Previous
editorials
Current editorial
February 2021
December 2020
November 2020
October 2020
September 2020
July 2020
June 2020
May 2020
April 2020
March 2020
February 2020
December 2019
November 2019
October 2019
September 2019
July 2019
June 2019
May 2019
April 2019
March 2019
February 2019
December 2018
November 2018
October 2018
September 2018
July 2018
June 2018
May 2018
April 2018
March 2018
February 2018
December 2017
November 2017
October 2017
September 2017
July 2017
June 2017
May 2017
April 2017
March 2017
February 2017
December 2016
November 2016
October 2016
September 2016
July 2016
June 2016
May 2016
April 2016
March 2016
February 2016
January 2016 (supplement)
December 2015
November 2015
October 2015
September 2015
July 2015
June 2015
May 2015
April 2015
March 2015
February 2015
December supplement
December 2014
November 2014
October 2014
September 2014
July 2014
June 2014
May 2014
April 2014
March 2014
February 2014
December 2013
November 2013
October 2013
September 2013
July 2013
June 2013
May 2013
April 2013
March 2013
February 2013
December 2012
November 2012
|
 |
 |
 |

These are regular editorials
produced alongside the corresponding issues on Nonviolent
News. |
Also in this editorial:
Déjà vu. Once again Northern Ireland
arrives at a sticking point on a deal to bring back the Stormont
assembly. There is nevertheless the prospect that any deal
struck in the near future could work better this time - if
the DUP and Sinn Féin can get over the disagreement
on the provision of photographic evidence on decommissioning
of IRA weapons (which Paisley claims is essential and Adams
sees as humiliation) and other issues which may have been
hidden. Since any deal would a deal with the two 'further
out' parties on the unionist and nationalist side (DUP and
Sinn Féin), both being the big boys this time, there
is no one to convincingly challenge it. Irony of ironies,
it has taken these two parties being in the driving seat to
be tantalisingly close to making a deal which has the best
chance yet of sticking. But not yet close enough.
So were 'the photographs' essential evidence
or essentially humiliation? Whose word do you believe, if
anyone? Certainly photographs in this digital day are meaningless
without people there, such as the two clergyperson witnesses,
to verify them. And they could verify the process without
photographs. Maybe it was Paisley being triumphalist and so
ingrained in the way of saying 'no' that he doesn't know a
good deal when he sees it. But then the IRA should also have
destroyed its weapons stocks a long time ago (though in terms
of taking its hardliners with it you can also understand why
not).
The power-sharing executive of 1974 is thirty
years ago. Mark Durkan's comment about the current prospective
deal that it is not new but the players are, is very true,
though presumably he was referring only to post-1998 events.
There are some differences between the 'deals' of 1974 and
1998/2004, but it is a tragedy for so many people, killed,
wounded, lives destroyed through the death of loved ones,
that 1974 was not the culmination of the Troubles. That is
all now wishful thinking. Of course neither the DUP nor Sinn
Féin were included in the Sunningdale Agreement of
1974, nor did they wish to be, but there are various messages
here about inclusivity. However to say that one lesson in
divided societies is simply to vote for the 'more extreme'
parties and get a deal sooner rather than later would be dangerous
- how solutions emerge is unique, and when parties such as
the DUP and Sinn Féin are ready to compromise to achieve
power cannot be guessed at from a distance.
Of course, and we have said it before, a deal
would not be the end of history in Northern Ireland. Decommissioning
of IRA weapons might not go according to plan, aside altogether
from the evidence deemed necessary by the DUP or anyone else.
Paramilitary activity on either side (and the IRA is certainly
not the only player) could put things in jeopardy. What happens
to unionism when the DUP is no longer led by Ian Paisley will
be in interesting one to watch in due course. Lots of other
issues may arise to divide and conquer Northern Ireland. Demographic
change (the Catholic/Protestant balance) may shift things
further over a few decades. Even the system of balances introduced
under the Good Friday Agreement may still cause problems.
And so it is not yet the end of this impasse.
When the gap will be closed we cannot say. We wish all the
Northern Ireland political parties bon voyage and a fair wind
in their sails to take them where they need to go - when they
actually manage to set sail and push off the shore where they
have been beached for so long. There are many who at this
stage wish they would simply push off.
