Re: Futility of the Real IRA
Date: 8th May '01
Name: Sean Bresnahan
Country: Ireland
Wolfe Tone:
You are correct to point out that a declaration of intent from the Brits and a subsequent end to partition are core objectives of Irish republicanism but it must be stated that the attainment of these objectives would not represent the fulfillment of the republican project and therefore are not stand alone issues that are the be-all and end-all of the republican struggle. The central tenets of Irish republicanism can be described as independence, democracy, and socialism - these are the same objectives the republican movement fought for not only over the last thirty odd years but throughout the last two centuries. National indepedence is only a means to an end - the establishment of a united democratic and socialist republic on the island of Ireland is the real purpose of republicanism. It is not so much about getting the Brits out as about delivering on the agenda republicans have set themselves since the United Irishmen's revolt of 1798. This agenda is not based on a purely nationalist programme for independence from Britain but on the empowerment of the people of Ireland through a real democratic regime capable of addressing the needs of those people. That this is an avocation of a democratic and socialist republic make no mistake. Socialism for Irish republicans is about improving the lot of those living in estates such as Ballymurphy, the Creggan or Kilwilkee. The way in which this noble programme can be implemented is through a democracy that really is democratic and which ensures that the people of this country not only have a direct say and influence regarding who represents them - through a fair and accountable electoral process - but are also allowed a direct say and influence in the process of policy formulation itself. Needless to say the presence of unjust and undemocratic regimes in both the northern and southern states on the island represent a barrier to achieving such a laudable system of government.
But how is this obstacle to be overcome and the republican project implemented?
For over ten years the Provisional IRA waged a low-intensity strategic military campaign against the British government in the hope of receiving a declaration of intent to withdraw - the necessary first step towards the democratic and socialist republic. From the period around the late 1970s and prior to the hunger strikes of 1980/1981 the republican movement realised that military pressure on its own was incapable of moving the Brits far enough to satisfy the initial demand of Irish republicanism - British withdrawal from the occupied north. The ballot-box and armalite was the eventual result of the strategic rethink which produced the concept of the 'long war'. The politicising effects of the hunger strikes resulted in initial success for this strategy and once more the republican movement was proclaiming that victory was just around the corner and seemingly so as operational successes in the theatre of war, as a result of massive rearmament in the 1980s, were complementedby what political commentators have referred to as the first coming of Sinn Fein. This strategy too failed to deliver the core aims of republicanism and by the 1990s it was apparent to all sides that a stalemate in the conflict had been reached and movement either way - towards the advancement of IRA objectives or British government objectives - was highly unlikely to materilaise.
In this context Irish republicans made a responsible decision to seek out new avenues and forms of struggle and called a ceasefire in the interests of preventing further needless bloodshed. The choice was stark: condemn another generation to a futile strategy with the resultant death, imprisonment, and harassment from the security forces, or seek to move the conflict from a military environment into a political one. In this sense the conflict - the war - is not over and the struggle goes on. The commitment of the republican movement to the fundamental principles of independence, democracy, and socialism is both resolute and total. The strategy may well have changed but the ideological construct remains the same. This is the only way forward and unity of purpose among republicans at this time is required if the core objectives of Irish republicanism are to be addressed in the course of the peace strategy. 'Trading under false pretences' to me is solely applicable to those republicans who walked away from the movement and attempted to claim the mantle of Irish republicanism illigitmately. Calling yourself the 'Real' IRA is certainly trading under false pretences. There is one IRA, one republican movement and one way forward at this point in time. Onwards to the socialist republic - is mise le meas.
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