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Also in this editorial
The elections (Westminster and local) were just about to happen
in Northern Ireland when Nonviolent News 'went to press' last
time, so here is just a little reflection well after the event.
The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) made substantial
gains from the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), and Sinn Féin
also gained a smaller number of votes from the SDLP (statistics
at the end of this editorial - the effect within unionism
was somewhat less marked at local government level). But should
we really be surprised at a 'divisive' election result, i.e.
opposite ends of the spectrum winning when the electoral system
under which it was held, the 'first past the post' system
in single member constituencies, is the most unfair and most
divisive electoral system there is? Going back to Christian
terminology, perhaps the message is 'as you sow, so shall
you reap'. Victors always claim election results as a great
vindication of their policies, and while it may be endorsement
when you get a strong increase in votes and seats, such an
increase for opposite ends of the spectrum in a divided society
is also an endorsement for division. And while the DUP got
one third of the votes cast, it is only one third of votes,
and one third of those who actually turned out to vote.
Much has been made of the reduction in UUP representation
at Westminster to 1 member of parliament, but the SDLP, on
virtually the same percentage of votes (0.2% less, in fact)
got 3 MPs elected. Fairness doesn't come into it. But nothing
could hide the unionist drift to the DUP.
One issue here is what kind of party the DUP
is at this stage. It is quite possible to argue that the DUP
of today, different as it may be in social composition and
history, is not dissimilar in policies to the UUP of, say,
twenty years ago, indeed, it is not dissimilar in policies
to the UUP of today. No, it is not going to run into a resalvaged
Assembly and power-sharing executive government without clear
evidence that the IRA has abandoned violence and acting outside
the law, but then neither is the UUP. They will still do a
deal when it comes to the bit. When that bit will arrive is
difficult to say and at the moment it looks like it is firmly
lost in the post. And while the DUP may claim the Good Friday
Agreement is dead they know only too well it is the only game
in town - neither nationalist party, nor British and Irish
governments, are going to settle for less.
The SDLP meanwhile failed to roll over and die,
and while Sinn Féin made gains on the nationalist side
that was mitigated by the likes of the Robert McCartney murder
(which caused the loss of Sinn Féin's one Belfast City
Council seat from east Belfast).
Politics have been at stalemate stage for some
time in Northern Ireland and this election will not, in essence,
make much difference. While it is sad to see the Ulster Unionist
Party, who have taken risks for peace, suffer so badly and
arch-survivor David Trimble bow out as leader, at this stage
the UUP's position on resuming Stormont government including
Sinn Féin is very much similar to the DUP's, or vice
versa. If the IRA really does disarm and desist from arming
and training, then the political fun would begin as different
sides jockey for deals and positions in a new Stormont regime.
When 'the people speak' in Northern Ireland
elections it is through unionist and nationalist voices, the
issues being seen through orange and green spectacles. Taking
the people beyond that, mixing the two colours to 'brown politics'
and beyond, so to speak, is a lifetime's work. The possibilities
are endless but it requires both willpower and imagination
on a variety of sides. And neither willpower nor imagination
are currently in great supply.
The statistics:
2005 Westminster election results in Northern Ireland:
DUP 33.7% (+ 11% since 2001 election), 9 seats
(+3);
Sinn Féin 24.3% (+3%), 5 seats (+1);
UUP 17.7% (-9%), 1 seat (-4 seats including
previous defection by Jeffrey Donaldson);
SDLP 17.5% (- 3%) 3 seats (the same);
others 6.7% of vote.
Local elections:
DUP 29.6%, 182 seats (2001 result 21.4%, 131
seats);
Sinn Féin 23.2%, 126 seats (20.7%, 108
seats);
UUP 18%, 115 seats (22.9%. 154 seats),
SDLP 17.4%, 101 seats (19.4%, 117 seats);
Alliance 5%, 30 seats (5.1%, 28 seats);
others 6.8%, 28 seats (10.5%, 44 seats)
Larry Speight brings us his monthly column:
I write this column on World Biodiversity Day (22 May). I
looked through the day's newspapers to see if there was any
coverage of the occasion and was disappointed not to find
anything, although yesterday's Irish Times had a short article
devoted to it. The article informed me that in Ireland many
species of bird, such as the corn bunting, have become extinct,
95 bird species are in serious decline, and at least 120 plant
species are endangered. This decline in biodiversity is due
to a combination of factors associated with what is commonly
called development; these include intensive farming, industrial
pollution, loss of habitat, and the contamination of waterways
through the widespread use of chemicals, including domestic
ones.