The two-year suspended jail sentence for Mary Kelly at the
very start of December was a relief as it looked like she
would do hard time, though as we argued in the last issue
she should never have been found guilty for attacking a US
warplane at Shannon in January 2003. Before he imposed the
sentence, Judge Carroll Moran said "Society at large
expects me as a judge to stop and prevent the social anarchy
that would prevail if people were allowed to take the law
into their own hands."
How wonderfully wise and perspicacious Judge
Moran is! If the likes of the USA and UK are allowed to do
whatever they like around the world with no regard for international
law, world public opinion, or human life (a hundred thousand
killed we are told) what will the world be like in the future
let alone today? There will be more chaos, more misery, more
'terrorist' attacks because oppressed societies will learn
it is the only language a superpower understands (we don't
agree but that is still what they will learn), and there will
be more 'homeland security' to oppress people. It's a pity
that the learned judge in Ennis and Limerick was not pronouncing
sentence on those who deserve it, George Bush and Tony Blair.
They are guilty as charged of lies on a monumental scale,
misappropriation of absolutely enormous funds for war, the
horror of war and the resultant deaths of hundreds of thousands
- and this sounds very much like a crime against humanity.
In the light of all this, Mary Kelly is to be congratulated
and maybe the 'socialist' Taoiseach could think of a special
award for Shannon activists who have spent so much time doing
what they should not have had to do - opposing the US war
machine at its staging post in Ireland.
[Back to top]
Larry Speight joins us with his regular eco-thoughts
[try to spot the pun in the title!]:
Christmas is here once more and the earth grimaces.
The 20 per cent of humanity who have money to spend on things
beyond meeting their basic needs will in time honoured tradition
take part in an orgy of feel-good buying, wuite a significant
amount of which will have a short life-span and end up in
land-fill sites, and as greenhouse gases by way of incineration.
To get an idea of the amount of valuable things that we throw
away I suggest you visit a Local council waste collection
centre. The one I am familiar with serves a small village,
most days of the week the three skips and the ground around
it are filled with people's clutter.
Some of the things I noted on a recent visit
are the following; Furniture made of red hardwood from a tropical
rainforest, hundreds of unblemished books, clothes, cooking
utensils, food waste from shops including chickens, cuttings
from gardens, unused carpets and linoleum, meeting room chairs,
and of course televisions, fridges and microwave ovens. In
spite of liking to think of ourselves, our ethics clearly
do not encompass our relationship with the Earth. As a society
we have managed to exclude the well-being of other life-forms
and the integrity of eco-systems from our view of the world.
As James Jones writes in the Guardian, 22nd November 2004
- "The modern world has lost much of its connection with
the earth. ....we are so removed from the consequences of
our actions that we live comfortably in denial, ignoring the
prophets if doom who predict an impending environmental crisis
of epic proportions."
This Christmas we would make a few small changes
in our consumer habits. I suggest the following:
1) Buy our family and friends gifts from a Fairtrade
outlet.
2) Give local native trees as presents . e.g.
in Northern Ireland contact the Ulster Wildlife Trust whose
nursery produces more than 1000,0000 competitively priced
trees of local origin every year, phone 028 - 2176 1403 or
e-mail keith.byers@ulsterwildlifetrust.org
or in the Republic you can contact the Tree Council at: 01
2849211 / trees@treecouncil.ie
/ http://www.treecouncil.ie.
The Tree Council can also help one give trees, or have them
planted as gifts.
3) Offer your skill and labour as a gift, perhaps
mending someone's bicycle, tidying up their garden or teaching
them a skill.
4) give gifts from your stock of possessions.
5) make a pledge to particular people to be
a better listener, more patient and compassionate. I am sure
readers can think of many other ways by which we can give
Christmas presents without destroying the Earth, or forcing
people, mostly in far away places, to toil in sweatshop conditions.
Good cheer to everyone.
[Back to top]
A speech by Mairead Corrigan Maguire
At 5th World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates in Rome,
10-12th November, 2004.
Dear Friends,
On 11th September, people everywhere were shocked
into the realization that we live in a dangerous world. Those
who lost loved ones, and the American people, had our sympathy.
