GOOD CAN COME OF IT
Good can come of it, seize the chance
IN the annals of the Northern Ireland state, there has been no worse atrocity than that at Omagh last week. These were Irishmen killing indiscriminately their fellow Irishmen, Catholic and Protestant alike: women, children and even the unborn, in the name of Ireland. There has been no more heinous crime both in the political context of its timing and in the utterly ruthless manner of its execution. It is not possible to have any dialogue with such human beings, if human is what they claim to be. However, the sheer enormity and obscenity of it all surely presents Ireland - north and south - with its biggest challenge since partition in 1921.
If good is to come from such an evil act, the Irish people as a whole must seize the opportunity presented by the overwhelming revulsion of the vast majority of the population. Politically inspired violence can be removed finally if all sections of the community will now be resolute and courageous. Catholics, north and south, must force these people out of their community: and must be prepared to provide information which will do so. Northern Protestants must hold firm in the face of this deliberate provocation and recognise that their Catholic fellow-countrymen are just that and that the days of supremacy are gone forever. The Provisional IRA must agree to begin the hand-over of their weapons; and they must be prepared, one way or another, to curtail the actions of their renegade ex-members. Protestant extremists must not fall into the trap set for them by themselves resorting to violence. Extremists on both sides of the sectarian divide must appreciate that they cannot have it all their own way; the time for that is past. Both governments must lead their people towards each other; and political leaders, particularly Messrs Trimble, Mallon, Adams and McGuinness, must stand together and demonstrate the kind of political courage which John Hume, and Gerry Fitt before him, have shown for so long. Lawmakers, acting in concert on both sides of the border, must give the security forces sufficient powers to act decisively against terrorists. Internment is essential, must be extremely selective (single figures only) and introduced jointly by both countries. Life imprisonment should be for a convicted terrorist's natural lifetime (but capital punishment would be counter-productive). Above all, at this time, the people of Ireland must recognise that the threat to them and their way of life is if anything greater for them than for the north. John Hume has called the people who could commit such an outrage fascists. In fact it was IRA/Sinn Fein who were fascist but are now, hopefully, committed to the democratic path. The Real IRA are anarchists who are prepared to destroy mindlessly if they do not get what is an impossibility, their own way.
In this darkest hour of Northern Ireland's troubled history, there burns a flame of hope. Hope that all the people of Ireland, north and south, Catholic and Protestant, republican and loyalist, will admit a common bond of humanity and will unite to realise their proper destiny.
M Sixsmith, PO Box 9204, Dubai, UAE
IN the annals of the Northern Ireland state, there has been no worse atrocity than that at Omagh last week. These were Irishmen killing indiscriminately their fellow Irishmen, Catholic and Protestant alike: women, children and even the unborn, in the name of Ireland. There has been no more heinous crime both in the political context of its timing and in the utterly ruthless manner of its execution. It is not possible to have any dialogue with such human beings, if human is what they claim to be. However, the sheer enormity and obscenity of it all surely presents Ireland - north and south - with its biggest challenge since partition in 1921.
If good is to come from such an evil act, the Irish people as a whole must seize the opportunity presented by the overwhelming revulsion of the vast majority of the population. Politically inspired violence can be removed finally if all sections of the community will now be resolute and courageous. Catholics, north and south, must force these people out of their community: and must be prepared to provide information which will do so. Northern Protestants must hold firm in the face of this deliberate provocation and recognise that their Catholic fellow-countrymen are just that and that the days of supremacy are gone forever. The Provisional IRA must agree to begin the hand-over of their weapons; and they must be prepared, one way or another, to curtail the actions of their renegade ex-members. Protestant extremists must not fall into the trap set for them by themselves resorting to violence. Extremists on both sides of the sectarian divide must appreciate that they cannot have it all their own way; the time for that is past. Both governments must lead their people towards each other; and political leaders, particularly Messrs Trimble, Mallon, Adams and McGuinness, must stand together and demonstrate the kind of political courage which John Hume, and Gerry Fitt before him, have shown for so long. Lawmakers, acting in concert on both sides of the border, must give the security forces sufficient powers to act decisively against terrorists. Internment is essential, must be extremely selective (single figures only) and introduced jointly by both countries. Life imprisonment should be for a convicted terrorist's natural lifetime (but capital punishment would be counter-productive). Above all, at this time, the people of Ireland must recognise that the threat to them and their way of life is if anything greater for them than for the north. John Hume has called the people who could commit such an outrage fascists. In fact it was IRA/Sinn Fein who were fascist but are now, hopefully, committed to the democratic path. The Real IRA are anarchists who are prepared to destroy mindlessly if they do not get what is an impossibility, their own way.
In this darkest hour of Northern Ireland's troubled history, there burns a flame of hope. Hope that all the people of Ireland, north and south, Catholic and Protestant, republican and loyalist, will admit a common bond of humanity and will unite to realise their proper destiny.
M Sixsmith, PO Box 9204, Dubai, UAE
Further Information
Publisher: THE IRISH NEWS
Ref: IN/0196
Published Date: 24-Aug-98
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