A lesson from Northern Ireland….from killing field to negotiation table
By the News Desk
While the search for reconciliation and peace in the Thai society and the search for a peaceful end to the violence in the deep South are yet to see a glitter of light at the end of the tunnel, there is however an example of a huge conflict which ended through negotiations which can serve a lesson for study and to emulate.
In mid-June, a panel discussion was staged at King Prachathipok Institute during which legislators of Northern Ireland parliament and former members of the Irish Repbulican Army were invited to take part to share their experiences of peace-building process which eventually led to cessation of violence and durable peace in Northern Ireland.
Northern Ireland is situated on the northern part of Ireland and on the western coast of England. Conflict started in the 16th century when a large number of people from England and Scotland who were mostly Protestants moved to settle on the northern part of Ireland where most the locals were Catholics who felt their country was invaded by the outsiders. Hence, the start of the resistance movement demanding self-rule for Ireland.
In 1921, a Government of Ireland Act was signed by England and Ireland under which all the 26 precincts were separated into independent states while the remaining 6 precincts in the north remain loyal to the British Empire. The separation resulted to serious conflict between the 60 percent of population in Northern Ireland who were Protestants and the minority Catholics. The Unionists or the Protestants wanted Northern Ireland to be part of the Great Britain while the Nationalists or the Catholics wanted the region to be separated and merged with the Republic of Ireland.
The Unionlists who comprised the majority of the population were in control of political, economic and social aspects in Northern Ireland for almost five decades until the year 1968 when the minority Catholics started their protests to demand equality and an end to persecution against them. The protests culminated to violent clashes between the two groups of people better known as The Troubles which lasted more than 30 years and costed 3,600 lives plus several tens of thousands physically and mentally maimed and 36,000 arrests.
Then the unexpected started to emerge when a peace process between the IRA and the British government began to take shape, finally culminating to a ceadefire in 1994. It was four years afterward in 1998 when a peace agreement was signed.
The three participants from Ireland at the panel discussion were Alex Maskey, a Belfast MP of the Sinn Fein party, Jimmy Spratt, a Democratic Unionist MP also representing Belfast, Michael Culbert, former IRA member and currently director of Coiste organization overseeing IRA prisoners and Ian White, director of Glencree, a non-governmental organization in Northern Ireland.
Ian White emphasized the need of all parties concerned to take part in the peace process. However, he admitted that the building of a peace process was easier said than done.
He pointed out at the difficulty of bringing the people who are not friends into the peace process. He said that the sending of troops into the conflict areas had, time and again, proven to be not a solution to the conflict. The root causes of the strife in Northern Ireland were inequality and forced assimilation, he noted.
Alex Maskey said that the key of success of peace process was that the people were fully aware of the peace process and the issues at stake and they understood that the process would bring about a better life for all.
Jimmy Spratt, meanwhile, noted that the peace process was a time-consuming process and that all the stakeholders, be them politicians or civilians, must demonstrate that they sincerely want peace, try to search for peace and must be receptive to divergent views.
There is no need to resort to weapons to solve the problem. Just use your mind to bring all parties to the negotiating table, that is the most important part, Mr Spratt was quoted to have said.
Michael Culbert, a former IRA member, said that the British government in the past had no idea about why the IRA took up arms to fight. The IRA wanted independence for Northern Ireland, he said.
The former Irish republican said that the British government was incapable of seeing what was the priority or secondary problems in Northern Ireland. “They looked at the problems from a ruler’s point of view. They built schools and housing units in Northern Ireland, not knowing what the people really wanted. Feeling oppressed and persecuted, the people resisted and took up arms to fight,” he reportedly said.
To solve a conflict, he noted that conditions conducive to negotiations and peace talk must be laid down. The most important thing is that the parties in the conflict must be receptive to the opinions of each other even if they do not agree with them, he added.