From: roholdr@ccu.umanitoba.ca (R Ross Holder Jr)
Newsgroups: talk.philosophy.misc
Subject: Re: Sovereignty, N.Ireland, Macedonia etc.
Date: 11 Dec 92 19:59:56 GMT
Organization: University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada

In <ByuwB4.LEr@unix.amherst.edu> ddsokol@unix.amherst.edu (D. DANIEL SOKOL) writes:

>Peter Cash (cash@convex.com) wrote:

[much deleted]

>Using this logic (not particularly Peter's), one who would ask for a return
>of the Midlands to England, where an great majority of people are actually
>Belgian, is a situation that is analagous to the Serbs wanting to take
>back Kosovo province because of its historical importance to the Serbian
>nation even though its population is now 90% Albanian.  This really isn't
>right, now is it?
>  Nationalism presents great problems.  When one looks at national claims, one
>cannot look soley at historical claims, but must also look at current 
>demographic trends and then very carefully weigh the two.  Compromise
>should be reached so that these and other nationalistic problems (Sikhs,
>Catalonians and Czechs come to mind) can be solved in a just and peaceful
>manner.

Indeed there is something wrong here.  If we said that it was okay for
N. Ireland to remain part of the United Kingdom, wouldn't we in some way be
sanctioning unilateral agression?  The consequnces of saying that N. Ireland
should remain part of the United Kingdom sets a dangerous example for
autocrats like Suddam Hussein of Iraq; that territory, otherwise illegally
and imorrally acquired can be retained provided the resident population is
assimilated.  Certainly, this is not where we want to go.

In my country, Canada, we have had great difficulty in coming to terms with
a similar kind of injustice perpetrated on our own native peoples.  They,
as the Irish, were assimilated by European colonization.  It took Canadians
many decades to be led even to suspect that there was a racist cancer
eating away at the fabric of our society.  It is all too obvious that
similar difficulty plagues N. Ireland.  If the descendants of colonists in
N. Ireland can finally accept the injustice that was done, as many of us non-
natives in Canada, and restore N. Ireland to the republic of Ireland
racism and bigotry in the region will be conquered and all parties will be
able to coexist peacefully.

Some will argue that "caving-in" to a terrorist organization like the IRA
is no better than sanctioning assimilation.  Of course, they're mistaken.
In the first place, there is harm done by the IRA - a somewhat appalling
loss of life which will certainly go away once the organization's raison
d'etre has vanished.  This is more valuable than any stubborn idealistic
notion that we shouldn't surrender to terrorists.  Secondly, it could be
argued that one is not "caving-in".  The IRA is in favour of the Republic's
extension over the whole island, but one need not favour the IRA to favour
N. Ireland becoming a part of the Republic of Ireland.
Indeed, the IRA's purpose may be the same as my own, but it is a coincidence
and is not itself a relevant argument against justice for Ireland.

Self-Determination in most circumstances is something that creates a good deal
of happiness in a society.  People in N. Ireland aren't likely in the 
current socio-political climate to jump into bed with the Republic - the fear
being, prehaps, that the new protestant minority might suffer persecution.
I would hope the hearts of Irishmen were bigger than that, but the possibility
is of legitimate concern.  At any rate, self-determination can not be used
as a justification for continued union with the UK if there is a persistent
inequality in the region; the harm caused by perpetual feelings of injustice and
inequality outweigh the happiness of the (allegedly oppressive) majority.

So then, there is justification for N. Ireland gaining political union with
the rest of the island.  One need look no further than what, in the end, will
bring greater happiness to reach a similar conclusion.
-- 
R. Ross Holder, Jr.    INTERNET: roholdr@ccu.umanitoba.ca   (Winnipeg, Manitoba)
         Department of Philosophy     -     The University of Manitoba
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DISCLAIMER: The views I express are not neccessarily those of the U of Manitoba.
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