The coming together of warring Catholic and Protestant leaders which brought peace and social stability in Northern Ireland demonstrates that even the seemingly impossible can be achieved with political will and sincerity of purpose, writes ASHOK PRASAD
Reverend Ian Paisley and Martin McGuiness are two names which would perhaps not be that familiar to people in India. For those like me, who have lived in Ireland for some time in the 70s and the 80s, these names represented everything that was seemingly wrong with the Irish society, particularly those based in Northern Ireland at the time.
Rev Paisley was a representative of the Protestant community who ran a church of his own appellate, the Free Presbyterian Church, known for its deep-rooted anti-Roman Catholic positions. He also had founded the Democratic Unionist Party, a political formation which had by the 70s become a major player in the Northern Ireland politics. His ranting against the Pope and the Catholic Church — by extension the Irish population in the Republic of Ireland (95 per cent Roman Catholic) — assumed more and more vituperation as time passed.
Mr McGuiness is, by contrast, a Catholic politician who has been associated with Sinn Fein, a political party that had always been suspected of having very close links with the Provisional Irish Republic Army, a terrorist organisation which had, since the early 70s, been involved in a violent terrorist campaign against the British presence in Northern Ireland that had resulted in the loss of countless civilian lives.
The hostility between the Catholics and the Protestants had historical roots. Ireland comprising 32 counties was ruled by the British for over 700 years. Many people from Britain moved over to the northern part of the island, which altered the demographics in a way that when Ireland was granted independence in 1922 it was discovered that the Protestants outnumbered the Catholics in the six northern counties and they had no intention at all of joining their fellow islanders in the south who were overwhelmingly Catholic.
The island was divided with Britain retaining control over the six counties. The Irish Republic has never accepted the division and the resultant bitterness assumed sinister proportions when the Provisional IRA began its terror campaign more than 40 years ago. One of the prominent figures to have fallen victim to the IRA was Earl Mountbatten of Burma in 1979.
The hostility between the two communities assumed trepidating proportions by the end of the 70s and the entire 80s. Mr Paisley regarded the Catholics as sympathisers of terrorists and used the most foul language imaginable. The Provisional IRA on its part intensified its terror campaign which completely disrupted Northern Ireland, precluding any possibility of development. I recall one incident when a congregation of Pentecostals was riddled with bullets during a prayer session. The Provisional IRA denied any responsibility and issued condemnation. It emerged that an even more militant organisation, Irish National liberation Army was responsible for this atrocity. The INlA had come up as an offshoot of the Provisional IRA as it regarded the latter as ‘too moderate’.
It can be easily surmised how the residents of the island like me felt. There were no real grounds for optimism. Both sides were consumed with religious hatred with historical roots and tended to regard the other as unscrupulous monsters with whom no business could ever be conducted. The politicians thrived on this division for political gains. There were those like John Hume who tried to make some sense but by and large they were sidelined. I must admit, I left Ireland with a profound sense of pessimism about its future completely resigned to the fact that nothing worthwhile was ever going to emerge in my lifetime.
I had miscalculated. Come 1998 and John Hume of the Social Democratic labour Party, who had always been sincere about bridging this religious divide, reached out to a Protestant politician David Trimble, and, with active encouragement from the British Government headed by Tony Blair and Irish Government headed by Bertie Ahern, reached an accord with him which was the first real hope for peace in that troubled part.
Rev Paisley opposed the accord, but despite that, the election was held and for the first time in its history, people in Northern Ireland voted across religious divide leading to the formation of a Government involving power-sharing between the Protestants and the Catholics. It was such a resounding success that in 2006, Rev Paisley abandoned his opposition and contested the elections in which his party won the maximum number of seats.
Then came something that none of us had ever imagined we would ever witness — Rev Paisley became the head of the provincial Government and Mr McGuiness became his deputy. The two rivals who could literally never bear the sight of each other worked very closely in a partnership and became close political allies.
With the right political will and determination, Mr Blair, Mr Ahern, Mr Trimble and Mr Hume demonstrated that democracy can offer solutions to seemingly most insoluble problems. let us hope that can be realised in our country as well before the divide between the communities becomes irreversible.