But how did the American Administration respond? Tragically,
very badly. There was no breath of vision, no wisdom, only
violence, terror, and war. In spite of millions of people
calling for 'no war' British and American Forces, rained death
and destruction on the people of Afghanistan and then Iraq.
Iraq, a country where, when I visited in l999, not only their
children, but the whole country, was being destroyed by the
effects of the Gulf War, economic sanctions of UN/USA/UK,
and the cruelty of a Military dictator. As if their lives
were not desperate enough, they were brutally bombed again.
These wars were not heroic, courageous, or honourable. They
were immoral, illegal, and unnecessary. In time all those
involved in the murder of many thousands of Iraqi people (
the latest figure is 100,000 civilians), and Afghans, will
want to say they are sorry. Over 1,000 US and many British
soldiers, were killed, and untold thousands of US soldiers
injured. The Russian war against Chechnya was another example,
of State terror against a civilian population. This planted
seeds of revenge and hatred, and resulted in desperate acts
of terrorism, such as those against the children of Beslan.
As sure as Spring follows Winter, terrorism follows State
Violence and Repression. In spite of this, we are promised
ongoing Wars by the United States. I believe that War is State
Terrorism by another name, and is itself a threat to humankind.
It may well be, only a matter of time, before some Government,
or terrorist group, decides to use Nuclear weapons, and that
is why Nuclear Proliferation is also a threat.
We must do all in our power, through the United
Nations, to abolish War, and make it illegal under International
Law. The US is a Superpower, but we the people of the World,
when united, are a stronger Superpower, because we state a
truth 'every human life is sacred and we should not be killing
each other in violence, ethnic conflicts, and war'. It is
time now for the United Nations to recover the mantle of responsibility
and authority that has been unfortunately usurped by the United
States, The people of the World demand this as our right.
Violence and war are immoral and are not an
acceptable way of solving the problems of the human family.
There are alternatives. In the past, in response to injustice,
we had two choices, fight or flight, but there is a third
way, the way of nonviolence. This way was open to the political
leaders of Britain and America, but they choose the old way
of war. The world was taken to war under false pretences.
There were no weapons of mass destruction, and it was only
a matter of time before the people of Iraq would have changed
their Regime. There was no political will to solve the problems
nonviolently, but only a military mindset steeped in the fantasy
that might is right, and war works! How sad that, amongst
many people, the moral authority of both US and Britain has
been lost, as has trust in both countries' political leadership.
We need political leaders with vision, who are trusted, and
have the ability to give people hope and confidence in themselves
and others, belief that they matter and can make a difference.
September 11th raises many questions. What motivated
those who carried out this cruel and inhumane attack? In order
to deal with insurgency violence, we need to understand the
psychology behind such violence. We humans share the same
basic human nature. We have an innate sense of justice. We
feel injustice deeply; it can make us fearful, angry, and
frustrated. We each have a war of emotions going on in our
hearts. If injustice is constant, severe, and unrelenting,
with no avenue of redress, it can bring about a violent, explosive,
even murderous response. We are each murderous, given the
right circumstances, and that is why we need to teach nonviolence,
such as meditation, to help us deal with our emotions. Also
strategies which work, to deal with the injustices.
I lived this experience myself, in 'the troubles'
in Northern Ireland. Witnessing State violence and injustice,
I understand how people can react with violence, often seeing
it as an alternative to doing nothing. It is important we
do not demonize, dehumanize, or under-estimate the commitment
to justice, held by those who choose the 'armed struggle'
as a way of change. But it is equally important that we do
not glorify violence, make heroes of those who use violence,
or be ambiguous about the use of violence. Such ambiguity
leaves people, (who themselves are trapped in a unjust, violent,
emotional, politically charged situation) often confused about
the use of violence. In Northern Ireland the 'armed struggle'
was engaged in, and supported, by some as a reaction to State
injustice and violence, and by others for their own political
agenda. Some political activists argued the phoney theory
of 'Just War' in a misguided attempt to give religious credence
to their use of violence. The 'armed struggle' appealed to
some as heroic and gave them a role of authority and power
in an otherwise bleak and hopeless situation. In the height
of their inner emotional war and outer societal war, it was
easy for people to get caught up into violent revolutionary
zeal and fervour. They argued any means justified the end,
even dying on Hunger Strikes for their political cause. In
Northern Ireland, the "Hunger Strikes to the Death"
were, I believe wrong. Palestinian Suicide bombers are, I
believe, wrong. The lives of Hunger Strikers and Suicide Bombers
are sacred, as are the lives of all others. Whilst, I understand
what drives people to such violent actions, often in an attempt
to call attention to injustices, nevertheless, if we want
justice, we must use just means to attain it.
