‘THE TROUBLES’
CONFLICT IN NORTHERN IRELAND: INCHING TOWARD RESOLUTION

BY ZAIB ZAHEER

Many conflicts that appear frustratingly irresolvable today, can be traced back to the end of WWII i.e. less than 60 years (and some even lesser). Yet, there exist some conflicts today that live on passing through centuries of crests and troughs of violence, aggression, idealism and unrestrained jingoism. “The Troubles” can be characterized as such.
Northern Ireland’s population is approximately 55% Protestant and 45% Catholic. The conflict in Northern Ireland stems from the division between "nationalist" and unionist" segments of the Northern Ireland population: Catholics in the North are either nationalists who want unification with Ireland or seek an end to discriminatory practices meted out to them by the Unionists. The Protestant unionists want Northern Ireland to continue its union with Great Britain.

ORIGINS OF THE CONFLICT
The Northern Ireland conflict has claimed 3,600 lives out of a population of one and a half million, where civilians accounted for more than half the fatalities. At the outset, the Northern Ireland Conflict, having its roots in the 16th century, is a sectarian conflict involving intolerance between the Catholic and Protestant communities. However the collision of rival sects residing within the island of Ireland is actually a complex tangle of multifaceted and interwoven disputes, spilled over into the very territory of its originator, the Great colonizer, Britain.
In the 16th century Protestant settlers from England and Scotland arrived in the north of Ireland reducing the Catholic natives to a minority in the region. Ireland was formally invaded and until 1921 it remained an integral part of England. After much civil unrest and constitutional politicking, the British were forced to give independence to the Catholic-majority southern areas of twenty-six counties, which formed the Republic of Ireland. The six predominantly Protestant counties of Northern Ireland remained a part of the United Kingdom with limited self-government. A significant Irish minority repudiated the treaty settlement because of the continuance of subordinate ties to the British monarch and the partition of the island. This opposition led to further hostilities between the Catholics and Protestants. The result was a chronically insecure Protestant majority, an alienated Catholic minority, electoral malpractice, ethnic bias and a declining economy.

DYNAMICS OF THE CONFLICT
The late 1960s marked a new stage in the region’s troubled history; a civil rights movement began to campaign for a more equitable access to political power, social provision and cultural recognition for Catholics, and Irish Republican Army (IRA), the militant wing of the nationalist party Sinn Fein, became more active in its terrorist activities. The conflict that revolved around the persecution of Catholics by Protestants turned into a nationalist campaign against British occupation when the British government sent its forces in Northern Ireland to quell the growing strife between the rival sects. Throughout 1960s and 1970s numerous formulae of power-sharing mechanism between Catholics and Protestants were devised to stem the accelerating intensity of terror campaigns by the IRA in collaboration with the Republic of Ireland’s government, but all such initiatives were thwarted by extremist elements on either side. Ironically, all the initiatives were led by United Kingdom. Meanwhile the paramilitary violence had spread not only in Ireland, but also to London. It took the form of kidnapping, massacre, hijacking and political assassination. In 1979 the IRA killed Lord Mountbatten. State responses to the violence, on the other hand, sometimes contravened basic human rights.

REALIZATION OF THE NEED FOR SETTLEMENT
The first major breakthrough to the deadlock came in 1985 with the signing of Anglo-Irish agreement between the governments of England and Republic of Ireland acknowledging the latter’s interests in the affairs of Northern Ireland with a reciprocal acceptance of the Ulster Union’s allegiance with UK. The Anglo-Irish accord formed the basis of the negotiations that followed. There were a number of reasons why the need for employment of a fresh approach toward a centuries’- old conflict was felt.
• The British had no strategic, economic, or political interest in staying in Northern Ireland if the citizens did not want their continued presence.
• This period coincided with the further development of civil society in Northern Ireland and a similar tendency in the South, contributing to disillusionment with the nationalist idealism.
• The recent wave of terrorism and violence had highlighted the necessity of immediate peace initiatives and a similar realization in the leaders of the constitutional wings of political parties.
• Influence exerted by Irish-Americans over the US government to intervene in the Irish conflict.

STEPS TOWARD RESOLUTION
• "Downing Street Declaration," included political talks on the future of Northern Ireland. This led the IRA to call a "total cessation" of military operations on August 31, 1994. This was followed few weeks later by a similar cease-fire by the loyalist paramilitaries of Northern Ireland.
• February 1995 a "frameworks for the future" document, which proposed a basis for negotiations. Welcomed by nationalists, yet rejected by unionists. Negotiations continued notwithstanding. The process stalled in 1995 due to disagreements between the British Government and Sinn Fein, the political arm of the IRA, about the decommissioning of IRA weapons.
• The January 1996 "Mitchell Report" recommended decommissioning during the talks process and was widely praised. It is to be noted here that the contenders lacked consistency in their approach. IRA by continuing its bomb attacks within the state and without and Britain by refusing Sinn Fein a seat on the negotiation table erected unnecessary hurdles that occasionally derailed the peace process. However, when the new Labor government in London came to power it revitalized the negotiation process. The IRA responded in kind.
• The personal intervention of President Bill Clinton, all parties, on April 10, 1998 signed the Good Friday agreement. The "Good Friday" Agreement was put to a vote, and strong majorities in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland approved it in simultaneous referendums. The agreement calls for a power-sharing legislature and greater cross-border cooperation in Ireland.
Negotiations on disarming the IRA and other paramilitary groups, however, were relatively fruitless until late 2001, when the IRA began disarming. Although substantial progress has been made in the implementation of the Good Friday Agreement, terrorist activities by splinter groups that seek to founder the joint agreement, continue sporadically.

CONCLUSION
There was no consensus as to the nature of the Troubles, whether they were the product of religious war, class struggle, the violence of a divided society, or the last stage of imperialism. It was possible to deploy almost any explanatory model, and each worked but was not exclusively successful. For two centuries in Ireland the use of violence to achieve an Irish republic had been a constant. The republican ideal persisted even as the specific grievances eroded over time. The IRA did not win or lose but continued an old tradition within an ancient underground. The IRA remains, even in its attenuated and splintered form, the world's oldest unsuccessful revolutionary movement. And over the generations, that secret army has offered models and lessons, if not to the Irish then to others.

PREPARED BY ZAIB ZAHEER
CLASS OF CONFLICT RESOLUTION AND
CRISIS MANAGEMENT
B.A (HONS) IIIRD YEAR
2003

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