By Marina Cameron
Talks on Northern Ireland resumed in Belfast on January 13. The major Irish republican party, Sinn Féin, is still being excluded by the British government despite the fact that it receives 43% of nationalist community votes. Thousands of people continue to mobilise in Ireland, England and around the world to call for justice, a lasting peace settlement and the withdrawal of British troops.
In a show of solidarity and to hear the latest news, hundreds of people attended meetings in Adelaide and Sydney on March 1 to participate in a phone link-up with Sinn Féin leader Martin McGuinness. The events also raised money for Sinn Fein's campaign in the 1997 Westminster general elections.
McGuinness predicted a strong performance for Sinn Féin, delivering a strong message to the British government about the level of its support, and backing up its call for inclusion in the Stormont talks.
McGuinness described the British government's strategy as one of continually undermining the peace process. He stated that the unfolding of events before and since the cease-fire by the Irish Republican Army (IRA) in 1994 had exposed the intransigent role of the British government, its fear of negotiating and its continued search for a military victory rather than a peaceful resolution.
Negotiations
The IRA began military operations again last year on February 9 after 18 months of cease-fire. Attacks on pro-British Royal Ulster Constabulary and British army barracks have continued into the new year.
In a statement issued on January 8, the IRA leadership stated, "In the 18 months prior to February 9 the British refused to [commit to a meaningful peace process]. Events since then have demonstrated a continuing lack of political will, on their part. They remain both firmly opposed to the development of the required process and also committed to underpinning the unionist agenda, nowhere better exemplified than at Drumcree, on the Ormeau Road and in Derry in the summer months of last year."
During the infamous "marching season" of the loyalist Orange Order through Catholic communities, British troops and the RUC attacked residents attempting to stop the marches.
Loyalist groups have attempted to maintain that their own cease-fire is intact, but have been forced to acknowledge that recent car bombings and fire-bombings are linked to the paramilitary Combined Loyalist Military Command.
Michael MacDonncha writes in the Sinn Féin newspaper An Phoblacht/Republican News, "A number of loyalist attacks have taken place since the murder of Michael McGoldrick during the Drumcree stand-off last July. Throughout that time the loyalist parties have remained at the talks and Sinn Féin has been excluded. Yet for the entire duration of the IRA cease-fire the British government and the unionist parties refused to convene all-party negotiations because Sinn Féin would have to be present."
In 1996 the British government stalled the beginning of talks until July and then locked out Sinn Féin.
Some loyalist groups have seized on the renewed violence to score cheap political shots against other loyalist parties linked to the CLMC — the UDP and PUP — calling for their exclusion from the talks. Sinn Féin has pointed to the hypocrisy of this call by groups which also sponsor loyalist violence in Northern Ireland. Sinn Féin continues to call for all-inclusive negotiations.
The British government has argued that because the CLMC did not claim the attacks, its cease-fire is still in place. An editorial in An Phoblacht asked on January 16: "Can anyone imagine the same attitude being taken towards the IRA? [The] double standards are designed to prevent Sinn Féin from entering the talks and to ensure the UDP and PUP's continued participation. It is a convenient denial of logic aimed at prolonging the life of the meaningless talks fiasco. The argument is not about whether the loyalist should be expelled but about why Sinn Féin is not included."
Defiance
McGuinness described an increased level of interest and support amongst the Irish people for the campaign against British occupation.
In Derry on February 2, a march was held to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Bloody Sunday massacre, when British paratroopers opened fire on unarmed civilians, killing 14. Forty thousand people (one third of Derry's population) turned out for the march, demanding justice and an international inquiry into the massacre.
Delegations from all over the six counties, from London, the US, Sweden and the Basque country attended the predominantly youthful march. Two thousand people from cities in England and Wales also marched in London. Despite this, the British government refused to issue an apology or convene an inquiry.
The original Widgery Tribunal examined only 15 of 700 statements made about the massacre, and tapes of army communications which prove that soldiers and snipers above the march opened fire unprovoked that day were dismissed. The killers were exonerated, and some were later decorated by the Queen.
Political prisoners
McGuinness expressed grave concern over the continued ill-treatment of Irish political prisoners. Sinn Féin is particularly concerned about the health of Roisin McAliskey, daughter of civil rights campaigner Bernadette McAliskey, being held in London awaiting extradition to Germany in relation to an attack on a British Army base there. McAliskey denies all knowledge of the attack and has not been charged.
The heavily pregnant McAliskey has been refused bail three times. She suffers from asthma and rheumatism and is severely underweight. Doctors fear that she could lose her baby, but McAliskey is strip-searched twice daily, has no access to proper medical care and is left in a cell alone for periods up to 12 hours. She will give birth in shackles, and her baby may be removed from her. Her condition has deteriorated badly in the last two weeks, and Sinn Féin is spearheading a growing campaign for her release.
Protests have been held in London, Dublin, Belfast and New York. A Green Party member of the European Parliament, Patricia McKenna, in January called for an investigation into the conditions of Irish prisoners, including strip searching, lack of exercise, medical attention and proper nutrition, and denial of visits and access to reading material.
Evidence of abuse of other Irish prisoners is surfacing daily. Meanwhile, last year a British paratrooper who shot dead an 18-year-old joy-rider in Northern Ireland was released from prison after serving only four years, including time on remand. He has since been re-employed and promoted by the British army.
Elections
McGuinness stated that he hoped to receive a better commitment to peace in Ireland from the British Labour Party if it comes to government in the general elections. However, Sinn Féin remains sceptical of this. Michael MacDonncha writes in An Phoblacht: "Those responsible [for the breakdown in the peace process], the British government, must not be allowed to walk away. John Major would dearly love to be able to end his premiership posing as the honest broker who did his best to sort out the Irish problem in which Britain is, of course, a neutral arbiter.
"Major will not be contradicted in that by the Labour Party. Their message to voters on every issue including Ireland could be summed up in the phrase: 'Don't worry, we won't change anything, but please give us power 'cause we're nicer than the other chaps'."
Donations for the election campaign can be sent to Sinn Féin c/o Australian Aid for Ireland, PO Box 2363, Smithfield NSW 2164.