By using Nonviolent Resistance (which we all
must do when faced with injustice) we acknowledge both our
own humanness and the humanness of opponents. Nonviolent Resistance
opens the possibility for people to change. I have come to
believe that the only hope for real change, is when we the
human family, refuse to hurt or kill each other, and begin
to build Nonkilling societies, and world. By rejecting totally
violence and killing, as inhumane and unacceptable, and solving
our problems by peaceful means, we will be living out of the
true spirit of our human nature, and we will be happy. This
is possible, and it starts with each one of us, seeking truth
and living our lives with as much integrity as possible.
Governments have a responsibility to use means
consist with their ends, upholding ethical policies, and the
highest standards of justice, human rights, etc., They must
also recognize the right to nonviolent dissent, and open channels
of communications so that all grievances can be addressed.
The US new doctrine of war without end, i.e. "war on
terrorism" is itself creating a climate of fear and hatred.
"War on terrorism" is also a myth, as there is no
such thing as a war without an enemy. Terrorism is a tactic,
not an enemy. The problem is one of small, but growing, cells
of people in various countries, using violence, in a misguided
attempt to right wrongs. They have deep grievances, which
must be addressed politically. They cannot be solved militarily.
In Northern Ireland, there was and is, a recognition that
militarism, paramilitarism, and emergency laws, are counter-productive,
and that the only way forward was to deal with the root cause
of the conflict, through all inclusive dialogue. Thus began
the process of dialogue with paramilitary representatives,
demilitarization, and a peace process. As part of this conflict
resolution process, we were encouraged by the Irish, British
and American political leadership to negotiate with representatives
of Paramilitary Organizations. There are lessons to be learned
from the conflict resolution process in Northern Ireland,
including the need to talk to the terrorists or their political
representatives.
We can increase our security by States implementing
the highest standards of Justice and Human Rights, and implementing
law built on the principles of the universality of human nature.
When Government laws respects people, people will respect
the law. Also international co-operation and outreach to other
countries will help stop violence. But most importantly, dealing
with the root cause of violent conflict, and taking the guns
out of the situation, so people can begin to build peace across
the ground.
A key factor in stopping insurgency in the Middle
East is the necessity of a genuine Peace Process. I am inspired,
and take hope from the Israeli/Palestinian peace movement.
I believe every help should be given to them and the civil
community, as their efforts are necessary to build trust and
peace on the ground. The International community is concerned
at the injustice against the Palestinian people by the Israeli
Government. Demolition of homes, building of the wall, and
the military repression, suffered daily by Palestinian people
is cruel, inhumane, and breaks International law. The occupation
is wrong. Such Israeli State Violence and Injustices leads
to suicide bombing, which also is a cruel and counterproductive,
method of resistance. The Israeli people will never know safety
and security, until they make justice and peace with their
Palestinian, Iraqi, Syrian and Iranian neighbours. The International
community must implement economic and political actions against
Israel, until a genuine peace agreement with Palestinian Leaders
is in process.
We hear talk about a clash of civilizations. I do not believe
this and I think we have to stand against those who, for their
own agenda, try, to whip up enmity between people and nations.
The Irish poet, William Butler Yeats, wrote:
"We had fed the heart on fantasies,
The heart's grown brutal from the fare;
More substance in our enmities
Than in our love... " (The Stare's Nest by My Window).
For a new generation, a new age, we must use
our love to overcome the fear and enmities of past generations.
I am full of hope, because I believe in people, and I believe
passionately in the power of nonviolent love to build a unified
world civilization with a heart.
Thank you,
Mairead Corrigan Maguire
|