My grandfather came from Belfast so I have always had some affinity with
the place. Aboriginal elders in Australia sometimes used to ask me when I
was going back to fight for my own people's rights. They had a point but so
far life has never taken me back.
I am hoping that when I do return there will be peace in the streets. I
believe all bombing and killing must stop.
But I have been appalled by how patently the British authorities have been
discouraging Sinn Fein and the IRA from taking part in the negotiations.
One would think that the days immediately before the negotiations were to
start would not be the time to carry out major anti-IRA police raids. That
is what happened. Most of those arrested were released eventually - but the
IRA had stayed out of the negotiations. The strategy seems to have
worked.
Then there is the contradiction in UK policy towards the IRA prisoners held
in UK gaols. It has been discovered that many of these may have been
framed or convicted on poor forsenic evidence. The testing laboratory that
certified that tiny amounts of semtex were found in samples taken from
suspects was reeking with semtex left carelessly on equipment and on the
floor and furniture. It gave crucial evidence against many Irishmen. Those
convicted can now expect to be freed once the snail-like process of the
law has done its work.
So what does the UK government do. It knows that many of the prisoners want
to return to Ireland. It tells them that they may return - on conditon that
they do not appeal their convictions. it thus makes seemingly generous
concessions that are not concessions.
Peace negotiations where one party is missing are clearly not going to
work. If they are real peace negotitions clearly Sinn Fein must be
present. If Sinn Fein continues to be denied admission, it seems the
decision will be for war and not for peace both on the UK's and IRA's side.
This is completely tragic.
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