Date: 1981-07-16
Speaker: WILLIAM J. COYNE (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. as a member of the newly formed Friends of Ireland in the United States Congress. and as an American of Irish descent. I would like to take this opportunity to express my support for the efforts of this group to contribute to a peaceful resolution of the conflict in Northern Ireland. The Friends of Ireland came together primarily out of concern over the violence prevailing In Northern Ireland. Our objective Is not only to develop a close working relationship with the Republic of Ireland. but also to inform the American public of all aspects of the conflict. working toward a solution which will respect the rights and traditions of all the Inhabitants of Northern Ireland. Two recent events relating to Northern Ireland seem to me to hold out hope for an end to the fighting. The first Is the result of a poll conducted by the London Sunday Times among the people of Northern Ireland. which offers a revealing glimpse of the mood and aspirations of both Catholics and Protestants. More important. It suggests promising directions for future talks. The Sunday Times poll shows that. contrary to the stereotypes arising out of the endless violence. the vast majority of the people of Northern Ireland are strongly opposed to the use of violence to. achieve political ends. Even the tiny violentminded minority has declined radically in the past few years. Negotiations toward an adequate political solution would receive overwhelming popular support right now. Furthermore. the results of the poll show that although the majority and minority have radically different views of the ideal settlement. there Is common ground between them. Two thirds of all respondents. representing a crosssection of the population. Indicated that they would aecept a settlement based on an independent assembly with powersharing guarantees for the Catholic minoritythe principle embodied In the Sunningdale agreement in 1973 which was blocked at the time by extremist elements. Eight years of violence are a powerful argument against extremists on both sides. Other poll results Indicate that the political polarization which led to the election of Irish Repuiblican Army terrorists and Protestant. hardliners In the last election has decreased. and may diminish further if moderation II 4493 results In progress toward a settlement. However. continuation In the status quo may cause this conciliatory mood to evaporate. especially among the Catholic minority. The Sunday Times poll notes "a vast and growing gulf between the Catholic community and the British Government." The British Army. originally welcomed as protectors by an embattled minority. have earned the fear and dislike of most Catholicsnot just the IRA and its sympathizers. This gulf. however. could narrow if the Government demonstrates a willingness to make concessions to the minority point of view. abandoning the narrowmindcd approach which Is leading to increased tension in the province. A second event may provide a chance to end the current stalemate. Membe~rs of the Irish Commission on Justice and Peace. an agency of the Catholic Church in the Republic. have succeeded In drafting a settlement which would end the hunger strikes In the Maze Prison and lessen the tension between the two sides brought on In part by the propaganda victories of the IRA. I join many of my colleagues in Congress in urging that Prime Minister Thatcher and her Government review the opportunities presented by this draft and consider the advantages of waiving their insistence on points which serve only to limit British op1 tions in pursuing an end to the violence. In its approach to the conflict in Northern Ireland. Mrs. Thatchers Government has concentrated on controlling the activities of the IRA. British Government officials In Northern Ireland appear to view their role as that of the forces of law battling terrorists criminally masquerading as political dissidents. In this light. better policing may seem to be the key to suppressing the violence. However. the Catholic community has been understandably uncooperative with this effort. In the bloody context of Irish history. the Catholic minority cannot see British attempts to stabilize an unsatisfactory social order as anything but continued oppression. For the Catholics. the Army brought British rule without British Justice. Due process and protection of Individual rights. Britains most revered legacy to America. are notoriously absent from proceedings against alleged terrorists in Northern Ireland. The right to trial by jury. protections against selfincrimination. the right to counselall are abridged or suspended. In the socalled Diplock courts set up under the Prevention of Terrorism Act. accused terrorists are tried. and usually convicted. by a single judge. As many as 90 percent of convictions are obtained solely on the basis of confessionselicited after an average of 