History of Northern Ireland Conflict
The roots of the trouble in Northern Ireland date far back in History.
In 900 BC the Celts invad Ireland and bring their language and culture
with them from Europe and
impose the them so thoroughly on the natives that not a scrap of
tradition remains from those earlier
inhabitants.
To understand the susequent development of the Irish mind it is
essential to grasp at the start that
the Celts were never a political nation. They had always lived in
loosely- joined communities,
without any political sense of cohesion between one community and the
next, fatally lacking in that
power to unite firmly, which distinguished the romans, whose
farthest-flung outpost in Britain and
Iberia always looked to and were governed from their imperial capital.
This individualism of the Celts was to continue in Ireland for many
certuries and is a key to many of
Ireland?s later political weaknesses.
The patriotic Irish view of the conquer of Ireland by colonizing Britain
is that their civilization was
finally destroyed by a more efficient and ruthless military
organisation.
Perhaps it would be more
correct to say that the consolidated Tudor state was too strong an
opponent for Irish regionalism.
The Irish did not start fighting before it was too late and - as the
system dictated - every man for his
own horizon.
In the 17th century the British Government imposes an alien ruling class
- Scotish Protestants- on the
native Catholics. These colonies are called “plantations” and are
supposed to uphold British rule.
Unfortunately the Catholics are treated like second class citizens which
led to violent opposition:
In 1912 some 1,000 rebels from the Irish Volunteers and the socialist
Irish Citizen Army- led by
Patrick Pearse - proclaim an Irish Republic at Dublin's General Post
Office on Easter Monday,
April 24. After five days of fighting in which over 400 die and more
than 2,500 are wounded the
rebels surrender.
The leaders of the rebellion are executed in May. Irish nationalist
feeling begins to grow as the list
of those executed rises to 15. Sinn Fein ("ourselves alone"), founded in
1907, gains political
support.
The Irish Republican Army, nationalist organization dedicated to the
unification of Ireland, is
organized by Michael Collins after the Easter Rebellion.
In 1919 the British Government are prepared to leave Ireland but because
of the protestant ruling
class dislikes idea there need to be bloody military battles till they
made their plan come true:
Ireland is devided into two parts: the nothern part - sometimes called
Ulster - with its capital Belfast
is part of the U.K.
Here rules the British Parliament which is placed in
London and has the Queen as
head of state. The south - the Republic of Ireland - is an independent
country with its own
government .
This division of territory has always been a highly contested issue: the
IRA ( Irish Republic Army)
opposes it as is is falling a long way short of its ideal dream of a
united Ireland.
The Government in Dublin subdue the IRA with methods like censorship yet
they support the ideal
of a united Ireland. Of course this causes tension with the Northern
State.
Nevertheless the British Government regarded the problem as solved till
the Catholic community
started the civil rights movement highlighting the abuse of power and
demanded equality in
employment, housing and education.
Bloody fights between the catholic and the protestant community brake
out.
The British Government sends its troops to Ireland to control the
seperation of the warring
communities and give the North Irish state time to reform the law and
stop the abuse of minorities.
Unfortunately the politicans fail.
Fruthermore the Provisional IRA form. They operate behind the facade of
the Civil Rights
movement but start paramilitary attacks against the British Army.
This was a turning point for the British soldiers from peacekeeping to
countering insergency against
the PIRA.
1972: Fourteen men die after British troops open fire on a civil rights
demonstration in Derry. Six
months later, the IRA sets off 22 bombs in Belfast that kill 11 people
beginning a long pattern of
bombings, assassinations, and shootings. The unrest prompts Britain to
abolish Stormont and
announce direct rule after the Northern
Ireland government refuses to accept losing law-and-order powers to
Westminster. Attempts over
the next few years to re-establish a Northern
Ireland administration collapse in the face of violence.
1973: Three-way talks produce the Sunningdale Agreement to allow
Republicans a role in Northern
Ireland's government and create a Council of Ireland, with
responsibilities in both parts of Ireland.
Protestant opposition dooms the accord, and violence continues.
| Anmerkungen: |
| impressum | datenschutz
© Copyright Artikelpedia.com
