Sinn Féin’s proposal for a border poll has inspired much comment, and speculation. Would it settle anything? Would it serve any useful purpose?
Most of the comment has come from those who might be thought of as Irish or nationalist – very little from the other side, although one unionist commentator has said he would be happy with a majority of one in favour of continued partition, while Seamus Mallon seems to feel that such a majority in favour of unity would not be adequate.
The population of the six county area consists of those who are Irish and Catholic, and those commonly referred to as unionist, loyalists, Protestants and Planters etc, and who in some quarters are referred to as colonists. It would be easier to bridge the North Channel than to bridge the cultural gulf between those two tribes.
The British colonists in Ireland can be compared to the French colonists in Algeria and to the German colonists in Czechoslovakia who were known as the Sudeten Germans. All colonists tend to adhere strongly to the language, religion and culture of their parent country – the German writer Franz Kafka, though he was born, and lived his life in Prague and never bothered to learn the local language.
The views of the colonists are well known – they regard themselves as British, and are determined to maintain the union. Sinn Féin’s proposal would suggest that they see the colonists as democrats who would accept the result of a democratic referendum. History would suggest that Sinn Féin are mistaken. Regardless of whether the majority in favour of unity was one, or 100,000 the response of the colonists would be what it was in the 1912-1914 period – they would reach for their guns, and would receive considerable support from England.
It is relevant to recall the views expressed by such unionist leaders as Arlene Foster and Basil Brooke. At the time of his retirement in 1963 Basil gave an interview to a journalist in which he declared – in reference to his followers – “we are Englishmen”.
Asked how he would react in the event of reunification he replied: “It is doubtful if we would be willing to remain here in that eventuality.” Arlene has expressed a similar view in recent times. I believe that within 10 years of reunification half the colonists will have left of their own accord. Nothing could be more distasteful to them than to have to live under a government that was Irish and Catholic.
The prospects for unity by agreement are not looking good, and there is nothing new about that.
SHAEMUS HARAN
Adare Village, West Limerick
Dominant narratives in Ireland adding to our current woes
Brexit is making us familiar with pitifully poor analysis of this region. Not all of it is coming out of British politics. Dominant narratives on this island are adding to our current woes. The Good Friday Agreement is intended to allow people to inhabit their constitutional/national identities securely and without fear. There is a right to choose to identify and be accepted as British or Irish or both. Constitutional aspirations are supposed to be equally legitimate. But what do we see in practice? Those who argue for their constitutional aspirations are pilloried as “sectarian”, “tribal” or even “divisive”. Respectability attaches to those who deny, evade or seek to transcend such questions. Some of this is, of course, well-intentioned and significant; people are as complex and as resistant to labels here as anywhere. That must be acknowledged as we move into a more pluralist space. But where this becomes a major policy problem is when it collapses a fundamental pillar of the agreement – an agreement, remember, that people claim to cherish in all its parts. The impact can be felt by voiceless British citizens abandoned by their own government in the context of a Brexit that will erode their rights, and alienated Irish citizens who anxiously watch the potential repartition of the island. Civic movements that seek to organise around the agreement’s vision of parity of esteem and mutual respect are routinely castigated.
If politics in this region is to be put back together again there is much wisdom to be found in the existing agreement. Why do so many want to airbrush its core principles away? To continue to treat people with contempt because they take its constitutional promises seriously is a silly and damaging mistake. Both governments are prone to this ill-advised stance – they are not alone (it is embedded within ‘establishment Ireland’). It is one of the reasons why this place was allowed to become, and remains, such a political mess. Constitutional differences must be respected as part of any credible project of reconstruction that is serious about sustainable and transformative social change here. That is the core common ground on which a better future can be achieved for everyone. It is what people voted for on May 22 1998.
Prof COLIN HARVEY
Queen's University, Belfast
Commit to protecting our oceans
Saturday June 8 was World Oceans Day. With an estimated 80 per cent of litter at sea originating on land, there is a clear need to change the casual nature of single-use plastics in our everyday lives.
There is a global environmental crisis in our seas, oceans and coastlines with disastrous consequences for sea life and marine habitats, one that will dramatically increase due to the estimated million plastic bottles bought around the world every minute.
We can all play a part in protecting our planet and that’s what I plan to do in my role. While there are excellent water refill schemes I would encourage businesses to take part in, Belfast City Council can take a leading role across its own estate.
I will be pushing for the grounds of city hall and the council’s parks to install water refill stations, reducing the need for consumers to buy water in plastic bottles and trying to help cultivate a culture of change in the public consciousness.
It’s actually an old idea re-purposed for a modern need. Public sources of water used to be at the heart of communities, whether that be natural springs or wells.
But in the modern world, by encouraging people to carry their own personal water bottles, we can all commit to ensuring Belfast does its part in leading the fight back to protect our oceans.
Cllr ROSS McMULLAN
Alliance
Consent of the governed
To obtain the consent of the governed, one has to create the environment upon which that consent would be obtained. In other words, to make Ireland and Britain pro-American and pro-sceptical, you had to intentionally corrupt traditional institutions.
Immigration is simply a tool to implement America’s left-right paradigm on a global scale. Aided and abetted by the incessant bombarding of American news, culture and linguistics by a sympathetic online cadre. Northern Ireland is simply the final domino to fall in Europe.
Our failure to forge our own identity in the midst of such ravenous imperialism means that we are simply going through the motions. Politics-by-numbers is the name of the game here. While I favour leaving the EU, it should only be the starting point. We need to restore the Christian values our forefathers Fought for.
DESMOND DEVLIN
Ardboe, Co Tyrone
We do need a border poll
It’s a fatal mistake to equate the Brexit referendum with a border poll. Unionists are totally opposed to a united Ireland. So why would they engage in any discussions about Irish unity? Forget about ‘a plan for Irish unity’. But we do need a border poll to convince unionists, if they were outvoted, that the status quo no longer exists.
MALACHY SCOTT
Belfast BT15
Queen’s University Belfast