3 days of detention followed by months of waiting for trial. In an atmosphere tainted by repeated charges of physiH 4494 CO] cal abuse and psychological torture. Under the Judges Rules prevailing in the rest of the United Kingdom. or under any reasonable judicial system. these confessions would be considered highly suspect. in the Diplock courts they result in a conviction rate of 94 percent. Most of those arrested and convicted under these procedures are Catholic. The British Government dismissed Bobby Sands and his compatriots as common criminals. Perhaps they were. But they were not convicted under common conditions. Bobby Sands. it Is said. had a string of murders and terrorist attacks on his conscience. He was convicted only of being present in a car in which -a gun was found. for which he was sentenced to 14 years In jaila term which anywhere else In England would be considered presposterous. The British Goverrnent claims he was Just a common thug. but it has never adequately proved that to a jury of his peers. let alone the world. Is it any wonder that men convicted under special procedures demand special treatme t? Mrs. Thatcher has refused to negotiate with the prfsoners in the Maze. In her words "one of the most humane and liberal prison systems in the world." on principle. one does not negotiate with terrorists. Since the British Government has already waived so many of the basic principles of British justice in Northern Ireland. however. one may wonder why this particular principle is of such overriding importance that It must be upheld at the cost of continuing bloodshed. At any rate. the British Government does not object as a rule to negotiating with terrorists. Lord Carrington. the British Foreign Minister. recently stated that he was willing to meet with noted terrorist Yasir Arafat In the interests of peace In the Middle East. Inspired negotiations with Rhodesian terrorists led to the birth of the nation of Zimbabwe. a proud achievement of British foreign policy. However. suppose the British. instead of negotiating with Mugabe and his associates. had instead cordoned off the suburbs of Salisbury and announced that they would defend forever the Inhabitants right to remain within the British empire meanwhile allowing this little enclave to govern itself in a fashion repugnant to the principles of British democracy? Would they be as eager to denounce the violent response of black dissidents as terrorism? Terrorism cannot be condoned under any circumstances. The vicious behavior of the IRA and of the Ulster Volunteer Force serves no legitimate purpose. It only poisons the atmosphere and adds to the fear and suffering of the people whose rights these organizations supposedly champion. As Mrs. Thatcher has accurately pointed out. these terrorist groups are engaged chiefly in deny!ng others their first right: the right to life. Random violence and brutal. often misdirected retaliations have taken the lives of thousands of Innocents since the fighting began in 1969. 1 am proud that the efforts of prominent IrishAmerican politicians have succeeded in dimninishIng the American base of support for IRA operations. and I hope that by participating in the activities of the Friends of Ireland. I will help to diminish that support still further. Americans of Irish descent must understand that support for the IRA. whether direct or channeled through organizations such as the Irish Northern Aid Society. recently ordered by a Federal district court to register as an agent of the IRA. can only Inflict further suffering on tht! people of Northern Ireland. Catholic as well as Protestant. Aid to extremists will only thwart any efforts to moderate the conflict and end the violence. Mrs. Thatchers government has stated that it considers its prime responsibility in Northern Ireland to be protection of the lives of Its citizens. All other considerations are secondary. This is an approach made in good faith to a tragic and seemingly intractable political impasse. and it is true that the violence has abatedat least outside the detention centerssince the terrifying days when the British Army first marched In to rescue the Catholics of Bogside from their fellow citizens. However. the authoritarian attitude carries with it certain risks. Selective protection of rights. under an arbitrary system of justice. amounts at best to order without law: in short. tyranny. Clearly the Catholic community sees it that way. The Sunday Times poll shows that the Catholic community in Belfast overwhelmingly disapproves of the British Governments handling of the situation In Northern Ireland. Their profound and Increasing alienation Is demonstrated. in the same poll. by increasing despair about the prospect of peace In the future. especially among the young. After hundreds of years of oppression. and 50 years of gerrymandering. discrimination. and the hostility of the ruling class. the Catholic minority took Its cue from the American civil rights movement of the sixties and began to march for civil rights and an equitable share of power In the local government. This movement was met almost immediately with violence.: in 1969. as in 1914. the extremists of the ruling order were the first to arm. Mrs. Thatchers government. In denouncing the undeniable atrocities of the IRA. should keep In mind what the Catholics of Belfast and Bogside have never forgottenthat the Provisional IRA was born out of Catholic fear. to defend the minority against the Ulster police and their auxiliary thugs. Mrs. Thatcher Justifies her attitude toward the IRA by saying that "~ * If*1 the bomb is seen to succeed. then (the terrorist) has beaten the ballot box.