More Paisley threats

Press, 19 November 1981, Page 20

More Paisley threats

If the Rev. lan Paisley, the Northern Ireland Protestant political leader, carries out. his threat to make Northern Ireland, ungovernable, it would seem likely to bring that part of Britain close to civil war. Part of his threat is to set up a special force to impose its own will on the territory. The British Army stationed there could not be permitted to allow this any more than it can allow the Irish Republican Army to have its own way in Northern Ireland. Mr Paisley’s threats came after the murder of another Northern Ireland politician, the Rev. Robert Bradford, also a Protestant. Further shootings have occurred since Mr Paisley made the threats and while all leave for the Army has been cancelled in Northern Ireland, police are conducting searches in London for material for bombs similar to the I.R.A. bomb that exploded in Oxford Street, London. The reasons for this heightened activity in Northern Ireland and the terrorism that has spread to London are not difficult to find. One is the sectarian violence, coupled with the bigotry that characterises certain people on both the Catholic and the Protestant sides in Northern Ireland. Other reasons differ. The I.R.A. realises that it no longer has wide public attention now that the hunger strikes have ended in Northern Ireland’s jails and it is looking for other ways of gaining attention. It has reverted to its former technique of trying to achieve the separation of Northern Ireland from the rest of Britain by trying to cause enough public outcry in the rest of Britain for demands to be rid of the Northern Ireland problem. The I.R.A. is also aware that some serious talking has gone on between the British Government and the Government of the Republic of Ireland about the future of Northern Ireland. The I.R.A. wants its own solution to Northern Ireland and this will not coincide with the desires of London or of Dublin. The Protestant political leaders have also been alarmed by the talks. They fear that London will bring about a unification of the island, which would turn the Protestants, who form a majority in the north, into a minority if the partition were erased. Mr Paisley is also capitalising on the intensity of feeling of the moment after the death of Mr Bradford — an intensity that was evident when Mr James Prior, the British Government's Minister for Northern Ireland, was jostled and abused when he tried to attend Mr Bradford’s

funeral. The suspension of three Northern Ireland members of Parliament is an indication that Mr Paisley has decided to make this a time of declared confrontation. The most serious negotiations between London and Dublin were held on November 6 when the Prime Ministers of the Irish Republic and Britain met at 10 Downing Street. Before he went to London the Irish Prime Minister. Dr Garret Fitzgerald, had undertaken some difficult feats in his own country. He had tried to persuade his fellow-countrymen that Ireland was a sectarian society and that, there had to be some constitutional changes to alter the basis of the society. This was a bold move for any Irish Prime Minister and one that may yet cost him dearly in political support. At the Downing Street meeting he and Mrs Thatcher managed to agree on a number of significant points which included much greater co-operation between Britain and Ireland in several fields and. on Northern Ireland specifically, the establishment of an Anglo-Irish InterGovernmental Council. This will entail regular meeting between Ministers and public servants on both sides. The two Parliaments are likely to consider whether a body should be established at Parliamentary level as well. The communique after the meeting showed no change of policy by the British Government. The following sentence was included: “The Prime Minister affirmed, and the Taoiseach (the Irish Prime Minster) agreed, that any change in the Constitutional status of Northern Ireland would require the consent of a majority of the people of Northern Ireland.” This has represented the view of the British Government since partition of the island. At the moment there is no evidence that a majority of Northern Ireland's people want separation from Britain. It is also the view of the more experienced leaders in the Irish Republic that unification of Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic would be disastrous at present. Neither the Irish Republic’s leaders nor the Catholics in Northern Ireland believe that any precipitate withdrawal of British troops from Northern Ireland is feasible. Whatever happens must happen slowly. It must be hoped that some of the moves towards economic co-operation will bring about a less frenzied approach and remove some of the dreadful environment in which hatreds, bigotry, and violence flourish.