When I visited the council waste collection
depot earlier in the day I saw evidence of how the Irish way
of life is a cause of the loss of biodiversity in distant
parts of the world. There lying in a skip, destined for the
local landfill site, were numerous lengths of red hardwood
which had been used as door and window frames. This wood,
not too long ago was a tree in a rainforest serving as a home
to innumerable species of life, it also played a part in regulating
the Earth's climate.
Another aspect of the Irish way of life that
is responsible for the loss of biodiversity, and the oppression
of people, is our dependency on soya beans, namely for animal
feed. Earlier in the week it was reported that in the past
year, 10,000 square miles of Amazon rainforest, inclusive
of its immensely diverse forms of life, had been destroyed
largely in order to grow soya beans for the European market,
the year before the figure was 9,500 square miles. It is expected
that a similar amount of forest will be lost this coming year.
The enormity of this destruction is difficult to imagine,
along with the death of the oceans because of our 'scoop everything
up' method of fishing. The message of World Biodiversity Day
is that we are not an island people any longer, and that almost
every aspect of how we live adversely affects the health of
the planet, as well as the lives of people less affluent than
us.
The arms trade goes boom
Report on the conference jointly sponsored
by INNATE and the Peace People, Belfast, 21st May 2005
A disarmament event was held at the City Hall,
Belfast during the week leading up to the conference, when
a 'rifle' and 'missiles' were symbolically disarmed. The symbolism
here was direct but also linking the need for disarmament
in the world with the need for disarmament in the Northern
Ireland context. A letter was handed in to Invest Northern
Ireland about allowing EU Peace and Reconciliation money to
go to Thales Air Defence (Belfast and Ireland's largest arms
manufacturer), and the need for Invest NI to have a proper
ethical investment policy. Invest NI's policy currently only
covers 'business ethics' so highly polluting machinery or
torture equipment - or arms - would not be excluded. Photos
and reports on the action appeared in a couple of local papers.
The conference itself took place at the Friends
Meeting House, Frederick Street, Belfast and was attended
by over thirty people. Photos of the disarmament event and/or
conference are available on request.
The first speaker was Patrick Corrigan of Amnesty
International who gave an overview of armed violence and outlined
the Control Arms campaign which Amnesty is involved in along
with Oxfam and IANSA, the International Action Network on
Small Arms; Amnesty's objection is not to the arms trade per
se but to its connection with human rights abuses, it supports
transparency in the arms trade. Every year there are half
a million people killed directly by armed violence, one a
minute by a very wide variety of weaponry. Dual use products
do lead to ambiguity (where e.g. software can be use for civilian
or military use). The aim of the Control Arms campaign is
to have an international arms trade treaty which would provide
a binding set of core minimum standards to stop the most irresponsible
weapons transfers. A draft treaty is available on the Control
Arms website at http://www.controlarms.org
The campaign has issued half a dozen detailed reports. There
is currently a 'Million faces' petition, the world's largest
photo gallery, in support of the arms trade treaty.
Both the UK and Ireland support an arms trade
treaty, Patrick Corrigan saying that in relation to the UK
this was a major achievement as it is the world's second biggest
arms exporter, though continued pressure is necessary to get
it implemented. Amnesty is interested in forming alliances
with others, e.g. trade unions, on the issue. Research, to
be published n the autumn, is currently being conducted on
arms-related links in industry in Northern Ireland, following
on research and a report in the Republic, 'The Claws of the
Celtic Tiger' (available on the AI Ireland website at http://www.amnesty.ie
)
Kevin Mullen of CAAT, the Campaign Against Arms
Trade (http://www.caat.org.uk
) spoke of how he had got involved with CAAT through the issue
of arms being sold to Indonesia. CAAT tries to work locally
and find partners to work with. CAAT publishes yearly figures
on who invests in the arms trade (including universities and
local authorities). It asks the question of what drives spending
- the industry or military need. The Ministry of Defence in
the UK has a revolving door with the arms industry, in some
cases senior MOD officials dealing with an issue retire and
suddenly pop up on the board of an arms company involved in
that particular field. One aim of CAAT is to close the Defence
Services export organisation which markets British arms overseas.
