By Catherine Brown
DUNDALK — Under the banner "Unity and Independence — For a Peaceful Future", Sinn Fein's 1993 Ard Fheis (annual conference) affirmed the centrality of the party's new thinking about its strategy for peace in Ireland.
"If we are ever to resolve the situation in Ireland", explained Mitchell McLaughlin, a member of the Ard Chomhairle (National Executive) to a British audience prior to the Ard Fheis, held February 20-21, "if we are ever to have real and lasting peace on this island, there must be a rapprochement with the Protestant community in the North. We, as republicans, must seek to understand and empathise with the Protestant community.
"We, as republicans, have choices to make: we can continue paying lip-service to anti-sectarianism while denying the reality of sectarian elements in our movement, or we can actively seek to connect with Protestantism at every level."
Gerry Adams, Sinn Fein's president, in his address to the Ard Fheis stated, "I repeat my firm conviction that attacks on Protestants are wrong for exactly the same reason that attacks on Catholics are wrong.
"A genuinely free Ireland will reduce all forms of religious fundamentalism, privilege and sectarianism, and new political alliances will emerge as the current divisions arising from the British connection disappear and social and class lines become the main point of unity."
Adams concluded, "This cannot happen without the full involvement of the Protestant people."
Alleviating the unionist community's fears of reunification is now seen as a priority — as is an all-inclusive dialogue on the future of the six counties.
"Britain must publicly accept, as I believe they now privately do, that an essential ingredient in the search for a solution is the acceptance of the need for inclusive dialogue", Sinn Fein executive member Martin McGuinness told Green Left Weekly.
"If both [British and Dublin] governments had the courage of their private convictions, they should now finally meet with Sinn Fein. For our part, we recognise that such a scenario would place a great responsibility on us. We would approach any serious talks accepting that we haven't got all
the answers, but we most certainly believe we have some of them.
"The British government, and others, demand dramatic initiatives from us before we can be involved in the talks. Whilst rejecting any preconditions on our participation, we are quite prepared to be open and flexible to serious proposals which can lead to a realistic agreement."
He argues that what is needed is a very serious attempt, by the Dublin government and parties like the Social Democratic Labour Party, to convince the British government and the unionists that the best long-term solution is reunification.
"We don't believe that the Dublin government is doing that, and we certainly don't believe that the SDLP is either. What we are saying is that there is a responsibility on everyone to buckle down to find a political solution to end the tragedy", added McGuinness.
Sinn Fein points to the absence of any real international support for the partition of Ireland. In fact, it is widely acknowledged that international opinion is dissatisfied with British handling of its involvement in Irish affairs.
Internationally the trend in many different conflicts, states McGuinness, has been an acceptance by governments that solutions which go to the heart of the problem have to include all the parties to the conflict. "There's a growing realisation in Britain and in Ireland that there will never be a solution unless the people that Sinn Fein represent have a say in their future."
The British government has undemocratically excluded Sinn Fein, saying that the Irish Republican Army must first end its campaign against the British state. Yet it is clear that Sinn Fein commands significant support in the north; it is the second biggest party on the Belfast and Derry councils. Other parties with less political support were involved in the government-sponsored talks last year.
Why does Britain continue to hold on to the north of Ireland? "I think that many people in Britain are asking that question also" says McGuinness. "We have a situation where opinion poll after opinion poll will tell you that the British public, if it had an opportunity to vote on the matter, would vote for British disengagement from the six counties.
"The problem is that ... they are here. There have been many attempts over the years to try to analyse why that is the case. Some people made the point there were economic benefits for some multinational companies, I don't have any doubt that that is true to a certain extent."
McGuinness goes on to argue that "particularly the British Conservative Party have failed to face up to what the unionists have been doing here in the six counties since the partition of Ireland in 1921.
"The British government is afraid to let go, afraid of confronting the unionists and stating quite clearly and categorically that the situation between Britain and Ireland is going to change dramatically. Obviously, from a republican point of view, we hope that the British government will involve themselves in a process which convinces the unionists that their interests would be served in a 32 county republic."
McGuinness is optimistic that this process has begun, with even some members of the Conservative Party beginning to question British involvement in Ireland. The British Labour Party has stated clearly that the best long-term solution to the "troubles" is the reunification of Ireland.
"I think there is an acceptance that the six counties is a massive liability for the British government.
"Britain has to face up to its responsibility, and say to people like Mr [Ian] Paisley, 'Look, we have tried everything to resolve the situation and we feel that we are not able to do that and we are embarking on a new scenario that is going to include a process whereby we disengage from the six counties'."
Sinn Fein recognises this won't happen in a month or even a year. For it to be successful, McGuinness suggests, the process may take a period of years. "There will have to be a very serious attempt to show unionists, not just by the British government but by Dublin and by people like ourselves, that they are wanted here. We don't want them to leave. We want them to play their part in making Ireland a better place for everyone to live in. We believe it can be done."
The Ard Fheis discussed the need to "get back onto the streets" in the 26 counties, to present a radical alternative. McGuinness recognised there were many issues in the south that Sinn Fein could and should be actively campaigning on. "The only way a party like ours can get through to people is to be on the streets — not just in terms of organising large meetings and protests but to be in the housing estates and moving around door-to-door, to be involved in the problems that people face in their daily lives."
In the six counties, Sinn Fein is based in the community. In Derry and Belfast, the Sinn Fein advice centres are usually the first place local people turn to with community problems, whether they are Sinn Fein voters or not.
McGuinness is a part of the radical leadership of Sinn Fein that emerged in the late 1970s. "I see myself as a republican socialist who is convinced that capitalism isn't a way forward for Ireland. It doesn't take account of the many needs of people on this island who are suffering in terrible poverty", he declares.
In the year leading up to this Ard Fheis, two Sinn Fein members, Sheena Campbell and Malachy Carey, had been murdered. There was no sense that such intimidation would deter Sinn Fein members in the coming year.
"Years of struggle have not diminished the determination of the republican people to end British interference in Ireland", McGuinness told the Ard Fheis. "We are as determined as ever. No-one can argue that a democratic resolution would be a simple matter. All involved in the conflict, all those affected by it, would have to be prepared for dramatic and imaginative initiatives. Republicans are willing to engage in the search for a democratic solution with courage and flexibility."