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"Cutting with the grain" Policy and the Protestant community: What is to be done?
Brecon Political and Theological Discussion
Group Full text available here
[.....] The Crisis in Protestant areas The immediate current crisis in Protestant areas has largely been brought about by the political behaviour of Ulster Unionism under David Trimble. David Trimble signed an Agreement [The "Good Friday' Agreement in 1998] with which he was not comfortable. Since he signed it, he has been attempting to rewrite it. It may be more accurate to say that Trimble signed up to the content of Tony Blair's letter, rather than the Agreement. But the prevalent malaise and mood of despondency is more deep rooted than that and dates from the roots of the setting up of the odd entity of Northern Ireland. The Protestant community in the North East has been placed in an intolerable position. In 1921 the British Government, against the advice of Sir Edward Carson, placed this new entity of Northern Ireland in a half way house between its desired location (integral to the United Kingdom without local or provincial Home Rule), and its undesired destination (a united Ireland). The conditions placed on Protestant Ulster remaining in the United Kingdom in 1921 were that firstly it accepted exclusion from participation in the party politics of the UK State and secondly, that it governed, and kept in order, the Catholics. For years the communal existence of the Protestant community took the form of policing the Catholic community. Now that this function has been denied them, it is vital that the state assist in steering an essentially apolitical Protestant community towards community activity more in keeping with the times. Rejecting the British Road Protestant Ulster could have resolved its "limbo" position by organising around the principle of normalising Northern Ireland's position in the UK and accepting the development of governmental party politics (Labour versus Conservative) and the consequent erosion of communal based politics. This argument was comprehensively defeated at the UUP conference in 1986, after which the UUP started to expel supporters of British politics from its ranks. The UUP was at one with the entirety of the "Unionist Family" in rejecting British politics - rejecting, "de facto" the British Constitution. With the closure of the "British Road" by the Unionist family, in favour of the limbo of communal politics within Northern Ireland, the Unionist family have since been demoralised by the development of an island wide dynamic in political life. The Anglo Irish Agreement in 1985 was bedded in and followed by the Downing Street Declaration, the Joint Framework documents, and then the 1998 Belfast Agreement all of which stress three planks: * Inter Governmental co-operation between
Britain and Ireland
Defeatism The 2001 Census has indicated that, for the foreseeable future, "Limbo" will remain for some time yet. But "Limbo" is weakening and will, gradually, dissolve. The traditional role of the Protestant community within "Limbo", and what it understands as being its culture, is-gradually, inexorably-being made redundant. However much Census demographics predict the maintenance of "Limbo", defeatism is the general mood within the Protestant community. Politicians from pro and anti agreement faction are adding to this despondency, with the relentless patter about "concessions". The Orange Order and Loyal Orders generally also raise the stakes unnecessarily by proclaiming that, if they don't get "down the Road"; it is the end of the Protestant way of life. Previously, the symbolic expression of communal domination took the form of marching in organised and military form through Catholic areas. This has come to be known by some as "protestant culture". This damaging and negative "culture" has been challenged, regulated and eroded. The residue of this instrument, the "blood and thunder" bands, which were recruited and fashioned into an embryonic army by the UDA [Ulster Defence Association, Protestant paramilitary group], to march from Drumcree Church to Portadown (amongst other locations) by the direct route, have had to go home unbloodied. Is it any wonder - drugs, turf and "face" aside - that they have turned on themselves in feuding as a result. It is unlikely that the Protestant middle classes, who since 1970 have retreated to Helens Bay and the golf course, are going to take matters in hand. As a result, the only answer to the standing armies, drilling, parading and preparing to "fight the Fenians" is a strong security apparatus of state. The Agreement and since Since the ceasefires in 1994, but more notably since the ['Good Friday' or 'Belfast'] Agreement in 1998, there has been a significant increase in sectarian activity in many Protestant districts. This has been most noticeable in the urban area, but has also included areas previously relatively undisturbed in the years of the conflict. More "marking out" activity by way of flags, ever more aggressive murals and intimidations, more "internal housekeeping" by paramilitarism, more engineered confrontations over marching and at "interfaces". In my own constituency, since the Agreement, there have been five murders, only one of which has seen anyone brought to account, many pipe bombings, shootings galore and the constant "blooding" of young people to carry out sectarian acts. The engineered mobilisation of sectarian forces to create "interfaces" in areas where there were never any interfaces has become prevalent. The new "interface" at Whitewell/Longlands for instance was engineered from "recreational" confrontations and has led directly to two deaths in the past 18 months. And the near complete absence of policing on the ground has emboldened a new generation. One feature has been that, in addition to the nightly disorder in traditional paramilitary hotbeds, the post ceasefire era has seen the development of "ceasefire soldiers" or "truceliers" [sic - PB] in districts which saw very little activity during the conflict. The UFF [Ulster Freedom Fighters, a subgroup of the UDA] has recruited very heavily in North Antrim (and the link to high drug abuse and addiction rates in these areas is no coincidence). Previously quiet estates in Coleraine and Ballymena have seen struggles for paramilitary supremacy. Paramilitary flags and emblems have appeared in towns like Bushmills, Dervock and Mosside, hardly the forefront of the war in years past. Recruitment through flute bands is widespread. If this were a matter of small numbers it would be of little concern. Ordinary uninvolved Protestants have looked on helplessly as their formerly tranquil towns and areas have been turned into battlegrounds. Some have been able to set up 'bona fide' residents or tenants associations to establish alternative sources of power. The "Tidy Towns" group in Broughshane is an interesting example of this. The question arises, why has the UDA/UFF recruited such large numbers in Derry/North Antrim and "taken control" of previously peaceful villages, and why have they been allowed to? Why Loyalists have hung around the battlefield, even creating new fronts, is not easy to answer.