The arms trade and corruption go hand in hand,
Kevin Mullen said, with in the case of Indonesia payments
having been made to the relations of senior government figures.
International politics also plays a role. One area of arms
sales growth is Latin America. Increasing transparency makes
campaigning easier.
Tim Hourigan of Limerick and the Mid-west Alliance
Against Military Aggression spoke about the realities of Shannon
as a transit point for US military forces; 158,000 US troops
passed through in 2004 (the number has increased, it was 128,000
in 2003) and it has replaced Frankfurt as the preferred US
route to the Middle East. Using Shannon facilitates the US
military because with carrying less fuel they can carry more
military equipment. Many flights are 'civilian' planes carrying
military goods and usage has also included a CIA torture jet
which has stopped in Shannon at least 14 times (it was involved
in the kidnapping and torture of 2 people removed from Sweden,
a big issue there). Not only are the skies full of the US
military but the Irish state pays for the US overflights to
the aviation authority when it could opt out of so doing -
in effect the Irish state pays €23 for every US military
person passing through. Gate 42 at Shannon is exclusively
military.
Tim Hourigan also highlighted arms related production
within the Republic, e.g. Analog in Limerick which makes chips
for a firing system for the Israeli military. Dual use products
are common and Tim gave an instance of someone not knowing
that he was making a system for weapons. In addition, pension
trust funds and the like typically invest 15% of their money
in aerospace and 'defence' - Paddy Corrigan pointed out that
state pension funds in the Republic are similarly invested
in the arms trade.
Henry (Hood)Winkler from Raytheon in Derry gave
a robust defence of the arms trade, speaking to a Powerpoint
presentation. Arms are a necessary evil, he said and the arms
industry provides job security. Raytheon, meaning 'light of
the gods', is part of the fight for freedom and democracy
and is present in Derry through the good offices of John Hume.
The US is not trying to keep its standard of living to itself
but share it. Raytheon is the world's largest missile manufacturer
and fourth largest weapons manufacturer and has done tasks
like design the US Command HQ in Iraq. Javelin shoulder launched
systems were sold to the Irish defence forces. The Derry Software
Development Centre enhances Raytheon's efficiency in global
weapons design, sales and purchasing. Its work on IFF, Identifying
Friend or Foe, is important in hitting the bad guys. After
some persistent questioning and intervention from the floor,
highly critical of Raytheon. Henry Winkler said that other
speakers had been accorded the right to speak and he left
the room. He shortly afterwards returned in his real guise
as a member of FEIC, the Foyle Ethical Investment Campaign,
which does actually invite Raytheon to events to dialogue
but Raytheon never comes. Those present engaged in some soul
searching as to whether they had reacted as they should have
to a representative of the arms industry. As the lunch provided
by Food Not Bombs was late in arriving there was an extended
informal networking opportunity and good interaction between
those present - in other words, people chatted away.
Anthony Nicotera, one of the Boeing 7 convicted
in Chicago of trespassing when they held a sit-in at the headquarters
of Boeing arms manufacturers, spoke sharing some of the work
in campaigning on Boeing's military involvement.
The discussion in the afternoon was more informal
and focused on research and action primarily. There was some
discussion of what methods were ethical in arms campaigning
with varying opinions expressed. The tax paid to the military
was another issue. In response to Kevin Cassidy saying a taxi
driver had called out to him, when engaged in the disarmament
action earlier in the week, "What about the water rates?".
Jim Keys pointed out that given global agendas, the privatisation
of water (separate water charges being introduced in Northern
Ireland to get the industry into 'profitable' shape for privatisation)
was not separate to issues of the arms trade. Another point
raised was the use, in the UK context, of the Freedom of Information
Act to get information, and the fact that with global connections,
information can often be gathered in one jurisdiction about
activities in another.
The morning session was chaired by Lindsay Whitcroft
and the afternoon by Kevin Cassidy. Those who wished to network
further after the formal close adjourned to a friendly local
hostelry.
[Report by Rob Fairmichael]
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