* 0" But the Catholics of Northern Ireland have never had much success with the ballot box. People who cannot turn to statesmen for protection will inevitably turn to terrorists. The IRA will continue. however unjustly. to win the propaganda war until the British Government can offer its citizens more than the unpalatable choice between repression and lawlessness. In 1969 the Catholic minority demanded civil rights and found Itself In danger of mass violence. The British Government has protected their lives. to a certain extent. but their original aspirations. civil rights. and equitable representation have been all but forgotten In the drive to impose order on an unresolved conflict. Most Catholics now identify the British Army as an ally of the other side. The claim that British rule weighs equally heavily on the Protestant majority is hardly credible to a people who remember that the arrival of the Army was followed by mass Internment. a barbaric action directed almost exclusively against the Catholic community. or who listen to the pronouncements of a government which alternates assurances to the majority that their wishes will forever be respected with denunciations of the IRA as the root of all evil in the province. More years of military rule in Northern Ireland will have anything but a stabilizing effect. Continuation of the present order can only result In further alienation of the Catholic community. perpetuate violence. and increase despair. It is time to stop wasting the lives of British soldiers and Irish civilians trying to maintain an unworkable status quo. The settlement drafted by the Irish Commission for Justice and Peace offers a ray of hope In the grim impasse between British prison authorities and IRA prisoners. I urge the Government to seize this opportunity. It is rare for the IRA to show signs of moderation. such concessions must be rewarded If Northern Irish politics are to recover from their sectarian paralysis. The people of Northern Ireland are weary of violence. most would be ready to accept a reasonable settlement. Concessions on both sides would improve the climate for achieving such a settlement. and lighten the despairing view of the future held by most of the Catholic minority. This chance is too Important to be thrown away for the sake of a hypocritical and Inconsistent principle. Sidney Smith. a British essayist of the 19th century. once observed sourly thatThe moment the very name of Ireland is mentioned. the gnglish seem to bid adieu to common feeling. common prudence. and common sense. and to act with the barbarity of tyrants. and the fatuity of idiots Unfortunately. the history of British rule in Ireland bears out this bitter view. The British Government is no mere Impartial peacekeeping force. the Army bias in favor of one side has become so obvious that one observer has characterized its role as that of the third combatant. Britain bears a heavy responsibility for the -distrust and hatred prevailing in Northern Ireland today. So far. the response of the British Government to the Irishi Commission proposal has been discouraging. While British authorities remain Intransigent even on symbolic concessions. another hunger striker has died. The terrorists of the IRA. in abandoning the demand for political status. have shown themselves more willing to make concessions than the Government which holds them prisoner. casting doubt on Mrs. Thatchers claim to flexibility and putting the Government at a severe disadvantage In Its efforts to discredit the IRA. Dr. Garret Fitzgerald. the Irish Prime Minister. has pointed out that "the greatest responsibility must. as always. rest on those with the greatest power. 0 " I amn encouraged by Dr. Fitzgeralds determination to make a settlement in Northern Ireland the highest priority of his new government. and I urge the President of the United States to join with the Government of Eire in calling upon the British Government to act now. In good faith. to end the crisis before a new wave of violence ravages Northern Ireland. The world hailed the British settlement In Zimbabwe under equally difficult circumstances. I hope and pray that. at this crucial juncture. Mrs. Thatchers goveniment will act with equal clearsightedness and compassion.