The Civilising influences Traditionally, the civilising influences within the Protestant working class have been the labour and trade union movement and the churches. 1. The Labour influence The large scale participation of the Protestant working class in traditional industry, the shipyards, engineering work such as Shorts, Mackies Sirocco Works as well as in traditional textile trades had the side effect of inducting large numbers of people in the 'mores' of the trade union movement. Every working class district had, until recently, a large smattering of men and women who had involvement at shop steward or convenor level within their union, and those organisation skills learnt in the unions lent discipline to the Protestant community. Recruits to Protestant paramilitarism in the1970's, for instance, would often be drawn from a layer of society that was usually "skilled trades", often involved in "respectable" loyal orders, almost invariably a member of a trade union and in work. Today, by comparison, paramilitaries recruit most heavily from a more lumpen layer-unskilled, unemployed, often with criminal history, rarely in a trade union. The undated 1977 paper "Loyalist Prisoners of War, Special Category, Long Kesh"-a statistical breakdown of the background and occupational trades of the UVF, RHC and UDA prisoners of the time sets this trend out clearly. The ICTU itself, in a recent submission to the Dublin Peace and Reconciliation Forum has recognised that the Communist Party influence in the post war years which brought through trade union leaders from the Protestant community has dried up, and the Union movement has felt it necessary to run "Protestant leaders" courses to stimulate the emergence of trade unionists. 2. The Churches In most predominantly Protestant districts today, most of the "social cement" is provided by, or within the sphere of influence of Churches. The Boys and Girls Brigades, the Scouts, the Mother and Toddlers groups, Senior Citizens lunch clubs, bowls clubs and tea dances are typically run by Churches or in Church premises. In sporting life the Old Boys (ie former Boys Brigades) league and Churches League arrangements in soccer are replicated across a number of sports. In many districts over the past twenty years, Churches have acted as intermediaries for Government training schemes such as Action for Community Employment (A.C.E.), the Job Training Programme, community jobclubs, Worktrack and so on. [.....] The influence of Protestant clergy in the resolution of community problems has been noticeable. The Rev Norman Hamilton, for instance, was to the fore in helping Protestant paramilitarism to reconsider the wisdom of their sectarian campaign at Holy Cross School in Ardoyne. Methodist Minister, Rev Gary Mason was paramount in influencing the recent removal of intimidating wall graffiti across East Belfast. And the Rev Roy Magee has had a long term role in negotiating the Loyalist ceasefire. These are high profile examples of influences which are widespread and unreported in communities across Northern Ireland. At their best, the influences of church leaders and the labour movement were seen in the development of the Northern Ireland Labour Party. At its height it had 4 Stormont MPs in the 1960's, including the Methodist lay preacher David Bleakley (Labour MP for Pottinger) who recently described the NILP as a form of Christian Socialism. All four of its MPs were actively involved in "church" as lay preachers, missionaries or lay volunteers. The influence of both the Churches [presumably the Church of Ireland and mainstream Presbyterian churches - PB], particularly in urban areas and the trades unions in the world of work. are declining within the Protestant communities. This is undoubtedly a factor in the "unhinged" nature of Loyalism. However, they both remain important influences and should form the core and basis of an alliance with Government in the delivery of social and community services in the Protestant community. [.....] Policing People within working class districts only ever have one means of rejecting sectarian paramilitarism-at the polls. At the polls they almost always reject loyalist paramilitarism in very large numbers. The step now required is to enable civil society within the Protestant working class areas-notably those responsible for providing social and community services within the sphere of influence of Churches-to be enabled to occupy a central position in the public lives of their communities. The plain fact is that predominantly Protestant districts, notably in the urban areas, are left to their own devices, unpoliced. These are ideal conditions for the development of sectarian Loyalism. From the Anglo Irish Agreement in 1985, after which many RUC personnel resident in Protestant working class districts were intimidated out, there has been no organic connection between the police and those policed. It is also the case that the high salary levels of police allow anyone getting a job to "buy out" of their community and live in one or other of the sheltered suburban developments where police personnel tend to live. The disconnection of police with policed leads to two equally unacceptable modes of policing * "Parachute in" policing, where
police respond to emergencies and incidents by dropping in, usually
heavily reinforced in Army mode. The "parachute in"
method cannot be sustained in the longer term Reliance on these forms of policing means that the natural, informal flow of information does not occur. The local "eyes and ears" needed by the police stay shut. Measures Recommended Military: The first requirement for the state military and security services is to face the right direction. Richard Haas correctly noted the main threat to the Peace Process is coming from Loyalists. Security and military efforts should be trained on that threat. The UDA, an apolitical grouping without values or beliefs, should be rolled up and put out of business through application of a rigorous and pro active interrogatory regime. With the aim of getting the state security services to "face the right way" the installation of some military facilities in the heart of "paramilitary territory" is a necessity. For example, as a first step within my constituency, a military watch facility at the top of the Rathcoole multi story flats in South East Antrim is recommended. Policing: There is a requirement for a warden level of policing. Since 1985 many RUC personnel have been intimated from Protestant districts. The current PSNI [Police Service of Northern Ireland] has no significant organic connection with the people in the Protestant working class districts being policed. A natural information flow does not occur. A warden policing presence, such as that recommended for many years by Maurice Hayes, would help to bridge the gap. The [Chris] Patten recommendation to allow the District Policing Partnerships, with their local Councils, to raise up to 3p in the pound on the rates for local policing should be trialled as a means of putting local people, in uniform, in the estates. A connection between police and policed is an urgent requirement and cannot be undertaken without the clear up of paramilitarism. [.....] |