Volunteer Force (LVF). Ostensibly, this act was in response to the killing inside Long Kesh prison of William Wright, leader of the LVF, by the Irish National Liberation Army. Enwright was the third Catholic to be killed by the LVF in the last two weeks. The LVF under Wright's direction was believed to be responsible for six deaths in the last year. This latest act was clearly designed to provoke a reaction by Irish nationalists to undermine the talks. As he entered the talks, Adams said, "Those who refuse to talk cannot escape responsibility for these killings."
These latest developments came after a trumpeted visit by Northern Ireland secretary Marjorie Mowlam -London's direct ruler over the six counties - to Long Kesh prison in Belfast. Mowlam met with both loyalist and republican prisoners' representatives January 9. Mowlam was widely depicted as a courageous woman trying to talk peace to the warring tribes. Her visits, however, were aimed at ensuring support from the loyalist paramilitaries for London's course to try to maintain the "union" of Britain and Northern Ireland through the talks.
She spent most time talking with representatives of the Ulster Defence Association (UDA) and Ulster Freedom Fighters (UFF). These pro-British outfits, referred to as death squads by nationalists, have been relied on for decades to augment London's political rule. They had urged representatives of their party, the Ulster Democratic Party, to withdraw from the multiparty talks. UDP spokesperson Gary McMichael explained that they wanted London to take a "more pro-Unionist, pro- British stance." UUP leader Trimble, who met the UDA/UFF prisoners before Mowlam, focused their complaints on Dublin's decision to release nine Republican prisoners before Christmas. Trimble called for all releases to be subject to agreement within the talks. In other words, he demanded the right to veto them.
The UDA/UFF affirmed their backing for participation in the talks after Mowlam's visit, having been assured their points about prisoner releases would be put on the table. The London Observer also revealed that London's proposals to the talks were discussed with the loyalist prisoners when Trimble saw them, prior to details being given to other parties at the negotiating table.
In the days before Mowlam's prison visit, Dublin also reacted to this pressure from London. Longtime republican leader Brendan McFarlane was arrested in the Irish Republic and charged with involvement in a 1983 kidnapping. McFarlane was a central leader of the Irish republican prisoners during the 1981 hunger strikes, when 10 prisoners died demanding political prisoner status and to be treated with dignity. McFarlane had only just been released from Long Kesh. Sinn Fein leader Pat Doherty said McFarlane was being "scapegoated" to appease the unionists.
Widespread press reports in the last weeks linked the UDA to the killing of a Catholic man, Seamus Dillon, in late December. While the pub shooting was carried out in the name of the LVF, the UDA is widely known to have assisted, the January 9 Guardian reported.
Mowlam's prison visit was preceded by journalists being able to photograph and interview representatives of the loyalist and republican prisoners inside Long Kesh. The press has made a big deal of the supposedly lax conditions at the prison. The London Times noted prisoners are able to decorate their rooms and corridors, but these are gains won as a product of the 1981 republican hunger strikes. It explained that republican prisoners "favour silhouettes of Che Guevara and posters of Palestinians, women's rights, and the Irish language." In contrast it reports, "The loyalist wings are more dramatic with murals of raging gunmen." A picture with the article showed one of these with a death mask. Sam McGrory, the UFF representative who met with Mowlam, posed in front of a mural declaring, "Better to die on your feet than live on your knees in an Irish republic." McGrory had "White Power" tattooed on his arm.
Commenting on these developments, an editorial in An Phoblacht, the paper which supports Sinn Fein, remarked that "the ball [is] firmly in the British court. Mowlam and Blair have a choice. They can back unionist and loyalist demands for no change - in other words, follow the fine British tradition of playing the Orange [Unionist] Card. Or they can push forward a process which will bring real change. They do not really have much of a choice."
Meanwhile, support is building up for a demonstration in Derry, Northern Ireland, now fixed for February 1, calling for a new, independent, and public inquiry into Bloody Sunday. That was the day in 1972 when British soldiers shot dead 14 civil rights protesters, in an attempt to break the resistance to British rule. (A previous issue of the Militant incorrectly reported that this action would take place January 30.)
A demonstration is also set for London on January 24. In response to press speculation that the British government may issue an apology for the massacre, march spokesperson Enda Finlay responded, "The truth must be told, the same methods of brute force are still used today. An apology is not enough. For there to be no more Bloody Sundays, Britain must go."