By Tony Benn MP
The development of events In Northern Ireland marks a sea-change not only In Irish politics but in British politics too. The historic opportunity to bring about a lasting peace must not be squandered.
For hundreds of years British control of Ireland has been a running sore that has cost money and lives. None of the policies which tried to maintain that control has succeeded. The occupation of Ireland failed, partition failed, direct rule failed, power-sharing failed, strip searching failed, internment without trial failed, the Diplock courts failed, the Prevention of Terrorism Act failed. This failure of policy is slowly penetrating into the minds of the British government.
The decision to send the troops in, in 1969, was presented in the Labour cabinet of which I was a member as a way of restoring peace by protecting the Catholic minority from the abuse of power by the Protestant majority. But that also failed.
We have arrived at the present position because the talks between John Hume and Gerry Adams opened new possibilities based on the fact that the nationalists want a settlement in Ireland itself. Sinn Fein know that you cannot dominate and control the north at the expense of the loyalist community.
The Irish government has begun to take an interest in the whole of the island after years during which they turned a blind eye to the north.
But most significantly of all the British government have decided, in the light of the failures of the past and the cost of the emergency, that some new initiative has to be taken.
For years those who tried to bring about a serious dialogue with Sinn Fein were denounced as terrorists, but we now know that over a long period successive British governments have maintained secret discussions and links with Sinn Fein.
Another factor which has helped the peace process has been the end of the cold war. For while that was in progress Washington saw British troops in the north as NATO troops and therefore they supported it because they did not want a neutral reunified Ireland between the Pentagon and the Kremlin. But that is all over and President Clinton's decision to allow Gerry Adams to come to the United States together with the recent mission to Dublin and Belfast indicates a more constructive American attitude.
The Downing Street Declaration did not of itself solve the problem but it was a clear indication that the British government want to terminate their role in Northern Ireland. It is for that reason that the so-called loyalist backlash is now emerging.
But the idea that the loyalist paramilitaries can now use bombs to keep Britain in Ireland is not credible. In fact a violent loyalist backlash would accelerate the process of British withdrawal. That is why the loyalist threats should not be allowed to derail the peace process, which must now be got under way with all parties around the table.
What is likely to happen now is a conscious decision by Sinn Fein to move towards a peaceful solution reassuring the loyalists while insisting that this is an Irish, not a British, question.
This is in line with the view of the British electorate, within which there has long been a clear majority which favoured ending British jurisdiction.
The way should now be cleared for the Irish people as a whole to determine the future shape, structure and form of their government. Civil liberties should be restored and open debate made possible by the immediate lifting of the broadcasting ban [on Sinn Fein].
The historic Labour position going back to the time of the black and tans in the early '20s is straightforward and profoundly relevant to the present situation: a constitutional conference covering the whole of Ireland, a proper system of safeguards for minorities and a withdrawal of British troops.
Various bills have been introduced into the House of Commons calling for a date to be set after which Britain would end its jurisdiction in Ireland. That issue is now back on the agenda as a step which could unlock many of the difficulties which have previously prevented movement.
It is a hopeful time for Ireland but it is hopeful for Britain too since the huge structure of police and intelligence service control in Northern Ireland has been a ball and chain around Britain as well. Many of the techniques used against the trade unions, in the miners strike and elsewhere, were pioneered In Northern Ireland. Take Northern Ireland out of British politics and British politics could advance much more rapidly towards a more egalitarian and democratic society. [From Socialist Campaign Group News.]