˙˙00˙ ˙00˙01˙03˙01The North Ireland Conflict˙00 ˙02˙An Analysis˙ ˙00 ˙˙ ˙03˙02EVERYMAN ˙02˙01˙01˙00˙˙ ˙˙01The conflict on North Ireland, referred to as "the Troubles" in Great Britain, is a big problem both for the inhabitants and the governments in London and Dublin. It could be describer (and, of course, interpreted) as being a political conflict between two religious groups of people, the Catholics and the Protestants. North Ireland has some one point five million inhabitants, sixty percent of which are Protestants. They want North Ireland to continue being a part of Great Britain, i.e. what one, with the look in ones eye, call the British Empire. The rest of the population, about forty percent, are, consequently, Catholics, and they do not accept Great Britain as their home country ("native" country). Instead, they want the state of Ireland to include North Ireland too, i.e. they strive for a totally united Ireland. The island of Ireland has, however, never been one uniform state, a state that has been ruled by the Irish people itself. Through times, several (different) peoples have immigrated to Ireland. First on stage were the Celts, who arrived around 400 BC. They were followed by the Vikings, late 800 AD. ("The Vikings in Britain", Puh / Agony, Oepir Risti issue four) From 1100 AD, Anglo - Saxons and Anglo - Normans moved to Ireland together with small numbers of other peoples. ("The Romans in Britain", Lars Bergqvist, Oepir Risti issue four for further information) It was not until 1541 that Ireland became a uniform unit. The island was, at that time, added to the English Kingdom. Earlier, Ireland was split in a number of smaller kingdoms, each ruled separately (often with different laws and intervenion restrictions), but in the year 1541, England managed to conquer the whole of the island. (The root of the conflict of today!) Before England conquered Ireland, most of those who immigrated to Ireland were quickly adapted to the life people lead there, mainly due to the fact that both the newcomers and the native population were Catholics. At about the same time as Ireland was conquered, the contemporary king of England, Henrik VIII, decided that his country would convert to Protestantism. The result was that the English people that, from that very day, moved to Ireland were Protestants, and they looked down at and despised (disdained, that is) the mainly - Catholic - population. Almost at once, conflicts aroused between the two religious groups, and the Catholics were, in general, treated very badly. Some of them were driven away from their estates (grounds) to areas with lousier soil, mainly in the south and west, i.e. what we today refer to as the Irish Republic. In the north, today's North Ireland, the Protestants settled down. Up to 1790, there were special laws that were called penal codes. They established the fact that Catholics were denied access to the Army and the Parliament. Further on, they said that the Protestant estate owners were allowed to overtake Catholic estates. When industrialism reached Ireland, it was, primarily, the north part of the island that was industrialized, a circumstance having its origin in the fact that it was the Protestants that had the money. They were also the ones who had the best contacts with the rest of Great Britain. In North Ireland, textile- and shipping industries began to grow. During the 19th century, these industries were increasing rapidly, resulting in many Catholics moving to the north as they, like so many others at that time, were looking for jobs. Again, trouble aroused between the two groups of people, this time they fought for the desirable jobs. The Protestant employees mainly gave the available jobs to the Protestant labours. In the middle of the 19th century, a severe failure of the crops struck Ireland. Over one million human beings dies of starvation, and about as many moved to the States. England refused to donate anything of their stored corn (grain) as the food prices then would be exposed to a great fall. This wicked (evil, in fact, at least seen to the reigning circumstances) deed is still today remembered by the Catholics. In the year 1916, the Easter Rebellion broke loose in Dublin. The Catholics, who for a long time had been fighting for a free Ireland, took the chance of rebellion when the British soldiers were busy fighting the Great War. The rebellion was started by a group of nationalists within the republican party Sinn Fein (which is a gaelic name and means something like "we ourselves"). The British, however, silenced the insurrection. Its leaders were all executed and over 1000 of its participants were confined to prison. This lead, of course, to anti-british voices among the Catholics, and new trouble saw the light of day in 1920. The Irish rebels founded the IRA, the ˙I˙ ˙00rish ˙R˙ ˙00epublican ˙A˙ ˙00rmy. British soldiers and the IRA fought hard, and after a year of war, the British government and Sinn Fein agreed on the whole of Ireland becoming ai independent part of the British empire. The counties that felt that they wanted to keep the relations with Great Britain were allowed to do so, and six counties in the north of Ireland immediately chose to do so. Consequently, the left the Irish Free State and formed Ulster (North Ireland), which still today is an independent part of Great Britain. The rest of the counties remained a free state (namely the Irish Free State), which in 1949 became totally independent as the Irish Republic was born. All the way since North Ireland was formed, Catholics have staged protests aimed at Great Britain. It is, at least to a great extent, the IRA that has offered this resistance. When the second World War (WW2 from now on) broke out, the IRA declared war on Great Britain. After that event, the IRA is interpreted as being a terrorist organization. Membership in the IRA is illegal, and until about a year ago, it was forbidden to show pictures of the leaders of the IRA and Sinn Fein in British television. The IRA consists of two main factions: Official IRA, which has a socialistic and less violent view, and Provisional IRA, which believes that the only solution comes through violence directed towards the British state. During the autumn of 1968, the Protestants really resorted to violence; a demonstration degenerated into a severe riot. The troubles spread to other parts of North Ireland, and in August 1969, the British government had to install British soldiers in North Ireland "in order to keep the peace". The soldiers have, until a few months ago, patrolled the streets of North Ireland day and night. Now, Sinn Fein has started negotiations with Great Britain. Since the troubles in 1969, some 3100 human beings have been killed and more than 35 000 have been wounded because of the politically based violence. After 1969, several paramilitary groups have been founded among the Protestants. The reason to this is that they believe that the British security forces don't fight the IRA hard enough. The biggest Protestant group is called the UDA, the ˙U˙ ˙00lster ˙D˙ ˙00efence ˙A˙ ˙00rmy. Lately, they have become as violent and as criminal as their antagonist the IRA. Both sides use trade with narcotics, club dealings, blackmailing and protection racketing in order to provide themselves with money. The districts of the cities of North Ireland are very segregated (into Catholic and Protestant parts). The segregation is especially noticeable in labour areas, which also is where most acts of violence take place. In middle- and high-class districts, it is common that both groups live together in peace and harmony. The final goal of the IRA is a united and socialistic Ireland. The organization tries, or shall we say tried as they have put down their weapons for the moment, to reach its goal by attacks and bombings aimed at and concentrated on the British police, military and other authorities. The IRA stood behind bombings in England, too, as they wanted to maximize England's costs for keeping North Ireland and to show the English population that the whole thing is without meaning from their point of view. There are several ways to solve this conflict. One is to form a united Ireland, and its antithesis is to totally include North Ireland in Great Britain. Another solution is offered by the totally independent North Ireland Republic. Personally, I'd say that none of these solutions is good. I believe the best one to be North Ireland staying as a part of the British empire, however with a big piece of independency. (Compare with the states of the US or the status of the Åland Islands in Finland.) As both Ireland and Great Britain are members of the EC, the boundaries of which gradually are erased. The economy of its member states are all tied together, so I think that North Ireland soon will cease being a danger spot. ˙01